I've been working on this blog post for months and thought now would be a particularly helpful time to post, as schools are temporarily shutting down and more little ones are at home. If you've been following along on my blog, you know I spend a lot of time at home with our 2 year old daughter, Lion. I'm always trying to come up with creative ideas to keep Lion busy - educating her about her world, creating activities that cultivate her curiosity and aide in her development. Through lots of research and conversations with my sister (who is a mother of 4), I'm sharing with you over 200 activities to try at home with your kids. I thought the best way to provide this idea list would be to concisely list out the activities, so you can easily scroll through the list and adapt the activities to fit your lifestyle and children's ages. When creating this list, I focused on toddler and preschool level activities fitting for our daughter; however, most activities extend beyond the pre-K years. I added links to several of the listed activities to help provide you with how-to's and product options. I recommend printing out this list to keep handy or printing and cutting out each activity and placing in an activity jar. I hope this list keeps helps to provide hours of entertain for you and your little ones!
According to "Whole Child Parenting", these are the 6 areas of child development and their subcategories:
(1) Health and Care
- Hygiene
- Diet
- Routine
- Yoga
(2) Physical Development
- Motor Skills: Sensory, Gross, & Fine
(3) Creative Development
- Dramatic Play
- Dance
- Music
- Arts
(4) Cognitive Development
- Problem-solving
- Attention
- Numbers
(5) Social-Emotional Development
- Self-control
- Friendship
- Feelings
(6) Language Development
- Communication
- Speaking
- Literacy
(I recommend checking out my post, "A Conversation With a Speech Pathologist", for parenting tips and board book recommendations to nurture this area of development.)
Keeping these developmental areas in mind, I created the below list of 202 activities.
202 Activities To Try At Home With Your Kids
1. Decorate clothes.
2. Themed busy box.
3. DIY Kite.
4. Make crowns.
5. Paper mache.
8. Face paint.
9. Paint vases/flower pots.
10. Paint dishes.
11. Paper dolls (or peg dolls); make paper doll community.
15. Reusable wax sticks.
16. Make wall art.
17. Stickers.
18. Make shaped crayons.
19. Pottery.
20. Make dream catchers.
21. Make a costume.
22. Arts & Crafts. (Check out my post on our favorite Art & Craft Supplies).
23. Make jewelry. (i.e., paint macaroni).
24. Make puppets., sock puppets.
25. Make bath bombs.
26. Potpourri.
27. Playdough. (DIY at home).
28. Upcycle old clothes.
29.. Make an instrument.
30. Invent something.
31. Make soap.
32. Make bookmarks.
35. Handmade paper.
36. Paper bag crafts.
37. DIY Products with beeswax.
39. Put on a play/show.
40. Try magic.
41. Play cards.
42. Puzzles.
43. Matching games. (Try a DIY.)
44. Create a play village & train.
45. Practice threading.
46. Sensory bins.
47. Water play. Water beads.
48. Build with blocks.
49. Science experiments.
50. Walk around house and point to objects and explain them. What they are, how they work, etc. have your toddler repeat back the words to enhance their vocabulary.
52. Sort mail.
53. Clip coupons.
54. Plan grocery list.
55. Laundry (learn folding, hanging, etc.).
56. Plan outdoor space.
57. Wash furniture with soap & water.
58. Play fetch with dog, teach dog new trick.
59. Plant herb/vegetable garden.
60. Flash cards.
61. Set healthy habits/morning routine.
62. Wash dishes.
63. Stack boxes.
64. Organize clothes.
65. Toy rotation bins.
66. Curate bedtime story books.
68. Make a secret friendship handshake.
69. Paint/refinish piece of furniture.
70. Alphabetize books.
72. Read from Bible.
73. Interior design. (i.e., As a kid, I loved "redecorating" my room).
74. Window watching / I spy.
75. Clean & organize.
76. Put small furniture/toys together.
77. Journal.
78. Talk about gratitude.
79. Plan & prep for a trip.
80. Take pictures.
81. Scrapbook.
82. Learn a prayer.
83. Try new hairstyles.
84. Write poetry.
85. Mark/document measurements. (I.e., Mama's foot vs. toddlers, height, etc.).
86. Yoga & Meditation.
87. Potty train.
88. Meal prep.
89. Plan meal calendar.
91. Learn how to set the table.
92. Cook & Bake. (Toddler Safety Step Ladder).
(Some ideas: green smoothie, granola, chia seed pudding, almond milk, lemonade, popsicles, brownie mix, etc.).
