Don’t you think toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten kids are at a stage where they are eager to explore the world around them? Well, one of the fundamental concepts they begin to grasp during this phase is shapes and colors. Understanding shapes and colors helps enhance their cognitive abilities, fine motor skills, and creativity.

Circle, Square, Triangle, and Rectangle are the four basic shapes that toddlers should know about and get started with. There are various color activities for kindergarten little humans and preschoolers to help them understand colors and shapes in a fun and engaging way. Kids have a natural ability to adapt to their surroundings and grasp the teachings rapidly. You can introduce them to the world of colors and different shapes right at home. Additionally, many of these activities are extensively performed at kindergartens. This will ensure that they learn collectively in a social environment.

In this blog, we will present 40 exciting shape and color activities tailored to the developmental stages of these young learners.

1. Sorting Shapes

One exciting and educational activity to introduce shapes to toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten kids is shape sorting. Gather an assortment of objects in various shapes, such as circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and more. It could be toys, blocks, cut-outs, or even everyday items from around the house or classroom. Next, provide containers or boxes labeled with the names of the corresponding shapes. Encourage the children to explore the objects, pick them up, and identify their shapes. As they grasp each object, they can place it into a container that matches its shape. This activity helps in developing their shape recognition skills.

2. “Color, Color, Which Color Do You Want?”

Prepare for the adventure by selecting a few specific colors to focus on. You can choose primary colors like red, blue, and yellow or opt for a broader palette that includes secondary colors like purple, green, and orange. Once you have your colors in mind, gather the little explorers and explain the rules of the game. This will help them find those colors, and they will be able to identify them through their names and appearance. These items could be toys, household objects, art supplies, or even pieces of clothing. As they discover objects of the chosen color, they can collect them in a designated basket or bag. This will make the game enjoyable and interactive in a fun and learning way.

3. Clay Creations

Clay creations present an exciting opportunity for fostering imagination and creativity in toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten kids. When provided with a moldable material like clay, young minds can explore the depths of their creativity by sculpting an array of shapes and objects. With their little hands immersed in clay, they can bring to life simple geometric forms or venture into more complex and intricate designs, such as animals, buildings, and fantastical creatures. This experience helps young minds develop their artistic skills and cognitive abilities.

4. Puzzle Play

Shape puzzles serve as a valuable educational tool to support children in their journey of shape recognition and problem-solving. These puzzles are specifically designed to present young learners with various geometric shapes, encouraging them to identify, differentiate, and match shapes correctly. Gradually, as they engage with the puzzles, they internalize the characteristics of different shapes, such as squares, circles, triangles, and rectangles, building a strong foundation in shape recognition. Shape puzzles are not only a fun and engaging activity but also a valuable educational tool.

5. Mixing Colors

Color mixing offers an interactive and captivating way to introduce children to the enchanting world of colors. By starting with the primary colors – red, blue, and yellow -, kids get to grasp the fundamental building blocks of color theory. They learn how these primary colors can be combined to produce a whole spectrum of secondary colors, such as purple, green, and orange. As they dip their brushes or fingers into the vibrant hues and blend them together, they learn about different color combinations. This activity can be done in kindergarten or at home as you encourage the kids to develop an interest in art.

6. Shape Hopping

Shape hopscotch adds a playful twist to the classic hopscotch game, combining fun with shape recognition for young learners. Drawing various shapes on the ground, such as circles, squares, triangles, and more, creates a colorful and interactive hopscotch course. Children enthusiastically hop from one shape to another, but instead of merely counting numbers, they call out the names of the shapes they land on. Shape Hopscotch transforms a traditional outdoor pastime into an educational and entertaining activity for children. This can also be done during your visits to the park and even in your home backyard.

7. Color Collages

Color Collages offer a delightful and artistic way for children to explore the world of colors. By providing them with magazines and colored papers, they can embark on a creative journey to craft collages centered around specific colors. Encouraging them to search for images or cut-out shapes in magazines that match the chosen color, they curate a vibrant collection of visuals. This activity provides hands-on experience in color recognition and offers them creative freedom to create their own masterpiece through bits of paper. It also serves as a medium that motivates them to develop a sense of interest in art and craft from the beginning.

8. Sensory Shape Identification

Shape Sensory Bin is a captivating and hands-on activity that invites young learners to embark on an adventure. To set up this experience, create a sensory bin with an assortment of differently shaped objects. These objects could include blocks, foam cut-outs, textured shapes, soft plush toys, and even household items. The mix of textures and materials adds an extra dimension to the exploration, stimulating the children’s sense of touch and engagement. Moreover, sensory bins provide a safe space for children to learn through their senses, accommodating various learning styles.

9. Different Color Patterns

To begin, provide an array of colored objects, such as building blocks, beads, or buttons, arranged in a particular sequence of colors. This initial pattern serves as the starting point for the children’s exploration and learning. They are then encouraged to continue the sequence by adding more colored objects in the same pattern. This activity will sharpen their observation and cognitive skills.

10. Blocks Set

Shape building blocks provide an exciting and hands-on way for children to explore the world of shapes and geometric concepts. Using a set of building blocks, kids can create various shapes, such as squares, triangles, rectangles, circles, and more. Furthermore, this activity nurtures children’s creativity and imagination, as they can go beyond simple shapes and combine blocks to form more complex structures. It also provides an opportunity for collaborative play, as kids can work together to build larger shapes or create imaginative scenarios with their block creations.

11. Different Colored Balloons

Colorful balloon toss is a fun game that invites children to engage in a delightful challenge. To begin, inflate balloons in a variety of vibrant colors, and scatter them around the play area. Place corresponding color buckets or containers at strategic locations. The objective of the game is for children to toss the balloons into matching color buckets, aiming for accuracy and precision. Moreover, the activity provides a wonderful opportunity for physical exercise and outdoor play, adding a dose of fun to the learning process.

