More Ideas for Engaging Toddlers

Now that we are on State-wide lock-down due to COV-19, I feel like some of my friends might need even more activities to keep toddlers and preschoolers busy. Here are some more ideas you can use to occupy the time of your toddler while schooling older children or just something new to keep toddlers occupied inside:

1.Paper tunnels and balls - On a floored surface, tape paper tunnels to the floor. To work on color practice, use different colored paper and have your toddler aim for a curtain color. You can ask your toddler to roll balls through the tunnels or drive cars or trains through the tunnels.

2. Matching toy puzzles - Using a large piece of paper, trace a few of your kids toys onto the paper. Then, give your child the toys and have him or her match the toys to the shape.

3. Sticker lines - Using a piece of newspaper paper or butcher paper, tape a large horizontal piece of paper to your wall with making tape.  Then put several different line shapes onto the horizontal line - straight line, wavy line, zig-zag, loopy-line, etc.  Once you put the lines up on the paper which is on the wall, have your child put small stickers all along the line to cover the line with stickers.  This will work on fine-motor skills and hand-eye-coordination.  Don’t get caught up in requiring it to be done a certain way by your toddler - just be happy that they are doing his/her best effort to place the stickers on the line.

4. Practice Cutting: Have your toddler work on scissor skills using safety scissors, scraps of paper and some small toys. Select some toys your toddler really enjoys - for boys, maybe some dinosaurs, for girls, some smaller dolls. Cut a long strand of paper and tape one end to the toy, then wrap the toy in the long strand of paper several times and then tape the end to the toy. Don’t wrap the paper too tight that there isn’t room for your toddler to fit the safety scissors between the toy and the paper. Sit your toddler down and explain the objective is to cut the paper off the toy without damaging the toy. Remind your preschooler that there is NO running with scissors and to always hold the scissor tip down when carrying them.

5. Toy line up: Using masking tape, tape different shaped lines to a nice open area of your carpet or floor. Then, have your child work on lining up similar toys along the line - you can line up cars or play animals or even lego blocks along the different shaped lines. It is best to make several lines out of masking tape and then challenge your toddler to cover all of the lines with similar toys.