Fun activities for two year olds
80 of the BEST Toddler Activities for 2 Year Olds
If you are looking for ideas as to what to do with your toddler today, you have come to the right place. We have a big list of activities for 2 year olds, toddler games, 2 year old toys and fun things to do with toddlers. Pssst…while this list was created with the 2 year old in mind, younger and older toddlers will enjoy many of the things we have selected.
The best thing about 2 year olds is they LOVE to play!BEST Activities for 2 Year Olds Toddlers
As my youngest toddler is crossing the threshold and becoming a three-year old, but before they do I want them to get the most out of this year so here are 80 of the BEST Activities for 2 Year Olds!
These are either things that my two year old enjoyed or would if we had thought of doing them this last year! These toddler activities and toddler games are guaranteed to keep little hands busy with great ideas in a bunch of different ways.
This article contains affiliate links.
2 Year Olds Love to Play
While every 2 year old is going to be a little different, one of the common traits found in 2-3 year old toddlers is that they love to play.
In fact, anything they do turns into toddler games!
I absolutely love that about two year old children…everything they play turns into toddler games. It is something we should all learn from!
Toddler Physical Abilities
Physically, toddlers are active participants in almost any activity that includes climbing, kicking, running (short distances), scribbling, squatting, hopping and the way they walk starts to appear more like an adult or child than a baby. It is amazing how quickly those gross motor skills develop.
Through play, 2 year olds develop coordination, spacial recognition and so much more…Toddler Mental Abilities
Mentally, two year olds are grasping language with more skill, being more thoughtful and starting to strategize and hold concepts. In fact, it is at age 2 that toddlers often start running through scenarios in their head that can predict outcomes of actions.
Toddler Play Abilities
It is one of the reasons why play is such an important part of a 2 year olds life…it helps them develop both mentally and physically! Oh, and don’t forget that important toddler social component as well…remember that everything is toddler games to a two year old.
The world is full of color & 2 year olds want to see and taste it all!Fun Things For 2 Year Olds to Do to Exploring Color
1. Let’s Make Leftovers Art
Create colorful art using leftovers from around the house. Got different colors of scraps of paper, felt, and other odds and ends from other 2 year old crafts? These are perfect to create a wonderfully abstract masterpiece!
2. Play with Erupting Rainbow Chalk Paint
Side walk chalk is always a fun outdoor activity for kids. Let them create colorful designs and pictures. Then add a bit of science. Let them use a spray bottle of vinegar to watch their creations puff up!
3.
Color Learning Activities For 2 Year OldsCreate a color wheel by painting each section of a pie chart a color. Then pick out little toys and trinkets that are the same color. Once you have a basket of goodies allow your child to put each item in its corresponding color. This is such a fun way to learn the colors even on a rainy day.
4. Let’s Make a Summer Time Bucket List for 2 Year Olds
Get outside in the summer time and have fun with one of these simple busy toddler activities or make your summer exciting and try to do them all. It will keep your 2 year old active, exploring, moving, and learning each day.
5. Create Rainbow Hand Kites
These rainbow hand kites are an amazing way to not only learn colors, but to appreciate them as well! Your child will be mesmerized by the way the colorful ribbons and dance and flow with each movement in different ways.
6. Play a Color Wheel Game
Sorting is something that teaches kids patterns, helps them to learn how to differentiate, and is *fun* for little kids! The best part is, toddlers have multiple ideas for learning colors so these activities for 2 year olds never gets dull and are so much fun.
7. Make Rainbow Healthy Gummies Together
Help your kids eat all the colors of the rainbow – these gummy snacks for kids are fun to make, and tasty for even picky kiddos. Your 2 year old will never know they’re eating fruits and veggies, they taste so good.
8. Let’s Play Color And Word Games For 2 Year Olds
Jump through the different shapes and colors with a DIY hopscotch-like mat. Your child must follow the path across the mat by following the same color or the same shape. Plus, looking for some fun activities to do at home to teach your toddler words? There is also a magnetic word game as well!
Yes, 2 year olds love to craft and make art…Easy Crafts For 2 Year Olds
9. Paintsicles are Fun for Toddlers
Make finger painting more exciting by freezing paint in ice cubes for a cool colorful project. Do single colors, mix colors, add glitter, make it unique. Either way, your 2 year old will get to make a neat art project and work on their fine motor skills. It is a win-win.
10. Have Fun with a Sibling Made Toddler Puzzle
Need fun activities at home for older kids? Get an older sibling to paint a picture and turn it into a toddler puzzle. They can do a portrait, make a train, or whatever else your 2 year old may fancy. Plus, it is a great way to get your children to bond and promote kindness.
11. Painting With Cookie Cutters
Make prints with plastic letters – a great way to play with color and the alphabet at the same time. Not only is this a fun way to teach your 2 year old about letters, but it is a great way to start teaching them about words!
12. Teaching Your 2 Year Old About Germs
The year 2020 brought a sobering reminder that germs are very real. Making your own hand sanitizer and cleaning your toddlers hands with homemade hand sanitizer is a great way to remind them we must always clean our hands!
13. Fork Painted Fish Craft
Get creative with paint. Use different objects to make prints. Check out this forked fish. The texture is so neat and makes the fish looks like it has scales. Mix colors, make zig zags, stagger the strokes, these fish are your canvas!
14. Make Paper Plate Roses Together
Roses are such beautiful flowers with such deep meanings. Now your toddler can make their own Paper Plate Roses. They are colorful, fun, and an easy craft for your toddler. The best part is you can make different colored ones! All you need is different colored paper plates.
15. Let’s Play with Kids Face Painting
Face painting is something that my kiddos love. The first thing they do with markers is draw on themselves. Now you can put together a face painting kit! Use non-toxic paints and markers in your kits and add things like napkins, a towel, paintbrushes, and a couple other items you they will need.
16. Hey, Let’s Make DIY Chalk
Another favorite at our house is diy side walk chalk. They love to smash the chalk to bits in colorful blotches. Make your own paintable chalk version. Or you could make spray chalk, erupting ice chalk, glow in the dark chalk, there are so many options.