12. Shape I-Spy

Shape I-Spy is a delightful and educational game that sparks children’s curiosity and shape recognition skills. The game is played by prompting kids to identify various shapes that they can see in their surroundings. The facilitator says, “I spy with my eye, something shaped like a…” and then mentions a specific shape, such as a circle, triangle, square, or rectangle. The children then look around and try to find objects or items that match the given shape. This game fosters cognitive development as they mentally associate the named shapes with real-world objects.

13. Colorful Freeze Dance

Colorful Freeze Dance is a lively and dynamic game that combines music, colors, and movement to create an exciting and educational experience for children. To play the game, start by playing upbeat music and encouraging the kids to dance and move freely around the play area. When the music suddenly stops, the facilitator calls out a specific color, and the children must quickly freeze in place, touching an object or item that matches the announced color.

14. Bingo

Shape and Color Bingo is an engaging and interactive learning game that combines the excitement of Bingo with the exploration of shapes and colors. To play, create Bingo cards featuring a grid of various shapes and colors instead of numbers. Each card is unique, presenting diverse shapes and colors to keep the game stimulating and educational. As the Bingo caller announces combinations of shapes and colors, children eagerly scan their cards, searching for the corresponding matches.

15. VIBGYOR (Rainbow Colors)

This is a colorful and imaginative artistic venture that involves using an array of different colored paints to create captivating artwork inspired by the beauty of rainbows. Children are encouraged to explore their creativity and expression as they mix and blend the paints to form a vibrant spectrum of colors. The process of creating rainbow-themed artwork is an enriching and enjoyable experience for the kids.

16. Shape Hunt

Shape Hunt is an exciting and easy activity that kids will love! To play, hide cut-out shapes all around the room or yard. Children can then embark on a fun adventure to find the hidden shapes and identify each one they discover. Whether it’s squares, circles, triangles, or more, the little explorers will use their keen observation skills to spot and name the shapes they find. Shape Hunt is a simple yet engaging way to make learning about shapes enjoyable and interactive for young learners.

17. It’s A Colorful Snack Party

This is a delightful and simple activity that kids will adore! Prepare an assortment of snacks in various colors, such as red strawberries, orange carrots, green grapes, and yellow cheese cubes. Then, invite the children to sort and eat the snacks according to their colors. Not only does this activity make snack time more fun, but it also promotes color recognition and sorting skills. As they enjoy their tasty treats, they will learn to identify different colors and categorize the snacks accordingly.

18. Shape Stamps

This is a fantastic and easy activity that sparks kids’ creativity! Simply provide them with stampers in different shapes like circles, squares, hearts, stars, and more. With an inkpad and blank paper, children can let their imaginations run wild and create their colorful masterpieces. They can stamp the shapes in various patterns, combine different colors, and design their own unique artwork. It offers a delightful way for young artists to explore shapes and colors while expressing themselves through art!

19. Color Memory Game

This is a fun and easy game that kids will enjoy playing! To set up, create a set of colored cards with matching pairs. Lay the cards face down in a grid formation. Children take turns flipping two cards at a time, trying to find matching colors. If they find a pair, they get to keep the cards. The game continues until all the pairs are matched.

20. Shape Puppets

To get started, help the kids create simple puppets using various shapes and colors. Provide them with cut-outs of shapes like circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles, along with colorful craft materials like markers, glue, and googly eyes. They can let their imagination soar as they design and assemble their unique shape puppets. Once the puppets are ready, kids can have a blast putting on puppet shows and storytelling adventures with their shape characters.

21. Colorful Fruit Salad

This is a delicious and easy activity that kids will love! Gather an assortment of fresh fruits in vibrant colors, such as strawberries, oranges, blueberries, kiwis, and grapes. Then, with adult supervision, let the children wash, peel (if necessary), and cut the fruits into bite-sized pieces. As they work together, they will learn about the various colors and textures of the fruits. Once all the fruits are ready, the kids can mix them together to create a beautiful and nutritious fruit salad bursting with colors.

22. Shape Bubbles

This is an exciting and easy art activity that sparks creativity in kids! To begin, prepare shape cut-outs from paper or cardboard in various forms like circles, squares, stars, and hearts. Dip these shapes into colorful paint and place them on a piece of paper. Using a straw, children can blow bubbles into the paint, creating mesmerizing and unique prints on the paper. Each bubble print becomes a work of art, with colorful shapes blending and swirling together.

23. Nature Walks

Take the children on a nature walk, encouraging them to explore the natural world around them. As they wander through parks, gardens, or nearby green spaces, ask them to keep an eye out for natural objects in a variety of colors. They can collect vibrant leaves, colorful flowers, stones, or even unique twigs. This hands-on activity connects children with nature and reinforces color recognition as they search for objects of different hues.

24. Shape Play Mats

This game is an imaginative and interactive playtime delight! Create a play mat featuring a vibrant array of different shapes, such as circles, squares, triangles, and more. Children can then use their favorite toy cars or animals to explore the exciting world of shapes on the mat. They can drive toy cars along the edges of squares, hop toy animals from one circle to another, or even create fun stories using the shapes as settings. This playful activity not only enhances their shape-recognition skills but also encourages creativity and storytelling.

25. Dress-Up Game

This delightful and easy activity allows children to express their creativity and personal style! Provide a wide array of clothes and accessories in a variety of vibrant colors, and let the children choose outfits based on their favorite colors. Whether it’s a bright red shirt, a sunny yellow dress, a cool blue hat, or a cheerful green scarf, they can mix and match to their heart’s content. This playful activity encourages children to explore their sense of fashion and fosters a connection to colors and their preferences.

