Toddler activities

Here are the activities that I took from this website as my guide.I will try to record as much activities that I could that I will done with Nurin (turning 3 yrs old this upcoming Dec).

1) Dump and Put:

Toddlers love to dump bins of toys all over the floor, but they love to 'put' things in containers as well. Why not make a game of it? 

I store toys separated by 'type' in fabric bins so that they are easy to locate when my son wants to play with them, and easy to put away when he is done. I also started having him learn to put things away when he could sit up and put toys in containers. He had one bin and a few toys that were his responsibility and he liked putting them back in the box. Of course, sometimes he would dump them back out, but it was the practice that counted! 

I can't say it makes him 'want' to clean up, but when he has to do it, he does. If you try this at times other than just clean up, it will be a game rather than the end to play. 

2) Oats, peas, beans and barley grow:

One of the main learning experiences in a daycare is the sensory table.  It is always a busy center.  Make one at home!  Children love playing with uncooked rice, uncooked beans, dry noodles, dry rolled oats, etc.  They can get their hands in it, sharpen their fine motor skills by picking pieces up, and they can measure, scoop, and pour.  I have dry beans, and an old set of measuring cups for my son to play with.  Of course you can only use this with toddlers who are not putting things in their mouth since this is a choking hazard for children still in an oral stage.

My son scoops and pours with the measuring cups.  They are 'nesting cups' in reality, but better since they have the measurement listed on them so this can be a math game as well.  Let your child explore it.  I usually set it up on our deck or in the yard so that any mess can be eaten by the birds.  (Bird seed is an option as well.)

Other items we have used in my classrooms are water, snow, water and dish soap, water and food coloring (be careful with clothes), shredded paper, and sand.

3) Dance and move to music

Turn on a kids' CD, or one of those Toddler channels on the television music channels.  Expose your child to music.  They will move and play. Sing and dance with them.  Get the wiggles out!  It teaches them not only gross motor movements as they move and dance, but also language and listening skills as they listen to the words and sing along. (Add a scarf or ribbon so your child can wave it around and dance with it to add an extension.) For some personalized songs that teach, check out this post.

4) The child went over the mountain

Pile up a few couch or bed pillows. Have your toddler try climbing over them.  If your toddler is anything like mine was, any opportunity to climb over something is fun.  A bean bag would work for this, or even a big blanket folded up.   You can add pillows or blankets to the stack depending on your child's skill level, height, etc.  Be careful for any falls or slips into a hard floor below the 'mountain.' This is a good opportunity to teach your child to keep their head up and be careful for the floor below.

5) What animal is that?

Print off some images of animals, paste them on a piece of cardstock or poster board, and label them with their name: cow, goat, pig, dog, etc.  Show your child the poster, and teach them the names of the animals while pointing to each picture.  Make the animal sounds as well.  

Print throughout their environment will help emphasize early language development, and its importance.  Hang the poster on a wall or the refrigerator at your child's height.  You can use this to 'quiz' your child as their langauge skills develop and they are able to make the animal sounds or point to each and say the names.

6)Make a puzzle

A) Save an empty cereal box or frozen waffle box (or other food box that is a favorite 'eat' of your child).

B) Cut the box into simple geometric shapes for younger children. (I draw the design that I will cut out on the back of the image and use it as my cutting guide.)  The greater the number of pieces, the smaller they will be, and the more difficult the puzzle.  Ease in younger children and challenge the older ones!

C) Give the puzzle to your child to put together.

They will have so much fun seeing their own face if you use a personal photo.  You can include your child in the creation process so that they see this project from start to finish, or surprise them with it: a new, free, toy!

This activity is great, because store-bought puzzle pieces get lost, or damaged.  I try to give puzzles a long life even if pieces are not pristine, but this project allows you to create new puzzles almost instantly if others get too shabby to keep!  You can print a few images that coincide with your child's newest interest (cartoon characters, cars, horses, frogs, etc.)  It's a very versatile activity and can be personalized for each child's interests.

