Having three kids in the house, the oldest just having turned 3, my husband and I are constantly on the move and always on the lookout for fun things to do with the kids.
My youngest is a wee infant yet, but the 1.75 and 3 year old LOVE to play, play, play all day long.
If you haven’t been around toddlers recently, they can have favorite activities that last for weeks, days, or sometimes mere hours, and then it’s time to move on to something else.
Here are some quick, cheap, and simple ideas for providing fun, exploratory, imaginative play time for your little ones!
With all of these simple materials, add in things like paper, scissors, tape, glue, or colors, and let your kids take the lead!!!
CUPS
Add in items to fill in the cups.
Stack the cups.
Knock the cups over.
Build a tower.
Build a wall.
Clear cups, colorful cups, big cups, small cups.
Trap and release bugs and lizards.
Play with water and practice pouring or evenly distributing between a set of cups.
PAINTER’S OR WASHI TAPE + CARS
Make a race track for cars and trains.
Add in a parking lot.
Expand the course so the kids have more ways to turn and ride around.
Painter’s, washi, or masking tape are easy to clean up.
When they get bored, pull it all up and make a new track!
PAPER ROLLS
Save those paper rolls (toilet paper or paper towels).
Give a bunch to your kids and see what they do!
Make a pair of binoculars with a ribbon neck strap.
Add accessories to create machines, cars, cranes, or planes.
These are really great blank canvases for being imaginative.
Let your kids take the lead!
PAPER ROLLS + STRING
Take those planes and rocket ships and throw in some string to make them fly!
Let your kids string the rolls on to the string for practice with fine motor skills.
Have them “fly” the plane by hand.
Tip the string up and down to let gravity “fly” the planes.
Your house looks like soooo much fun!
Haha, thanks! These boys have lots of fun around here 🙂