26. Shape Cards

This game offers a hands-on and engaging sensory experience for kids! These cards are designed with various textured shapes that children can touch and explore. They can run their fingers over the cards and feel the different textures of each shape, such as smooth circles, bumpy triangles, soft squares, and more. This provides a fun and educational way for children to learn about shapes.

27. Colorful Water Play

Just add a few drops of food coloring to the water and let the children immerse themselves in the excitement of playing and mixing colors. Provide them with cups, containers, and water toys, and watch as they experiment and create different color combinations. This hands-on experience entertains them and fosters their creativity and understanding of colors. This game offers a delightful way for young ones to have a splashingly good time!

28. Shape Charades

Shape Charades is a fun and interactive game where players act out various shapes for others to guess. Each player takes turns miming a specific shape without speaking, and the rest of the group tries to guess the shape being portrayed. This lively and engaging activity encourages creativity and communication and reinforces shape recognition as players use their body language and gestures to represent different shapes.

29. Colorful Emotions

Colorful Emotions is a wonderful and creative activity that allows children to explore and express their feelings through art. Start by assigning different emotions to various colors, such as red for anger, blue for sadness, yellow for happiness, and green for calmness. Then, encourage the kids to use these colors to draw and illustrate how they feel at that moment.

30. Math Game: Creating Geometric Shapes

Shape Builders is an engaging and educational math game that revolves around creating geometric shapes. Children are given various colorful geometric pieces, such as triangles, squares, circles, and rectangles. Their task is to use these pieces to construct different shapes on a designated surface or board. This game helps kids develop essential math skills, geometry, and problem-solving.

31. Paper Activities

This game is all about giving different colored papers to the kids. This can be a group activity where the kids are given the creative freedom to create the shapes of their choice. This enhances their creative abilities and leverages their artistic flair. They can create paper boats, houses, windmills, or cutesy paper monsters.

32. Colorful Hula Hoop Toss

This delightful and active game combines tossing skills with shape recognition. To play, lay hula hoops on the ground, each featuring a different shape drawn inside. Kids are then given beanbags and encouraged to toss them into the corresponding shapes inside the hula hoops. It can be played individually or in teams, fostering a sense of friendly competition and teamwork. It offers a fantastic opportunity for outdoor play and physical activity.

33. Shape-Like Poses

During the session, children are guided to form various poses that resemble different shapes. They can transform their bodies into triangles, circles, squares, and more, exploring the world of shapes through movement. This activity is helpful in making the children aware of physical fitness, along with offering a learning opportunity for different shapes.

34. Colorful Storytime

This involves reading books with vibrant illustrations that highlight colors and shapes. As children gather around, they are transported to a world of enchantment through colorful imagery. This helps them learn about colors and shapes in a fun and engaging way. This delightful activity fosters a love for reading and sparks children’s creativity. They can explore the world of colors and shapes through stories and captivating illustrations.

35. Colors and Shape Memory Tray

Shape and Color Memory Tray is an enjoyable and interactive memory game for kids. To play, place a variety of objects with different shapes and colors on a tray. Let the children carefully study the objects for a short period of time. Then, cover the tray, and ask the kids to recall and name as many objects as they can remember.

36. Outdoor Art

Simply gather art supplies, such as paints, markers, colored pencils, and paper, and head outside to an inspiring natural setting. Encourage the children to observe the vibrant colors found in the environment, like the blue sky, green grass, colorful flowers, and more. This art adventure nurtures their creativity and self-expression and fosters an appreciation for the wonders of nature.

37. Fun Handprints

With non-toxic paint and a variety of colors, kids can dip their hands into the paint and leave their handprints on paper or canvas. This hands-on experience allows them to explore their creativity and experiment with different color combinations. Colorful Handprints can be adapted for various age groups and settings, making it a perfect activity for playdates, classrooms, or family gatherings. You can even get your little one’s handprints art framed for a lasting memory.

38. Coloring Books

These specially designed coloring books feature an array of unique and diverse shapes for children to color and decorate. From circles and squares to triangles, stars, and more, each page offers a captivating canvas for young artists to express their imagination and artistic flair. You can get a wide array of coloring books for the little ones to help them navigate through different shapes and colors in an interesting way.

39. Colorful Ball Toss

This fun and interactive game brings a burst of color and excitement to playtime! Set up different bins; each assigned a specific color. Children are then given colorful balls, and their task is to toss the balls into the corresponding containers based on their colors. It offers a fantastic opportunity for outdoor play and physical activity, making it an enjoyable way for children to stay active while learning about colors in a playful manner.

40. Shapes With Colorful Chalks

With a box of vibrant and colorful chalk in hand, children can take their imagination outdoors and draw a world filled with shapes and colors on the ground or chalkboard. They can create vivid shapes with the help of these colorful chalks. This activity will offer them a learning opportunity in a fun way. They can make circles, triangles, squares, hearts, and rectangles- the possibilities are endless!

Final Thoughts

Last but not least, recognizing shapes helps toddlers understand the world around them, as shapes are the building blocks of objects they encounter daily. Learning colors, on the other hand, enhances their visual perception and communication skills. By sharing their discoveries and collaborating during playtime, toddlers build important communication and socialization skills.

However, shape and color activities for toddlers are crucial for their holistic development to make learning enjoyable and ensure a lifelong love for exploration and discovery.

These activities form an essential part of early childhood education, empowering toddlers to navigate their world with confidence and curiosity.

Are you one of those people who is looking to incorporate some fun yet interesting activities in the life of your toddler? Then, you’ve come to the right place. It is rightly said that ” All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Hence it is safe to say that playing and enrolling your toddler in extracurricular activities is as much important as studying any subject.

The overall development of a child is also directed by the activities he or she indulges in. Activities play a vital role in the early stages of your toddler’s life as it helps to develop personality by teaching some basic soft skills like patience, perseverance, and many more. If you scroll through the internet, you can find multiple suggestions on activities for toddlers, and that can also be pretty confusing.