7) Bat at the Ball

Tie a string, or piece of yarn, to a beach ball or balloon.  Fasten the end of the string to the top of a doorway, the ceiling, or outside on a shepherd's hook.  The string should be long enough to allow your toddler to just reach the ball while they are standing up.  The goal is to have your child bat at the ball while maintaining balance.  Great for the early walkers who still need to work on balance.  Also, for older toddlers, you can shorten the string so they have to reach higher (again, extending the balance challenge) or jump up to tap the ball which helps them learn to jump as well.

8) Bubbles

This is easy.  Blow bubbles and encourage your child to 'catch' the bubbles (eye-hand coordination, and gross motor movement).  To extend this activity, count the bubbles out loud as your child "catches" them to expose your child to number order.  

You can let your child try to blow the bubbles as well.

9) Towel Tube Bowling

Using paper towel tubes or toilet paper tubes, line them up on the floor in a bowling arrangement.  Demonstrate to your child how to roll the ball at the tubes to knock them over.  Count how many are 'down'. We made a bowling mat from a yoga mat for some additional bowling fun. Check it out here. It is at #14.

10) Sock Sort

Sorting is an important skill for young children.  It helps strengthen visual discrimination skills, compare and contrast, and is a pre-math skill that will help build on the later need to group numbers.  Try this one on laundry day:  As you fold the clothes, set aside the socks.  Ask your child to help find the match for each sock.  You may have to help at first, or start with 2 pairs versus 10, but this is a great way to initiate help with the household chores and make a learning game out of it.

11) Sock Toss 

Once the socks are folded/tucked, use them as soft 'balls' for a tossing activity.  Using the laundry basket or a small box, demonstrate to your child how to toss the sock ball into the basket.  Let them try it.  Be patient, they may walk to the basket and just drop in the sock!  This is an easy activity to pull out and put away when the playing is done.

12) Table Top Tape Removal

Using masking tape, place long strip of tape on the fridge door, table top, sliding glass door or a window that is within your toddler's reach.  Criss cross the strips of tape until you have about 5 strips stuck to the surface.  Demonstrate to your child how to use their finger/nail to pick at the tape and pull it off.  This is a challenge to the younger toddler, and is great exercise for the fine motor skill of using the fingers.

13) Rip It Up

Give your toddler a piece of the newspaper, scrap advertisement, or other scrap paper and let them rip it apart.  Toddlers are at an age where things are not going in their mouths as often as infants, and it takes coordination and fine motor movement to rip the paper into long strips and even smaller pieces.  Let them help clean it up when they are done by counting the pieces as you put them in the recycling box...or save them and expose your child to gluing (with your help) and make the scraps into a collage.  You can place a dot of glue on a piece of paper and your child can put the paper scrap onto the glue.  Teamwork!

14) Natural Materials Feely Box

If you have collected rocks, leaves, pine cones, shells, or any other larger natural materials from playtime outside, bring them inside and create a feely box.  Place collected items (related, or not) in a small cardboard box, cloth bag, or other receptacle.  Show them to your baby, and let them reach into the box or bag to pull out items and feel them.  If you are worried about the cleanliness of the items, hand wash them prior to use.  Make sure to talk about the items with your child to expand vocabulary and exposure to language.

15) Color Circles Sticker Sort

The older toddler will have fun sorting the colored stickers into color groups.  Grab a package of the 4-color circle stickers from an office supply store.  Divide a piece of paper into 4 spaces as shown in the picture.  Using colored markers, write the color words using their respective colored marker writing one color per square. Hand one sticker at a time to your child and say the color name. Help them match the sticker to its corresponding place on the paper and let them stick it on the paper. This activity teaches fine motor control, visual discrimination (the ability to discriminate between visible similarities and differences in size, shape, pattern, form, and color), and color recognition.

16) Monochromatic Duplos

 Pull out only one color of duplos and present them to your child. Talk about them using the color word.  Variations in tone are ok: learning occurs when initial confusion leads to scaffolding and deeper understanding

17) Single Letter Sticker Collage

Purchase some stickers from the dollar aisle at Target, or at your local Dollar Store and help your child use only the letter of their first name and stick them on paper.  Stickers are a fine motor challenge for Todds, and this will help enhance their exposure to letters.

