Activities & Games Tips
Read these 17 Activities & Games Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Toddler tips and hundreds of other topics.
Trace Hands
Toddlers enjoy having their hands traced on paper. Let you toddler color and decorate hands after you traced them.
Homemade Bubbles
Homemade Bubbles
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of liquid dish soap
Mix water and soap together and use to make bubbles.
Potato Stamp Art
Cut a few potatoes in half. Carve a design on the end of each potato. Use the potatoes as stamps. Dip them in finger paints and stamp on paper. Toddlers enjoy this activity.
Art Supplies
Toddlers love to color, paint, and draw. Keep on hand some basic art supplies such as fingerpaints, glue stick, crayons, colored pencils, chalk, paper, markers, and coloring books.
Toddler Sugar Cookies
1 cup white sugar
1 cup margarine
3 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
5 cups flour
Mix together all ingredients and chill for 4 hours. Roll out dough. Cut into desired shapes. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 375. Decorate as desired with frosting and bite size candy.
Dough For Play
Dough for Play
5 cups flour
1/4 cup cooking oil
3 cups salt
3 cups or more of water
food coloring
Mix together well and store in an airtight container.
Activities from A to Z
A – art, acting
B – bean bags, bath fun, balls, blocks
C – cooking, clapping, coloring, chasing
D – dancing, drawing, dress-up, domino
E – egg counting and coloring, exploring
F – finger paint, follow the leader, finger plays, fishing
G– guessing games, grandparent fun, going places
H – hide-and-seek, hats, hammering, hand games
I – ice cream, icing cookies, indoor camping
J – jumping, juice pops, jigsaw puzzles
K – kitchen fun, kazoos, knick knack building, knot tying
L – lids, laughing, letter magnets
M – make-believe, music, mirrors, matching games
N – naming objects, nature walks, noodle necklaces & pictures
O – online games, organizing, obstacle course
P – pots & pans, play dough, puzzles, parades
Q – quiet walking, quick pick-up
R – reading books, rolling
S – sightseeing, stacking, singing, sorting, stories
T – treasure hunt, taping sounds, telephone talk
U – upside-down fun, unbox toys, unstack blocks, unwrap objects
V – volley a balloon, voice games, village play
W – walks, water fun, wrapping items
X – X marks the spot, xylophone
Y – yarn dolls & balls, yo-yo
Z – zoo, zipping
Chalkboard Fabric
Chalkboard fabric is great to use with toddlers. You can easily move it and use it anywhere. Take a small piece with you when you travel. Just roll it up for easy storage.
Stringing Beads
Get some long thick shoestrings and brightly colored blocks with holes in the middle. Let your toddler put the blocks on the shoestring. This activity will usually keep a toddler entertained for a good while.
Finger Paint
Toddlers enjoy painting with their hands. Get water washable paints for easy cleanups. Thick paper works best as toddlers tend to use a lot of paint on each picture.
Laundry Game
Help your child learn matching and sorting, as well as personal responsibility. Take colourful paper and draw a shirt, pants, socks, etc. Laminate between two pieces of clear sticky film if possible, and tape to the front of the appropriate drawer. Come laundry time, you and your child can "play" match the clothes as clothes get put away. Your child will love playing the game, as well as feel proud that he did it "all by himself".
Bored Toddler
When my child gets frustrated or bored, I tell him that we`ll do a project. Anything from coloring and cutting a piece of paper to a full project. It occupies his mind and changes his attitude and actions.
Edible Pudding Finger Paint
One of the most cost-effective, safe, easy, and yummy ways to create finger paint for toddlers is with pudding!
To do this, you will need one box (or more) of instant vanilla pudding. Mix the pudding according to package directions. Add a few drops of your favorite food coloring and chill overnight.
While this finger paint should not be used on actual paper, it is perfect for other surfaces. Ceramic tile floors, high chair trays, bathtubs, and other similar surfaces are all perfect! To clean up, wipe away with a sponge and a mild cleanser.
This edible finger paint is great for smaller children and helps them with fine motor skills. Because it is pudding, eating it will not cause harm to the child. Who says playing with food can't be fun?
| Guru Spotlight |
| George Sayour |
