Things for two year olds to do

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.

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. 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 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. 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!

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 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.

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. 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!

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.

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?

How to Make Paper Plate Roses Kids Activities Blog

ByRachel Updated onMay 6, 2022

These paper plate roses are the cutest craft that kids of all ages can do. Whether they are big kids or little kids, this paper plate rose craft is perfect.

You can use different colored paper plates and make rainbow bouquets or just red bouquets. Either way, they’re beautiful, easy, and fun to make.

Paper Plate Rose Craft For Kids

Practice fine motor skills with cutting, bending, and folding! This paper plate rose craft is super easy to make, and even more fun!

Plus, it doesn’t require a ton of crafting supplies. Many of these items you have already in your cupboard. 

The best part is, you can use these to decorate or you have give these roses as a gift! So, let’s get started!

This post contains affiliate links.

Video: How To Make A Paper Plate Rose

Supplies Needed To Make These Paper Plate Flowers:

Supplies you will need to make your paper plate flowers:

• Red paper plates
• Scissors
• Optional: a black marker

How to Make Paper Plate Roses

Step 1

If your child has a hard time free-cutting, lightly draw the snail onto the plate for the to cut along.   You won’t see the pencil line when the flower is finished

Step 2

Cut a “snail” into your paper plate. It does not need to be perfect. Your snail can be lumpy. Our three year old loves cutting so this was one of her favorite parts of flower making!

Step 3

After you have your “snail” cut into the plate, take the outside edge and begin twisting the flower.

Step 4

You want to make this as tight as possible.   My three year old started the twist and I tightened it for her once she was finished.

Here is how Holly used this as a kids craft for a class of second graders:

What fun!

Aren’t these just beautiful!

Notes:

For older kids: Add an educational element. Your children can write a message inside the spirals for their valentine recipient to unravel and read.

Why We Love These Paper Plate Roses

Paper plates are a staple in our craft cabinet!

We have made several paper plate crafts with our preschoolers over the past year or two.

This craft was inspired by one of the valentines we found and included a couple of weeks ago in our 30 Quick and Easy Valentines post. Thanks Dozi Designs for making mini paper roses. They are fun to make!

Materials

• Red paper plates
• Scissors
• Optional: a black marker

Instructions

1. If your child has a hard time free-cutting, lightly draw the snail onto the plate for the to cut along.  You won’t see the pencil line when the flower is finished
2. Cut a “snail” into your paper plate. It does not need to be perfect. Your snail can be lumpy. Our three year old loves cutting so this was one of her favorite parts of flower making!
3. After you have your “snail” cut into the plate, take the outside edge and begin twisting the flower.
4. You want to make this as tight as possible.   My three year old started the twist and I tightened it for her once she was finished.

More Paper Plate Crafts From Kids Activities Blog:

• Check out these super easy and pretty flower crafts for kids.
• This super easy flower craft looks like a poppy!
• Wanna learn how to make a tissue paper sunflower craft?
• I love this cupcake liner flower craft for kids.
• Learn how to make these paper flowers.
• Paint flowers using water bottles!

How did your paper plate roses turn out? Let us know below, we’d love to hear from you!

Rachel

Rachel is the founder of the blog, One Crazy House.  She is the co-author of 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! and The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments.  She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and six children.

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

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!

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.

Voice 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. Now there are 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.
Show your baby a few different tricks, for example, roll out plasticine, take a mold and make some figures. Next time you can sculpt animals or non-existent little men, then you can make ice cream in cups together. The better the baby works with his fingers, the faster he develops, speaks and thinks better. In addition, such simple exercises develop his creativity.

Listening to music:
Children at this age love to listen to music. In this case, watching musical cartoons, for example, "The Bremen Town Musicians" or musical films, for example, "Cinderella" or "Mother", can be useful in this case. The more musical genres you offer your baby, the better. Listen to African, Celtic, classical music with him, do not forget the waltz, tango, rumba, shamanic melodies and others. Also play calm music before bed to calm your baby's nervous system. You can find music for kids here

Dancing:
Dance allows you to release blocked energy, relaxes muscles, raises the tone of the body and helps to neutralize negative emotions.
Dance as often as possible!
Start first, your baby is sure to join you.

12 ideas from experienced mothers on what to do with the child in 2

We all have faced situations when, for one reason or another, we cannot leave the house with the child: whether it is a ban on walking due to vaccinations or just the street is so bad weather that there is no desire to go out into the "fresh air".
In this article we will tell you how and how to entertain a two-year-old child in order to usefully and have fun:

1. Sports at home

You can go in for sports at home. To do this, it is not at all necessary to run around the site and collect abrasions and bruises. You will need a ball, a radio or a children's music tablet with your favorite fun songs, soft toys.

1.1. Ortho mats:

No one canceled the benefits of morning exercises. It is doubly good to spend it with cheerful music, you can always dance and make a little face at the end. Kids love it when serious parents start falling into childhood. But any daily procedure can be slightly diversified. For example, we all know how important it is at such a tender age to strengthen the muscles of the feet and legs. Special ortho-rugs can be a great help in this.

Take off your shoes and socks and go to the spikes. They are made of soft plastic, and of course will not harm your child. Only 15 minutes of training on such mats contributes to the proper formation of the foot, stimulates nerve endings, so that the effect is not only on the legs, but on the whole body as a whole, and of course this is an excellent prevention of flat feet. Walk back and forth, run back and forth, trample like a bear cub on the outside of your foot, then on the inside. Walk on your toes and then on your heels. Toddlers love this game, especially if you set an example for them.