17. Oh So Many Crafts For 2 Year Olds
Get crafting with our huge list of toddler crafts. We have over 100 toddler crafts available from parents and bloggers just like you! From painting, tea parties, dry erase games, educational activities, dress up, gifts,, we have a little bit of everything!
18. Let’s Paint with Bathtub Paint
Bathtub paint for kids is one of our favorite ways to make bath time fun! It is so easy to make! You probably have most of the ingredients already in your pantry.
19. Sensory Paint Play
Explore different textures! Paint on unusual surfaces, like bubble wrap with your kids. You can add other textures like pebbles and beads! Paint in a bin, on skin, it is fun and makes finger painting more exciting.
Sensory activities for two year olds make sense…they love getting into everything!Sensory Activities Your 2 Year old will Love!
20. Easy Rainbow Pasta Fun
Rainbow Spaghetti is a fun medium for kids to explore. Dye it for extra fun. Noodles have a very squishy and sticky texture, it is fun to place with, safe if your toddler puts it in their mouth, plus, save some for later for a fun dinner.
21. Kool Aid Shaving Cream Sensory Play
Shaving cream is a great sensory tool for kids. Add Koolaid for colors and scent variations. If you want to make this a little safer for 2 year olds and babies who may still stick their fingers in their mouths you can substitute shaving cream for Cool Whip.
23. Make a Paper Plate Bird Craft
Feathers are a fun thing to craft and play with. Create a fun, colorful bird in this preschool craft. This is a fun and colorful craft, not only because of the paint, but because of the rainbow feathers! Feathers are such a fun texture to play with.
24. Play in a Rainbow Sensory Tub
Pasta is a blast to play with in a sensory tub. Dye it and add some element shapes for kids to have fun digging, sorting, and touching. Add in colorful rings and plastic coins for even more textures. Add cups for the kids to shake the noodles and trinkets around.
25. Process Art is Fun Toddler Play
Kids love big canvases. Keep one around the house for your kids to paint whenever the desire strikes. Let them spray the paint, mix it, use rollers, and brushes to create a giant, beautiful, piece of art.
26. Rainbow Finger Bath Paint
If you don’t like mess, maybe the bath tub will be a better place for your kids to explore color mixing. These paints are non-toxic and safe for kids and your bathtub and the best part is, while they’re learning their colors you won’t be scrubbing paint off of chairs and the floor.
27. Make a Confetti Collage
Give your kids a hole punch and colorful sheets of paper. They will have a blast creating confetti – and afterwards craft with the bits. Use a paintbrush and glue and then sprinkle the confetti on top to create a rainbow masterpiece.
28. Play with Rainbows
Preschoolers can learn about more than color as they explore. This is a fun rainbow-themed math activity. It uses paint, toilet paper rolls, stickers, clay, and coins! Who knew math could be so fun?
Sensory play is just plain PLAY…so many things to touch and explore with 2 year olds…Toddler Games & Sensory Play Ideas for 2 Year Olds
29. Playdough, Beads, And Pipe Cleaners Toddler Activities
Add pipe cleaners and large beads to playdough play – it will help your kids develop fine motor skills. Plus, they create all sorts of creatures and monsters! Let their imaginations run wild.
30. Stacking Cups for Gross Motor Play
Two year olds have fun rolling stacking cups, and pretending to drink/eat. Add beans or rice and let them scoop and pour. Even better, let them shake them all around to make neat sounds. Worried they’ll put a bean in their mouth? Use Fruity Pebbles instead any round cereal like Coco Puffs or Cheerios for their toddler game.
31. Make Chocolate Ice Cream Play Dough
Chocolate Ice Cream, our preschoolers love to eat it – and this play dough recipe smells delish! Let them pretend to work at an ice cream shop. Give them other color playdough to make sprinkles and cherries! Just a heads up, this chocolate ice cream playdough may smell amazing, however, it is not edible! A taste won’t hurt, it won’t taste good, but this is not one of our edible recipes.
32. Creative Activities For Toddlers At Home
Rice is a fun sensory table addition. It’s cheap and easy to find, and kids love the texture falling through their fingers. Add wooden spoons, tiny cups, hide treasure in the rice, let them pour the rice through a funnel.
33. Arts And Crafts For 2 Year Olds
Toddler art projects can be daunting. Here are 10 easy and fun sensory arts and crafts for two year olds. Promote imaginary play with an ice cream dough bar, play with water beads, paint with yogurt, and there are so many more fun activities to choose from.
34. Who Made That Footprint
Make footprints in playdough with your 2 year old’s favorite toys, then see if they can match the footprints to the toys! It is such a cute game and a great problem solving game as they have to match each footprint with their toys. Plus, it teaches about body parts like feet as they have to search for toys with feet.
35. Let’s Make Homemade Story Stones
Story-telling is a great way to help toddlers develop language patterns and learn sequencing of events. Make your own story stones using pictures of: animals, bugs, aliens, toys, and automobiles. Put them all in a basket and then let the pick one at a time to continue the story.
36. Play Concentration Game
Play a learning game of concentration with your kiddo. Put three items up and remove one. Have your child identify which object was removed. It is a great way to work on problem solving and refine your child’s memory and teaches them to pay attention.
37. Playdough Kabobs are Fun to Make
Make Kabobs of play dough. Form beads and thread them. Great way for kids to explore texture and motor control. Plus it will teach your child about colors and they can count each playdough balls.
38. Fruity Bubble Tea for Play
Water beads are the rage. Here are water beads that toddlers can play with, and even eat as part of a bubble tea. It is a fun texture to play with, to eat, plus they’re full of calories if your child doesn’t like to eat a lot.
