Information for Child Care Providers

Activity Ideas for Toddlers

Sara Gable, Ph.D., Human Development and Family Studies, College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri Extension, with help from:

Dombro, Amy Laura, Colker, Laura J., & Dodge, Diane Trister.  (1999).  The Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers.  Washington, DC:  Teaching Strategies, Inc.

Marzollo, Jean.  (1977).  Supertot.  New York, NY:  Harper & Row Publishers. 

Creative Activities: Keep them simple!

• Deodorant bottle painting on different kinds of paper, like newspaper, grocery sacks, or construction paper.
• Handprint painting – use paint-soaked sponges in meat trays to keep down the mess.
• Tissue paper shapes dipped in liquid starch and arranged on paper plates.
• Junk mail return address labels and old envelopes or pieces of mail.
• Painting with thick-handled, short bristle brushes at a table-top easel.

Motor Activities: Toddlers love to keep busy.

• Playdough and simple kitchen equipment
• Dropping game and carrying game
• Simple puzzles
• Bean bags and buckets
• Blow bubbles against a mirror
• Appliance boxes for crawling in and out
• Felt shapes, felt body parts, and a felt board
• Cardboard building blocks
• Cloth tunnel for crawling
• Push/pull toys, shape sorters, and nesting cups
• Cobblers bench

Sensory Activities: Provide opportunities for clean "messy" play!

• Bathtub blocks in tubs of water
• Piles of shredded paper with farm animals
• Outdoor painting with water
• Tubs of water with measuring cups and spoons
• Bathing baby dolls
• Rubber ducks in tubs of water
• Lots of little pieces of masking tape