So, to make your job easy of finding activities for toddlers, we have curated a list of some of the most amazing and fun-filled handpicked activities for your little ones.

Let’s begin.

1. Play with Clay

Children love to play with clay, and there is no doubt about that. So, how about turning their love of playing with clay into a learning activity? Yes, you heard us right. Introduce your toddler with clays of different colors to stimulate creativity. You can even help them in making figures, shapes, and creatures to make them learn about the diversity on the planet Earth. Children will actively participate in such activities as the colors, and physical touch of clay brings a joyful ecstasy.

2. DIY Train

The activities for toddlers should be fun-filled, exciting, and engaging to keep the intrusive minds of your toddlers alive. The next activity suggested is a package of all the things just mentioned. The DIY train using empty egg cartons, cereal boxes, or any empty cans that you were planning to discard. Make the most of these items by bringing them into use for your child’s play activities. This is the perfect activity that doesn’t demand any investment but still can help to keep your toddler’s mind in building something creative.

3. Bubble Wrap Popping

>Bubble wrap popping is not only limited to adults using it as a way to release their stress. It is just one of the amazing activities for toddlers that require no physical exertion and is a perfect thing to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon with your kid. There are high chances of experiencing a lot of laughter and funny moments, so keep yourself prepared for the same. You can spend quality time with your toddler by engaging in this activity, and can successfully create beautiful memories.

4. Let’s Make a Fortress

If your child loves fairytales and wants to live in a fortress, then this indoor activity is perfect. Sometimes, activities for toddlers should be designed according to the desires of the kids. Give your toddler a joyful desire to live in a fortress and make him learn how to build shapes using empty cartons and used sheets. You can DIY the fortress by decorating the fortress with fairy lights and putting cozy cushions and soft toys. The fortress will be the favorite spot for your child to listen to bedtime stories while snuggling and relaxing.

5. Alphabet Game

Finding activities for toddlers can be a challenging task. But we have made it simple for you. In this activity, all you have to do is fill a bucket with magnetic alphabets and put some blue coloring in it to make it appear like a pond. And give a mini iron rod to your toddler to do some fishing and name the alphabet one by one. You can ask the child to spell the alphabet or small words like cat or rat while pulling them out. These kinds of activities for toddlers generate learning power while keeping the process of learning enjoyable.

6. Shape Matching

Do you find your child getting fascinated with shapes and figures? Well, we have curated something to ignite the intrusiveness and channel it into building something meaningful. Cut the shapes out of paper of different colors and slit them in half. Then you can ask the child to fit the halves with the respective other half to complete a shape. This way, your toddler will learn different shapes and will be able to differentiate between them without stressing over the learning part too much.

7. The Cup Tower

Some activities for toddlers require less effort but can give good results. You can collect cups of different colors and patterns to keep the fun and colorful energy alive in the activity. Then you can ask your toddler to stack those cups in order to form a tower. Encourage the child to go as high as possible to make him learn the importance of hard work to reach the top. You can encourage him to do better every time the cup falls to make him learn not to stop and try again if you fail or fall.

8. Paint the World

Children see the world with the purest and most unfiltered view. The way a child gets fascinated by the colorful surroundings and how vivid hues help to bring warmth to everything is unmeasurable. The innumerous thoughts weaved inside the head of a toddler can not be matched with anything. You can bring some painting colors and do fun with paint by indulging in hand painting and thumb painting to create beautiful masterpieces. These memories will forever stay in your heart as your toddler will never be this small again.

9. Tracing Objects

Do not limit the love of your scribbling and line art to walls. Yes, we are aware of the fact that how children make the walls of homes, their canvas, and draw everything using colors and pencils. Restricting your child from doing that will be useless. Instead, use this creativity and ask the child to trace objects on the sheet of paper; that will help him learn the details and make use of the inner creative energy. Also, it will help you to protect the walls of your home from your little Picasso!

10. Craft Butterflies

Bring the butterflies into the life of your kids with our suggested activities for toddlers. Do not let those used tissues or toilet rolls go to waste, and teach your toddlers to make easy butterflies with them. You can find many tutorials on the internet on how to make easy butterflies with tissue, and follow the same to teach your little one to create cute creative butterflies. You can use different colors of tissues to make the activity more interactive and keep them on display as your toddler’s first creation.

11. Bath in a Pool

There is nothing more satisfying than soaking yourself in a big pool filled brimming with water on a lazy Sunday afternoon. If you are unwilling to put in any effort but still looking for an engaging activity for your little one, then consider this one. Fill the tub with some waterproof soft toys and bath bombs to create a playful environment. The charm of this activity will be intensified if taking place in the sunlight in an open garden where you can breathe and chill with your toddler.

12. Thumb Painting

Organize a creative and engaging session for your toddler, as this is one the best activities for toddlers out there. All you have to do is Bring some skin-friendly paint colors and ask the toddler to dip the thumb in the paint and leave the imprint on the piece of paper, forming patterns. Be very vigilant while doing this activity, as make sure the toddler does not put the color in the eyes, nose, mouth, or other sensitive area. With no time, you will be able to teach how to create beautiful art using the thumb painting technique.

13. Make Paper Planes or Boats

Do you remember your childhood when you used to form basic boats and planes using sheets of paper? Well, don’t you want to pass on this legacy? And let your child also live the innocence of childhood you have experienced once. Teach your toddler how to make paper boats and planes using a simple folding method, and enjoy a fun time with your kid. Once he learns this technique, he is ready to boast about his skills in front of his friends. This is again one of the simple and budget-friendly activities for toddlers.