There is a world of wonder outside for a 2 year old!Toddler Games & Fun Things to Do with a 2 Year Old Outside
39. Play in a Mud Pie Kitchen
Mudpies!! It’s a quintessential kids activity – make an mini-outdoor kitchen for your kids to cook and create in. Use a wooden crate and add a bowl, a whisk, spoons, pans, a kettle full of water, and don’t forget the chalkboard menu.
40. Colored Cloud Dough Play
Cloud dough is so soft and squishy, they will play with it for hours. Plus, it is made from a lot of things you may already have at home. It is a fun sensory craft for 2 year olds. Let them build, squish, and smash this soft cloud dough.
41. Make Sandbox On Wheels
Sandboxes are a mess… but what if they were small, easy to cover, and you could drag it into the garage when you were done?? Win! This is a sandbox on wheels. Pile on the toys to hide them and keep your yard clean.
42. Ways To Spend Time With Your 2 Year Old
When was the last time you surprised your child with a picnic – for breakfast? This site has a bunch of other creative ways to connect with your kids. It has great tips to spend time with your kids everyday even in the smallest of moments.
43. Playing with Frozen Water Beads
On a hot afternoon, frozen water beads are a huge hit! Fill a big bucket with them. They’re cold and great for a hot day, but you can spray water on them to thaw them out. There textures change and it makes a fun sensory bin.
44. Outdoor Activities For Toddlers
Do your kids hide in clothes at a department store? Mine do! Recreate that experience by hanging fabric for your kids to run through at home. You can hang sheets, blankets, dresses, long shirts and let them run through!
45. DIY Outdoor Sound/Music Station
This is so cool! Create a sound/music station for your 2 year old using pots, pans, racks, and bells. Bang the afternoon away with a fun musical wall – attach it to a fence in your back yard.
46. Nature And Water Play For Toddlers
It’s a soup!! Only you can’t eat it. This soup is made from flower petals and cut up fruit and water. Smells lovely, and is a hit with the kids! You can add other things too like leaves, stones, and stir with sticks or spoons. Make this nature soup your own.
47. Egg Carton Color Sorting
Use egg cartons to help your kids differentiate between colors with this fun sorting activity. Paint each egg carton a different color and then fill a bowl full of pom poms. Put each pom pom in its correlating colors. If you use spoons and tongs it also helps refine your child’s fine motor skills.
48. How To Make Sponge Bombs
Sponge bombs are the BEST! Make a big batch of them, and add them to your tots bath toys. They also make amazing summer toys as well! Plus, they’re safer for 2 year olds than water balloons.
49. Sidewalk Simon Game
Play with all the colors of the rainbow in this fun Simon Says game. This is a fun outdoors game that will teach your 2 year old about colors while keeping them moving. Say a color and they will need to hop to that color.
50. Cardboard Boat For 2 Year Olds
Card board boats are a blast. This is a fun pretend version you can add to your backyard. It will be loved until it can no longer hold it together anymore. It promotes pretend play, and if you’re able to tape boxes together or use a large box there will even be room for you!
51. Rainbow Bubble Snakes
2 year olds love bubbles, colors, and messy activities! These rainbow bubble snakes are all 3! Bubbles are a blast, especially lots of them. These bubble snakes are perfect for kids who want to learn to blow or who love popping bubbles and they are rainbow!
Let’s keep those 2 year olds busy at home!Fun Toddler Activities For 2 Year Olds Who Are Active
52. Exploring Color Theory
Summer time ice-cube sculptures. Your two year old can stack colored blocks of ice and watch the colors melt together. Not only is this a fun way to beat the heat, but it is a fun way to learn colors and learn about mixing colors like red and blue make purple. Make this even more fun, and tasty, and freeze different color Kool-Aid’s!
53. Make a Snack Together
Is your child a snacker? Spend time together cooking and make a batch of snacks for toddlers and have a picnic together. Make popsicles from real fruit, muffins, fruit snacks, yogurt gummies, trail mix and more.
54. Water Bead And Flower Sensory Tub
Do your kids love flowers?? Mine do! Check out this flower sensory bin. Add water beads and different flowers and water! This changes the texture of the water beads and each flower feels different as some will be wet and others dry. Dip your hands or feet in the bin.
55. Let’s Make an Indoor Fort Together
Who doesn’t love pillow forts? Building forts and hanging out inside forts is a blast for kids. They love cubbies to crawl into. We love these indoor forts for toddlers. There are 25 to choose from and each one is cool and unique in its own right.
56.
Pretend Play is Toddler FunPretend play is such an important thing for kids to do. It promotes social skills, cooperative play, and problem solving. Young preschoolers are just beginning to play pretend. These 75+ Pretend games help them build an imaginary world.
57. Watermelon Activities
Your kids don’t need to have blocks to build. Use chunks of watermelon this summer with your preschoolers. Not only can you build with it, but you can make squish bags, math bags, and best of all, snack!
58. No-Mess Finger Painting
You can fill bags of paint for kids to squish and trace in as mess free finger paint. It is clean play so you don’t have to worry about any scrubbing or baths afterwards. They can still draw pictures in the paint and even mix the colors.
59. Play with a Ball Maze
Drop the ball through a fun maze – your kids can create and explore with long paper tubes. You could even use toy cars with this maze. Either way, it is a lot of fun! All you need is cardboard tubes, can boxes, cutting utensils and a hot glue gun as well as ping pong balls.
60. Spaghetti Shop Play
Promote pretend play with this fun activity. Make an “invitation to play” for your kids cooked noodles (plain and red dyed), paper plates, tongues, forks and strainers – it’s a pasta party! Not only will it promote pretend play, but using tongues and letting two year olds move noodles from various containers is a great way to promote fine motor skill practice.
61. Play with Learning Letters
Water – everything is more fun with water. Use a squirt gun or spray bottle to learn the letters with your toddler. Write letters on a chalkboard. They can be in order or they can be all mixed up. Then name a letter and let your child find it and spray it with a water bottle to erase it from the lineup. A normal water bottle may be hard for 2 year olds, so a wet rag or sponge could also work.