1.2. Ball games:

Of course, we do not offer you to play football at home, although the decision is in any case at the discretion of adults. The simplest ball games are throwing and catching. Or, for example, sit opposite each other and roll it.
You can diversify the game by adding a small element of learning "edible-non-edible".

1.3. Dancing:

Invite your child to learn any dance - well, at least the dance of little ducklings. The melody is cheerful, the movements are simple. First together, and then solo, the child will be happy to repeat the movements. This is a great workout for muscle memory and overall movement coordination.

2. Educational games and educational activities

Of course, you can't dance all the time or run around the room. The baby needs variety and rest. And that means it's time to load your head a little. There are a lot of options here:

2.1. Educational cards

By the age of two, the child already speaks well, and if the process is not yet established, then he understands everything 100%.

Offer your child educational cards with pictures of animals, birds, household items, fruits, vegetables, transportation, natural phenomena. To begin with, just introduce him, what is the name, what this or that object is intended for. Soon your baby will learn all the concepts and you can start sorting, for example. Animals to animals, birds to birds, edible/inedible, flies/crawls/swims, hot/cold, dangerous/safe, etc.
Such exercises perfectly develop memory and logical thinking.

2.2. Books.

The benefits of reading are invaluable. For example, the author of the popular book Mathematics and ABCs for Geniuses, Maria Bakhtina, believes that a child at the age of 2 years old is able to learn to read and do simple mathematical calculations.

Do not try to forcefully make a genius out of a child if he is not ready for it, which means that the study of letters and counting can be postponed until later. However, no one bothers you to read. Without exception, all children love fairy tales, do not change them for audio books. The child will become older and will be able to perceive them, but now he needs your story, your emotions, your interpretation of what is told. Do not forget that there are many old words in fairy tales that are not used now, so be sure to explain their meanings to your child.

A 2-year-old child absorbs vocabulary like a sponge, the more diverse the books, the better. Time-tested Russian folk tales, poems by Chukovsky, Marshak, Barto - there is nothing better than time-tested authors.

But there are books without words at all, they contain only drawings. The beauty of these books is that adults each tell their own story. Dads in their way, moms in theirs. For example, picture books from the famous German designer Susanna Berner Rotraut. Books give an idea of ​​the daily life of the city, the rules of conduct and the consequences of certain actions. You can look at this book for a long time and still find something new every time. The main thing is your desire and imagination.

2.3. Educational toys.

At the moment, a huge number of educational toys are presented, many of which are already available for two-year-olds:

2. 3.1. Sorters - allow you to study the shape, color, develop fine motor skills, logic, memory. Many are made in the form of houses, cars or animals to attract the attention of a child.
- Labyrinths. They can be a little tricky for a two year old as they use both hands, but if you want you can practice so that the baby will play with them without the help of adults.
2.3.2. Knockers . We learn to hammer carnations or drive in multi-colored balls. Fun and interesting to develop fine motor skills.
2.3.3. Puzzle inserts . A 2-year-old child has not yet grown up to adult puzzles. And the puzzle insert is an intermediate stage. So to speak, zero in front of real puzzles.
The child's task is to put the picture in a pre-designated place on the board. Very exciting, and most importantly, the baby can play independently.
2.3.4. Laces and beads . This game is for co-creation: although the beads are big, if your baby still puts everything in his mouth, it is better to play together. The task is to string the beads on a cord-rope (at the end there is a wooden “needle”).

2.4. Modeling and drawing

A lot is available to kids today, including quick-wash markers and paints. You can draw whatever comes to your mind, or, for example, numbers or letters, you can buy ready-made coloring pages. By the way, bookstores often sell many-time water coloring pages - very convenient, and most importantly, not marco.

Not a bad thing - a drawing board, compact and convenient, "a sheet of paper and paint" in one bottle.
There is also a wide range for modeling, from the simplest plasticine to kinetic sand. Why go outside when you can set up your own sandbox without leaving your home. Due to its properties, kinetic sand is easily collected and practically does not remain on hands and objects. In many sets, ready-made sandboxes and molds are sold immediately.

2.5. Musical instruments

Well, where without music and creativity. Invite your child to play the xylophone, pipe, drum, or dance to a synthesizer or music player or tape recorder. Great release of energy.

3. Time just for fun and games

And of course, you can always offer your child just to play with his toys.

3.1. Doll houses and parking garages

Girls can get carried away playing with dolls and dollhouse for a long time, arranging for example a tea party or a gathering of guests on the occasion of Barbie's birthday.
Boys can race around the tracks or play with the multi-level car parks. Everything is so exciting there: elevators raise cars, there is a gas station and a car wash nearby.

3.2. Constructor

There is no need to explain here, most of today's children at the age of 1.5 start playing their first role-playing games. Whether it's Lego Duplo or a wooden constructor - a model of a city or a steam locomotive.

3.3 Role playing

If you want to relax a bit and lie down in peace and quiet, invite your child to play doctor. Let him heal you. You can offer him a ready-made doctor's kit or just put a hat, gown and mask on him. All children love to dress up or imitate adults. Fun for kids, relaxation for you.

4. Joint household chores

Who said that parents should cook and clean only when the baby is sleeping or walking? Nonsense!

A child from an early age should see the work of his parents. And if you wish, actively participate in it. This teaches him from an early age to order and discipline. According to the method of Maria Montessori, a two-year-old child is quite capable of holding a small broom and dustpan and learning to collect small debris in it. Moreover, he is happy to grab onto the proposed occupation, because a mother with such a passion “rubs something” all the time.

Cook together: It is quite possible to give a child simple instructions: pour flour, pour milk, knead the dough. It does not matter if something wakes up or spills. Show the child exactly what to do in such a situation, offer him a sponge or a rag.

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