20 Fun Toddler Activities & Games

Here are 20 fun toddler activities & games to entertain your little ones on a rainy day, student free day or weekend.  This collection of activities is not only easy to create but you can use them over and over as the kids will love them.  They also give kids the opportunity to enhance problem solving skills whilst unleashing their creativity.

Toddler activity 1: Salt play doh. 

This play doh is easy to make - and you can then bake your toddler's creations and keep them as memories forever. Try it here.

Toddler activity 2: Indoor basketball

This is a fun game for toddlers and boosts their eye/hand coordination. All you have to do is get a bin or bucket and some rolled up balls of newspaper and try and get the 'balls' in the bin.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 3: Leaping Lilly Pads

This easy activity turns your lounge room into a fun frog pond. Place cushions around the room and get your toddler to leap like a frog from one to the other.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 4: Make a foil crown

Let you toddler become a little prince or princess they are with some everyday items. Take some cardboard and tin foil and whatever else you can find to bejewel your creation. Fun to make and then fun to play with.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 5: Cardboard box car

A small cardboard box is all you need to make a fabulous car for a favourite bear or doll. Take a bigger cardboard box and turn it into a car for your toddler!  Try it here.

Toddler activity 6: Balloon bop

All you need is a couple of balloons, then get your toddler to bounce, throw, hit the balloon across the room without it hitting the ground. Fun and great for hand/eye coordination.   Try it here.

Toddler activity 7: Pillow jump

Toddlers love nothing more than jumping on pillows - so why not create a playground full of them?  Try it here.

Toddler activity 8: Treasure Hunt

Distract your child while you hide some 'treasure' around the room for your child to find. Your toddler will love the game of finding it!  Try it here.

Toddler activity 9: Table Tent

A simple table tent will have kids occupied for ages. Create your own campsite indoors and you can pretend to sleep under the stars, sing around a camp fire or just hide out in the 'tent'.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 10: Musical jars

Spark the inner musician in your toddler with by making these easy musical jars.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 11: Cotton tip painting

Pour out some paints and forget about the brushes, instead use cotton tips to create a different type of artwork. Your toddler will have great fun experimenting with art.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 12: Ringing phone

Toddlers love 'talking' on the phone, so with a few ordinary household items make one for your child.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 13: Trail's End

Take a roll of toilet paper and create a trail for your child to follow. Tie a little surprise at the end for your toddler to find.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 14: Binoculars 

Go on safari in your lounge room and create a pair of binoculars for your child. They're fun to make and then your toddler can create a whole imaginary world to use them in.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 15: Colour collage

Watch your child paste and create his own masterpiece with this fun activity. Great to boost imagination. Try it here.

Toddler activity 16: Indoor cubby house 

A few cushions and a sheet will make the perfect cubby house. A fun place to hide out in and then it can be a base for countless roleplay games, from a hospital to a school.   Try it here.

Toddler activity 17: Pretend cooking

All you need are a few bowls, wooden spoons and saucepans and get pretend cooking. Whip up a feast to whet your toddler's imaginary appetite.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 18: Rainy day box

A fresh and fun rainy activity for your toddler is to create a rainy day activity box.  Try it here.

Toddler activity 19: Butterfly paintings 

Amaze your child by teaching them to make their own beautiful butterfly! All you need is a few bits and pieces to get painting. Try it here.

Toddler activity 20: Egg carton treasure box 

This egg carton treasure box makes the hidey-hole for your toddler to store all those little treasures he loves. Try it here.

At Small Talk Speech Pathology we will definitely be making the foil crowns and playing musical jars.  Feel free to let us know about your adventures with any of the above games!

Have FUN everyone!

Vanessa

DIY - Paper Popsicle Memory Game

Here is a great free printable paper popsicle memory game that will get the kids thinking & talking about something that we all love - ice blocks!  Or as Americans say 'popsicles'.

The colours and patterns are just divine and very summery.  You can print the game off and put the popsicles together easily.  I'm sure this one will become a fun favourite of ours at Small Talk Speech Pathology.