Fun Activity Ideas For Toddlers At Home
62. Quiet Play for Toddlers
It isn’t often you can get 2 year olds to be quiet or settle down. But this toilet paper activity is perfect. You don’t need fancy toys to build towers. Use toilet paper – if your kids are like mine, they will enjoy unraveling a roll or two, too. But they can build, drive cars over and around them, and knock them down!
63. Water Play Ideas For 2 Year Olds
We have 20 easy young toddler water play ideas will get them outside on a hot day! Splash in puddles, dance in the rain, wash the car, build your own water table, paint with water, and there are many more fun ideas that you can do together!
64. Five Senses Exploration
Learn all about the five senses with this fun printable for kids. This is such a well-rounded sensory activity as it focuses on: touching, hearing, smelling, sight, and tasting. It is a great way to teach 2 year olds about the world around them and help them explore different textures and different items around them.
65. Simple Play With A Ramp
This is one of our go-to activities for 2 year olds. Grab a box – it can be a terrific launch ramp for toy cars. If you have stairs you can lay the box against them or if you don’t a chair or the couch. But then watch the cars and bikes fly!
66. Make Toddler Friendship Bracelets
Toddler friendship bracelets are a fun way to practice cutting and threading fine motor skills. Plus, they are super cute! Cut up different colored straws and use the pieces as beads and loop them onto a pipe cleaner.
67. Easy Indoor Ring Toss For Toddlers
Use a lump of play dough and a wooden spoon to create a pole to toss rings on. This is a great way for kids to develop hand-eye coordination. Use plastic bracelets as the rings.
68. Bucket List For Toddlers
Encourage your kids to be active with one of these 25 super simple activities. We have silly activities like singing into a fan (robot voice!) and simple activities like moping the floor with socks, or building forts, and so many more! Your 2 year old will love them all!
69.
Free Quiet Book TemplateCreate a quiet book to entertain your 2 year olds during nap time or another calm period. This free template helps you put together a book full of fun felt puzzles and activities. It will keep your child busy for hours!
70. Toddler Kerplunk Game
Kerplunk is such a fun classic game and is one of our favorite activities for 2 year olds. Grab a spaghetti strainer and some pom-poms for a fun game. Don’t worry the plastic sticks aren’t sharp because they are straws! This is such a fun problem solving game!
71. Rock Sensory Box
Rocks. My kids love to play with them when they are at the park. Teach them not to throw rocks at home with a fun box. Plus, each rock has different textures. Some are smooth, some are tiny, some are jagged, and some are rough like pumice.
72. Edible Sand For 2 Year Olds
Do your kids want to play in the sandbox, but they are just a touch to young as they put everything in their mouths?? Create edible sand! All you need is a food processor and crackers! You could probably also use something like cheerios or graham crackers for a sweeter version of this edible sand. Either way, your 2 year old will love it!
73. Foam Block Building Ideas
Build with blocks in a water table – a fun outdoor experience. Trace the foam blocks with chalk! That way 2 year olds can learn colors and shapes. Work on your 2 year olds motor skills by sticking the foam blocks to sticky paper. Last, promote pretend play while working on your 2 year olds fine motor skills by letting them build. Use shaving cream as cement!
Almost anything is fun when it is play!Activities to Encourage Independence in our 2 Year Olds
74. Printable Chore List
Help foster independence and teach work ethic with ideas from our chore list for your preschooler. Each chore list is sectioned off by age groups. So there are lists for toddlers, preschoolers, elementary kids, older elementary kids, and middle schoolers.
75. Building Towers
Build towers with all the old boxes you can collect – use tape to keep them together and bring a step stool. Let the kids do all the “heavy lifting” (they’re empty so no back brace is needed) and then let them decorate their amazing towers with paint!
76. Introduction To A Ruler
Your kids may not understand lengths and how to use a ruler yet, but they can learn to intuitively grasp varying amounts with the help of scissors, play dough and a ruler. It is a great way to introduce tools they’ll need for school and work on their fine motor skills.
77. Fine Motor Activities For Toddlers At Home
Colanders and straws are the perfect way to help 2 year olds practice their fine motor skills. This can even be used as one of our fun games for 3 years old. It is simple, let your child stick straws through the holes in the colander. It will take precision to get them in!
78. DIY Cutting Station
Create a cutting station! It is one of our fun activities to do at home. Not only is it fun, but helps your 2 year old practice their fine motor skills as well. Use a bucket and tie a pair of scissors to it. Hopefully, kids will keep the scraps contained this way.
79. Making Clean Up Fun
How to get kids to clean? Make cleaning fun! Add music, set a timer, hide prizes around the room! Also breaking down the cleaning tasks and even taking a before an after picture will make it easier on kids and make them feel more accomplished for doing their chores.
80. Toddlers can Help Clean
Encourage your kids to contribute and clean with some of these tips. Mop the floors with socks! Make your own cleaner out of non-toxic items in your home and let your child spray and wipe! This will make cleaning fun, but also teach them responsibility.
Oh so many ways for toddlers to play!More Kids Activities for 2 year olds
Leave a Comment: Which of these toddler activities did your 2 year old enjoy the most? Did we miss a great activity on our list of toddler activities?
25+ Fun and Easy Toddler Crafts
These toddler crafts are the best, and most of them are great for preschoolers too. From paper plates, pipe cleaners, cotton balls, and more, we have so many simple and fun craft that you will want to try!
They are colorful, easy to do, educational, and great for learning and fine motor skill practice.
Fun and Easy Crafts For Toddlers and Preschoolers
We love toddler crafts! It’s so much fun to see what the little ones will create when you present them with a few craft supplies.
We have the ultimate list of toddler crafts to choose from right here. There are over 20 ideas to inspire you and the list is growing!
This post contains affiliate links.
Paper Plate Crafts For Kids
1. Truffula Tree Paper Plate Craft
Love Dr. Seuss? Then you’ll want to make these Truffula tree paper plate craft based on The Lorax.
