10 Activities to do with your 1-2 year old (older kids will like it to

10 Activities to do with your 1-2 year old (older kids will like it too) during days you are stuck indoors

Are you running out of ideas on how to keep your toddler entertained when you are stuck at home?

So I have had a few people ask me what to do with kiddos that are 1-2 years old during times you are stuck inside. They aren’t so young that they are napping often and they aren’t old enough to play independently for very long. Let’s be real this is a challenging and fun age.

At this time I am a little far away from having kiddos this age since my oldest is almost 7 and my youngest is 3 years and 8 months. Both my boys are pretty good at independent play now and they play with each other so that is a huge bonus.

So, when I was asked what to do with the kiddos I got to go down memory lane and I looked at pictures to help me remember all the fun I had with my boys when they were really small.

Here are a few ideas I was able to gather and I hope that they are as fun for you and they were for us!

1. Stickers

This is great for fine motor skills. The littles love all the colors and it is fun to see if they line them up, stack them on top of each other, or put them all over the page. Tip: If you peal the outside frame of the stickers off and only leave the actual stickers on the page it is a lot easier for the littles to peal them off on their own.

Chalk Activities

There are so many fun things to do with chalk. You can draw a shape and have them color it in, you can draw a squiggly path and have them walk it, draw a ladder and have them try to jump on the lines, have your child lay down and trace their body and have them tell you about the body parts, facial features, etc. Also have them draw. Practice how to hold a piece of chalk, draw vertical and horizontal lines.

Create a Snack

Take a string or a pipe cleaner and string cheerios on it and then the kiddos can eat them off. We have also made open face peanut butter sandwiches and made faces with raisins and bananas. These are also working on fine motor skills as well as naming facial features.

Read Books

Then act them out, talk about the characters facial expressions and see if they can identify how they are feeling. Some of our favorite books are Mo Willems books but there are so many great ones! When Owen was small he liked to act out Little Blue Truck with his blue truck.

Drum Circle

Take out all your pots and pans and wooden spoons and create music. Chat about the different sounds that each pot makes. Talk about loud and quiet sounds, and how much force to use i.e. hard or soft.

Clean Out Cabinets and Drawers.

You know that bathroom cabinet that has collected all your samples and every product you never use. Have them take everything out for you while you decide what to keep and what to toss. Chances are your kid will find a facial scrub brush you never use and it will become their new favorite toy.

Play-dough

Of course there are so many ideas here, you can get actual play-dough toys and play with them. You can use things like legos, small figures you have around the house and stamp the play dough, or you can create a Dino land or farm with animals on the play dough and make play dough people or vegetables.

Play Monkey See Monkey Do

Kids are always coping what we are doing but have you ever copied what your little one is doing. Putting them in charge can be fun for both of you.

Learn a New Song

Go on YouTube and search nursery rhymes or if there is a show your kiddo loves learn the theme song. There is also another version called KidsTube that has child safe material if you need to let them have some screen time so you can do all the other things you need to do around the house.

Bubbles

So kids love bubbles and there are lots of ways you can play bubbles. You can blow them and they can pop them, jump over them, stomp on them, catch them, try to blow them higher. Also, there are lots of bubble toys that the littles can learn to use themselves.

Bonus Activity: Build a Tent

Either real or pretend. You can do some much inside like read a book, have a picnic, pretend you are camping, take a nap, the possibilities are endless.

I hope that these ideas help bust the boredom you are experiencing. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that this is a time for us to reconnect with our family and ourselves. I challenge you to think outside the box and allow yourself to dream.