My 3 year old son, Bryan, loves to keep busy and it helps me get more work done around the home. Bryan is such a talented little crafter that is always coming up with cool ideas. He loves to make paper kites with ribbon tails the most. Check out these 40 activities for toddlers at home indoors and outdoors that will keep your little one busy too!
#1 Paper Kites
Photo Credit: MomBeach.com (please link to my blog if you use my photo)
To make this paper kite, print out a piece of paper with your child’s name on it and then let them decorate it. Have your child put a ribbon on the bottom corner of the paper. Tots can then play with their kites by tossing them up in the air and catching the ribbon.
This a great activity for kids who are too young to fly real kites. They can make their own kites and then “fly” them in their home or out in the backyard! You can even decorate the wall of their room with their kite-like I have done.
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#2 Water Soaker Painting for Toddlers
Photo Credit: I Can Teach My Child!
This activity for toddlers at home outdoors is tons of fun for little ones to learn their colors and express their creativity. Make sure the paint is washable so that your child won’t stain their clothing.
Click here to purchase Crayola Washable Paint on Amazon!
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#3 Sticker Line-Up
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
Teach your child eye-hand coordination and dexterity with this fun activity. Simply purchase some simple colorful dot stickers, draw a line on several pieces of paper, tape them together, and unleash your little one upon it.
Click here to purchase colorful dot stickers on Amazon!
#4 Laundry Hamper Fishing
Photo Credit: Munchkins and Moms
Keep dry and play in the “ocean” at the same time with this amazing activity that will keep tots busy. Just grab some fun bath toys from Amazon, a laundry hamper that you have lying around, some kitchen tongs, and a precious toddler. It’s a recipe for so much marine fun.
Click here to purchase these Nuby bath toys from Amazon!
#5 Painting with Water on Cardboard
Photo Credit: I Can Teach My Child!
This is a super fun and budget-friendly activity for your child to try. Just get a piece of cardboard, a dish of water and a paint brush. This activity for toddlers can be done indoors or outdoors. It is a easy to clean up activity that can be done again and again. Just let the cardboard dry in between play time.
#6 Sort and Drop Color Activity with Lego Bricks
Photo Credit: Toddler Approved!
Your child will have so much fun sorting lego bricks in the various colored holes. This activity is DIY and is very easy to put together. Just get a shoe box, cut holes in it and color around the holes in various colors.
#7 Pasta Play
Photo Credit: Messy Little Monster
I know that kids aren’t supposed to play with their food, but this activity is so much fun. Get some dried pasta and a colander and let your child poke the pasta in the holes. It’s a simple activity that can be done with things you already have laying around the home.
#8 Fine Motor Color Sorting Activity
Photo Credit: Munchkins and Moms
Kids will be able to learn colors and matching with this super fun activity. Grab a veggie and dip tray off of Amazon if you don’t have one and some pom-pom balls to make this.
#9 Erase the ABCs: Easy Alphabet Activity
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
Children will have so much fun using dry erase markers to color on windows and glass doors. It is super easy to clean up and there is no mess. They can practice their ABCs or learn to write their names.
#10 Homemade Bath Paints
Photo Credit: Parenting Chaos
Bath time has never been so much fun once you introduce bath paint soap into the mix. Children will love to get creative and color themselves and the tub with the soapy paints. There is no mess to clean up and kids actually help you keep the tub clean. It’s a win-win situation!
#11 Golf Tee Push: Fine Motor Skills Activity
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
If daddy has some golf tees laying around, then try out this fun activity with your toddler. Simply poke some holes in a shoe box and then let your child put the golf tees in the holes.
#12 Matching Objects
Photo Credit: Toddler Approved!
This activity for toddlers at home is extremely engaging! Simply get several household objects and toys that are flat and then trace around them.
#13 Painting on Foil – An Easy Art Activity
Photo Credit: Messy Little Monster
Create beautiful art with your child by painting on household foil. Your wee one will be impressed with their shiny works of art.
