Homeschooling has been a little more of a challenge than I originally expected. It started off great but after a while my youngest daughter who is almost 2 years old gets so bored. I had to devote so much time and energy to my oldest in Kindergarten that my other daughter would just cry and yell for me. It doesn't help that she tends to be super clingy to Mama but I needed come up with some ways to entertain her.
I'm in the process of putting together a couple busy boxes for my toddler and I will be including some of these activities in those boxes. It is important to offer your child a wide range of activities and toys to stimulate their little minds and really keep them engaged. Plus as an added bonus these fun little activities can really help entertain them if you need a break.
Whether you are trying to homeschool older children or just need to make dinner, these simple and low-prep activities are great for keeping little hands busy for a while. My youngest is almost 2 years old but my oldest (almost 6) loves playing along with these too.
Gluing Paper
My youngest daughter is still too young to use scissors but she is the perfect age to start using glue. Recently we just did a Valentines Day craft where I cut out a bunch of multi-color pieces of paper and let her experiment with gluing them to a heart.
If your child is a little older and ready for scissors let them cut out the pieces of paper and then glue them for some added practice.
Pipe-Cleaner Play
This one is so easy and takes almost no prep work and is great to keep kids busy for a while. All you need is a colander and some pipecleaners. Show your little one how to thread the pipecleaners through the holes and let them have some fun.
It's a great activity for helping toddlers work on their fine motor skills. My oldest loves to pretend that she's making a big monster spider with a bunch of legs and my toddler just has fun messing around with it.
Playdough
You can simplify this for younger children but it's great because it lets them use their imagination. I have some Playdough shape cutters that I like to give her and she loves it.
Customize this activity to fit whatever you are trying to teach your little one at the time but do not overwhelm them. I like to only give her one color of Playdough and about 5 different tools to play with. This way it is not overstimulating for them and they can fully engage with the pieces they have.
Parking Lot Play
Grab a large piece of cardboard from the recycling bin, a marker and some toy cars for this activity. An empty cereal box would work perfectly for this one. Next draw a parking lot on it by making rectangles and number them.
You could also draw different shapes or use various colors depending on what your toddler is currently working on. Ask your child to park the cars in certain spots and help them identify the different numbers, shapes or colors. You could also put little stickers or pieces of paper on top of each car so your child can match them up with the parking spaces.
Puzzles
Puzzles are a super easy thing to do with your kids too. To make sure my youngest doesn't get bored with these I put all of her puzzles into a plastic bin and only bring out one or two at a time.
This really seems to help her focus on them more since they seem 'new' in a way and she can spend a long time putting them together. She also loves playing with the pieces, collecting them into a small box or bag and even stacking them into piles.
Water Color Fun
This one can get a little messy but it can be so much fun for little minds. Pick a water color palate or some non-toxic paints and give your child a small paintbrush. I would not give them too many colors to start because you don't want this activity to be overstimulating for young children. As they start to learn their colors and get a little older you can start introducing some more color options and let them work on mixing them too.
Sensory Bins
Depending on what materials you use this one can get a little messy too. I also do not recommend this activity if your toddler still puts a lot of things in their mouth.
Use a small, flat bin and fill it with various materials. You can make it themed to help your child learn certain things or just let them have fun exploring different textures.
Did you try any of these activities for you little one? What was their favorite or what are some other activities you have tried? Leave a comment below and don't forget to subscribe for more fun ideas.