18) Foam Crayon Color Sort

Using sheets of craft foam in a variety of colors, cut out one large crayon shape and 4 small crayon shapes per color.  Decorate your crayons as you choose and write the color word on each one.  Have your child place the small crayons on the large crayon that matches.  Store in a zip top bag in your 'puzzles' or 'games' bin, or a plastic page sleeve in a binder.  Can be turned into a folder game as well.

19) Pom Pom Magnets Pincer Practice

I had a small collection of pom poms left over from previous craft activities, so I made a game out of them!  All you need are pom poms of various colors and a roll of magnetic strip tape (costs 5-8 dollars at your local hardware store).

1) Cut a small piece of magnet tape, peel off the paper backing and stick onto the pom pom well. Repeat for the other pom poms.

2) Arrange on a small cookie sheet or metal pan, or even the refrigerator. Let your child explore trying to grab the pom poms with their pincer grasp. (This is challenging, so be patient with them.)

3) To expand for older children, using a muffin tin, line the pom poms along the edges and let your child sort them by color. I place a circle of colored construction paper in each muffin cup and then my child can use tweezers or their fingers to match the pom poms to the correct place. (It is a common activity, so there are a lot out there on the web to compare.)

20) Shredded Paper Sensory

Shredded paper is something we ALWAYS have plenty of in our paper shredder bin.  It can be used as a sensory bin material.  I hide magnets, small toys, or foam letters inside the paper shreds, and my child digs through it until she finds an item to pull out. You can make this thematic as well by using all dinosaur toys or small toy cars, as well as Easter eggs, or plastic Christmas ornaments. 

21) Awareness of Print

Your toddler CAN begin to learn about print.  Exposure to letters and words is key to starting your child off on a great footing for later reading readiness and success. Long before children can 'read' they can recognize the significance of print in their environment-the McDonalds 'M', the 'Geico' commercial, etc. This is an easy activity...SO easy...to teach your child a bit about print. 1) Tape a piece of paper to the high chair tray, or right to a table and 2) say the letters of the child's name as you write them on the paper. 3) Let your child pick a few crayons-be sure to say the color name of each-and then let your child color the paper. They are exposed to their name-and you can really use any word you choose-as well as gain fine motor experience while coloring, not to mention color association from the crayons. A toddler writing center! (I expanded this a bit at other times to include just letters-I would write 'A' and 'a' on the paper in a few places-and shapes-draw the shapes on the paper as you name them and then let your child color (scribble) away. You will be amazed how quickly he/she starts to focus on individual letters by coloring on top of the letter or shape in a more focused way.)

22) Tactile Alphabet Book

Using an alphabet board book that you may have at your house-the one in the picture was purchased for $1 at Target in the Dollar Aisle-and some puffy fabric paint, create a tactile letter exploration activity. Trace the letters on each page with the puffy paint, and let it dry based on the directions on the paint bottle. You do one page at a time-it takes about 10 seconds to do each page of a book laid out like the one in the picture, and then you just let it sit on the counter until dry enough to go on to the next page. It takes a little patience, but once completed this adds a level of interest to an ordinary ABC book. You introduce the 'shape' of each letter through the sensory exploration that is possible after the puffy paint dries.

23) Shape Hopscotch

Using a roll of butcher paper, large pieces of packing paper, or pieces of construction paper taped together to make a long piece of paper, you can create a shape hopscotch exploration...or a large coloring mural! What I did was tear off a piece of butcher paper and I drew on basic shapes and colored them in. I said the name of each shape while pointing to them when my toddler was paying attention, and she took a crayon and scribbled over the shapes. We also stood up and 'hopped' onto each shape saying the name to add a little gross motor activity to the learning as well. It eventually was torn apart, but that is fine motor and sensory play!

24) Cookie Sheet Magnet Games

I noticed my children not really paying attention to our magnetic letters that were stuck on the fridge, so I placed them on a cookie sheet (still magnetic) and placed the cookie sheet on a child-sized table. Because it was in a new place, it was unexpected and became new again! This is a great way to get your child to sit at the table to 'work' for a few minutes as well when they are needing a little more structured time. Cookie sheet+magnets=instant center! 

