Now that Audrey is officially a toddler, she is entering a really fun stage! She is so much fun and super curious and loves to play. She likes to read books and play with her tea set independently so I wanted to find activities that we could play together. After testing out several activities and finding out exactly what she enjoyed, I put together a fun series for you; At home activities to play with toddlers. And today I am sharing the first two activities that Audrey and I like to do together!
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Quickly, though, I wanted to mention a few things.
- The activities that I am going to share in this series can be modified to meet your toddlers level of development. Since Audrey is just one, I don’t have her sort by color or shapes yet and I use bigger objects to prevent choking. But for an older toddler, you can add more of a challenge by asking them to sort or make patterns.
- Your toddler will most likely put things in their mouth. It is totally normal and part of their development. Just make sure you keep a close eye on them. A simple “Oh, that goes here not in our mouths.” is a gentle way to teach them not to put things in their mouth.
- You probably have most of these items in your house already! If I am using something you don’t have, replace it with something you do have! You definitely don’t need to spend tons of money on these activities. But if you do need to purchase something, check out Amazon or the dollar store.
Balls in Muffin Tins
This one is so simple and silly and she LOVED it. I collected a bunch of different balls we had in our house. Bouncy balls, balls that light up, balls that rattle, and balls with different textures. I put all the balls in one container and placed it on the side of Audrey with the muffin tin in front of her. First, I showed her what we were going to do by taking one ball out and putting it in the muffin tin. She quickly caught on and jumped in!
For older toddlers, you can ask them to put in the green ball or the ball that makes noise. You could also have them make a pattern. You could use smaller balls and have your toddler use tongs to put the balls in the tin. There are a lot of ways to modify this activity to fit or challenge your toddler.
Audrey was clearly very proud of herself!
She also really enjoyed dumping over the bowl of balls! Ha!
Pom Pom Drop
This is another super simple activity with items you most likely already have at home! I set this up by taping paper towel rolls to the wall at different levels. A level she could reach while sitting and one a little higher which required her to stand. I put differently sized pom poms in a bowl and let Audrey figure this one out on her own. At first, she wanted to rip the rolls off the wall and eat the pom poms. Remember, that’s normal. I showed her how the pom poms go into the top of the rolls and she thought it was hilarious when they came out the bottom! She quickly caught on and we enjoyed this activity together for quite some time.
So there you have it! Our first two activities for at home play with toddlers. Make sure to check back over the next couple weeks to see more activities. Also, let me know how you play with your toddler. What kind of activities do you enjoy together?
Photos By: Megan Higgins Photography