Enjoy this new twist on the old classical memory game!
Vanessa

5 Quick, Easy Ginger Recipes For Kids

Ginger is a root vegetable native to India and China - and has been known to boost the immune system naturally.  It also aids digestion and contains anti-inflammatory agents.  

Here are some great kid-friendly ways to incorporate a bit of ginger into your child's daily intake - Recipes for ginger that kids will enjoy

1. Ginger tea: Roughly chop up a few teaspoons of fresh ginger root in 8 ounces of water and boil for five to 10 minutes, depending on how strong your child likes ginger flavor. Sweeten with honey.
2. Smoothie: Blend a banana, tablespoon of almond butter, ice, soy milk, and a teaspoon chopped fresh ginger to create a nutritious yet milkshake-like smoothie.
3. Homemade ginger ale: Toss fresh chopped ginger into the pot when making a simple syrup. Pour a small amount (around 1/8 cup) of ginger simple syrup in a cup, and top with sparkling water.
4. Ginger garlic sauce: Whisk a few teaspoons of chopped garlic and ginger with soy sauce, orange juice, and honey to taste. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the sauce to stir-fried chicken, beef, or tofu. Cook until fragrant and heated through.
5. Chai tea latte: Make ginger tea, then steep with a chai tea bag for a few minutes. Finish with cow, rice, or soy milk and honey.   

Enjoy!
 Vanessa

Educational Colouring Pages

If you have ever been tasked with the daunting assignment of drawing your child's favourite TV or movie character, knowing your attempts will only end in confused little faces or quite possibly tears, or worse still had a child's favourite colouring in book commandeered by a younger crayon happy sibling, then you will know the value of this wonderful website Educational Colouring Pages.

Whether your child lives adventures with Dora and her talking backpack (with or without the Spanish accent)

Turns into aliens with Ben10

or dreams of simpler times when children's movies consisted of orphaned deer and lying puppets

You can find free printable colouring pages to suit your child's every whim, and save you and your little ones many tears.

While they are at it why not print two copies and work on their language skills 

1. Following Directions e.g. colour Dora's backpack blue

2. Giving Directions (have them tell you what to colour ) 

e.g. colour Ben10's watch green

If you have concerns regarding your child's speech or language development feel free to visit Small Talk Speech Pathology Website and follow the links to the email address. All questions will be answered as soon as possible.

Lauren

Dressing time - what to wear??

Everyday activities such as meal times, showering and dressing are great opportunities to develop children's language.  Here are a few language tips for dressing time:

• Use verbs eg. pull, put, stand up, sit down, button, zip, tie, hold.
• Use names of body parts eg. arm, leg, hand, foot, head, waist.
• Use names of clothing eg. pants, shirt, skirt, top, dress, socks.
• Use descriptive words and opposites such as clean/dirty, new/old, long/short, same/different, pretty/plain, light/dark, right/left, etc.
• Use location words such as up, down, on, off, under, in, out, through, around. 

Here is a dress up box http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/diy-dressup-box-cheap.html idea - great for both boys and girls.  

• You should be able to find everything you need at your local thrift shop. First you will need a dress-up box. A great way to do this, especially if you are giving it as a gift, is to get a suitcase to use as the dress up box.

• Once you have the suitcase you only need to fill it with clothing of all sorts. Keep in mind that the bigger the variety the more roles your child can try on.  Some of the items that work well are:

Formal dresses
Unique shirts
Military uniforms
Suit coats
Neckties
Hats
Purses
Shoes
Jewelry
Shawls
Scarves
Briefcases
Computer bags
Gloves
Aprons
Empty perfume bottles

• Be sure to wash everything before putting the dress up box together.

• Organising the dress up box.  Don't get so many items that they won't fit in the suitcase easily. 
• Final Touches.  The last thing to do is to personalise it. There are a variety of ways to do that. You can stencil the child/s name on the suitcase and decorate it however you want to.   Here are some other great ideas on how to personalise the dress up box/suit case.

http://kimboscrafts.blogspot.com/2010/04/thrift-store-take-4.html

http://kimboscrafts.blogspot.com/2010/04/dress-up-suitcase-girl-version.html

Enjoy and happy dress ups!

