Toddler games activities

10 fun and educational games to play with toddlers

The right game can boost your kid’s cognitive, physical and emotional skills. Kick off playtime with some easy toddler games that are fun and educational!

You’ve probably heard the saying that kids are like sponges—this is especially true for toddlers. Little ones between the ages of one and three are always absorbing new things. Their main mode for learning: Playtime. They begin by playing side-by-side (called parallel play), then progress into more interactive stuff, where they engage with and absorb information from their playmates. The right game can boost your kid’s cognitive, physical, and emotional skills, so get your toddler started with one of these games:

1. Simon Says

A game that you can play one on one or with a group of kids, Simon Says is a classic that teaches kids how to follow instructions. The rules are easy: You are Simon and what you say goes. Call out commands—“Simon says touch your toes!—and your kid has to follow them. It’s key they listen for the words “Simon says”—if you call out a command like “Jump up!” without prefacing with Simon says, players can be eliminated. Be sure to throw in some funny commands, too—do a silly dance, wiggle your ears, hop like a frog! This game is great for teaching toddlers the names for their body parts.

2. Hot and cold

See his favourite stuffy over there? Hide it and then have him search the room. If he’s wandering away from it, he’s cold, and as he gets closer he’s warm, warmer, hot! If he gets frustrated, you can hold his hand while he looks around. This game will sharpen your kid’s emotional skills—he’ll learn patience, perseverance and the idea that just because you can’t see something, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

3. One for you, one for me

Perfect for younger toddlers, this game teaches sharing (see here for more on teaching your toddler how to share). Set out a pile of objects like crayons or buttons and ask him to distribute them between you while saying “One for you, one for me.” Make sure you each have a container to hold your growing collections.

4. Hokey-Pokey

Another classic, this one is super fun to play and helps your kid follow instructions and learn the names for his body parts. The song “Hokey-Pokey” is a simple one with instructional lyrics. Playing is easy (you just do as the song says) and there are no losers!

You put your left foot (you can substitute for any body part) in,

You put your left foot out,

You put your left foot in, and you shake it all about!

You do the Hokey Pokey
(Raise hands, wiggle fingers, move arms—you can do whatever, really)

And you turn yourself around
(Turn around in a full circle)

That’s what it’s all about!
(Clap with each syllable)

5.

Parachute

Often played at daycares or preschools, this game is best with more than two people. Spread out a large sheet (or a parachute if you have it!) and have everyone hold an edge tightly in both hands. Working together, you can slowly raise it overhead and say “Up, up, up!” then lower it saying “Down, down, down!” When you call “Under, under, under!” everyone can let go of the sheet and hurry under. Alternatively, you can get under the sheet while still holding its corners. This games helps kids develop their fine motor skills while teaching them to wait and listen.

6. Scavenger hunt

Is there anything more fun than a scavenger hunt? Send your toddler hunting for objects around the house based on commands, such as “find me something round” or “find me something red.” Or, you could ask her to choose a bunch of random objects and ask her questions like “Which one is blue?” or “Which one is longer?”

7.

Hide-and-seek

Teach your little kid problem solving skills by hiding from him! Or, if you’d rather not hide, you can always ask your her to hide an object in another room or sneaky spot of her choice—it could be as simple as asking her to go put a wrapper in the trash without telling her where the trash can is.

8.

Obstacle course

Promote gross motor skills, coordination and balance with a fun, safe obstacle course. If space allows, you can set up a small course in your living room or outside in the yard to get your kid rolling, jumping and running around, over or under objects or markers.

9. Puzzles

Puzzles are great games for toddlers because they cover all bases: Physical (from making the pieces fit), cognitive (actually solving the puzzle) and emotional skills (learning how to be patient.) Building a puzzle can also boost your kid’s memory, teach him about different shapes, and help him set (and meet!) simple goals.

10. Odd one out

Place a series of blocks of the same colour in front of your toddler, making sure to add at least one block that’s a different colour (you could also do this with small fruit or veggies). Once she’s had a chance to look at all the blocks, ask her which one is the odd one out. You can make this game harder by using flash cards of shapes or plants, then ask her which ones are similar and which ones are different.