2. Paper Plate Parrot Craft
Look how colorful this paper plate parrot is! It’s so great! And it has googly eyes. The cutting, gluing, and coloring is also great fine motor skills practice.
3.
Fierce Shark Paper Plate CraftBig teeth and big eyes and a big fin is what this paper plate shark has! It’s cute and fun to play with as it can “bite”. Not really, but it can be used as a puppet. What a great way to learn about sharks.
4. Paper Plate Flowers Crafts
What great ideas to embrace nature! These paper plate flowers can each be a different color. My preschooler and toddler loves flowers, paint, and more spring crafts.
5. Paper Plate Snake Craft
What a fun way to use paper plates! Use scissors and paint to turn it into a sneaky snake! This paper plate snake is a fun way to use crafting supplies you already have.
Pom Pom and Cotton Balls Crafts For Toddlers
6. Cutest Pom Pom Apple Tree Craft
Use a paper plate, construction paper, paint, and red pom poms to make the cutest apple tree! What great fun! This is preschooler and toddler approved.
7. Olaf Frozen Pom Pom Craft
Everyone loves Olaf! This Frozen themed craft will be loved by young children and older children alike and it’s made with a big soft pom pom!
8.
Pom Pom Friends CraftMake pom pom friends using pom poms, yarn, googly eyes, ribbon, and plastic tabs! They almost look like tiny little aliens. They are so cute and promote pretend play.
9. Rainbow Art With Cotton Ball Clouds Craft
Use yarn to make a colorful rainbow and add big fluffy cotton ball clouds with this rainbow craft. Simple, easy, and fun!
10. DIY Galaxy Jar Craft
Use a bottle, cotton balls, food coloring, water, glow in the dark paint, and glitter to great a diy galaxy jar craft! It’s amazing and pretty.
Pipe Cleaners Crafts For Kids
11. How To Make A Pretty Pipe Cleaner Card
This pretty pipe cleaner card is great to make anyone’s day better. It’s even more fun to make it, and it’s easy!
12. Make Crystals With Pipe Cleaners
Use borax powder, pipe cleaners, and food coloring to make beautiful crystals. This crystal craft is a perfect craft and science experiment.
13. Pipe Cleaner Snake Craft
Make little snakes using pipe cleaners, beads, and googly eyes. This pipe cleaner snake craft is great fine motor skills practice.
14. Buzzy Bees Pipe Cleaner Craft
Pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and clothespins are what is needed for this buzzy bees pipe cleaner craft. They’re cute and soft!
15. Pipe Cleaner Disguises
Make silly masks, glasses, and pirate patches with these pipe cleaner disguises.
Toilet Paper Roll Crafts
16. Toilet Paper Roll Ninja Craft
Make super sneaky ninjas using toilet paper roll. Red and black ninja outfits with a staff and fighting eyes make them look even cooler.
17. Toilet Paper Binoculars Craft
Use toilet paper rolls to make these fun toilet paper binoculars. They have strings so don’t lose them when you’re exploring!
18. Dinosaur Toilet Paper Roll Craft
Make a dinosaur that can stand on it’s own. This dinosaur toilet paper roll craft is fun to make and even more fun to play with.
19. Toilet Paper Roll Train Craft For Kids
Choo choo! This train is so much fun to play with. But it is even more fun to create this toilet paper roll train. Each car is colorful, and it has wheels!
20. Toilet Paper Roll Butterfly Crafts
Looks how vibrant and cute these toilet paper roll butterfly crafts are! Toddlers will love this! Foam wings, buttons, and smiley faces, and vibrant colors make this craft amazing.
Popsicle Stick Crafts
21. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Stick Puppet Craft
Everyone loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! And the best part is they’re made out of popsicle sticks and can be played with.
22. Tractor Popsicle Stick Craft For Toddlers and Preschoolers
Green popsicle sticks and yellow buttons makes the cutest tractor! This is a great craft to do while learning the Old McDonald song.
23. Popsicle Stick Catapult Craft
This catapult craft may use a little adult supervision and help, but it’s not only a fun craft to make, a stem activity, but your toddler will love using it to shoot pom poms and marshmallows.
24. Popsicle Stick Frog Craft
Make this popsicle stick frog craft! It has big googly eyes, and a long curled red tongue.
25. Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder
Make a craft and do something great for nature by making this popsicle stick bird feeder.
Simple Crafts For Little Hands
26. No-Mess Finger Painting Activity
Want to let your child explore color and textures, but don’t want the mess? This no-mess finger painting is perfect.
27. Edible Paint Craft
Speaking of painting, toddlers tend to put stuff in their mouth. Well, this paint is safe! This paint is edible, sweet, and you can still paint a beautiful picture.
28. No- Mess Painted Butterfly Craft
Make a little butterfly, but without the mess! They have antennas and you can give it pretty wings!
29. Ice Painting Craft
Spend some time in the sun with ice painting using popsicles! While these aren’t flavorful like regular popsicles, they’re still considered edible. But even better it makes beautiful art.
30. Bathtub Painting Craft
Make a mess! But in the bathtub where it’s easily washed. The paint is made from things around the house, but it’s still vibrant and colorful! Bath tub painting is fun.
More Fun Crafts For Toddlers From Kids Activities Blog:
- A list of easy activities for 2 year olds
- If you need even more crafts for 2 year olds, check this out.
- DIY Lego Table
- We found some fun games to play with 2 year olds…
- Over the holidays you don’t want to miss Thanksgiving crafts for 2 year olds!
- We have some suggestions for workbooks for 2 year olds.
- Bad weather? Check out our massive list of ideas for indoor games.
- Need a first coloring page for your 2 year old? We have some really good easy coloring pages that will be perfect! If your child is a Baby Shark fan, then check out our easy Baby Shark coloring pages too.
- Need even more ideas? {giggle} We get it. We have been there too! Here is a massive resource of toddler activities & don’t forget to check out our silly toddler jokes.
- Fun fact of the day you’ll want to share with the kiddos
- Rock painting ideas
Which toddler craft have you tried out with your little ones? How’d it turn out? Let us know in the comment section, we’d love to hear from you!