14. Decorate a Cake

if you think your toddler has a little inclination towards cooking and shows interest in cooking stuff, then this is the perfect activity for your toddler. Enjoy a chill session with your kid by decorating a cake and make your child learn how to finish up things in a beautiful way. You can start off with basic decorating ideas and then move further. Keep it interactive so that your toddler enjoys the process of decorating a cake and gets motivated to do more such activities for toddlers.

15. Paper Plate Bird Craft

Every child is creative and has the curiosity to learn more. So it is the duty of the elders to trace that talent and channel it into building appraisal-worthy art. Teach your toddler how to make birds using paper plates, as it can be one of the greatest fun activities for toddlers. It can pull out the finest skills in your child and also help him to think creatively. Paper plate bird craft is an easy activity to carry out with your kid to make the most of the growing and crucial years of your toddler.

16. Play with Beads

One of the most fascinating and easygoing activities for toddlers is playing with beads. A child can simply put beads in a string or thread and count while doing that. This will solve two purposes; one is to make a child revise numbers and count, another one is to make a beautiful beads necklace. You can simply find many colorful beads online and ask the toddler to put them in a string one by one. This activity will stimulate patience and ignite focus inside a child.

17. Storytime

A classic way of making your toddler time productive that has been followed from ancient times is a simple story-telling session. You can narrate a bedtime story for an afternoon nap. Find good storybooks online to feed the minds of your child with new morals and experiences. The fictional characters in the stories are perfect for teaching life lessons like friendship, honesty, hard work, and loyalty. Storytelling is one of the most essential activities for toddlers that help in the mental development of a child.

18. Paint the Pebbles

It may interest you to know that useless stones or pebbles are not so useless anymore. Pick up the pebbles with flat surfaces and ask your child to draw figures or paint a favorite cartoon character. This can turn out to be an interesting activity for toddlers. Motivate them to use beautiful colors to keep the activity interesting. You can even give them a printout of any figure for reference. Make sure you choose flat, surfaced pebbles and wash them before handing them to the kids.

19. Make Bubble Tea

The love for preparing delicious and stunning delicacies is endless. And if your child also shows up interest in the same, then do not hesitate to teach your child how to prepare a fun and interesting bubble tea. The recipe is easy and can be made with your toddler seamlessly. You can even use safe food colorings to add attractive elements to the bubble tea. We promise your child will love you for introducing this wonderful activity for toddlers.

20. Pretend Play

When it comes to playing with toddlers, you need to be creative, thoughtful and come up with good deal breakers that can solve multiple purposes. Children are like potter’s clay; they are molded in any shape, figure, or personality you want them to take. In order to conduct pretend play with kids, you need to choose the popular and most famous characters among children that a child can easily imitate. This is the perfect way to teach them various aspects of human beings and the qualities that make individuals different from each other.

21. Sink or Swim Experiment

Are you looking for some activities for toddlers that could teach them the basic role of since in the life of human beings? Well, one of the essential science concepts that could help the child to learn about the things that could drown or float when thrown in water can be taught by this activity. Fill a bucket with water and collect all the things that vary in size, shape, and texture. You can ask your kid to throw the entity one by one and make him understand what are the things that are capable of floating and which things can drown.

22. Tracing Objects

Children love to imitate their elders. Whatever you will do, a child will blindly follow, like a monkey who follows the actions of others. So, what you can do is take some objects and trace them on paper with the help of a pencil. This is one of the amazing activities for toddlers that require minimal effort but help to learn many essential benefits such as patience, paying attention to details, and many more. You can help the child in the initial few traces of simple objects like bangles. Once your kid learns to do the tracing properly, he will be ready to make shapes and lines without the help of tracing the objects.

23. T-shirt Painting

If your child loves the colors and talks about painting everything in sight, this activity may help. Get yourself enrolled in one of the craziest and coolest activities of toddlers, like t-shirt painting. Grab a plain white t-shirt and ask your kid to dip the hands in different colors and place them on a t-shirt for a remarkable impression. Your child will be filled with amazement and ask you to do this again and again. You can keep that T-shirt as a joyful memory once lived in the early stages of your child’s life.

24. Water Xylophone

Do you want your child to develop an interest in music? Start with the basics. Fill a few glasses with water at different heights and then lines them in an increasing or decreasing order. And let your toddler create his own tune with the help of a wooden spoon. But be careful; you need to do supervision throughout the activity as the child may spill the water everywhere. Let your child become a rockstar and create sweet melodies to impress anyone in the first meeting.

25. Bake Some Cookies Together

Let your child embrace the passion for cooking and baking from the initial stages of life. A child can do anything if the ignited passion is identified and supported in childhood itself. You can introduce your kid to the basics of cooking, about how to roll dough or cut the perfect cookie shape with the help of a cutter, or decorate them with icing, chocolate, and sprinklers. This way, your child will learn some new skills and also enjoy the process of learning something completely new as well.

26. Word Guess

If your child loves to guess the themes, names of commodities, and probably everything around, then this is one of the best activities for toddlers. Do some actions or give your kid some hints that resemble the features of that particular thing to help him guess that thing easily. You can make flashcards or enact a little play to keep the fun element in the game alive. Focus on introducing a wide variety of words in front of the child to build familiarity with multiple things present in the surroundings.

27. Bath with Pet

Do you own a pet like a dog or cat? Well, that is awesome. Your child can learn most of the basic human responsibilities like caring, loving, and giving when a pet is present in the house. Organize a fun shower day in the backyard or on the terrace of your house with your pet and your child to have fun and make him learn about how to wash a pet. You can click some photos as well to keep those memories forever. The rush of joy and smile on the face of your child is worth all your efforts.

28. Sort the Colors

Fill a jar with things of different colors. Then ask your child to pick those things one by one and stack them in lines based on the differences in colors. You can choose toys, cards, little things like buttons, and many more to make the activity interesting. The coolest part about conducting this activity is you do not have to involve yourself in it, and your little one will put effort into solving the task out of curiosity or interest.

