50 Play Ideas for a Busy Toddler (no screens necessary!)

Washing dishes/water pouring bin

Oliver making a bird feeder

With quarantine and social distancing, many parents are left home with their adorable babies for the first time since maternity/paternity leaves. Personally, I was baffled when I started staying home with my toddler. How do I occupy him? How can I play with him? Can't he play by himself? As a toddler parent, I often find myself living in 15-30 minutes windows of attention for an activity, my goal is to fill each day as much as possible with enriching activities that let him explore and play on his own, are educational, or just get him off my hands for a minute! I've compiled a list of my favorite activities and some of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow for new ideas.

Guide:

Tong work

Sensory Activites-  for these activities I use under bed storage bins (Under bed Storage Tote). For those involving water, we do them on the tile in with a beach towel underneath. 
Art, Music, Engineering Activities- Prepare for messes and let them create to theirs hearts content. We have a strict on paper policy in our home and if there is intentional coloring on another object, like the table, the activity ceases immediately. The same goes with eating Play Doh.
Household Helper Activities Montessori-esque tasks that will definitely require some help at first but may pay off in the long run. 
Large Motor Getting outside is our go-to for these, but you can modify to do these inside. 
Fine Motor- Mostly made with things you'll have laying around at home, these usually engage my toddler for 15 minutes or so and provide some good skills

Activities:

1. Water pouring (add food coloring or ice for more fun!)
2. Water beads: we use these water beads and these tools that we use for lots of activities!
3. Rice bin/Rainbow Rice
4. Beans/split peas/lentils
5. Cheerios (good for younger toddler where it isn't a big deal to EAT the game)
6. Bucket O' Balls- just a bunch of balls in a bucket/container together to toss/catch/roll/etc
7. Sand/Dirt/Rocks/Trucks (build your own construction zone!)
8. Dishwashing (basin+warm soapy water+toys from kitchen+sponge/dishcloth)
9. Truck Wash- Get some plastic truck dirty with mud and let them wash them until they are squeaky clean again
10. Painting- Watercolor, acrylic, finger, baggie for babies
11. Coloring- pencils, crayons, markers, pens
12. Air-dry clay
13. Instrument sound explore  we have  these instruments ones and love them
14. Dance party (or if that's not your style, we like the Wiggles on Hulu for some inspiration!)
15. Weaving-use wooden lacing board, or make your own using cardboard and a hole punch
16. Threading we use Cheerios on a string for "bird treats"
17. Play-Doh Free Play There are tons of recipes for DIY Play-Doh or you can go with the classic tubes (they are 50 cents a piece at Walmart) 
18. Play-Doh cookie making (rolling pin, cutters, spatula)
19. Play-Doh Color Sort- we use colored magnets and sort them into the colored dough, i.e. red A goes on the red dough
20. Play-Doh cutting practice- use a SAFE knife or cutting utensil to have your little one practice cutting, SUPERVISE PLEASE!
21. Building with magnetic tiles We are a huge fan of our Picasso Tiles, I will sometimes prompt him to build specific things like a road, a tower, a house, a chicken coop, and so on
22. Lego building
23. Wooden block building 
24. Puzzles- wooden, stacking, more pieces for older kids
25. Storytime- read books together and if you're really ambitious you can even match activities, songs, or games to the stories
26. Help cooking/baking- even box mixes count here!
27. Help with snack making- peeling oranges, spreading peanut butter, pulling grapes off vines
28. Making bird feeds using pine cones or empty toilet paper rolls, peanut butter (or another sticky safe alternative, even cream cheese will do), and birdseed
29. Plant a garden- start from seeds or make a big planter with vegetables/herbs/flowers just for your little one to care for as it gets warmer. How cute is this little gardner set ?!
30. Help cleaning- wiping windows/dusting furniture/sweeping up/making beds
31. Role-Playing games- doctor, restaurant, veterinarian, bakery, and so on. We love our Melissa and Doug Cookie Set but it is just one example!
32. Obstacle course- indoor or outdoor, include jumping, crawling, spinning, anything to tire them out. If outdoors try using chalk to draw a course, boxes to jump into, and so on!
33. Scavenger hunt- do specific items or more open-ended, such as "find me something red/blue/green"
34. I Spy- play the game or make your own I Spy bottle, or stick to an old fashioned I Spy Book for Toddlers
35. Yoga/Exercise videos on Youtube We love Cosmic Kids which incorporates yoga and a story
36. Hide and Seek (do not forget to find them eventually)
37. Photoshoot- have your toddler take pictures of you and vice versa with a phone or camera
38. Post It  note line up- I have my toddler write "lists" and stick them on the wall, but feel free to have them line them up on tape or something similar
39. Post It color sort- have a colored sheet corresponding to your colored Post Its and have them pull them apart and stick them on matching color sheets
40. Sticker line up(use something as simple as dot stickers for this one)
41. Sticker color sort
42. Moving toys with tongs-moving into object-like egg carton- or across the room
43. Tape Rescue- tape some toys to the wall or the floor and let them "save" the toys
44. Toy line up- put down tape and have them line up toys, can be cars, animals, people, pompoms, anything you have on hand!
45. Card/Button drop- cut a slit in an empty oatmeal container and let them drop cards or buttons in
46. Pipe Cleaners in a strainer, this works two ways, pulling them all out or putting them all in (or my toddler's favorite, making mommy wear it as a hat)
47. Popsicle/Pom-pom drop- tape or glue paper towel tubes or something similar to a wall or box. You can color-coordinate items to drop through or let the toddler just amuse themselves by drop items down the tubes. 
48. Q-tips in a spice jar- have an empty cinnamon shaker? Perfect for a toddler putting Q-tips into the holes
49. Wallet play- give toddler some old credit cards/playing cards/business cards to slide in and out of the wallet



Play-Doh Letter play

50. Just add water- get them in the bath early and give them something fun- either popsicles (no mess for mom!), bath paint, or just dump in a bunch of toys (Legos or Duplos are a hit!) Please don't leave toddlers unsupervised in the bath, it could end up in a flooded bathroom or worse. 

Tape Rescue

There you have it, 50 play ideas for your toddler. While some of these will require your participation, with a heap of practice and patience, your toddler will learn to do these activities solo leaving you with sweet free time (and hopefully not too much mess). What are some of your favorite activities for toddlers? What do you plan on doing during this social distancing time?

Here are some of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow for activity ideas:

-- busytoddler: Susie is an expert on play for kiddos from babies to "tabies" (baby toddlers) to toddlers and up! https://www.instagram.com/busytoddler/
-- bringingupbabe: Super cute little girl, Babe, growing up with a Montessori lifestyle. Inspirational for activities and real life application https://www.instagram.com/bringingupbabe/
-- Mother Could: Loads of sensory and colorful play ideas. Very aesthetically pleasing as well https://www.instagram.com/mothercould/
--Mama.Papa.Bubba- Jen is a Canadian mom with two kids with lots of fun, easy play ideas. Her kids are a little older but everything can be adapted. She has a BOMB Play-Doh recipe and posts amazing recipes as well (Vegan!) https://www.instagram.com/mamapapabubba/

Water beads

--candokiddo-- Rachel is an occupational therapist and approaches play with a more physical development outlook. She has loads of great info on playing with babies to help build strength too! https://www.instagram.com/candokiddo/

Coloring cards to send to people