Educational activities for children 2–3 years old
At the age of two or three years, a child actively explores the world around him, learns to talk and communicate with adults and peers. During this period, his personality begins to form. Therefore, parents need to pay special attention to the development of speech, thinking, social skills.
Contents of the article:
- Classes for the development of logical and mathematical thinking
- Lessons for the development of speech
- Gross and fine motor activities
- Classes on the study of the properties of objects
- Getting to know the outside world
- Output
Classes for the development of logical and mathematical thinking
The thinking of two and three year olds is clearly effective. The ability to think logically implies the ability to analyze, compare and generalize. You can develop logic and teach your little one basic math skills with the help of the following exercises.
✅Comparison
Take a handful of buttons or other small items and divide them into two unequal piles. The child must determine which pile has a lot of buttons, and which has few. If he does not see the difference between the concepts of "a lot and a little", explain to him what it is.
The second variation of this exercise is the value comparison. Take several objects or toys of different sizes. Ask the baby to show where the small objects are and where the large ones are.
✅Score
Children at the age of two or three are not yet familiar with numbers. It is better to master the counting skill on surrounding objects or on the fingers. Teach your child to show his age on his fingers, tell him how old he will be in a year, two, three.
It is convenient to use counting sticks or any other items for counting. Climbing the stairs with your child, count the steps, passing houses - windows, walking along the alley - trees or lampposts.
✅ Hidden Object
Hide the toy in the room and ask your baby to find it. Help him by suggesting places to search - under the sofa, behind the armchair, in the closet, etc. Then you can switch roles - the child hides the toy, and you are looking for it.
Speech development classes
Between the ages of two and three, children experience a significant leap in speech development. Their vocabulary is replenished very quickly. Having become acquainted with a new word, children bring it into their vocabulary and begin to actively use it. Simple exercises will help develop speech skills.
✅Reading
The best way to develop speech is reading. Buy picture books for 2-3 year olds. Choose poems, fairy tales, nursery rhymes. It is useful for a child to listen to both prose and poetry.
When reading a fairy tale, ask your child questions about the plot. If he finds it difficult to answer, help him. Explain the meaning of each unknown word. Look at the illustrations in the book and discuss with your child.
✅Singing
This fun activity encourages speech development and voice training. Sing with your baby children's songs with and without musical accompaniment. Children quickly memorize rhyming lines and a motive, and sing along with adults with pleasure.
✅Composing proposals
Think of the beginning of a sentence and ask your child to continue it. For example, "Mom bought today in the store ..." or "Black runs down the street ...".
✅ Discuss the events of the day
Discuss the events with your child every day. For example, “You and I went to the park today and fed the ducks in the pond. And in the evening, my grandmother came to visit and brought a delicious pie, ”etc. If the baby goes to kindergarten, ask him to tell you how the day went, what he did, what interesting things happened.
✅Describing objects
Take an object and ask the child to describe it, asking leading questions (What color is it? Is it big or small? What does it look like? What is it for? etc.).
At the age of 2–3, children still do not pronounce words well, many of them abbreviate and distort. Be sure to correct your child when they speak incorrectly. Of course, he still does not know how to pronounce all the sounds, so a clear pronunciation will not work. But still, try to teach the baby to speak as correctly as possible.
Classes for the development of attention
At such an early age, attention is involuntary. This means that the child does not yet know how to concentrate it by willpower. His attention is attracted by what is of interest (a bright toy, the sound of music, people around him). Attention, like other mental processes, can and should be developed.
✅Search for an object
Take a picture with a story and ask the child to find a certain object or character in it. The same exercise can be performed outdoors. Ask the baby to show a flower, a red car, a cat, a girl in a green jacket, etc.
✅Similar Detection
Take an object, such as a book, and ask the baby to look around the room for things similar in shape to her. It can be a phone, a tablet, a picture on the wall. You can search for objects that are similar not in shape, but in color, size and other features.
✅Finding the Missing Item
Take some toys, arrange them on the table and ask your child to look at them carefully and memorize them. Then he should turn away or leave the room, and at this time you remove one toy. The task of the child is to determine which toy has disappeared.
Classes for the development of gross and fine motor skills
Finger motor skills are directly related to cognitive processes - speech, memory, thinking. Therefore, it needs to be developed. There are many exercises for this.
✅ Games with small objects
Invite your child to sort the buttons by size, string large beads on a string, roll the balls in his hands. Be careful not to put a small object in your mouth, nose, or ear.
✅Construction set and jigsaw puzzle
Buy your child a construction kit or jigsaw puzzle for kids and build with him. This exciting activity strengthens the small muscles of the hand, makes the fingers more dexterous, trains attention and imagination.
✅Sculpting
Sculpt with your child various figures from clay, plasticine or salt dough. To make the lesson more interesting and exciting, read a fairy tale or watch a cartoon, and then try to make a character you like.
✅Finger games
Not only babies love to play finger games. Toddlers aged two or three love them too. Teach your baby to fold fingers into different shapes:
- fold your thumb and forefinger into a ring and bring it to your eyes - you get glasses, and if you use all your fingers - binoculars;
- clench the hand into a fist and stick out the index finger and little finger - these are the horns of a goat;
- "Step" with your index and middle fingers on the table, representing the legs.
Invite your child to show their imagination by inventing and putting together unusual shapes from their fingers.
Gross motor skills are developed by ball games, cycling, jumping, wall bars and any physical activity. Teach your child to fasten and unfasten buttons, Velcro, hooks on clothes, put on and take off things on their own.
Classes for the development of intellectual abilities
Reading, music, creative work, solving logical and mathematical problems contribute to the development of the baby's intellect.
✅Drawing
Invite your child to draw a house, himself, mother. Set a theme for the picture, tell the child what details can be added to it. For example, a house can be surrounded by trees, the sun and clouds can be depicted in the sky.
