Learning activities for two year old

7.

Find a set of similar items and sort them by color. A few ideas include building blocks, magnets, cars—anything you’ve stored in a box! Then, make different piles or lay out empty bowls, one for each color.

Discover even more activities to do with 2 year olds.

8. Count everything

Play a game of counting everything. Count toys like building blocks and pom poms, or snacks like crackers and carrots. Use any opportunity to count. Climbing a set of stairs? Count the steps you take. Pushing her on a swing? Count each time you give her a push.

Check out these Montessori activities for 1-2 year olds.

9. Cut paper strips by size

Play a game of sorting by size, using 10 pieces of paper strips, ranging from one to 10 inches long. For instance, you’ll have one piece that’s one-inch long, then another that’s two inches long, and so forth.

Once you have all 10 pieces, shuffle them on the ground and encourage your child to arrange them in order, from smallest (one-inch) to largest (10-inch).

10. Sink or float

Gather a few household materials or toys and experiment to see which ones sink or float. You can do this during bath time, or pour water into a large container, like a bowl, water table, or kiddie pool. Find water-safe items with varying weights so your child can see different results.

Tip: After your water play, you can use the water for your plants!

11. Letters in the tub

My kids played with a set of foam pieces of the alphabet, which they used to learn even more about letters and numbers. I’d also show them simple words to spell, or how certain letters come together to form their names.

12. Trace and write letters and numbers

Worksheets like those in my Letters and Numbers workbook are another fun way to introduce your child to the alphabet. Start with large letters and encourage him to “trace” with his fingers, before moving on to smaller letters to trace with a pencil or crayon.

Outdoor activities for 2 year olds

13.

Make a list of items your child will likely find outdoors and help her collect her findings. A few ideas include leaves, twigs, rocks, pebbles, or flowers. Bring a bag to store the items, and cross the item off your list once you’ve found what you were looking for.

To make this game even easier, task her with finding just one type of item during your nature walk. For instance, my son loved finding baby pine cones, which our local park had plenty of. We’d simply make a pile of pine cones on the base of a tree until we found nearly all of them.

14. Collect and compare leaves

Collect a variety of leaves outdoors, lay your findings in a row, and talk about how each leaf looks and feels. You might talk about the different textures, colors, or shapes, and describe why some are soft and green while others are brown and crinkly. This will help build your child’s vocabulary!

15. Plant a seed

Plant a seed and watch it grow over the next few days and weeks. Depending on the weather, you can start the seeds in small containers indoors, or sow them directly into the ground outside. And stick to large seeds like sunflowers or green beans—these are easier to hold and grow quickly.

16. Bucket of ice

At a children’s birthday party at a friend’s home, the kids were intrigued with nothing more than a simple bucket of ice. They had found an empty water cooler with only ice and water, grabbing pieces of ice and moving them to the grass to watch it melt.

You can do something similar by placing a few ice cubes in a bowl and heading outdoors. Allow your child to grab the ice cubes and place them on the ground. Talk about the differences between how it melts on the grass versus the hot concrete.

17. Mud play

Find a spot in your backyard or park and pour water into the soil. You can even bring kitchen play items or old kitchen tools you no longer use so your child can do pretend play with the mud.

18. Sidewalk chalk

Grab sidewalk chalk and head to your sidewalk or park. Draw pictures, write words, and practice coloring in shapes. Sidewalk chalk lets her be creative, in a way that’s different from the crayons and pencils she probably uses often.

Practical activities for 2 year olds

19. Sweep into a square

Encourage your child to do chores with simple sweeping! Using painter’s tape (we have a bunch of these at home), make a square on your kitchen floor. Then, with a child-size broom, have her sweep all the dirt from the rest of the floor into that square.

20. Pouring

Place a bowl and a measuring cup filled with water on a baking sheet. (I like this Oxo one because it’s lightweight with a rubber grip for easy handling.) Then, have your child pour water from the measuring cup into the bowl.

Using two measuring cups, she can pour the water into one measuring cup, going back and forth easily. She can also pour small items like dry rice, beans, or sand.