Read more:
6 fun indoor activities for toddlers
5 toddler games to play when you’re sick
Baby talk: Bad for your toddler’s language development?

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FILED UNDER: Games Indoor Activities Motor Skills service seo Toddler activities Toddler behaviour toddler games

20 ideas to keep the kids entertained on a rainy day

Here are 20 indoor games that will keep kids (and you) happy and active—no TV or video games required.

Another rainy or bone-chilling day? We see you over there: Restless kids fidgeting on the couch, the clock ticking slower than usual, and you’re fresh out of ideas for things to do. Well you’ve come to the right place. We have your back with this list of the best indoor games you haven’t already tried.

1. Pencil-and-paper games

From Battleship to Sprouts, we’ve created a must-play list of pencil-and-paper indoor games that beat TV any day. Gather some pencils and paper and check out our best of pencil-and-paper games.

2. Building

You don’t need a fancy building set for this. Popsicle stick cities, card towers, even buildings out of blocks, or indoor forts out of boxes or pillows, will do just fine. If you want to get competitive, whoever builds the highest tower wins.

3. Magical Mama (or Papa)

Be your kids’ very own Harry Houdini—without the locks, chains and water tanks, of course. Simply place a coin under one of three cups and shuffle the cups around. Then ask your children to guess which cup holds the coin. Sneaky parents can place the cups near the edge of a table and secretly drop the coin. Watch your tots’ eyes light up in amazement when they learn the coin is gone!

4. Card games

Card games are great for challenging young minds and creating hours of indoor fun. Grab a box of cards and check out our favourite traditional card games.

5. Puzzles

Exercise those creative, cognitive and problem-solving muscles with a good puzzle. You can use a store-bought variety or have the kids make their own. Have your children draw a picture on a sturdy piece of cardboard or Bristol board. Then use a pencil to outline puzzle pieces directly on their drawing. Cut out the pieces with a good pair of scissors, mix them up and get solving. Indoor games and craft in one fun activity!

6. Freeze!

Choose some of your kids’ favourite tunes and turn up the volume. Ask them to dance until the music stops. When it does, they have to freeze in whatever position they find themselves in – even if they have one leg up. To make the game more challenging, ask the kids to freeze in specific poses: animals, shapes, letters or even yoga postures. Toddlers in particular love this game.

The winner gets her very own gold medal! Make your own ribbons with this easy craft:

7. Board and family games

For a comprehensive list of the best of family indoor games from Nursery Rhyme Games and Candy Land to Clue, check out our handy list of top 20 family games.

8. Paper-bag skits

This indoor game is ideal for larger groups — a sleepover favourite. Divide the kids up into groups. Give each group a bag filled with props, such as a spoon, toy jewelry, a sock, ball or ribbon. Then give them 15 minutes to construct a skit around the props. This game is so much fun that it doesn’t have to be competitive. If the kids want, though, they can all vote on a winning skit.

9. Indoor hopscotch

This schoolyard favourite is sure to be an indoor hit, too. Set up your hopscotch game on any floor surface. Masking tape will do perfectly to form the nine connecting squares. Boxes 1-3 will be placed in a single line, one on top of the other. The next two boxes (4, 5) will be placed side-by-side, followed by a single box (6), two more boxes (7, 8) and the final half-circle “home” base (9). Next, choose a marker, such as a coin, stone or beanbag. The first player will throw the marker into square 1 without letting it bounce or touch the lines. If successful, the player will then hop — one foot on single squares and two feet on side-by-side squares — avoiding square #1. The player may rest on “home” before hopping back. On the way back, he or she picks up the marker on square #1 and, if successful (lands within the lines, hops or jumps with proper footing, doesn’t fall), takes another turn and throws it into square #2. When the player is unsuccessful, the next player takes a turn. Players resume their turns by throwing the marker on the last box played. The winner is the first player to throw the marker home (#9), and smoothly complete the whole course.

