It’s Wednesday morning, and you have the whole day to spend quality time with your two-year-old. As a devoted parent, you wholeheartedly look forward to and treasure these precious moments, and you want them to do so too.

After your little one has finished her breakfast, you both head up to the playroom and rummage through their box of toys. You are feeling joyous as you watch your toddler play to their heart’s delight within the depths of their boundless imagination.

Yet, you start to worry that they might soon get bored. They’ve played with the same toys so many times before, and you know that soon you’ll be in need of some new ideas, some fresh inspiration.

Parents, we know that entertaining our little ones can be hard at times, especially when they’re in toddlerhood! Toddlers need activities that are not only fun and engaging, but that challenge them when needed. Although it may feel like you need to fetch your wallet and concoct an elaborate plan to create activities, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, you may be surprised to know that there are so many cheap objects around the house which you can use to create new sources of fun for your little one.

So, here are some easy, new toddler activities that you can create from home!

Toy washing station

Supplies: Two storage bins, plastic toys, tear-free bubble bath (or body wash) and water, and various cleaning supplies.

How-to: Combine your tear-free bubble bath and water inside the smaller bin, as this will make the soap for washing. Then set the smaller bin inside the larger one, and collect together some plastic toys to wash. Finally, hand your little one some sponges, towels, and brushes in order to clean the toys. If you’re concerned about water pouring onto the floor, put down a thick towel.

Why it’s good: This is an ideal activity to engage your child’s senses, as well as giving them a chance to learn the life skill of washing. In addition, it’s a good activity for independent play, working to meet a goal, and concentration.

What else: This activity is a great opportunity for lots of variation within play. For example, your child can enjoy washing anything plastic such as cars, baby dolls, trucks, animals, etc.

Shape match

Supplies: White butcher paper, painter’s tape, black permanent marker, and sticky notes.

How-to: First of all, roll out the butcher paper to the size you would like. Next, draw some shapes on the paper (square, triangle, circle). Then, take the sticky notes and draw out the same number of shapes on those. Find places around the room to hide the sticky notes, and ask your little one to find them. Once they have located the individual shapes, have them bring them back and match them to other shapes on the paper.

Why it’s good: This activity is wonderful for shaping your child’s recognition skills. It also helps them work on their hand-eye coordination, visual discrimination skills, and will help them practice setting a goal.

What else: For some variety, why not try this activity with numbers, letters, and number qualities (dot arrays)?

Pom-pom soup:

Supplies: Two storage bins, water, and pom-pom balls.

How-to: Put a smaller storage bin inside a larger one. Then, fill the smaller bin with water and add the pom-pom balls. Then, next to the bin, put some cooking utensils and more bins for play.

To dry the pom-pom balls: In order to dry the pom-pom balls you can use a colander to strain the water from them. Then, pour them into a pillowcase and tie the end with a rubber band. Throw the whole thing into the washing machine and dryer.

Why it’s good: This is a fantastic sensory activity, perfect for tactile learners. It also gives a science lesson, as pom-poms float and fill with water.

What else: If you’re feeling extra adventurous, set up this game in the bathtub!

Dot sticker sort:

Supplies: Construction paper, dot stickers, and painter’s tape.

How-to: First of all, hang up four sheets of the construction paper; one sheet per dot sticker colour. Then, remove the white sticky part of the sheet surrounding the stickers – this will make things a lot easier for your child. Then, ask your child to sort the stickers by colour.

Why it’s good: This is a fine motor skills workout for your child, and means that they will be able to practice concentration and independent play. In addition, since this activity is closely related to sorting, this will help your child develop skills around this area.

What else: This is a wonderful activity for toddlers to bounce back and forth too, so try to leave this activity for at least an entire day with sticker sheets.

Animal line-up

Supplies: Painter’s tape and animal toys.

How-to: This is an activity to be carried out on the floor. Therefore, once on your hands and knees, use the painter’s tape to make designs and rows for your child. You could try designs that are horizontal, vertical, or zigzagged, for example. Then, have your little one line up their toys on the tape – like a little toy parade!

Why it’s good: This type of activity is very intricate and needs close attention and concentration. So while your child is engaging in practising skills of this sort, they are also able to engage in make-believe and fantasy play – which is ideal for their imagination.

What else: For a little variety, try this activity with puzzle pieces, cars, toys, or anything else you can think of.

What are some homemade toddler activities I can try?

Get arty and engage your toddler's imagination before taking Unii's Toddler Health & Development Journey.