25) Easy Stampers

Use empty ribbon rolls, small lengths of straw, empty thread spools or toilet paper tubes as stampers for paint. Little hands can work to grip the 'stamp', dip it in paint and stamp away. Using a long piece of butcher paper taped to a table top can help a toddler's need to spread out and expand their creativity. Biscuit cutters and cookie cutters can work as well-just dip into paint and stamp. They can easily be washed in soap and water afterwards. This is a great way to explore shapes and fine motor skill exercise. (The end of a paper towel tube can be bent or shaped into different forms for more variety.)

26) Outdoor Wash Time

Place a bucket of soapy water in front of a child, and they think 'play' not 'work', so take that outside and wash the toys! My children washed their ride-on toys, but bring out the garage tools too and scrub away. This is a great rainy day activity for spending time in the garage (if you have one) cleaning up for fun...I know, it's a stretch, but try it! This really teaches care for things and team work not to mention that it combines fine motor and gross motor movements.

27) The Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Plates

Read the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Create this matching activity to introduce or reinforce number-value exploration that matches what the caterpillar eats in the book.  Print off the free felt board pattern shapes for the fruit from Making Learning Fun (print pages 1 and 6 from the link) or draw them yourself. Color and cut out the fruit pieces and mount each group of fruit on construction paper together (all 3 plums together, all 4 strawberries together, etc.) to reinforce. I then cut around each group of fruit so that all of the same fruit was on the same piece of paper as shown in the picture with all three plums on one piece of construction paper. 

Using five paper plates, write the number symbol and the word of the fruit that illustrates that amount on the top of the plate. Punch a hole in the rim of the plate as shown above and tie a piece of yarn (about 6-8 inches long) to the hole. Also punch a hole in each fruit piece and tie the other end of the string to the fruit. Using velcro pieces or dots, place the hook side on the plate and the loop side on the back of the fruit. Hang the plates on the wall, or the window using tape. Let the fruit pieces dangle below their plate and encourage your child to place the fruit on the plate where it belongs. (You can extend this for older children by not including the string and having the child solely rely on counting to match up the fruit with its matching plate.)

28) Shave Cream Is Not Just Sensory

 I started off with a plastic mat on the floor and a cookie sheet as the surface to contain the shave cream. I drew some circles on a piece of construction paper (the red in the picture to the left) and slipped the paper into a zip top bag so that my daughter could place shave cream in each circle and try to form the circle with her fingers (sensory, geometry and fine motor). Shave cream was squirted in a big mound on the cookie sheet for her to explore on her own with her hands. I showed her how to mold the shave cream into a circle shape following the pattern in the bag, and then she tried. Eventually she just played with it between her fingers and liked to spread it around with her hands on the cookie sheet. I wrote her name on the cookie sheet with my finger and she then 'erased' it with her hands by moving the shave cream around. We 'wrote' letters, shapes, etc. to add to her exploration. A good 30 minutes went by. I did plan this activity for a day when I had to mop the floors anyway, but you could take it outside on a deck or in the yard so all you have to do is turn on the hose to clean up. The shave cream rinsed right off of the bag so I can use the circle paper again in or out of the bag. 

29 Duplo/Block Color Sort

You need: 2 paper lunch bags or other containers, colored Duplos or other colored blocks, scotch tape and a marker. Separate two colors of blocks that you would like your child to use. Cut two strips of construction paper that match the two block colors and tape one paper strip to a lunch bag or shoe box; repeat with the other paper strip on the other bag/box. I wrote the name of each color on the paper strip as well. Make a pile of the blocks and guide your child to place the colors in to the correct matching bag. The best part is, when they are done, the bags can be dumped! What toddler doesn't love to dump?

**To simplify this, use only one color and your child will place the one color of block into the one color bag. This repetition allows a younger toddler to practice learning one color at a time and still engages them in a cause-and-effect activity.