93. Play kitchen. Pretend bake.
94. Pretend play with baby dolls. (i.e., doll, stroller, accessories, etc.).
96. Pretend to go to the office (DIY laptop, cellphone, etc.).
99. Pool day in bath tub.
100. Treasure hunt. Scavenger hunt.
102. Go “fishing”.
103. Have a spa day.
104. Hide & seek w/ an object.
105. Pretend camp , build a tent, sleep under the "stars".
106. Take a pretend vacation.
107. Make a music video.
108. Make a vehicle.
109. Build a play house.
110. Superheroes.
111. Play dress up.
112. Learn to floss.
113. Practice counting (using steps, cheerios, handwashing, etc.).
115. Learn days of week, months, & seasons.
116. Ad libs.
117. Practice tying shoes.
118. Begin learning to spell.
119. Read. (Check out my post, "A Conversation With a Child Speech Pathologist").
120. Nursery rhymes. (i.e., Alexa playlist, "Nursery Rhyme, Party Time").
121. Practice ABC’s.
122. Learn shapes.
123. Learn colors / color matching.
124. Pull weeds / lawn care.
125. Sidewalk chalk.
126. Pick flowers.
127. Groom dog, give dog a bath.
128. DIY water filtration. (Use food coloring to test.)
129. Where loved ones live on the map.
130. Send notes to loved ones.
131. Send personalized videos to loved ones.
132. Update photo albums.
133. Family photoshoot at home (i.e.,use tripod).
134. Send a care package.
135. Family tree (for wall).
136. Time capsule. (i.e., complete questionnaire).
137. Update family calendar. Discuss upcoming events.
138. Make birthday cards/gifts for loved ones.
139. Sort through toys/clothes to donate.
140. Call/FaceTime a loved one.
141. Plan a way to give back.
142. Dance party. (Lion loves music by Queen.).
143. Workout (i.e., jumping jacks, lunges, etc.).
144. Throw ball & chase.
145. Hopscotch (use painters tape indoors or sidewalk chalk outdoors).
146. Yoga.
147. Climb. Slide. Swing. Trampoline.
148. Basic gymnastics warmups.
149. Karate.
150. Sports (i.e., basketball, soccer, etc.).
151. Hot Lava.
152. Balance bike, helmet.
153. Practice balance.
154. Practice jumping, kicking, throwing, etc.
155. Make an obstacle course.
156. Jump rope.
Research/Learn about...
158. Learn about emotions.
159. Clean water, water filtration, where we get our water, city water, well water, water tanks, city water towers, lack of clean water, etc.
160. Pollution. Waste, recycling, & sustainability. How to compost.
161. Learn a piece of another language.
162. Importance of bees & pollination.
163. Where you've been on the map (& where you want to go).
164. Learn about another culture.
165. A moment in History (this is endless!).
166. Daily/Weekly historic figures (i.e., Little Trailblazers, etc.).
167. WiFi, internet, cable, telephones, cellphones, etc.
168. Motorized vehicles, motors in general, mechanics, etc.
169. Modes of transportation, (how we get from one place to another.. i.e., walk, ride animal, cycle, car, boat, plane, etc.).
170. Industrial revolution.
171. Where food comes from.
172. How food & water work in our bodies.
173. Germs/bacteria. What happens when we get sick. Hygiene (how cleaning/soap works).
174. Learn about directions (i.e., NSEW, on top, below, next to, inside, left, right, etc.).
175. Countries, US States, etc.
176. Learn about careers.
177. Learn about different types of fuel.
178. Learn about different types of careers. How our communities/jobs intertwine.
179. Learn about money & finances.
180. Learn about government.
181.. Learn about process of education. Different types, lifecycle, etc.
182. Learn about birthdays; holidays.
183. Learn how things work / mechanics.
184. How clothes are made. Purpose of clothes.
185. Learn about the ocean.
186. Mammals, reptiles.
187. Learn to tell time.
189. Learn about natural elements, geology.
190. Learn geography.
191. Sign up for a class & start prepping.
192. Learn a dance.
193. Learn survival tips.
194. Learn about dinosaurs & prehistoric times.
195. Learn about outer space.
196. Learn & create a technology at home.
197. Learn about anatomy / how body functions in various ways.
198. Plant something. Teach about botany.
199. Learn about another person’s story.
200. Online shop, explain the purpose, budgets, needs, etc.
201. Learn about the weather.
202. YouTube different hobbies and choose one to try at home. (I.e., sport, instrument, etc.).
- Activity Jar: print this list, cut out each activity, & put in jar.
Reference Books For Parents:
Now that you've stopped by, here are some of my current favorite parenting books and what I reference when cultivating this activity list.
For more on Motherhood + Style + Travel 💞, follow along here:
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Thanks for stopping by!
xx Lauren
Its a very good way to engage our kids, these activities help them to active in social a life too, I also play with my kids and these are very important for their health too, these activities need stuff and different equipment, so Reecoupons help me to buy these stuff with half of the market price if you guys need any stuff related to these activities must once check there.