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21 Fun Indoor Activities for Toddlers

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It is wet around most of the country these days, so what are you doing to keep those kiddos from going stir crazy? Staying home with kids is a tough job in the first place, and when my kids get a little “cabin fever” from being inside, it can make being at home even tougher!

And that’s why I love it when I can find great indoor activities for kids, especially toddlers who are just little balls of energy! These fun indoor activities for toddlers will give you many days of play to help keep the little ones entertained and learning!

21 Fun Indoor Activities for Toddlers

Many toddlers enjoy running around and playing outside, but there are also a number of fun indoor activities that can help to keep them entertained on bad weather days!

It is important, however, to choose activities that are appropriate for your toddler’s age and abilities, as well as to supervise them closely to avoid accidents.

With a little creativity, indoor playtime can be both enjoyable and safe for toddlers.

Fun Indoor Activities for Toddlers:

Though it may be tempting to plop your toddler in front of the television or hand them your iPad, there are many fun indoor activities that can help your child learn and grow.

There are many fun indoor activities for toddlers that can help them explore their creativity, use their imaginations, and burn off excess energy. Plus, they’re a great way to spend some quality time together.

These are just a few examples of the many fun indoor activities that toddlers can enjoy.

Military Man

Create an indoor obstacle course or do one of these other 21 fun indoor activities for kids!

Craft Stick Puppets

Puppets are fascinating to toddlers. Creating their own puppets is easy, and it’s lots of fun.

All you really need are some craft or popsicle sticks, construction paper, safety scissors, markers and glue.  

Help your toddler cut animal shapes out of construction paper. He can draw faces and other details with washable markers. Glue the stick to the back of the shape, let dry, and he’s ready to put on a puppet show.

If you want to make more elaborate puppets, try cutting shapes out of foam. Glue on a pom pom for the nose, and add some googly eyes.

What Made That Footprint

The fun indoor game, what made that footprint, from Kids Activities Blog is a great way to play with your toddler while teaching them about the living things around us!

Hello Mr. Postman

Let your toddler create a card for someone special. Cards can be made with glitter, with adult supervision of course.

Help your toddler spell out what they want the card to say, then have them trace the lines with a glitter marker.

Glitter markers are better than actual glitter because the markers already have the glue in them – easy cleanup!

Homeschool

Toddlers are not too young to learn! In fact, they are at the perfect age for retaining the things we teach them. 

Here are some fun educational toddler activities for homeschoolers.

Paint with Pudding

You don’t need different flavors to make different colors. Just use one serving of plain vanilla pudding, divide it up into small portions, and add food coloring to create various shades. Give your child a paper plate to use as a canvas for his masterpiece. When he’s done, he can eat it with no worries.

Make a Rockin’ Story!

This adorable painted rock storytelling activity from Playtivities combines art and language while letting your littles use their imagination!

Around The House

This looks like a super fun game that could easily be turned into a file folder game to be used over and over again! 

Reinforce to your children what belongs where in your home!

Let’s Read

Introduce your child to reading to set the foundation for a life-long learner!

Design a T-Shirt

If your toddler sees you sewing or painting clothes with fabric paint, she may want to try her hand at designing clothes. But needles are small and sharp, and fabric paint is messy.

What to do?

Break out the markers!  Kids can have a blast decorating a plain white t-shirt with colorful markers. If you use washable ones, they can create a design, wear it, and start over after you wash the shirt.

If a permanent design is desired, however, you’ll have to let him use non-washable markers. You can avoid a mess by covering the work area with newspaper and putting a smock on your toddler.

Indoor toddler activities

Too Much T.V. is Bad for Toddlers!

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that television can be harmful to toddlers. Studies have shown that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to have attention problems, poor academic performance, and aggressive behavior. Additionally, exposure to television at a young age has been linked to an increased risk of obesity and other health problems.

The reason why television is so damaging for toddlers is that their brains are still developing. At this age, they are much more susceptible to the influence of screens and media than older children or adults. Additionally, toddlers have a hard time distinguishing between what they see on TV and what is real life. This can lead them to believe that the violence and other negative images they see on TV are normal and acceptable.

Unfortunately, many parents use television as a way to pacify their child or as a babysitter. However, there are many other activities that are more beneficial for toddlers, such as reading, playing outside, or interacting with other children their own age. If parents want to limit their child’s exposure to television, they should consider turning it off during meals and limiting it to one hour per day or less.