21. Basting with water

With liquid droppers for kids like these, show your child how to collect water by pinching the baster and dipping the end into a bowl of water.

Then have her open her fingers, drawing water into the baster. And finally, she can press the baster once more, releasing the water into another bowl. This is a fantastic way to develop fine-motor skills as well.

22. Tweezing puffs

With kitchen tongs (or tweezers for kids like these), have your child collect cotton or puff balls from one bowl to another.

If you use different-colored puff balls, you can also have her sort them by color or number. For instance, all the blues in one pile, or make a pile of one, then two, then three, and so forth.

23. Sorting laundry

As much as we dread laundry, you have to admit, it can make for easy 2 year old development activities. For instance, have your child sort laundry by type—from shirts to pants—or sort by color. She can also match socks or set aside household laundry like napkins and rags.

24. Water plants

Kids love watering plants! Use a simple watering can like this to help your child learn how to water both indoor and outdoor plants. You might even make this part of her weekly chores, something she can do every Saturday morning, for instance.

Places to go with 2 year olds

25. Children’s museums

Nearly every major city has a children’s museum your child will love. I prefer these types of museums because they invite hands-on participation (so I don’t have to holler “Don’t touch!” all the time). In Los Angeles, I love going to Kidspace, California Science Center, Discovery Cube, and Skirball’s Noah Ark.

Check out more things to do in Los Angeles with kids.

26. Libraries

Many libraries include activities for kids, from story time to magic shows to arts and crafts. Grab calendars from your local libraries so you can attend events specifically for toddlers. Plus, going to the library encourages you and your family to make regular trips to borrow and read books at home.

27. Nature walks

Explore a new trail or nature walk with your child! You might check out a local hike, the lagoon, or forests in your area. Bring a magnifying glass so she can observe curious finds along the way.

28. Sandbox or beach

Playing with sand either at the beach or in a sandbox at your local park can make for many fun 2 year old development activities. Bring sand toys and encourage your child to build, experiment with water, and learn through sensory play.

29. Botanical gardens

I love taking my kids to botanical gardens because they invite so much exploration. The trees and plants are wilder than more polished gardens, and they include streams and even animals like lizards, fish, and turtles.

In Los Angeles, my favorites are the UCLA Botanical Garden and the South Coast Botanic Garden.

30. Aquariums

Discover the ocean and marine world by visiting your local aquarium! Your child will have an up-close opportunity to meet many of the animals who live in water, while learning about ways to care for the environment.

Conclusion

As you can see, 2 year old development activities don’t need to be complicated or take too much time. You also don’t need to be the next Martha Stewart or produce finished crafts to offer your child a learning experience.

Instead, you now have at your hands a compilation of creative activities to start. She can play with mud or mix primary colors, and learn about sizes with paper strips or water volume with measuring cups. And most important, she’ll develop a love of learning, especially with these stress-free and fun activities.

You can teach activities to your busy toddler, even with limited time and materials, or a lack of any crafty inclinations whatsoever.

Get more tips:

• 4 Easy Ideas to Nurture Your Child’s Creativity
• How to Raise Kids Who Love to Learn
• Preschool Pros and Cons: Should You Send Your Child to Preschool?
• How to Create a Math Rich Environment at Home
• How to Encourage Your Child to Keep Learning in the Summer

Don’t forget: Join my newsletter and grab the printable pack below—at no cost to you:

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.

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.

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.

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 Olds

Create 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!

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.

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.

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 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?

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.

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.

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!

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 Fun

Pretend 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.

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 Template

Create 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.

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!

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.

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.

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?

Educational games for 2-year-olds with their parents at home

A game for a 2-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.

Develop 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 leg up, a step bolder - 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 the 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.

1. Watch. We move the outstretched tongue from side to side.
2. Hide and Seek. Pull out the tongue and hide it back.
3. Delicious jam. We lick our lips as if we are trying to reach the drops of sweetness.
4. Horse. We click, imitating the sound of hooves.
5. 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.

Learning Numbers

✅ Animal Treats

Use 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.

Learning 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:

1. Focus on the response of the child. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Show your imagination. 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". No one knows your baby and his preferences better than you.