#14 Shapes Activity Hunt Sensory Bin
Photo Credit: Fun With Mama
If you have a shapes puzzle or foam shapes, then you can have your child uncover them in a container of sand. When your child pulls out a shape, then have them identify the color and shape name as an added educational bonus.
#15 Whisking Bubbles – Kids Play Activity
Photo Credit: Emma Owl
Every toddler loves to play with bubbles! Create an interactive bubble container for your child to play with. They can use whisks and other kitchen utensils to mix around the bubble soap. This is one of the great activities for toddlers at home indoors.
#16 Simple entertainment: Sensory Bottles
Photo Credit: Mama Smiles – Joyful Parenting
Recycle old bottles into sensory playthings for your child. Use oil, water and colored glitter to create a mixture to fill into the bottle. It’s such a fun and easy craft to do while on a budget. Kids will have a blast shaking their sensory bottles to see how the glitter moves within. It’s a great way to teach them science too!
#17 Name Broom Hockey
Photo Credit: Toddler Approved!
Kids will be spelling their names before you know when you employ this super fun activity. Just write the letters of your child’s name on paper plates and let them have a broom to place the letter plates together. What other words can they spell with the letters of their name? Get even more creative and make 26 plates with all the letters of the alphabet for more spelling fun.
#18 What’s Magnetic? A Toddler Science Activity
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
Learning science has never been more fun. Kids will learn what is magnetic with this crazy fun activity. Simply place several metallic objects in a container and give your child a handheld magnet stick.
#19 Baby Play with Rice and Cookie Cutters
Photo Credit: Simple Fun for Kids VIP
This easy activity for toddlers at home is extremely engaging. Give your child a cookie cutter and place rice on a cookie sheet. They will have a blast making indentations in the rice and mixing it around.
#20 Homemade Household Objects Puzzle
Photo Credit: Mama.Papa.Bubba.
If you are low on cash, but want a fun activity for your child, then consider making your own household objects puzzle. Just grab some stuff around the house and trace around it on a piece of cardboard or styrofoam. Then let your child place the objects within the outlines.
#21 Stacking Cups
Photo Credit:Adventures of Adam
This is a simple and fun activity that has been around since cups were invented I’m sure! Get a bunch of cups, either paper or plastic, and let your tot spend time stacking them up. How high can they go?
#22 Recycled Building STEM Activity
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
Turn that discarded waste into building blocks for your child. Kids will learn the importance of recycling while performing this activity. Greener living starts with our kids, who will inherit the Earth from us. This is one of the cool activities for toddlers at home indoors.
#23 CD Stacking – Fine Motor Skills
Photo Credit: Adventures and Play
Hardly anyone uses CDs anymore and I’m sure you have some laying around the house. Your child will be drawn to these holographic and shiny discs.
#24 Pom Pom Rrrrrracing
Photo Credit: Emma Owl
Kids of all ages will enjoy throwing pom pom balls across the floor. It’s a simple and budget-friendly activity that every toddler will love.
#25 Crunchy Box
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
This sensory activity is sure to be a hit with your child. Kids love crunchy sounds! Under your supervision, let them use a small hammer to “crunch” cereal in a container.
#26 Pom Pom Push
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
How many pom pom balls can your child fit into a small container? Kids will enjoy mashing and smashing the pom poms to get them to fit with the lid on the container.
#27 Alphabet Letter Fishing
Photo Credit: Fun With Mama
Those alphabet magnets have another use besides collecting dust on the fridge. Why not turn them into a cool water activity?
#28 Quick & Simple Fine Motor Activity
Photo Credit: My Joy-Filled Life
Toddlers will learn how to grasp delicate loops of cereal with this fun toddler activity to do at home. Get some play-doh use it to keep a wooden stick or straw in place. Let your toddler place Fruit Loop or other similar cereal on the stick.
#29 Impromptu Drum Circle
Photo Credit: Mama.Papa.Bubba.
If you have invested in some handy earplugs or noise canceling headphones, then allow your toddler to perform this activity!