✅ Role-playing games
Think of a story, choose the right toys and play it out with your baby. For example, a doll is sick: you need to put her to bed, take her temperature, give her medicine in a spoon.
✅Music
Listening to classical music has a positive effect on the mental development of children, and also brings up a sense of beauty in them. It is useful not only to listen to music, but also to dance to it. This has a positive effect on both mental and physical development.
✅Puzzles
Collecting puzzles trains attention, thinking, memory. Buy your child large puzzles with a small amount of detail and a clear image. First collect them together with the baby, and then invite him to do it on his own.
✅Sorting items
Shuffle the cards with different items and ask the child to sort them into categories, eg vegetables, fruits, clothes, furniture.
✅Riddles
Riddles are good for training the intellect. The main thing is to select tasks that are age-appropriate and understandable to the child.
✅Sunny bunny
On a clear day you can play with sun bunnies. Take a mirror and start letting bunnies on the ceiling, floor, walls. Then give the mirror to the child and let him try it himself. Coordinate his movements, suggesting how to catch a ray of the sun and direct it in the right direction.
Classes to study the properties of objects
Learning the properties of various objects develops the thinking of the baby, helping him to understand how and for what this or that thing can be used.
Teach your child to compare objects according to the following criteria:
- size - big, small, tall, low, long, short;
- state - hard, soft, liquid, warm, cold;
- shape - round, square, rectangular, etc.;
- color.
Anything can be used as a "learning tool".
- Pour cold water into one glass and warm tea into another and ask your child how they differ (color, temperature, taste).
- Sew a few fabric bags (you can use old socks) and fill them with sand, beans, small stones, balls, etc. Let the child try to feel what is in each bag.
- Buy a sorter - a special container with slots in the form of different geometric shapes and a set of matching inserts. The task of the child is to choose the right figure for each hole.
- Invite the baby to feel different materials - leather, fur, silicone, wood. Let him tell you how they differ (fluffy fur, smooth skin, etc.).
Getting to know the outside world
The scope for exploring the outside world is very wide:
- Animals. Tell your child which animals are domestic and which are wild, in what conditions they live, what their cubs are called. If you have the opportunity to visit the zoo, be sure to do so.
- Plants. On a walk, pay your baby's attention to the trees, flowers, shrubs growing around. Tell us what they are called, which ones are fruit. Collect the leaves and look at them with your baby.
- Natural phenomena. Tell your child about different natural phenomena, the change of seasons and the weather. By the age of three, the baby should already know the name of the seasons and their main features.
- Materials. Tell your child about the materials from which various things are made (wood, metals, fabrics, paper, plastic).
At the age of two or three years, learning takes place in the form of a game. The main thing is to interest the child, and then he will be happy to study. Try to spend as much time as possible with the baby, do not dismiss his questions, but always answer them.
Invite the baby to help with the housework, give him small tasks (bring bread to the table, pour food for the cat, put away toys). Daily activities contribute to the development of independence and discipline.
Withdrawal
Child development centers and kindergartens "Baby Club" conduct classes for children of younger and older preschool age. Experienced teachers will help to reveal the abilities of your baby and teach him useful skills. We have general and individual development programs. Sign up for a consultation and come to a trial lesson. We look forward to seeing you and your child!
Educational games for 2-year-olds with parents at home
A game for a two-year-old kid is not just fun. Through this type of activity, the child learns the world. He learns, remembers information, gets acquainted with new things. The task of parents at this stage is to choose games for harmonious physical and intellectual development.
Article content:
- Outdoor games
- Educational games
- Educational games
- Tips for parents
- Terminals
Outdoor games
The best place for active games is the street, but what to do in bad weather? It is not at all necessary to leave a two-year-old without movement. You can organize games in a city apartment. Take advantage of our advice. And the child will be happy, and the furniture in the house will not suffer.
2 years is the optimal age for outdoor games. The child already coordinates the body well, easily orients in space. He controls actions, likes to imitate adults and learns to be independent. The task of parents is to be an example for the baby and show all the movements.
✅ Who walks how
The game will help strengthen the body, and also give a good mood to both the child and adults. There are no hard rules. Just name different animals and try to draw them. Copy the walk and sounds. And let the two-year-old repeat after you. Or make it a little more difficult. Let the child try to guess the animals that you show.
✅ Hide-and-seek with a toy
Ordinary hide-and-seek is difficult to organize in an apartment, especially if there is not enough space. But the 2-year-old kid will definitely like the option with a toy. Take a plush animal or doll. Explain to the child that his task is to find a toy. Hide it first in a conspicuous place, then complicate the task. Be active. Clap your hands, count loudly while the baby is waiting with your eyes closed, comment on his actions, rejoice at the found toy together.
✅ Who is the first
What to do with a child whose energy is over the edge? If the walk is canceled, you can organize active entertainment at home. A great idea is to arrange mini-competitions. Come up with tasks: run to the opposite wall, jump to the closet, crawl to the door on all fours. The victory will be doubly pleasant if you prepare small prizes in advance.
Educational games
Active games are not the only way to entertain a two year old. There are many interesting quiet activities. Master them, and you will learn how to spend time at home with benefit.
Develop motor skills
✅Repeat after me
The easiest option for kids. You can play for up to two years, and as you develop, complicate the tasks. The essence of the game is to show the child various physical actions so that he can repeat. Squat, bend over, raise your hands, clap your hands. Combine two or even three actions at once. This is useful for both coordination and memory.
✅ Bead sorting
The development of fine motor skills is necessary to stimulate speech, so do not neglect finger exercises. Offer your child a fishing line and three types of beads of different sizes. Let him string small ones first, then medium ones, and then large ones. Remember safety. Do not leave the baby unattended when he plays with small parts.
✅ Creativity
Playing with plasticine, modeling dough, kinetic sand helps to develop motor skills. Guide the child. Show him how to make shapes correctly. Don't be upset if it doesn't work the first time. Praise for effort.