Conclusions

Sometimes organizing outdoor or educational games for a child at home is more difficult than it seems. But lack of time or teaching skills should not be a problem. The Baby Club specialists will come to the rescue. Our network of kindergartens and centers is designed for the harmonious all-round development of children from 8 months. Here, each child is perceived as he is, revealing his individuality through classes.

What to do with a 2-3 year old child?

In the second or third year of life, the baby actively develops the physical body - it becomes more mobile and active. This is the age when his independence and a sense of his own “I” first manifest.
During this period, the baby has highly developed cognitive abilities, he seeks contact with the world around him, acquires some cognitive skills.

During this period, the baby is actively developing in the following areas:
1. Knows the objects around him.
2. Learns to speak, memorizes new words.
3. Learns to count.
4. Develops physiologically
5. A social foundation is being laid. The child learns about himself and the world around him. Maintains interaction with the outside world. Who am i? How to behave in a given situation? How to communicate with the outside world?
6. Creative thinking develops.

Several games a day on different topics are enough for the development of the entire mind-body system of the baby. Here the main rule is everything in moderation, it is better not to overdo it with classes so as not to discourage the child from doing something. Indeed, at two or three years of age, the baby is not able to keep his attention on one thing for a long time. It is also desirable that the games are varied and not repeated from day to day.
Do not be afraid to show imagination, because developing the baby, the mother also develops!

Let's explore the world.

Game 1: Learn shapes, colors and sizes :

Two years is the right age to learn shapes, colors and sizes. When showing a child an object of a certain color, you should repeat the name of the object and color several times, and then ask the child what it is? By the way, you can teach a child shape and color at any time, even from birth, naming not only the objects that surround him, but also their colors. For example: “Look, what a white dog!”, Or “Oh, this is a red flower!”, Or “Let's put a yellow cube on a green one”, etc. Or let's build a pyramid. Which ring is bigger? Which one is smaller? In order for the baby to learn to better distinguish shapes, colors and group objects by color and size, involve him in the game.

See here for essential items for learning colors and shapes with your child.

Game 2: We learn objects and phenomena. We learn to think constructively.

Tell your child about the world around you. Going out into the street, tell him about nature and its phenomena. Do you feel the wind? And look how he shakes the trees. Look how strong they are, try to push the tree. It won't fall off because it's very solid. And the wind is not so hard, but also strong. And the leaves on the tree are green. Touch it.

Give your child the opportunity to touch, feel and name things as they are.

It is better not to introduce your attitude - bad - good. After all, what is bad for some is good for others. The best way to describe the world is to rely on facts. Some parents like to put labels on events and things, but this is not entirely correct.

For example, a boy hit someone. Do not rush to define the boy. It's better to say, look, the boy hit the girl, she hurts, she cries. If you hit someone, it will be painful and not pleasant. Therefore, it is better not to do so.

Or the dog growled. It's better to explain what's going on. For example, look, the dog is so protective of its territory, it thinks you want to hurt it. Do not be afraid of the dog, but it is better not to approach it, otherwise it may bite.

Game 3: We leave with the child somewhere outside the district. At least once a week. This will enable the baby to expand the boundaries of his world and understand that he is much more diverse.

For example, we go to the zoo and look at animals (if the time of year allows) or visit an exhibition and an art gallery. You can take a walk in the forest, go to the movies for a cartoon, go to a nearby cafe and have a cup of coffee, go to visit friends, go with your baby to the pool, to a concert and much more interesting things.

Sometimes it seems that there are so many things to do, but believe me, things can wait - they have always been, are and will be!

We develop speech:

At the age of two or three years, the child actively develops speech. During this period, parents need a special approach and properly selected games, the main goal of which is to “talk” the child, to give impetus to the further development of active speech. Teaching kids is possible only when the positive emotions of the child are affected. Such an emotional upsurge can only be achieved in the game. Which adult has not noticed how children love to play with words? The child still does not pronounce the words, suddenly a sound suddenly breaks out, and now he is already repeating it in every way - he is humming. How much joy in the eyes of a child while walking! He plays with sound. Then, playing with the word, children begin to understand their native language, learn its structure, learn colloquial speech. It is no coincidence that almost all folk rhymes are built on dialogues. Kids love rhymed speech, its sound, they experience great pleasure when poetry is read to them.