29. Tea Time

Prepare some tea for yourself and milk for your little one. Have a quick talkative session with your child and talk about the interest, friendships, school time stories, and basically, everything you think you need to know about your child can be discussed in this tea time. You could also make him learn about new poems, different body parts, and their functions in between your talk with a lot of laughter. Within no time, you both will be able to create a bond where the child feels safe to open up about everything.

30. Fun with Crayons

Let the inner Picasso of your child do the job. Hand over some crayons to your child and a sheet on which beautiful images can be drawn, alphabets and numbers can be written, or possibly anything a child wants to create with the help of those crayons. Make the most of it by asking your kid to write some numerals and alphabets so that this can be one of those activities for toddlers that is productive and enjoyable. Your child will thank you later for letting the artist in your child explore and create unique images.

The Bottom Line

In the end, we would like to say that it is the job of the parents to unfold the infinite potential of a child if you are a parent as well and are confused about the type of activities that should be conducted in order to stimulate the skeptical mind of your little one.

In this comprehensive list of 30 activities for toddlers, you can find the most amazing and productive. You can introduce activities in front of your child to make him learn new skills. From indoor to outdoor, budget-friendly to fun activities, we have kept everyone’s needs in mind while curating this extensive list of activities for toddlers.

Comment below and let us know which activity you will carry out with your little one!

The toddlers started to develop their mental leap after five to six weeks of their birth. It may last for up to 18 months or 24 months. Thus, during this period, they want to commit to many playful activities. As a parent, you’re required to arrange their playful schedules. It may help your toddlers in mitigating their stress levels.

However, playing doesn’t mean that you’ve to go outside on the ground. You can still arrange a few playing activities at your home. It can help the children to spend quality time with their parents and vice versa. Besides these, it may encourage your toddler to learn new activities, such as painting, making music, decorating boxes, etc.

In this blog, you’ll learn about 35 unique indoor playing activities for 1-year-olds.

1. Story Time

The most significant and prime indoor activity you can conduct with your toddler is scheduling a storytime. Storytelling is one of the most exciting activities for 1-year-olds. So, read a fairytale or an adventurous story to them. If you’re out of stories, you can use modern technology. Use audio stories to improve your toddler’s imagination. It may also help them to develop their thinking, listening, and imagination skills at home.

2. Box Decoration

It’s normal for a toddler to play with toys. Where do they put their toys after playing with them? Maybe in a box, a toy box. However, most toddlers don’t want to arrange their toys in that box. Thus, what about allowing them to decorate the boxes? It isn’t a bad idea. Decorating the toy boxes may enhance the creativity of your baby. It’s one of the most unique activities for 1-year-olds. Bring them a few watercolors to decorate the boxes.

3. DIY Coloring Paper

Bought a few DIY coloring papers or pages for your toddler. You can find them in your local stationery or e-commerce stores. Various types of DIY coloring paper are available on the market. Bring them for your babies to play. They may use it and create a wonderful design from it. It’s also one of the most fascinating activities for 1-year-olds. They can paint it with pastels, pencil colors, or sketch pens. Besides these, they may fold them to create a paper butterfly or bee.

4. Indoor Scavenger Hunt

An indoor scavenger hunt may be almost the same as playing an indoor treasure hunt with your kids. However, the indoor scavenger hunt doesn’t need further preparations. It can be done with minimum and readymade requirements. Just show a few pictures of a few objects to your babies and ask them to collect them in their basket. For example, show a picture of a red toy car, a brown teddy, and a yellow spoon, and they will collect the pieces on their basket. It’s one of the innovative activities for 1-year-olds.

5. Arrange the Toys

As mentioned, a toddler loves playing with toys. However, they don’t arrange it properly in their toy boxes. What about teaching them to arrange their toys playfully? It isn’t a bad approach. It’s one of the most interesting activities for 1-year-olds. This activity can influence the thinking skills of your toddler. In addition, it also teaches them discipline and how to arrange things perfectly. Arrange their toys in the boxes, and they will repeat you.

6. Washing the Toys

As a parent, you must concern about the hygiene of your baby. Thus, it’s necessary to wash or sanitize the toy they are playing with. If you find it difficult to bathe your toddler, wash their toys in the bathtub. After that, they might get encouraged to take the bath playfully. Apart from that, they will also learn about washing their toys. Toddler always imitates what their parents do. So, if you wash the toys, they will follow the same activity.

7. Nursery Rhymes

Apart from storytelling, you can read nursery rhymes to your toddler. Try to sing a nursery rhyme and add it to your daily routine. It may help your toddlers to get aware of all types of rhymes before they are admitted to an elementary school. It can help you to engage your child. Besides these, it will also develop their listening and thinking skills along with musical preferences. It’s one of the most fun and joyful activities for 1-year-olds.

8. Playhouse

Playhouse is one of the most trending activities for 1-year-olds. This activity has become popular in the last two or three decades. You can build a playhouse using DIY cardboard or pillows. A kid will love to enjoy playing with a playhouse. Nowadays, readymade playhouses are also available on the market. You can buy one that is suitable for your toddler. In that playhouse, babies can add their toys, dolls, and other playing elements. It can help your babies to grow playfully.

9. Music Making

Who doesn’t love music? Human beings enjoy the music of their favorite artists. The same thing also applies to your toddlers. The tone of any musical instrument can influence a toddler. Thus, you can buy a musical instrument for your baby. It may include a toddler keyboard, guitar, or drums. After that, ask them to play it. It can help them to enhance their musical preferences. In addition, it may guide you to help them in developing their creative skills.