Vanessa

Play dough - homemade & made with LOVE!

We all love the squishy, comforting feeling of play dough and so do kids!

Play dough is a FUN filled activity for everyone and kids love it even more if the adults can get creative along with them and play with them.  Play dough is an inexpensive activity that can occupy kids for hours on end!

This is a simple no cook play dough recipe which you can make within minutes.   

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup boiling water
• natural or food colouring (eg. beetroot, turmeric powder), optional

Note:  Increase the above amounts two or three times for more play dough which can be divided and coloured differently.

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1.  In a bowl mix all dry ingredients. 

2.  Add oil, liquid colouring and boiling water (warn kids if they are helping!) and stir until it all comes together.

3.  Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it becomes smooth. If the playdough is still too hot to touch, leave to cool a bit. Divide into several portions and add different colouring few drops at the time to each. Knead well into the playdough.

4.  Store in an airtight container after play time.  It will dry out quickly otherwise.

Last step, but not the least, have fun and play with your kids (for a little while)! It’s very therapeutic for adults, too, as you can see in the picture below !

More play dough making tips:

• For a textured play dough, add some glitter, dried lavender or sand.
• Add a few drops of natural cooking essence like orange, peppermint or almond for a nice smell, but omit if that will tempt small kids into eating the playdough – it IS natural, but way too salty.
• If the kids manage to eat some, don’t be alarmed, it won’t hurt them, they’ll just be very thirsty!
• Be alarmed if they eat commercial playdough – it is full of chemicals, with a weird sweet smell.
• Once the playdough starts to smell rancid, dries out or gets very dirty, it’s time to make another batch.

In addition to being a sensory, manipulative medium for children and assisting with the development of fine motor skills - 

play dough is brilliant for building language skills.

When playing with play dough, try using the following words:

Play dough Nouns:

knife, rolling pin, cutting board, cookie cutter, plate, circle, square, triangle, heart

Play dough Verbs:

cutting, rolling, squeezing, squishing, pulling, slicing, chopping

Play dough Adjectives:

sticky, soft, hard, smooth, rough, round

Play dough is another great activity to talk about concepts such as colours, shapes and sizes.

eg. "Let's make a small green star each". "Then we can try a big red square".  You can even theme your play dough sessions to extend your child's vocabulary further eg. baking, making facial expressions based on feelings, or occasions like Christmas, Easter etc.

Have fun and get creative!

Vanessa

Spring Showers and Playful Ideas

This beautiful creation by Juime would be a lovely way to expand your child's bathroom vocabulary and a way to ease anxiety for those little ones in the transition from baths to showers.

With a few days left of school holidays and the dreaded onset of these spring showers, why not use some of your enforced inside time to get creative and have a go at making this wonderful toy with your kids?

Needed:

One vintage suitcase like this one.

a hanging soap holder

A storage container for a bath. If you like this one get it here.

A little pocket mirror. If you don't have one of these lying around have a look at this sweet one on Etsy.

From your local hardware store, a small length of wooden dowel to fit across the top of your suitcase

and while you're there, pick up a small shower head (or take the opportunity to update your own and pass on the old one to a doll in need)

Finally, you will need some lovely fabric of your dolls choice to use as a shower curtain - 

why not use an old scarf or scrap fabric from a hemmed dress. If you get stuck, have a look here for some lovely options.

Have fun assembling all the pieces and work on your child's language as you do

example vocabulary: prepositions (in, on, over, through) 

- bath in

- soap on

- mirror on

- soap hanger over

- shower curtain through 

Have older children give you the directions and add "put the" into the beginning of their sentences.

If you have concerns regarding your child's speech or language development feel free to visit Small Talk Speech Pathology Website and follow the links to the email address. All questions will be answered as soon as possible.

I hope you all enjoy the last few days of school holidays and happy crafting.

Lauren