Fun Activities for 2-year-olds
I have been unofficially studying toddler logic for 20 years by observing many toddlers. I've noticed that the highest priority of toddler logic is fun. Here at Practical Playthings, this is taken very seriously. Here are numerous fun activities for 2-year-olds.
Sensory Play Activities for 2-Year-Olds
I've been experimenting with which sensory activities are popular with toddlers. I've observed that 2-year-olds focus the longest on sensory play if they can transfer the material.
By simply pouring and scooping with measuring cups, spoons, small containers, or reused scoops, little ones can be introduced to mathematical concepts such as mass, volume, and area.
They can learn so much from the texture, weight, smell, taste, sight, flow, and sound of the materials interacting with each other, including how they respond to movement and other objects.
Did you know that little ones put things in their mouths to explore them? The front of the tongue has double sensory receptors that provide them with ample information to learn about their discoveries.
Some 2-year-olds put things in their mouths more frequently than others. If your 2-year-old often mouths things, I'd stick to edible options in the Baby Sensory Play page , which toddlers love too.
If your 2-year-old doesn't tend to put everything in their mouth, then they can be supervised while doing these popular Toddler Sensory Play Activities.
Creative Toddler Play Activities for 2-year-olds
Are imaginative play ideas coming to mind? 2-year-olds do play with those, but I find they lose interest very quickly, unless they are chewing on them. Pretending is something they can learn. I often teach 2-year-olds how to pretend to eat, for example.
The foundation of creativity is freedom. When I think of toddler creative play, I think of open-ended opportunities for them to play their way. This is essentially what heuristic play is. Heuristic play allows young children to discover, experiment, problem-solve, and evaluate through trial and error. Child psychologist Elinor Goldschmied developed heuristic play over 40 years ago.
Have you also noticed that your 2-year-old loves playing with everyday items that are around the house? Heuristic play enables toddlers to safely explore things that are ideally made of natural materials. Natural materials provide greater sensory contrasts than many synthetic ones. The temperatures , weights, textures, and sounds of natural objects being banged together vary more than just plastic items, for example. However, I personally have included plastic objects in heuristic sessions because they are hard to avoid.
"Use what you have" is my motto for activities in general, and it particularly fits heuristic play. I and others have included open-ended toys in heuristic play sessions.
Treasure baskets are the most famous form of heuristic play. They are meant for babies from 6-12 months to answer the question, "What is it?". Whereas heuristic play sessions are designed for 1 and 2-year-olds to answer the question, "What can it do?". They are often done in groups, but I have found that one to two toddlers still get a lot out of smaller versions of these sessions in their homes.
The reason I think of it as creative play is that the adult 's role in heuristic play is to simply let them play with the items however they like. Safety is undeniably still important. I keep that in the front of my mind when choosing which items to include and exclude for the play sessions.
If you would like more guidance on what you can use for authentic heuristic play sessions, click through to the Creative Toddler Play Ideas page.
DIY Activities for 2-Year-Olds
In line with toddlers loving random items we use, I've found they enjoy activities for 2 year olds made out of packaging we usually throw away. I've noticed others online making their DIY playthings look super cute, whereas mine look a lot like the items they were made from, and the toddlers really don't care. I ended up painting egg cartons for color matching, only to realize that the tot prefers to play with the plain ones or the one she painted in a craft activity. Did you know, cardboard egg boxes can be sterilized in the microwave for 10 seconds?
I've observed many 2-year-olds, noting what they naturally do and which skills need help to develop. Fine motor skills, which enable them to successfully use their hands and improve hand-eye coordination, often challenge 2-year-olds. I designed and made these simple practical playthings to help them develop those foundational skills.
Don't worry if you're not handy with tools; I don't even own any construction tools. All you need are kitchen or stationery scissors and a pen. Most households can save basic food containers. Regular kids' paint is useful for color matching. That's really all you need. No special craft skills are required either.
To learn more about these easy-to-make DIY Toddler Toys, click the link.
2-Year-Old Learning Activities
I find toddlers learn best through hands-on exploration. These 2-year-old learning activities engage many of their senses to enhance knowledge through different pathways of their brains. 2-year-olds generally match pairs of objects through repetition, so let's provide them with a variety of opportunities.
I've taught the point of activities to some 2-year-olds and I've allowed others to figure it out. I found that those who discovered the concepts themselves were generally more engaged than the toddlers to whom I taught the rules. It depends on their personalities though, because there have been exceptions to this observation.
During the matching activities in a neutral voice, I often narrate what they are putting together (like I do with lift-out puzzles or shape sorters). For example, "The dolphin with the dolphin. The rhino with the bear. The bear with the rhino." I find that over time, they improve these skills, along with their self-confidence, self-esteem, love of learning and increased vocabulary.
Click through to explore 2-Year-Old Learning Activities.
Play Dough Activities for 2-year-olds
Here are the most popular play dough ideas I've provided for the young children in my care. Play dough creates perfect learning activities for 2-year-olds. It provides clean, open-ended sensory play with a variety of learning opportunities.
There are numerous play dough activities that build on various skills, which are beneficial for 2-year-olds to develop. They often use what many families with young children already have.
Click the link to explore these Play Dough Ideas.
Pre-Writing Activities for 2-year-olds
This might be surprising to recommend for 2-year-olds; however, it's very beneficial to offer pre-writing activities for toddlers that strengthen their hands in preparation for writing years later. These activities also help develop their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, enabling them to use their hands successfully.
Click through to find these simple and fun supervised Pre-Writing Activities.
Craft Activities for 2-year-olds
When I’m planning crafts for 2-year-olds, I think about what can give them free rein about how they want to do it. Teaching easy preschool craft techniques has value, however, creativity needs freedom of choice. Be inspired by these crafts for 2-year-olds which ignite children's creativity.
Check out these Creative Crafts for 2-year-olds.
Safety Activities for 2-Year-Olds
Most child predators carefully pick and test their victims. Even though children are not responsible for any abuse, they might prevent it by how they act or what they say. Safety games are effective ways of keeping children safe by training them in a fun way. You my think it's too early, but I play these safety games with all the 2-year-olds in my care and they love them.
Check out these easy Toddler Safety Games for child abuse prevention and help with road safety.
Things for Kids to Do in Most Communities
During my 15 years as a nanny in many places, I found things for kids to do in most communities that you might not have considered yet. They have been enjoyed by the 2-year-olds I have care for.
Discover which Things for Kids to Do in Most Communities.
Cooking Activities for 2-Year-Olds
Be inspired by these cooking with toddlers ideas. Toddlers love to get involved with fun looking tasks like cooking. They can learn foundation skills too. Safety is my first priority so only cold food are involved.
Find out what simple skills you can share with your 2-year-old while Cooking with Toddlers.
Practical Life Activities for 2-Year-Olds
Get your toddler involved with your chores to engage them and get things done all in one go with these practical life activities. There are many opportunities to build fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination just by doing simple housekeeping that we'll be doing anyway.
Discover which Practical Life Activities that 2-year-olds can do via this link.
Find even more Learning Activities via the homepage.