10. DIY balance beam

While you have your masking tape out, why not make your own balance beam? We all know how much kids love walking in straight lines every chance they get. Put on some music, and one at a time the kids can take their turn walking one-foot-over-the-other across the straight line of tape. Make the game more challenging by having the kids walk backwards or balance with one foot on the line.

11. Hide and Seek

No list of indoor games would be complete without Hide and Seek, now would it? In this classic game, one person (“It”) covers his or her eyes and counts aloud while the other players hide. When “It” is finished counting, he or she begins looking for the hiders. The last hider to be found is the next “It.” Warning: this game is often a source of giggle fits. Families with older children might want to take things up a notch and play Hide and Seek in the dark. Just to be safe, make sure there are no loose items on the floor. If you want, allow “It” to carry a flashlight or turn the lights on once “It” finishes counting.

12. Treasure hunt

Kids love finding hidden objects — especially when there’s a prize at the end. Simply write your clues on some slips of paper — get creative. Place the first clue somewhere easy to find, like inside your child’s snack or cereal bowl. Then leave as many clues as you like around the house, making a trail to the final clue. Instead of a prize, the treasure hunt can lead to various coins around the house. This way the kids get to collect all the coins and put them in their piggy banks in the end. If you want to create the most amazing treasure hunt, follow these 11 tips.

13. Indoor bowling

A great way to reuse water bottles (or you can purchase an indoor bowling set). Line six-10 water bottles up at the end of your hall or living room. Place a line of duct tape at the starting line. Grab a medium-sized indoor ball and start bowling! If you want, keep score and give out trophies at the end. (Note: if you need to stabilize the water bottles or make the game more difficult, simply fill them up with some water. Don’t forget to screw the tops on tightly!)

14. Hot Potato

This game will have everyone giggling. Ask the kids to sit on the floor in a circle. Turn on some tunes and have them pass the potato (a bean bag or soft ball) around the circle as fast as they can. When the music stops, the player holding the potato leaves the circle. Keep going until only one player is left and wins the game.

15. Picnic memory game

Former preschool director and grandmother of three, Marsha Colla, has some innovative games up her sleeve, including this fun and simple verbal memory game, which, Colla says, “challenges the children and makes them giggle.” To play, everyone sits in a circle. The first player says, “In my basket for the picnic, I packed…,” and then says what item he or she packed. The next player then says, “In my basket for the picnic, I packed…,” and then recites what the first player packed and adds his or her own item to the basket, and so forth.

16. The listening game

One of Colla’s go-to indoor games for her preschoolers and grandchildren, this game is sure to both educate and delight little ones. Take out several miscellaneous items. Have the children look at all the items, and then take them away. Next, ask one child to hide his or her eyes and listen as you pick up an item and make sounds with it. Ask the child to guess which item made the sound. Examples of items might be a comb (run your fingers along it), a glass (gently tap it), cymbals, shakers, sandpaper, blocks rubbed together, a pot and spoon. Be creative and have fun!

17. Bubbles

You don’t have to go outside to enjoy bubbles. For this indoor game, you need a plate and straw for each player, some dishwashing soap and water. Place a dime-size drop of dish soap at the centre of each plate. Pour a little water onto the plate and gently mix with the dish soap until some suds start to form. Have the kids place the straw in the suds and blow very gently. Watch as massive bubbles start to form. To make this competitive, see who blows the biggest, or longest-lasting, bubble.

18. Simon Says

This traditional favourite will never get old. To start, choose one player (probably a parent for the first round) to be Simon. The rest of the players will gather in a circle or line in front of Simon as he calls out actions starting with the phrase “Simon says”: “Simon says…touch your toes.” The players then have to copy Simon’s action, touching their toes. If Simon calls out an action without uttering the phrase “Simon says,” the kids must not do the action. If a child touches his toes when Simon didn’t say…, he or she is out of the game. There are lots of great ways Simon can trick players into doing actions when Simon didn’t say: Simon can perform an action without uttering a command, for example, or he can perform an action that doesn’t correspond with the command. Fun! The last player left in the game wins and becomes the next Simon.

