At home development games & activities
Pasta Bottle Shake
- Sit on the floor with your toddler and show them how to drop dry pasta into an empty plastic water bottle. Let your toddler add pasta until the bottle is partially filled, then close the lid tightly and shake, roll, and explore the sound together.
- Optional: If you have two bottles, you can fill one yourself and let your toddler follow your actions with the second.
- What you need: 1–2 empty plastic water bottles with lids, Dry pasta (choose larger pieces that your toddler is comfortable handling)
Bottle Bowling
- Line up empty plastic bottles on the floor like bowling pins. Knock them down using any ball you have on hand, or try an alternative such as sliding a book across the floor, rolling a plastic bottle filled with pasta, or gently pushing a cushion toward them.
- Reset and repeat. Optional: For added visual and sound interest, try filling the bottles with different materials (for example: tissue paper, pasta, lentils, or spinach leaves).
- What you need: 3–4 empty plastic bottles, ball or book or pasta-filled bottle or cushion
Laundry Toss
- Place a laundry basket a short distance away and hand your toddler socks or small clothing items one at a time. Encourage them to drop or gently toss each item into the basket.
- What you need: Laundry basket, socks or small clothes
Tray On, Tray Off
- Place a tray on the floor and arrange a mix of sealed household items on top. While your toddler sits on the floor, let them move the items off the tray and place them back on, one at a time.
- What you need: Tray, sealed cans or jars, sealed pantry or freezer items (e.g. frozen fruits or vegetables), toddler-safe kitchen items
Busy Wallet
- Fill a wallet with old loyalty cards, hotel key cards, photos, pretend money, anything else you have on hand. Let them explore the wallet, opening and closing zips/buttons, takings things out and putting them back in.
- What you need: Wallet, loyalty cards, pretend money/scraps of paper
Veggie Box In & Out
- Fill a box with sturdy vegetables like potatoes or onions. Tip the box over once so the vegetables roll around the floor, then show your toddler how to place them back into the box and dump them out again.
- What you need: Box, potatoes or onions
Spoon Transfer
- Place dry cereal or pasta in one bowl and an empty bowl beside it. Demonstrate scooping with a spoon and transferring items between bowls.
- What you need: Two bowls, spoon, dry cereal or pasta (size and style your toddler is comfortable with to avoid choking hazards)
Laundry Basket Ride
- Place your toddler inside a laundry basket and gently drag them across the floor while holding the sides. If the basket allows and your toddler is sitting steadily, you can tie a long cloth (like a bedsheet) or sturdy string to the basket to pull it more easily.
- What you need: Laundry basket, optional bedsheet or string, clear floor space
Paper Rip & Drop
- Offer scrap paper such as receipts, used printer paper, or junk mail. Show your toddler how to tear it into pieces and drop them into a container (e.g. bowl, empty trash can, any bag or tote you have handy). Different paper textures add sensory interest.
- What you need: Scrap paper, container or bag
Nursery Rhymes and Actions
- Play nursery rhymes and act out with actions. Great starter nursery rhymes include “It’s Time to Stand Up”, “Head Shoulders Knees & Toes”, “One Little Finger” and “I’m a Little Teapot”.
- What you need: No materials needed
Laundry Sorter
- Spread laundry on the floor and help your toddler sort items into simple categories like shirts, pants, and socks.
- What you need: Laundry
Tupperware Open & Close
- Provide containers with lids and show your toddler how to open each one and close it again, pressing until it clicks shut. Using containers that vary in size, color, or locking mechanism adds interest.
- What you need: Containers with lids (varied types)
Washcloth Fold or Roll
- Lay washcloths flat and demonstrate how to fold one (either rolling into logs or folding in half or quarters). Let your toddler practice. Demonstrate one option only to start. Once they’ve practiced and are comfortable, demonstrate the second option.
- What you need: Washcloths
Sink Toy Exploration
- Sit your toddler on the side of the sink (or place them in a learning tower) and let them explore safe items under shallow running water. Offer items like a whisk, pacifier, washcloth, spoon, wooden or steel spatula, or silicone toy. Avoid items like cups or bowls if you want to minimize pouring and mess.
