Life is a little crazy right now and I feel for the parents who suddenly have to figure out what to do with their kiddos all day, what activities to plan or who might be in need of an idea for fun play!

Below, I have listed ten activities for toddlers that my preschool kiddos loved! Of course as with any activity there might some kiddos who do not love every activity. You know your kiddos and know which activities they might love more than others!

Making Tacos (sandwiches, or burgers)

This idea is something that my kiddos loved doing! The best way to do this is to create things ahead of time for your child. I cut little pieces of construction paper into different shapes, like little green blobs for lettuce, yellow mini rectangles for cheese, little red circles for tomatoes, etc. One thing that the kids loved about this is that they were able to create their own tacos! They were able to add as little or as much as they liked on their real “tacos”.

Painting-WITHOUT PAINT

This idea was a huge hit when the weather was nice outside! All you in is a paintbrush and a bucket of water. If you do not have paint brushes you can have kiddos use washcloths or anything that can collect water and be brushed around. This is so fun for kids because they love painting and it disappears so quickly that they can use the same spot over and over again.

Creating Faces

This idea is great for little ones or even a bit older. I gave kiddos a face shape cutout, I had also piles of different types of “hair”. I cut out strips of construction paper in varying shades and shapes. The kiddos could choose whichever face and hair they wanted then they drew on the rest of their faces.

Sorting Fluff Balls by Size and Color

This idea works for children of all ages, especially those who are just learning their colors. I used little plastic cups with a colorful shape on the bottom and students had to pick up fluff balls and place them into the containers based on color. For older students or those who needed a little more of a challenge, I had them use the giant tweezers to pick up the balls and put them into the containers. This kept them busy for a long time and then sometimes at the end of this activity they were able to have a “snowball” fight with each other and throw their fluff balls from one side of the room to the other. The kiddos never threw them far enough to bother each other but LOVED pretending it was snow!

Ripping Paper

This activity is a great time consumer for little hands! This activity was done with kiddos age 2-4 1/2. At each place at the table I placed one giant piece of construction paper, and instructed them to tear into as many pieces that they could. They loved seeing how big their pile of pieces got the longer they worked! If you need an extension to this for kids who can easily tear you can always write their name on a piece of paper and have them glue their little pieces onto their name.

Sorting Candy/snacks/goldfish

This activity can be done with any candy, snack or even toy that you have plenty of with similarities and differences. I had the students each get one packet of gummy fruit. They first dumped their fruit out and were able to explore it. They could look at colors, textures and shapes and had the chance to tell me what they noticed about them. Most of them noticed colors and shapes right away. I then asked them to sort them different ways, by color, by shape, by texture (how they felt), in groups of 2, the older kiddos I had do groups of 3 or count them to see how many they had altogether.

Tracing Names

I used this activity to help the kiddos write and learn their names. Even the youngest child in my class as able to write their name within a month or so of practicing. I had them trace their name when I wrote it out using markers, or crayons over and over and the repetition gave them the chance to build skills with writing their names.

Playing in the Dirt

This is a fun activity and once it is a little warmer outside most kiddos enjoyed this! If your kiddo is not a fan of getting their hands muddy a great way for them to still take part in this is for you to give them a shovel or a small toy to dig or play with instead of using their hands.

Painting Pumpkins/Vegetables

In the fall we painted pumpkins! Everyone received a tiny little pumpkin and was allowed to paint it however they wanted with as much or as little paint as they chose. This can be done with any fruit or veggie that you do not want to eat! If you paint mini pumpkins they may last for longer!

Making Butter

My mom was a Kindergarten teacher for over 30 years and she taught her class how to make butter every year around Thanksgiving. This is a fun way for you and your kiddos to play and work to make something that is tasty! In order to do this you need an old jar with a lid that seals completely, take cream and fill the jar about 1/3 of the way and put in a pinch or two of salt. Then get to shaking! You will have to continuously shake the jar for sometime to get the butter to come together and form, but it is super tasty in the end! It helps to have the kiddos shake for awhile, then you, then back and forth. Once there is no liquid in the butter you can take it out and either serve fresh or put in fridge before serving.

If you have any activities that you love to do with your toddler let me know! I would love to try them out!