#30 What’s Missing: A Toddler Game
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
Kids will have fun building logic and memory with this interactive activity. Just use toys you have laying around the house! This is one of the awesome activities for toddlers at home indoors.
#31 Mini Treasure Hunt
Photo Credit: Mama.Papa.Bubba.
Kids will have a blast searching for items with this activity for toddlers to do at home.
#32 Painting with Cars
Photo Credit: Munchkins and Moms
Toddlers are naturally drawn to cars and painting. This activity blends both into one super fun thing to do. Use washable paints to cut down on the mess.
#33 Scooping Pom Poms
Photo Credit: Buggy and Buddy
This low-cost activity employs things you already have laying around the house. Let kids scoop up various colors of pom poms and place them into ice cube trays. This improves eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.
#34 Fine Motor Skills Alphabet Activity
Photo Credit: A Dab of Glue Will Do
Toddlers will love this multi-disciplined activity that lets them learn fine motor skills, eye hand coordination, numbers and letters. You can use pom pom balls, buttons, and more! This is one of the creative activities for toddlers at home indoors.
#35 Rice Bin Sensory Play Activity
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
Fill a bin with rice or sand and let kids play in it with various household items. It’s great fun for toddlers!
#36 Sink or Float Discovery Station
Photo Credit: Mama.Papa.Bubba.
This activity helps kids learn science! Will the various household items sink or will they float during the experiment?
#37 Coloring on Sandpaper Activity for Toddlers
Photo Credit: I Can Teach My Child!
If you have any old or broken crayons laying around, then consider giving your toddler this activity. I wouldn’t use newer crayons because this activity could destroy them or wear them down. Kids will love the feel of sandpaper as they color and touch it!
#38 Roll & Hop Shape Game
Photo Credit: I Can Teach My Child!
Get kids moving with this fun shape activity. Today’s child doesn’t get much exercise, which can lead to adult obesity. Kids can both learn new shapes and exercise in the home.
#39 Ice Skating for Toys
Photo Credit: I Can Teach My Child!
Fill a tray with water and freeze it to make a cool ice skating park for your toddler’s toys. To make it even more neat looking, place felt or vinyl snowflakes (that you can make with a Cricut Air) in the tray before freezing. This is one of the cool activities for toddlers at home indoors.
#40 Sorting Toys by Color Activity for Toddlers
Photo Credit: I Can Teach My Child!
Use stuff you have laying around the house to do this outrageously fun activity. You can go to the Dollar Tree and find colored bins for $1 each and then have your child place toys and other objects of the same color in them.
More Fun Activities for Toddlers to do at Home or Outdoors?
This post is just scratching the surface on fun activities your toddler can do at home or outdoors. Get creative and come up with your own cool ideas to keep your child busy.
Do you have any more ideas for toddler activities or have tried any of these activities? Let me know in the comments, please!
STOP! Here is an amazing offer for Mom Beach readers!
Is your child spending too much time on screens?
How about giving your child this amazing Mermaid Kid’s Craft Kit to keep him/her busy for hours?!
Get the Mermaid Kid’s Craft Bundle! – Save 25% off with coupon HOTDEALS!
Related Posts:
- 23 Engaging Summer Activities for Kids So You Can Get Back Your Sanity!
- Best Crafts for Kids: 4 Crazy Fun Craft Activities For Parent-Child Bonding
- Raising Entrepreneurs: 5 Amazing and Unforgettable Tips
- My 3 Year Old Gives Me a Reality Check!
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Cindy says
These ideas are terrific! I’m always looking for ways to keep my grandson entertained and engaged!
Becky says
Thanks, Cindy!
Sandra Wellmann says
I love that you include sensory activities! My two toddlers will definitely love these activities!
Becky says
That’s great! Thanks for your kind comment, Sandra!
Jennie says
Sticker dots and puff balls in an ice cube might just be my saving grace during a very cold snowy c-section recovery with a toddler! So glad I found this right before baby was born!