10. Painting or Drawing

Paintings or drawings are one of the most popular activities for 1-year-olds. Bring a drawing paper for your kids and ask them to draw or paint anything they want. Handed them pastels, pencil colors, sketch pens, and watercolors. Then, see what they draw or paint. It may not make sense to you every time, but it may assure you that your child is learning and growing creative skills. Make this playful activity in their daily or weekly schedule.

11. LEGO Toys

Everyone has been familiar with LEGO toys since the early 1930s. Not only the kids but also adults love playing with a LEGO toy. Similarly, you can buy some LEGOs for your toddlers and arrange an indoor playing activity. They can learn so many things from this activity, such as building a model car or house. It is one of the most creative and unique activities for 1-year-olds. They not only enjoy playing with LEGO toys but also learn several things playfully.

12. Playing with Teddy Bears

Apart from toys or LEGOs, a toddler loves to play with teddy bears. Thus, you can bring a teddy bear for your baby. It may guide you to do other work while your baby is busy playing with the teddy. Playing with teddy bears is one of the most popular activities for 1-year-olds. It may help them in showing compassion and sharing emotions. In other words, it will help them to develop their interaction skills and mental growth.

13. Hide and Seek

Hide and seek is popular gaming activity among children. You can play this game both in outdoor and indoor spaces. You can try this gaming activity with your 1-year-old toddler. It can guide your child to get rid of separation anxiety that occurs frequently at that time. Hide and seek can also boost emotion and impulsion. However, don’t make it difficult; make sure your child finds you easily. This activity may make your toddler joyful and help you to connect with them emotionally.

14. Painting the Trash Can

Painting the trash can or basket is also one of the most trending and innovative activities for 1-year-olds. You must teach your toddler to put the garbage in the trash or bin. However, as a toddler, they may find it funny and do the opposite of it. So, allow your toddler to paint a trash can or basket made of cardboard. They may find this activity encouraging, and they will put the waste in the trash bin. Thus, your toddler learns about cleaning their surroundings and boosts their creativity.

15. Bubble Foam

Bubble foams are one of the most joyful activities for 1-year-olds. If you face difficulty during the time of your toddler’s shower, you can try this. You can blow bubbles so that your children can enjoy it. Besides these, you can use a bubble bath with water during the shower. Just make sure the ratio between the bubble bath and water is 2:1. Use your hands to mix it in the bathtub. It may encourage your children to during the bath playfully.

16. Card Games

Card games don’t always mean arcade games. You can use flashcard games to play with your kids. It’s one of the most interesting activities for 1-year-olds. Bring a set of cards that consists of English alphabets or numbers. Apart from that, you can buy a set of cards that consists of fruit names or images. Arrange a playful activity with these cards with your toddler. It may help your baby to learn and develop their skills while playing.

17. Chalk Drawing

Toddler loves drawing several things as, at that time, they are in the mental leap. It helps them to enhance their creativity. Just like you give your toddlers pastels, pencil colors, or watercolors to draw or paint something. Similarly, you can give your toddler a set of colorful chalk for doing the same activity. Just bring a small white or blackboard and ask your 1-year-old to draw something. It may not make sense to you, but it can boost your toddler’s creativity skills.

18. Egg Painting

Painting on a drawing paper or book is normal. What about enabling your toddler to paint on eggs? It isn’t a bad idea. It’s one of the unique activities for 1-year-olds. They can enjoy painting the eggs with brush and watercolors. They can help you to set up a perfect decoration for Easter. It may boost their knowledge about designing and enhance their creative skills. You need to start the activity first, so they will imitate you and give the eggs an innovative look.

19. Build a Castle in The Indoor Space

Building a castle with cardboard or pillows is also an innovative approach. It’s as simple as creating a playhouse or dollhouse. However, there are readymade toddler castles available on the market. An indoor castle may experience numerous playing activities for 1-year-olds. Toddlers can jump or roleplay their favorite fairytale characters on that castle. Apart from that, they can play with their dolls, teddy bears, or toys in the castle. A jumping castle can help your toddler to improve their physical health, which includes stamina and blood circulation level.

20. Playing with Sand

Toddlers love to play with sand; you’ll notice that when you will visit a beach or a playground. However, you can still create the same vibe at your home. Just bring a large bucket with sand and water and arrange a playful environment for your child. Playing with sand is one of the most fun activities for 1-year-olds. They will create a mini sand castle or other different objects with sand and water. It will unleash their creative side positively.

21. Finger and Toes Counting

Finger and toe counting is one of the most playful activities for 1-year-olds. You can arrange this gaming schedule without any further requirements. Just show your toddlers how you count your fingers or toes. After that, they will start imitating you. It may help them in learning numerics while playing the game. They will also learn about calculating before going to elementary school. This activity will improve their hand-eye coordination and thinking capability in a lively manner.

22. Play with Dolls

Playing with dolls is normal for any toddler. This is one of the most fascinating activities for 1-year-olds. If your toddler plays with dolls, it can benefit them in developing their mental abilities. They can also evolve their emotions, empathy, and impulsive skills. Toddlers may start talking to their dolls daily, which may encourage them to speak early. It can lead them to improve their imagination and thinking capacity. If you want to develop your toddler’s emotional state, don’t hesitate to bring dolls.

23. Ping Pong Balls

Playing with any type of sports ball can develop the fitness level of your kid. In addition, it may help them to facilitate their blood circulation level and reduce their stress level. However, a toddler can’t play with a soccer ball or basketball. For your toddler, you can bring a bunch of ping pong, aka table tennis balls. The ping pong balls aren’t small that your child can choke. Just be cautious all the time.

24. Feed Animal Stuffed Toy

Apart from teddy bears and dolls, a toddler loves playing with stuffed toys. It may include domestic or wild animal dolls. If you’re having a problem while feeding your 1-year-olds, you can also try this activity. Try to feed their animal stuffed toys or dolls while feeding your toddler. Apart from that, you may create a scenario where your toddler is feeding the animal stuffed toys with you. It may look like you’re feeding a real animal. It may help them in learning about sharing and kindness.