Developing logic
✅ Mother - baby
Prepare cards with animals and birds, divided according to the principle "mother and her baby". For example: a cat is a kitten. Let the child collect pairs. Do not forget to comment on the actions during the game. Talk about animals, describe them, demonstrate the sounds they make. So you not only develop logic, but also introduce the child to the outside world.
✅ Guess the object
Take a few things that are familiar to a two-year-old. It can be toys or fruits. Pack them in opaque bags. The task of the child is to determine by touch what is inside. If you can't guess, give hints. For example:
- edible or not;
- what it is used for; What color is
- .
It is easier to develop logical thinking with toys. Parents of two-year-old children should definitely buy mosaics, cubes, large puzzles, plastic construction sets. Collect the figures according to the schemes, repeat the drawings from the pictures with the children. Restrain yourself if the kid is wrong. You can gently guide him in the right direction, but you should not correct him.
Developing speech
✅ Rhymes
At the age of two, children already begin to actively talk. Passive vocabulary is also expanding. This must be used. Long poems are not yet subject to the baby, and short and sonorous rhymes are remembered well. Read the lines to the baby, repeat aloud with him, accompany with active gestures.
For example:
- The kids came running - ra-ra;
- A foot higher, a bolder step - lei-lei.
If you can't remember the line, have the child repeat the last syllable. The louder and clearer the sound, the better.
✅ Yes or no
In this game you will be asking questions. Warn your child in advance that you can make mistakes so that he obviously does not agree with you, but listens carefully. Ask:
- Are chamomile and cornflower flowers?
- Are oak and birch trees?
- fox and hare are birds?
- Is a car and a bus transport?
Have the child answer what the objects really are if you make a mistake. Such a game is useful for the development of not only speech, but also hearing, attention, logical thinking.
✅ Articulation exercises
At two years old, many sounds are still unclear. This is not a problem now, but it may be difficult in the future. Game exercises will help to cope with sound pronunciation. You can start with simple actions - blow out a candle, blow on water, blow into liquid through a straw. Then you can connect other exercises for the articulatory apparatus.
- Watch. We move the outstretched tongue from side to side.
- Hide and Seek. Pull out the tongue and hide it back.
- Delicious jam. We lick our lips as if we are trying to reach the drops of sweetness.
- Horse. We click, imitating the sound of hooves.
- Fence. We show closed teeth as wide as possible.
To make the exercises feel like a game, do all the activities together with your child. Compete who does better.
Read also: speech development in children by age
Developing attention
✅ What is missing
All you need is your favorite children's toys. Take 4-5 pieces and lay them out on the table. Let the child look carefully, and then turn away. You remove one item. The task of the baby is to understand what has disappeared. You can complicate the game by adding a number of items, or do not remove the toys, but simply swap them or put new ones.
✅ Thimbles
Feel like a magician. Take three glasses, turn them over, and hide a candy under one. Move the glasses across the table. Let the baby follow where you hid the treat. Guessed the first time - deserved a sweet prize.
✅Clap
This simple game develops attention, reaction speed, coordination and hearing. Discuss the rules ahead of time. Come up with a code word. As soon as it sounds, the child should clap his hands loudly. Make sure he remembers it, and then start listing other words. Name any until you get to the right one.
Read also: how to develop a child's attention
Educational games
Two years is the age when you can connect learning elements to play activities. The child is already ready for basic knowledge. If you take the time to learn now, in the future it will be easier for the baby to cope with large amounts of information.
Learn Numbers
✅ Treat the Animals
Take advantage of the plush toys you probably have in abundance. Place the animals at a makeshift table by counting them. Call the numbers loudly, clearly, slowly. So it will be easier for the baby to repeat and remember. Next, put a plate in front of each toy. Treat the animals with sweets, not forgetting to count.
✅ One - many
Need balls. Put them in the basket and ask the child how many there are. At two years old, children already operate with the concept of "a lot." Then distribute the balls one by one to the toys. Take it for yourself, give it to the baby. Ask how many items you currently have in your hands. Return the balls to the basket and ask how many there are. No balls? No problem. Count apples, tangerines, sweets.
✅ Butterflies
It is easier to memorize numbers if there is a good example in front of your eyes. Prepare five cardboard daisies and the same number of butterflies. Place the flowers in front of you and count them with your child. Plant a butterfly on each daisy and count the insects. Come up with different combinations. Plant two or three butterflies per flower. Speak out loud as the numbers change.
Learn colors
✅Ball game
Take colorful balls. Show them one at a time to your child and name the color. Let the two-year-old repeat after you. Sort the balls into groups together. Find other objects of the studied colors in the room. Do not rush to learn the whole spectrum at once. Start with 2-3 shades - the most juicy and brightest.
✅ Find a pair
For this game you need to prepare in advance. Cut out several houses of different colors from colored cardboard. Separately make roofs for them. Lay out the details and invite the child to assemble entire buildings by shades. Another option is to assemble the houses yourself, but with errors. Let the kid correct the inaccuracies.
✅ Hens and Eggs
Cut out chickens in different colors from cardboard. From paper of the same shades, make circles - eggs. The child will match the shades. Start with 3-4 colors. Wait until they are mastered and expand the palette. The more colors, the more difficult and interesting.
Tips for parents
Every child is different and develops at their own pace. Some will like these games even in a year or a year and a half, others will be interested a little later. Keep track of achievements, but do not compare the baby with other children.
Listen to the recommendations of psychologists and teachers on early development:
- Focus on the child's response. Do not insist on continuing the game if the baby is already tired. Do not start training if he is not ready, naughty, wants to spend time differently.
- Remember the time. A two-year-old child holds attention for an average of 15 minutes. Then interest disappears, so it is better to change the type of activity.
- Do not exercise your baby during illness. Change plans if you feel unwell, wait until you get better. Do not worry. You will be able to make up for everything.
- Be imaginative. Ready-made templates and game scenarios are convenient. But it is not a fact that the proposed options, without exception, will please your child. Do not be afraid to deviate from the rules, come up with your own "chips".