Here are some recommendations from psychologists for the development of speech for babies 2-3 years old:

Joint examination of objects

An adult, together with a child, is watching something, someone. At the same time, he very expressively describes everything that they see. For example: “Look what a kitty, what paws she has, a tail. Touch the soft gray fur of the kitty. Kitty sits quietly. Let's call her: "Kitty-kitty, come here." At the same time, it is important that children can show their activity - perform simple movements, combining, linking them with familiar and unfamiliar words. And, of course, all manifestations of the child's activity in the subject should be encouraged and supported.

Reading nursery rhymes, poetry

The adult repeats the rhyme or nursery rhyme several times. When the text is well known to the child, the adult makes a pause at the end of the lines (in rhyme), prompting the child to complete the phrase with this. This is how a dialogue in verse arises, which brings joy to the baby and the adult. This is how the speech and memory of the child develops - this is how the baby begins to read by heart.

Our store has a large selection of books with poems and nursery rhymes.

You can get acquainted and possibly pick up something here.

Introduction to a new word

A new word meaning an action is introduced together with familiar words denoting the object or subject of this action, thus increasing interest in the word and reinforcing certain phrases. For example, “Vanya is eating, and the chicken is pecking, and the chickens are pecking ... What is the chicken doing? Show how she pecks ... ”In this case, pictures are considered or actions are performed with toys.

Looking at pictures

An adult and a child look at familiar pictures together. "Who is this? And who is this, - the adult asks, - and what is he doing? Where is the bird? Show me the tree? If the child is silent, you can suggest an answer, but you still need to ensure that later he answers himself, looking at the same picture. In the third year of life, questions can be more complex.

For such a game, special cards with pictures will help you. You can buy cards here.

Orders requiring response-actions

The adult asks the child to find, bring or show something. The complexity of such an assignment depends on the development of the child's speech (passive and active): the assignment should be clear and accessible to him, but require concentration and non-mechanical actions from him. The simplest request is to bring a toy in plain sight when nothing distracts the child's attention. More difficult is to find and bring a toy, selecting it among others: first two, then three ... It is even more difficult to find a toy that is not in sight, a targeted search is required. Subsequent tasks include the search for not one, but two items: "First bring the bear, then the ball." So, gradually complicating the instructions, you can teach the child to regulate his actions with a word - still the word of an adult. You can help him by repeating the word. It is desirable that the child himself repeats what he needs to bring, and having fulfilled the request, he said that he had brought it. If the child does not want to follow your instructions, do not force him - this is a game.

Sound indication of one's actions

Any actions of the child are indicated and accompanied by certain sounds. Knocks - "knock-knock". Draws rain - “drip-drip”. Clap - "clap-clap." The adult teaches the child onomatopoeia, the kid repeats after him, then they together accompany the sounds of the child's actions, and then he himself does both at the same time.

Speech accompaniment of action

The child accompanies his action no longer with sounds, but with extended speech. Round dance games, many children's poems are suitable for this exercise. For example "Bunny". In addition to such games, it is useful to name all the independent actions of the child and ask appropriate questions: “Vanya is washing his face .. What is Vanya doing? What does Vanya want?

A lot of poems, nursery rhymes, as well as stories for children 2-3 years old are offered by the Russian publishing house Azbukvarik. You can view the products by following this link.

Performance

Act out a simple scene with your baby's toys. The bunny is crying, the bear is running, the dog is eating, the cat has lost the ball. The child should feel sorry for the toy or help it in the same way as an adult does. After the performance, you can ask the baby what he saw.

There are a lot of game techniques that activate the baby’s speech, it all depends on your desire to play, communicate and fantasize.