- What you need: Sink, safe utensils/toys
Cup Fill Station
- Set up at least two cups in the sink or tub and let your toddler pour water between them, exploring filling and emptying.
- What you need: Two or more cups, water
Shoe or Sock Pair Hunt
- Scatter shoes or socks on the floor and help your toddler find matching pairs and place them together. For added complexity, scatter both shoes and socks and ask them to first separate into their categories before finding the respective pairs.
- What you need: Shoes or socks
Indoor Path Adventure
- Create a path by lining sofa cushions on either side and placing books or pillows along the middle. Invite your toddler to drive toy cars, walk a stuffed animal, or carefully walk themselves across the path.
- What you need: Sofa cushions, books or pillows, toys
Drawer Treasure Fill
- Open a low drawer and let your toddler place baby-safe household items inside, then remove them again.
- What you need: Low drawer, baby-safe items (wooden spoons, silicone spatulas, potholders, small boxes)
Snack Games
Choose one of the following during snack time:
- Snack Sort: Provide your toddler with a bowl of mixed snacks (e.g. toddler-friendly cereal, biscuits, pieces of cheese) and empty bowls. Demonstrate and encourage your toddler to sort the mixed bowl into single-snack bowls using the empty bowls.
- Water Snack Bowl: Place chopped fruit in a large bowl of water and let your toddler pick pieces out. For added difficulty, encourage them to use a utensil such as a spoon, fork, or safe kitchen tongs.
- Peel Together: Let your toddler help peel a banana or orange as part of preparing their snack.
What you need: Snacks, bowls, fruit, optional utensils
Size Order (Fruit or Toys)
- Put together an assortment of fruit or toys and support your toddler in arranging them from largest to smallest. Emphasize size words and comparisons as they work.
- What you need: Fruits or toys of different sizes
Build a Bridge
- Use books or boxes as supports and place a flat item (cutting board, baking tray, or sturdy book) across the top. Let your toddler walk toy figures or stuffed animals across the bridge.
- What you need: Books or boxes, flat sturdy item, toy figures or stuffed animals
Pattern Play
- Pick 2–3 types of items (e.g. socks, blocks, spoons). Create a repeating pattern in one row. Place extra items nearby so your toddler can either copy the pattern underneath or continue it forward.
- What you need: Repeating household items (at least 8 total)
Build-a-Home
- Provide blocks, boxes, cushions, or books and invite your toddler to build a “home” or “house” for a toy or stuffed animal. Encourage them to decide where things go and who lives inside.
- What you need: Blocks, boxes, cushions, or books; toy or stuffed animal
Guided Treasure Hunt
- Show your toddler three toys. Ask them to close their eyes while you hide the toys around the room. Let them open their eyes and give simple clues until each toy is found.
- What you need: Three toys
Clean-Up Challenge
- Challenge your toddler to put toys away before a short song or timer ends.
- What you need: Toys, music or timer
Post-it Play
Use a pack of post its in a variety of ways. Examples:
- Give your toddler post-its and give them simple cues and challenges to follow, e.g. stick one on the sofa, stick one on the biggest chair in the room, stick one on the white rug, line them up vertically or horizontally
- Guide your toddler to place them on specific parts of the body (yours or theirs) – you can opt for one step instructions (“Place on your nose”) or two step instructions (“Place the pink sticky note on your toes”)
- Put a mix of different colors of post-its around the room or the house. Ask your toddler to find them and place them on the wall organized by colors. At the end you’ll have a great square/rectangle of post-its organized by color.
What you need: Post-it notes
Sorting Station
- Place a mix of household items on the floor and set up two or three containers. Ask your toddler to sort items by type (soft/hard, kitchen/non-kitchen, toy/not-toy).
- What you need: Mixed household items, containers
Story Builder
Line up 3–4 toys. Start a simple story, such as:
- “Two animals meet and go to the park.”
- “These friends get lost.”
- “One toy runs away.”
Ask prompts like: What happens next? Who helps? How does it end?
What you need: 3–4 toys