19. Touch-and-feel box

Most preschoolers flock to the classroom sensory table as soon as the teachers pull it out. So there is little doubt they will love this entertaining challenge. Find a shoe box or any box that has a lid on it. Cut a hole in one of the sides of the box —large enough for your child to fit her hand in. If you want, get creative and decorate the box with glitter and question marks. When you’re ready to play, put an item inside the box and have your children guess what it is. They can ask questions about the item if they need to, or you can offer clues. Get as ooey-gooey as you wish (fresh pumpkin seeds or slimy spaghetti are great choices for Halloween), or use such simple objects as a brush, a toy, a piece of fruit. To make it competitive, you can give a point to the first child to name the object.

20. Indoor basketball

You can’t be too little for this version of basketball. All you need is a bucket and a rolled up sock (or a small, light ball). Each player takes a turn at throwing the sock-ball into the bucket. When a player scores a bucket, he or she takes a step back and throws again until missing. The player who shoots the ball in the bucket from the farthest distance wins.

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FILED UNDER: family_fitness_guide Games Indoor Activities March break Playdates service seo

Online games for children 3-4 years old for free on the Karusel

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Tests: How well do you know the habits of pets? Test from the TV show "A Second Before Happiness!"

Contests: "Arrange an epic Gu-battle!"

Adventure A game about the adventures of Caramel, Cookie and Compote. Suitable for the little ones. Colorful interface and intuitive gameplay allows you to enjoy your favorite characters based on the animated series "Three Cats".

Three cats. Skate racing

Dynamic and beautiful free reaction game! Korzhik, Caramel, Compote, as well as other characters from the cartoon "Three Cats" ride skateboards. Which of the characters in 3 cats is the fastest and most attentive? Who has the most beautiful and powerful skateboard?

Three cats. Puzzles

Collect colorful puzzles with the characters of the cartoon "Three Cats". Colorful, simple, intuitive interface suitable for children from 3 years old.

Tic-tac-toe Play tic-tac-toe with funny Peppa and her dad. There are game modes for one and two players.

Peppa Pig. Space Adventure

Peppa is in a hurry to save her friends. Press the space bar when Peppa's friend flies through space to take him to the train. For each saved friend, you will receive a star.

Peppa Pig. Figure skating

Help Peppa and George skate without falling. Carefully look at what number the Pope shows, and then choose this number in the picture.

Peppa Pig. Delicious pancakes

Help dad bake pancakes for the whole family. Click on the fillings chosen by Peppa, George and Mom. Use the spacebar to flip the pancakes. If thrown too high, the pancake will end up on the ceiling!

Jumping in the pool Dad jumps on the trampoline and dives into the pool, and Peppa, George and mom give him grades. Help dad make a cool jump! The game is controlled by the space bar.

Peppa Pig. muddy puddles

Peppa goes for a walk in her new rubber boots. Help the pig jump into the muddy puddles by pressing the space bar. Earn extra points by collecting balloons. But don't miss one puddle, otherwise you'll lose all your lives and the game will end.

Let's Draw

Learn to draw and develop your creativity using two game modes - free drawing and coloring the uploaded picture or photo.

Bon appetit

Try yourself as an employee of a pancake shop, cafe and even a restaurant.

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Play children's melodies and famous songs on the virtual piano.

Chuggington. Trailers and cargo

Place the crates of cargo in the right wagons. Be careful - time is limited!

Chuggington. The Adventures of Tina

Control Tin with the mouse or arrows on the keyboard.

Cut the Rope 2

Cut the Rope - Time Travel

Cut the Rope

Decorate the Christmas Tree!

Choose and decorate your Christmas tree with toys and a garland.

Y

Match the same letters of the alphabet to get the next letters.

Try to get to the letter Y.

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What to do with the child so that the mother has at least fifteen minutes to rest? This question has worried young parents at all times, but only today a rapidly developing civilization has offered an answer that will suit both children and adults. Over the past decade, the computer has outgrown the rank of "entertainment for teenagers", and now a user of any age category can find something interesting for himself on the World Wide Web. Even if he is still very small!