30) Toddlers and Crayons

Toddlers LOVE cause-and-effect activities. Often this is why we pull out our hair trying to chase after this age group: they are always trying out pushing and pulling and poking and prodding-sometimes in the wrong places! They do need our supervision, but it is also nice to provide toddlers with activities that engage the exploratory interest that they have at this age. I start introducing coloring with crayons when my child can grasp, so your toddler is probably ready to try to color. Toddlers don't recognize boundaries well, so small pieces of paper will result in crayon crossing the edges and getting on your table. Try taping a large piece of butcher paper or craft paper to your table or floor. (You can buy rolls of this at places like IKEA or at local discount stores for pretty cheap.)  If you don't have craft paper, lay several pieces of construction paper or scrap paper out on a surface and tape down with masking tape. Even a paper bag cut open can be a canvas for a child. I place a few crayons (2 or 3) on the paper so my child does not dump the entire box all over-too many crayons can result in distraction for this age group. Prepare the table, lay out a couple of crayons and when your toddler wants to focus, this is a great way to teach them what they CAN try.

(This is too early to try to correct an inappropriate grip while coloring. I wait until at least 3 before instructing how to hold a crayon or pencil. Let this be exploratory coloring where the lesson is color names, fine motor exercise and learning what CAN be done-coloring on paper and not on the table or floor.)

(Also, if your toddler is still putting things in their mouth, you can still introduce activities like this. Start by telling them that crayons are for coloring and not eating. If they put the crayons in their mouth, then tell them "no" and that they need to color on the paper or the crayon will be taken away. If the crayon goes in the mouth again, coloring time is done. You can revisit later that day or another day, but teaching the consequence is also a great lesson for every toddler to start learning.)

31) Touch the Textures

This little make-at-home booklet is a great exploration activity that allows your toddler to 'read' while engaging their need to touch everything! I created it from paper board that is the material in cereal boxes, but you could use cardboard as well. Cut the board into 4 inch by 6 inch pieces and punch two holes in the left side of each 'page' as shown in the picture. 

 On each page, I used hot glue to attach scrap pieces of fabric, rug grip, and ribbon. After the glue cooled, I wrote a corresponding word to describe how the material on each page feels-sticky, bumpy, smooth, etc. This way print is being introduced as well for early literacy.

After all the pages were labeled, I laid the pages on top of each other with the holes lined up on the left side, and tied a piece of yarn through to bind the book. Obviously, this is great for infants or toddlers with supervision so that if they start to pull the material off of the pages, you can teach that we can touch but not tear. A great lesson that will need to be learned with the use of 'real' books as well.

 32) Pillow Path

Need an indoor activity to help utilize large muscles on a rainy day, or a day that is too cold for going outside? Try making this balance game out of pillows...yep, only pillows! Line a few pillows on the floor-placing them on carpeted surfaces or rugs will help reduce the risk of slipping, but supervision is key when introducing any new activity to your child!

Once you have made the path, show your toddler how to step on the pillows to walk along them. You will notice how much balance is tested when your child attempts to walk on this cushy path. My preschooler and toddler spent about 15 minutes taking turns walking along the path. Count each pillow as you walk on it all the way to the end. Add pillows to increase the challenge.

33) Toddler Math Center

Add some math to your toddlers next coloring experience: draw numbers or shapes on their piece of paper before you offer it to them. Tell them the names of the shape or shapes, number or numbers, and then as they color on the drawn images, repeat the names: "You just colored the square red," for example. You are teaching, and exposure will help your child retain knowledge much earlier. I have even just written the letter 'E' multiple times (add a little literacy) on one piece of paper when my daughter was very interested in saying that letter. So she was able to color a bunch of 'E's and now she can identify the letter on her own. A very simple way to start teaching basic math information.

 34) Number Steps

My toddler, thanks to having an older brother, was exposed to counting early. She was already trying to count before 2 years old, so I went with it and developed activities to help expose her to the number symbols and order. Try this simple number steps activity. All you need is construction paper, a marker and masking tape.