Fundamentals of Mathematics:

Learning figures, their sizes and counting

Game 1. Stock up on various pyramids and sorters. When showing a figure, state its name clearly. It is better if they are of different colors, which will allow you to repeat color differences. You should start with lighter shapes: a square, a circle, a triangle, then moving on to a rectangle, rhombus, oval, etc. After 2 years, you can unobtrusively begin to teach your child to count during games, from time to time telling him numbers, the number of objects, toys etc.

Game 2. Counting coins in the wallet. You can pour out all the coins from your wallet and learn to count them.

Game 3. Count how many fingers you have. Bending your fingers, help the baby count. Show that you also have the same fingers, invite the baby to count them.

Game 4. There are now many different books in stores that offer a huge variety of methods and practices for learning mathematics. Sit down with the baby and gently involving him in the game, look at the book together.

You can choose books here

Outdoor and outdoor games:

Movement is life! Do not forget about outdoor games that give children sincere pleasure. It is rare that a toddler does not like walking. On a walk, children usually know what to do with themselves - you can dig in the sandbox and ride down the hill and run with the neighbor's kids. It is better if the clothing for walking is such that it is not a pity to get it dirty.

Let the baby manifest as he wants (well, of course, within the framework of reasonable safety for his health). And then sometimes you see on the playgrounds how the baby is buzzing inside, he wants to ride, run and jump, and his mother forbids everything, citing the fact that he can get dirty. This is how energy is blocked and diseases and bad moods appear in children. Therefore, it is better to pick up simpler clothes, if puddles and wet, then rubber boots and waterproof pants and go baby!!!

Sand play is very important for kids. They calm the nervous system, develop fine motor skills, and bring a lot of fun to kids.

By following this link, you can pick up all the necessary products for playing outdoors.

If the weather does not allow you to go for a walk outside, what should you do?

In this case, you can do gymnastics with your child. Turn on the music and stretch all the muscles. By the way, this will be useful, not only for the baby, but also for the mother, because she often forgets about herself for worries.

You can do yoga or Chinese gymnastics together.

Thank God there are a lot of videos on the Internet now that will help you. You can also come up with a lot of water games. Fill a basin with water, put it in the room or in the bathroom, put the boats, pouring cups and rubber toys into it. Babies just love pouring water.

Funny toys for playing with water see here

Creative or story play

Finger theater:
Do you want your child to get into a magical world where you can enjoy and play, and while playing, learn about the world around you?

Then play a finger theater in front of him!

From fairy tales, children draw ideas about time and space, about the connection between man and nature, about good and evil, about courage, stamina, cunning.

Finger theater is a unique opportunity to place a fairy tale on the palm of a child, in which he can take the role of any hero.

The theater is also an excellent speech and sensory-motor simulator, suitable for children over 1 year old.

The dolls develop the mobility of the fingers of both hands, help to master the speech of the characters, and teach how to put on mini home performances.

The game can be used to get acquainted and study the account, to get acquainted with the characters and the plot of a fairy tale, to get acquainted with the concepts of “Right-left”, “next”, for the development of speech and fine motor skills. With the help of this, dexterity is developed, the ability to control one's movements, to concentrate on one type of activity.

And small figurines of the finger theater will keep you company while walking or visiting a clinic, on the road. They will not take up much space in my mother's purse and will help to entertain the baby. With their help, you can revive your favorite poems, fairy tales, nursery rhymes.

A simple toy will develop intonation, performance skills and creativity.

Everything for the finger theater is here:

Draw:
Drawing - develops not only the fine motor skills of the baby, but it is necessary for creative development, perception of color and shape. At this age, meaningful drawings may appear instead of scrawl.

Give the child the opportunity to do what he wants, do not limit him. Although sometimes it is possible, and vice versa, to come up with some kind of task. For example, coloring books. You can invite the baby to color without going beyond the line.
A huge selection of good paints is offered by Amos, Crayola, Fila, Jovi, Ses Creative, as well as the Russian company Gamma

Lepim:
Sculpting as a sensory experience promotes the development of fine motor skills. You can use the mass for modeling or plasticine. At the age of 2 years, many kids are very fond of making various figures with the help of molds in pictures. Thank God that we live in a time when there is a large selection of plasticine with molds, syringes for extrusion and molds on sale.

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