Try game search:

Find a game

Are you looking for an activity that could keep your child engaged for a long time and at the same time give him the opportunity to learn something? An ideal solution for young parents who want to keep up with the times and keep up with progress - games for kids! Computer games for kids will not only entertain your baby, but also take care of its comprehensive development. Children have fun and learn about the world without requiring too much attention, mothers can finally do housework - isn't this what science fiction writers dreamed of when they painted pictures of an ideal world for us, where computers do most of the work for a person?...

Computers and children

At what age can a baby sit in front of a monitor? In a year, in two, in three? And many progressive parents introduce their children to the fruits of technological progress much earlier - are they right, or is it better to wait a bit?

It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to such a complex question. Ultimately, everyone decides for himself, but the main thing is to remember when making a decision that the generation of our children is growing up completely different than we once were. Not only are they not afraid of technology, but they understand it much better than us - practically from the cradle! And if we talk about harm to vision or to the psyche, then let's be honest with ourselves: watching cartoons on TV is no safer than playing games for kids online, and even for free. On the contrary, if cartoons teach to passive contemplation and do not allow the child to fantasize enough, then in the toys of action and the need to think about every step you take - more than enough.

Therefore, if you see that a child is drawn to a computer and wants to master it, there is no need to disturb him. There is a time for everything - but this time in the realities of today comes very, very early!

Childhood is golden

The world does not stand still, and more and more is demanded from our kids every day. Previously, children could safely come to the first grade, not knowing how to read or write - their parents knew for sure that everything they needed would be taught at school. What is there - to read and write! Many could not even tie their own shoelaces or button up all the buttons on their shirts, and no one looked askance at the clumsy kids. Well, what to do, they are small, they still have time to learn!

There are far more demands placed on children today. And “they still have time to learn” doesn’t work anymore: after all, while a first-grader will learn to tie shoelaces, his peers will already master the basics of ballroom dancing, martial arts, English or playing the piano. And our little dropout runs the risk of being caught up with the first steps in his new life ... And the cruel information world is changing every second, it forces you to constantly learn new things and does not tolerate those who are lagging behind!

In order to keep up with peers in anything, the baby will have to devote time from the first years of life not only to games, but also to study. But how to do this if the baby does not yet know the word “must” and does not know how to concentrate his attention on boring things? Computer games for kids come to the aid of young parents - a great way to combine fun entertainment with the learning process! The game captivates the child, and knowledge is acquired imperceptibly and without tension on his part.

Learning by playing - myth or reality?

Many adults doubt that it is possible to combine pleasant entertainment with really effective study. It seems to them that either the game will not be interesting, or the educational and developmental component will not be implemented at all. To some extent, these doubts are justified, the line here is very thin, and creating online entertainment that will really be both interesting and useful for a child is not an easy task!

That's why games for kids are developed by true professionals. While the same type of toys for teenagers are usually developed by students who are just taking their first steps in the development of applications, the production of children's products is approached much more carefully. As a rule, the team for creating a good children's toy includes not only specialists from the field of game development who are able to think over the software implementation! In conjunction with IT specialists, psychologists, teachers and experienced parents are sure to work - people who understand the needs of children and can direct the developers' thoughts in the right direction.

Of course, not all game producers approach their business responsibly. It can be difficult to choose among the many educational toys that are made with a soul, but an adult is always able to assess whether his child should play this or that game. In addition, we thought about young parents who do not have time to search for games on the Internet, and we have independently selected all the best that is on the Internet! At the same time, on our website you can play games for kids online for free, which means that a vacation for mom will not cost too much for the family budget!

In addition, all our educational toys are presented in the online version. This means that you don't have to download them and install them on your computer: launch games directly from your browser and have fun with your pranksters! Indeed, often children's games are so good that only children like to play them, but also adults. Online games for kids are a great way to spend time!

So don't hesitate! The games for the little ones that you can find on our website have been carefully selected so that your children can develop in all aspects.