Two-year-olds are notoriously known for endless energy bundles – keen to play and learn all day long. And this is amazing for their development as their innate curiosity and excitement for the world around them have all kinds of positive learning benefits.
However, as parents – it can be daunting (not to mention exhausting) thinking of just how you are going to keep them entertained all day. And you may notice that peekaboo isn’t the crowd-pleaser it used to be when they were younger.
So, to help parents, we’ve put together our top seven fun and easy learning activities for 2-year-olds.
1. Make Some Shape Monsters
Shape monsters are an excellent activity for helping your two-year-old learn about colors and shapes early on. In this easy activity, cut out circles, triangles, and squares from felt, cardboard, or colored paper and decorate. You can stick on googly eyes or use pencils to personalize your little monsters.
This activity is great for developing their fine motor skills as they pick up the different shapes. You can also encourage the development of their numeracy skills by counting the monsters together and their understanding of shapes and colors by grouping them up.
Plus, once you learn about shapes and colors – you can transition to developing their social skills by roleplaying monsters together. Find the complete instructions and materials needed here.
2. Dress-ups!
A timeless classic – dress-ups are a great activity for developing social skills and encouraging imagination. Whether it is princesses, superheroes, doctors, or a chef – pretend play is a great way to help them learn to regulate their emotions. Your toddler will likely develop an interest in pretend play at two years old, and dress-ups can help get the party started.
Dress-ups can be a great time to introduce some mild conflict to encourage the development of their problem-solving skills. If they are running a cafe – pretend to spill your coffee and see how they react and give them space to come up with a potential solution.
3. Get Crafty with Cloud Collages
Arts and Crafts are beneficial for your toddler’s development of their creativity, motor skills, and self-expression. This easy craft is a great indoor activity that will occupy little ones for hours and engage their budding artistic sides! Simply take cotton wool buds, blue paper, and glue and create a cloud collage with your toddler.
While you create together, this is an excellent opportunity to teach them about clouds, the weather, and rain.
Find the complete instructions and materials needed here.
4. Watch an Activity Video!
As a parent, you need a break from coming up with and leading all the activities. Luckily some great online videos can get your child moving and thinking.
When picking these videos, look for something educational or encourages your child to move their body. Here is an excellent list of 7 at-home-activity videos that will get your toddler up and moving and having fun while learning valuable life skills.
5. Act out their Favorite Storybook
Storytime is a great way to develop their literacy skills and love of reading from a young age. However, if your toddler is filled with energy and struggling to sit still – it can be a great, easy learning activity to act out a story they are familiar with.
This can be as simple as reading the book together, pointing at the pictures, and making funny voices. Or you can take it a step further, bring some toys, and try ‘to play out the story together – don’t worry if you get a little off track!
This is a fun and easy way to develop literacy and emotional intelligence from a young age.
6. Make Some Noise!
Music is a great way to encourage self-expression and develop motor skills. Making some noise together can be a great and easy learning activity – whether playing some instruments together (e.g., toy maracas) or throwing on some music and having a boogie in the living room.
As they move their body to the music, they are developing their motor and rhythm skills – who knows, maybe you have a budding musician in your midst!
7. Build a Cubby
Building a cubby is a great indoor activity to have up your sleeve. It’s a great learning activity to develop their motor and problem-solving skills as they help you gather the materials and build the cubby.
Plus, as cubby houses are notoriously easy to cave in or fall apart as you build – it can help them (and even mum or dad!) foster their emotional regulation and patience.
Once the cubby is set up, you can leave them to their secret hideout for some independent play. Read more about setting up their cubby here.
Hopefully, this list has provided you with some inspiration for your next free day with your toddler! Keeping your 2-year-old busy, having fun, and learning about the world around them – will have you moving all day.
The good news is that all these learning activities, games, and time you spend with them will benefit their growing minds and bodies. Activity books are great for children. Here’s how activity books can stimulate your child’s mind.