25. Blowing the Balloons

A toddler always loves to play with balloons. It’s one of the most enjoyable activities for 1-year-olds. Thus, you can play with your toddlers with balloons in indoor spaces. Blow a pair or two balloons, and you’ll notice your children are imitating you. They’ll start blowing the balloon too. Blowing the balloon can also benefit your toddler in blood circulation and fitness levels. It may also help them with breathing exercises. Just make sure you’re maintaining a limit, as too much blowing the balloons can create a negative impact on their health.

26. Play with Action Cards

Aside from flashcards, you can give your toddlers a set of action cards. An action card contains several activities that your 1-year-old can enjoy. You can bring a set of animal action cards. It may include how an animal can walk or speak. For instance, it may include waddling like a penguin, stretching like a giraffe, swinging like a monkey, etc. The action cards can also help your toddler in learning so many things about animals and their activities.

27. Leaf Painting

Toddlers love painting and drawing. Apart from showing their painting skills on eggs, cardboard, and drawing books, you can bring a bunch of leaves for them. Just make sure the leaves are cleaned properly to maintain a level of hygiene. After giving them the leaves, ask them to show their creativity. If it didn’t work at first, try to paint a leaf by yourself. After that, they will follow you. It might also develop their creative and thinking skills.

28. Printable Cutouts

What about emphasizing your toddler’s cutting skills? It isn’t a bad approach. You can buy a printable cutout and ask them to cut out the picture carefully. Hand them a scissor; if they fail to do it at first, do it yourself. After that, your child will imitate you. However, be careful while doing this process, don’t give them a sharp scissor. Instead of it, try to provide them with playful scissors. This activity can help your toddler in their concentration.

29. Toy Car Races

It’s normal for a toddler to play with toy cars. This is one of the most joyful activities for 1-year-olds. What about organizing a race between their toy cars? It isn’t a negative approach. Take two toy cars for yourself and give your child two cars and then race them. Your toddler may find this activity more exciting, and it can be done in your indoor space easily without further preparation. This activity can also help you connect with your 1-year-old mentally and emotionally.

30. Popsicle Bath

Having a problem as your kids are refusing to take a bath. However, there’s a solution. Try to arrange a playful activity so that they find it encouraging to bathe. Give them popsicles while bathing or after the bath. After that, your toddler may feel happy and won’t create any difficulties for you. The popsicle bath activity may help you to wash your toddler’s hair and body easily. Just ensure a limitation, a popsicle may make your 1-year-old happy, but too much popsicle can cause a cold.

31. Pouring the Water

Another simple, playful activity that you can arrange for your toddler is water pouring. All you need is just a few glasses or bottles and a jug. Give them a small jug or jar full of water and ask them to pour them on glasses and bottles. It may help your child to learn about discipline. In addition, it may assist them in developing their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Your toddler may gain concentration abilities while performing this activity.

32. Buy Clay Dough

Clay doughs are also popular, playful elements for a toddler from the past few decades. Like drawing and painting, a toddler finds it interesting to play with clay dough. It’s also as enjoyable for them as playing with LEGO blocks. Your toddler can create amazing and simple sculptures and designs. This activity may enhance their creativity and artistic skills. In addition, your child may improve their imagination and concentration skills. Besides these, this may assist your child to boost their hand-eye coordination and fine motor activities.

33. Match the Bottle Lids

Matching the lids of bottles is as playful as pouring the water. Your toddler may also find this activity encouraging. It may improve your kid’s concentration skills. Aside from that, it may develop their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Give your child three or four empty bottles and their lids separately. Ask them to match the lids of the bottles. This is one of the innovative and fun activities for 1-year-olds. It doesn’t require numerous requirements and can be played in an indoor space.

34. Teach them to Water the Indoor Plants

Watering the plants is as simple and similar as pouring the water into bottles from a small jar. Generally, parents do this activity with 2 to 5-year-old babies. However, you can try this with your toddler. At present, it’s one of the most trendy activities for 1-year-olds. Teach your kids to water the indoor plants at your home. Display the process, and they will imitate it. This activity can teach your toddler about caring for the environment.

35. Allow them to Play Volleyball with Baloon

Toddlers enjoy playing with balloons and balls. They love blowing the balloons and playing with a ping pong ball. Have you noticed that they also love volleying several things, such as pillows and toys? It’s not appropriate to give a volleyball to your 1-year-old baby. So, in this case, you can give your child a balloon and allow them to play volleyball with it. This activity may immensely bring joy and pleasure to a toddler.

In Summary

All in all, you don’t have to go outside to arrange a playful activity with your 1-year-olds. You can create the same environment in the comfort of your home without any excessive preparation. Give your toddler dolls and toys to play with. Besides these, you can read stories or rhymes, which may improve your kid’s listening, thinking, and imagination skills.

These indoor activities can enhance the creativity of your 1-year-old toddler. Bring pastel colors, watercolors, pencil colors, and sketch pens for them. Then provide them with a drawing book, leaves, cardboard, trash cans, or toy boxes where they can show their creativity.

In this blog, you’ve acknowledged about 35 indoor playing activities for 1-year-olds. Which one is your favorite?

Let us know in the comments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Benefit of Doing These Activities with 1-Year-Old Toddlers?

There are several benefits associated with these indoor playing activities. It can help your toddlers to develop their thinking, listening, and creative skills. In addition, it will also help them to reduce their stress level and separation anxiety.

Which Indoor Activities Are the Best Choice for a Toddler?

Allowing children to make music is one of the best choices. Besides these, drawing, painting, and creating models with clay dough are also innovative activities. It can improve your toddler’s creativity and hand-eye coordination.