First, cut 5 sheets of construction paper in half width-wise. Second, write one number symbol (1, 2, 3..) on each piece and write the corresponding number word under each symbol, again, only one number per piece of paper. Using tape, attach the pieces of paper to your floor in order. While holding your child's hand, step together onto '1' and be sure to say, "one". Then step to '2' and so on. Toddlers like to move, so this way they are stepping and learning numbers at the same time. I left these on the floor (in a high traffic area) for a whole day and we revisited the activity a few times. Great for a rainy or cold day as well.

36) Apple Tree Color Match: A simple matching game in the colors of Fall on the Thematic Activities page!

37) Environmental Print Flip Book

Children learn to "read" their environment much earlier than they learn to read words in books. They will point to stores and say the name, or see a commercial on tv and tell what company it is. I remember when my son picked up a piece of mail (at 2 years old) and said, "This says 'Geico.'" Of course I was thrilled, but it is only proof that they learn what they are exposed to, and we can encourage their attention to their environment by letting them interact with it: This (or any) environmental flip book is so simple and an easy way to encourage your child to recognize the importance of print...even in the toddler years!

What I did was cut the front off of food boxes, punch a hole in the top corner, and loop through a piece of yarn to connect all the box fronts together to make a little 'book.'  It is in my toddler's 'learning games bin' and we can pull it out and read it.  I can "test" her to see if she can tell me what they are. She might say, "noodles," instead of "linguine," but she is still 'reading' the box. (You can also cut them into shapes to make a puzzle as I posted a bit farther up on this page.)

38) Scooping Ice out of Water

It is so simple, and yet so engaging for toddlers to get their hands wet and dig into sensory activities! We use water play so often I wonder how my children do not get bored with it. This is an easy add-on: put a bunch of ice in a bucket of water. Your child may be content to just try to grab and hold the ice, but I added a slotted spoon and cup so my child could try to scoop up the ice and pour it into the cup. (Fine motor, eye-hand coordination, and motor development due to the movement of the wrist...will come in handy when it is time to cut with scissors and spread onto bread!) Adding simple tools to simple activities teach life skills.

39) Sensory Tubes

On a trip to the children's museum in our area I jotted some ideas down for activities/toys that I wanted to try to make at home. This is one: Using cardboard tubes, tape, coins, rocks, plastic wrap and a bell, I made a few sensory tubes.

Start by folding a piece of plastic wrap into a squarish-shape so it can cover one end of the tube. Tape around the edge to secure the plastic wrap.

In the other end, drop a few coins. (Each tube had different items inside: one had a Christmas bell, one had beans, one had rice.)

On the open end, I taped another piece of folded wrap to close the tube. I also wrote the word for what items were inside the tube to add some literacy.  Make a few and your child can use them as instruments and they can try to guess what is inside.

40) Painted-by-Child Color Cards

My daughter loves to paint, and I decided to save a few paintings where she had mixed two colors to help teach her color names and color words. After she made a painting using two colors, I cut out a piece of the artwork and labeled the color. I tried to cut a piece that still had remnants of the two original colors in it so that I could say, "Look, red and yellow made orange."  I labeled each color card and laminated them so I could hang them on the wall and we could refer back to them often.  Extension: Punch holes in each color card and lace them together with yarn to form a little color book!

41) Egg Carton Fine Motor Punch

All you need here is an egg carton (foam will work best), and stickers. I used the colored circle stickers from an office supply store, but some cute animal or letter stickers from the scrapbooking aisle would be great too. This activity promotes fine motor strength, one-to-one correspondence and vocabulary/communication skills. Turn the empty, clean egg carton upside down. Place one sticker on each egg cup as shown in the picture to the left.  

Your child pokes at the stickers to push in the egg cup. I introduced the activity like this: "Look! There are yellow, green and red stickers here. Let's count all the yellow stickers. Push the sticker to press it down when we count each number." I did help guide my toddler to only press one cup at a time while saying each number at a time. Your child could say the color as they press, and they can randomly press them in-no need to do each row at a time-as long as you are only saying one number when they press one egg cup, and guiding them to slow down in order to try to maintain that one-to-one correspondence.

My preschooler helped me discover that we could reuse this game by opening it up and on the inside of the carton, pressing the egg cup back out in order to try again! At one point the goal became pressing so hard that the egg cup would break, so even that is more fine motor strength and control. 

