The Best Simple Toddler Activities

What are the best activities for toddlers? You are going to love this list of 75+ amazing toddler activities!

I know how it feels to be overwhelmed and exhausted with multiple kids. Sometimes you can't even get a second to think. I put together this list of dozens of our favorite activities for busy moms so that you have a "go to" list on those days when you need something to help turn the day around.

Since I love keeping things organized, I've grouped the list into eight different sections so you can quickly glance and figure out what activities you want to try. Preschoolers will love these too!

This toddler activities list includes sensory, fine motor, literacy, art, math, science, play, and movement ideas. Many of these can be used with older kids as well!

Do you have a favorite "go to" toddler activity? We'd love to hear about it!

75+ Amazing Toddler Activities

Here's the list of 75+ awesome fun activities for toddlers. Click on the links below to access the full activity tutorials.

Sensory Activities for Toddlers

Sensory play is always our number one activity to try when the day is starting to go south. There's something about getting your hands and body exploring different materials that helps calm kids down. Sensory play can be messy or mess-free! I love getting kids exposure to different textures and tools as well. These exploration activities also help kids build their fine motor skills too! We hope you love these activities as much as we have!

RELATED: Need an easy activity weekly plan for your toddler? You'll love our Toddler Year of Play Activity Calendars!

• Music Sensory Bin
• Wash Your Hands Sensory Bin
• Trucks and Oaks Sensory Bin
• Rainbow Oobleck
• Apple Foam Sensory Bin
• Ocean Squish Bag
• Jello Play
• LEGO Sensory Bin
• Bug Sensory Bin
• Playdough Fine Motor Bin
• Jumbo Play with Water Beads (with parent supervision)
• Sensory Play with Shaving Cream and LEGO bricks
• Play dough Hide and Seek
• LEGO Sensory Play with beans
• Cornmeal bin with scoops

 

Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers

Fine motor activities help kids strengthen their hands, wrists, and fingers. Fine motor skills are important for helping kids learn how to use writing tools, scissors, performing different self-help skills (like buttoning and zipping), and learning how to throw and catch. These simple fine motor activities are fun and so helpful for kids.

RELATED: Need more quick & easy toddler activities? These are our some more of our favorites!

• Connect the Stickers
• Pete the Cat Sensory Bin
• Lion Cutting Craftivity
• Sticker Hearts Activity
• Lid Ice Hockey Game
• Drop and Dump Toddler Activity
• Drip Drop Car Wash
• Building with Spices
• Beading with Pipe Cleaners

If you need even more ideas, my friend Anna at The Imagination Tree has 40 Simple. Fine Motor Skills Activities

Arts & Crafts Ideas for Toddlers

Activities that allow kids to create and explore different art forms are so fun! We love to study different artists and give kids access to a variety of different art materials. At the busy toddler stage, process art, allows kids to focus on enjoying how they create and worry less about the end product. As we give kids open-ended art ideas and allow them to lead, it is pretty amazing what they come up with!

RELATED: Not sure where to start? Check out our Toddler Activities Start Up Guide.

• Salad spinner art
• Name Art
• Q-Tip Painting
• Under the Table Painting
• Splatter Painting
• Make a Stuffed Animal House
• Finger Painting Monsters
• Edible Painting
• Salt Drip Painting
• Painting in a Box
• Muffin Tin Prints
• Salt Drip Painting
• Puffy Paint Rocket Craft
• Spray Art for Toddlers
• Tie Dye Shirt Making
• Popcorn Faces Art
• Painting on Ice
• Ramp Painting
• Shaving Cream Art
• Painting with LEGO toy cars
• Blow Painting with Straws

 

RELATED: Need more simple art projects? These are 65+ of our favorite toddler art activities.

 

Literacy Activities for Toddlers

Playful literacy activities and lots of time to read together are the best ways to introduce different literacy concepts to toddlers. Help kids manipulate materials and explore letters in their names and words they see in their environment. Learn nursery rhymes and songs and have fun! Literacy activities for toddlers should help give them exposure to different concepts that they will build on as they grow. Start with things they are interested in (like their names) and follow their lead. These fun activities make it so that kids don't even feel like they're learning!

• Name Train Matching activity
• Name Sensory Bin
• Spray the Alphabet Garden
• Sticky Alphabet Tree
• Feed the Alphabet Monsters
• Alphabet Bean Sensory Bin
• Alphabet Bug Spray Game
• Sticker Letter Match
• Paper Plate Alphabet Puzzles
• Alphabet Matching Game
• Feed the Shark Alphabet Game

Math Ideas for Toddlers

Did you know that you begin teaching simple math concepts to children long before they ever enter a classroom? There are so many fun ways to embed learning math concepts like counting, measuring, and identifying more and less through simple daily experiences along with easy activities that you can enjoy alongside your child. These activities on this list are some of our favorites.

• Number Hop Math activity
• Number Tunnels Counting Activity
• Number Toss
• Number Cookies Game
• Number Pocket Game
• Number Bug Sticky Wall
• Elevator Number Game
• Lily Pad Number Hop

Play Ideas for Toddlers

Play is the most important thing that kids can do every day. Play is the "work" of children and you get to be the facilitator. As you create opportunities for kids to explore different materials through play, they use their creativity, develop their imaginations and attention spans, develop their language skills, work on problem solving skills, and build self confidence. You can find more of our favorite play ideas on our Simple Play page

• Cardboard Ramps and Tunnels
• Make a Pom Pom Wall with Cardboard Tubes
• Cardboard Box Paint and Wash
• Ball Drop for Kids
• Giant Shape Sorter
• Spray the LEGO
• Build Tape Cities

Science Activities for Toddlers

Science projects don’t need to be hard or complicated. We start exploring science concepts when our kids are little and we don’t even realize it! Parents can use everyday experiences to teach science concepts. There are so many easy science experiments that you can set up using materials you already have around the house. I hope you have so much fun with these science ideas!

• Ice Boats
• Fizzy Drips Science
• Frozen Hearts Science
• LEGO Ice Excavation
• Fizzy Footprints
• Oil and Vinegar Science
• Cookie Cutter Science
• Fizzy Ice

Movement Activities for Toddlers

Movement activities can help kids learn better, increase their memory, perception, attention, and even their ability to problem solve. Moving every day also can help kids manage their emotions better. We love to find playful and fun ways to move every day using everyday materials around our house.

• Paw Patrol Hunt
• Stuffed Animal Hunt
• Sound Scavenger Hunt
• Pom Pom Push
• Targets Color Game
• Pool Noodle Hockey
• Toy Hunt
• Color Hunt & Sort
• Counting Movement Stick Game
• Skee Ball Launch Activity

Do you have any more awesome toddler activities we should add to this list? Tell us in the comments below!