So, here are a few more ideas to keep your toddler entertained during the next rainy day!

A to Z Crafty Fun

Beat boredom and play with letters with these a to z boredom busters from Crystal and Comp!  Crafts, recipes, printables, and more alphabet activities for little ones!

The Alphabet Game

Toddlers are not to young to begin recognizing the alphabet!  This fun abc scavenger hunt type game from the Kids Activities Blog can easily be done indoors to avoid the chilly weather!

Magnetize Me!

LOL! I couldn’t think of a good title for these fun DIY Magnet play ideas from Crystal and Company!

DIY Placemats

Have your toddler cut shapes out of construction paper and glue them onto a whole piece with a glue stick. He can add detail with markers or embellish with stickers. When he’s done, place the artwork on a piece of contact paper, sticky side up. Place another sheet of contact paper on top, sticky side down. 

Most toddlers will only have the patience to make one place-mat at a time. But he can make another one tomorrow, continuing until there are enough for the whole table. He’ll be so proud to know that everyone sees his artwork at every meal!

Don’t String Me Along!

This indoor string scavenger hunt activity from Hands on as We Grow is like a dot-to-dot.. value-sized!  I love this idea and can’t wait to put it to use.  S

ince my kids are older, I am thinking it would be a fabulous way to help Tank work on alphabetical order!  I could use words instead of letters. 

Oh so fun!

Felt Shapes!

The storage idea of this DIY felt shape game from Kids Activities Blog kind of blew my mind! 

I was like, “OMG! NO way! How did I never think of this??”  makes me what to create some other games that can be stored this way.  Plus, it looks like loads of fun!

Sight Word Fun

Dolch Sight Words Flashcards and coloring pages will keep the kids entertained and learning for a good 15 minutes 😉 

Repetition is the way of the world, so be sure to laminate these flashcards so you can use them again and again!

Pasta creations

There are many things that toddlers can create with pasta. Wheels can be used as tires on cars, ziti noodles and some string can be used to create bracelets and necklaces.

Use markers to color the pasta before using the noodles to craft, your child will come up with a colorful creation for sure.

Go Dotty!

This simple activity from Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds shows kids how to improve pre-writing skills by using dot markers on a dry erase board.

How Fun “ART!” Thou

Chalk into water paints, what?  Oh man, you would need to put some plastic down to protect your surfaces, but man oh man would any child have a blast with this!

Get Cooking!

Let the kids help you make this super cute recipe for Mini Apple Pie Monkey Bread from Let’s Lasso the Moon. Then they can eat their creations!

As if the above 21 Fun Indoor Activities for Toddlers isn’t enough, I have an awesome-sauce book that EVERY parent of toddlers should own.  Many of these are good for preschoolers and even older children as well!  Have fun!

Must-Have Toddler Resource:

the toddlers busy book

The Toddler’s Busy Book:  Those of us who have gone through toddler stages already with their kids know how busy a time this can be. Keeping them entertained, happy and excited about things isn’t always easy. This is why a book with activity ideas comes in really handy.

The Toddler’s Busy Book is aimed at families with toddlers from about 1.5 to 3 years old. It includes many fun ideas to keep your toddler “organized”. The first section of the book gives you advice on planning activities, how to stock your craft cupboard, and how best to plan your activities around your toddler. There are ideas for rainy days, kids in the kitchen, water play, outdoor adventures, music and movement, arts and crafts, birthday and holiday craft and nursery rhymes.

I am sure your toddlers will enjoy making popcorn pictures, potato stamps, spaghetti mobiles, tissue paper collage, face painting, colored sand, beanbag races, rock painting, pudding cookies and many other activities. You won’t run out of ideas anymore on how to keep you toddler busy and happy.

Also included in the book are helpful recipes for making your own safe glue, baker’s clay, modeling clay and playdough.

Next time you’re stuck indoors with your toddler, try out one of these fun activities. Be sure to check out these Thanksgiving Toys for Toddlers as well!

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Victoria @ Squiggles and Bubbles

Saturday 25th of January 2014

What a fantastic list! Found you via TGIF :)

Sherri @ Luv a Bargain

Tuesday 21st of January 2014

What a fabulous list! Some of these are even fun for my 10 year old. :-)

Carol @ It's Baby Time

Saturday 18th of January 2014

I love this list! We will never be out of fun things to do indoors.

Crystal & Co

Wednesday 15th of January 2014

We have that toddler busy book and LOVE it!

Great collection of ideas here!