42) Foam Shape Match

If you have leftover foam sheets, scrap fabric, or even construction paper, you can make this game. I had some foam sheets that had been sitting around my house since, well, I was actually teaching outside the home! You can grab a few from a craft store, or use what you have at home already. Start with cutting out basic shapes in a large size. I used some stencils I had from scrapbooking, but just freehand it or print shapes off from the computer. Whatever works for you.

Follow by cutting out about 3 smaller shapes to be matched to each large shape. For younger toddlers, I would start with about 3 large shapes and add as their skill of matching and identifying shapes increases. Lay the large shapes on the table or floor, and your child will place each smaller shape on the large shape that it matches. I wrote the name of each shape on the large shapes to increase the exposure to print. 

43) Tri-Color Rotini Colored Shape Sort

Simple, cheap, quick is the name of this activity for sure! All you need is a box of tri-color rotini pasta, a piece of paper and crayons or colored pencils. Using a white piece of paper (mine is from the scrap bin) draw on 3 shapes. I drew 3 squares-one yellow, 1 orange and 1 green since the pasta came in those colors. I chose to draw squares since my toddler does not yet identify a square correctly, so I figured why use circle groupings when I could draw a shape she needed to work on.

Facilitate your child picking a piece of pasta and matching it to its corresponding colored shape. I had my toddler start with 5 noodles per shape, but less is great for children just getting used to table activities. That's it! You could add on gluing as well to adhere the pasta to the paper. Yes, my child did taste the pasta as well-multi-sensory activity!

44) Playdough Shortcut for Little Hands

This is mostly a quick tip, but since toddlers often love playdough yet have trouble flattening it in order to cut it, do the hard part for them. Take a cookie sheet, place a ball of playdough on it, and flatten it with your hands or a rolling pin. Once it is flat, your toddler will be able to press in cookie cutters or use small utensils to cut it into pieces. This makes the experience a little more engaging when the playdough may be tough to press for their little hands.

45) Easy Egg Carton Sort

Using leftover colored stickers, turn an egg carton into a color sorting game. We had leftover heart stickers from Valentine's my preschooler made. I cut an egg carton in half so we could use 6 egg cups-since the stickers came in 6 colors. I peeled off the back of each of 6 stickers and placed one in each egg cup as shown. The remaining stickers were sorted into their matching egg cup. Use any stickers you have that are small and can be matched. You could even just punch out or cut out simple shapes from construction paper, glue one in each egg cup and have 2-3 extra to sort into each cup that match the one inside it. Many options!

46) Book About Me

I have to give the credit for this idea to a friend of mine who suggested it to me when she started making one for her toddler. A book about your child is always interesting to them at this age. There are a couple of easy ways to do this no matter what your level of creativity may be. I used a photo album with plastic sleeves and I had previously made books on a photo products website. Using the photo album idea, create a book that focuses on your child. Place pictures of him/her from birth on up and write simple captions using names, places, etc. to add some literacy. My children love looking through these books pointing to familiar family members and of course spotting their own faces in the pictures. (You can tell my toddler decided to decorate the cover of her book on her own!) It is ok if the book gets "used", that is the point. A little wear and tear may happen-teach how to treat books as this occurs, but definitely let your child handle books.

47) Pom Pom Egg Carton Correspondence

Pom poms or marbles and an egg carton become a fine motor exercise in one-to-one correspondence. This is an essential skill that teaches children to point to one symbol at a time while saying what it is. You have probably seen your child count while pointing to one object more than once-counting it more than once-or not even pointing to an object but hopping their finger across a page in a book while trying to count. This activity and others that emphasize one-to-one correspondence will, over time, help establish pointing to one item at a time.

What I did was cut off the top of an egg carton. We only need the egg cups for this game. Pre-count the pom poms so that you have a number of pom poms equal to the number of egg cups in the egg carton. Ask your child to place one pom pom into each egg cup. You can count while you do this, or you can count as your child removes the pom poms after the egg cups have been filled. Pretty much as simple as it gets. 

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