The A to Z of toddler activities
Parenting

The A to Z of toddler activities

Stuck for something to do with the children today? Then here’s my A to Z list of toddler activities covering every letter of the alphabet, and there must be something here to suit you.

A – Art

This is one of those activities that actually makes me cringe, partly because I hate the mess. But it’s something that needs to be done. It can be as simple as drawing, or getting the entire Hobby Craft shop into your kitchen.

B – Bear Hunt

If your child is anything like our daughter then a pretend Bear Hunt is a great idea to get out of the house. You could pretend to go looking for a bear in the park, down the road, or in local woods, and really bring the story to life.

C – Cars

Toddlers are obsessed with cars, pointing them out and shouting their colours. You could go on a walk around your neighbourhood, counting the cars, and looking for cars in specific colours, such as yellow. This is a free game, plus educational too!

D – Dogs

This is a weird one, but my toddler loves seeing dogs. She loves to point at them and shout “dog”. You could tie this in with a walk, and count how many dogs you see on your travels.

The A to Z of toddler activities

E – Eggs

You must have some of these in your fridge. An easy activity is to do egg blowing, and then you have a shell to decorate with fancy colours and jewels. A perfect activity to do in the run up to Easter or before Christmas to make baubles for the tree.

F – Farm

Whether you’re in the city or in the countryside you could visit a local farm. This is a great way for your toddler to see what life on a farm is like, see the animals, and have a play on their playground or giant toy tractors.

G – Glue and Glitter

It’s messy but fun. Get some card and glue stick. Draw pretty shapes with the glue stick and then get glittering. This will be a brilliant activity to do before Christmas, where your toddler could help make some cards.

H – Hats

There’s a theme running here, and another brilliant activity is to make hats with your child. You can do this with card, glitter, tissue paper, paints, colouring pencils, anything that get your child’s imagination going. This is a perfect activity to do at Easter and also at Christmas.

The A to Z of toddler activities

I – Insect Hunting

This one is not for the faint hearted (like me), but your garden contains a wealth of wildlife. You can make little score cards and go hunting for bees, ants, spiders, butterflies and worms.

J – Jump Around

There is really nothing better than jumping around in your living room or kitchen to music. It’s good exercise for you, and will help to refine your toddler’s jumping skills.

K – Kick a ball

Why not head off to the local park to kick a ball around. It will improve your toddler’s co-0rdination skills, and they’ll love chasing after a ball. You can also show off your footie skills too!

L – Lavender Fields

This is somewhere I always want to go, purely for the smell and also to take some lovely photos. Going to a local lavender field is a great way to spend an afternoon as a family, and it’s something a little different too.

The A to Z of toddler activities

M – Masks

This activity will keep your child entertained for hours, there are so many different types you can make including animal and tribal. The masks can be jazzed up with tinsel, tissue paper, glitter and paint.

N -National Trust

We are huge fans of the national trust and lucky enough to have membership. There are so many properties all over the UK for you to explore. Most have large, spacious and gorgeous gardens, which are perfect for your child to run around like crazy. Plus the coffee and cake is great for you!

O – Obstacle Course

Perfect for children of any age, and it is something you can do at home in the garden. You could set up small logs to jump over, involve your slide, step on tennis rackets acting as step stones, run through the padding pool. It can be as long or short as you like, and it is something your child will love.

P – Play Date

Send a What’s App message to a friend to see if they are available for a play date this afternoon. It’s a good way to have a good gossip, whilst your children play together. Plus you could make it a bubbly play date with prosecco for the adults.

Q – Queen

Pretend to be Kings and Queens for the day. You can start off by getting the kids to make crowns for themselves with card and sticky jewels, and then start to teach them a little bit about the monarchy. Pretending to sit on a throne would make a great photograph.

R – Race

This doesn’t need to be anything complicated and could just involve running up and down the garden. You can make it little mini race, or race either to reach an object first. My toddler loves to race or to be chased, and it could help to bring out the competitive streak in them.

S – Soft Play

Dare I say those words! To some parents they are a form of hell-hole, but for other are a great way to kill a few hours in the afternoon, getting your children worn out, whilst you sip on a cup of tea.

T – Trains

If you live near a station then pop down and show your child the trains. Often trains are fascinating for toddlers and they will love watching them whizz past, whilst they shout “choo choo”.

U – Fun with U

Little bit of a random one but I couldn’t think of anything beginning with U. However there is so much fun to be had at home, in the garden or outside of the home. So, see this one as a wild card and let your imagination do the thinking.

V – Valentines Day

In the run up to Valentines Day you can get your child to make a Valentines card for your partner, wife or husband, it will save you nipping to the shops and your partner will love it.

W – Water

Our daughter loves water and there is so much you can do with it. You could water the garden, or fill a large tub with water and let you toddler splash about with it. If you’ve got any plastic cups, you can show them how to pass water between the cups.

X – Xylophone

You might not have a xylophone, but I’m sure you have another instrument around the home that your children can play with and make music, such as a drum. If not there’s always the saucepan and wooden spoon method.

The A to Z of toddler activities

Y – Yellow Spotting

Yellow is one of my favourite colours, and there are so many things that are yellow you could seek out with your toddler. For example; a car, a flower, toys, food etc. You could make a yellow scrapbook featuring all these things once you’ve been on your yellow hunt.

Z – Zoo

There must be a local zoo or farm near you? Taking your children to the zoo is a great way to learn about animals and wildlife, plus most parents enjoy the day out too!

That’s it! My A to Z of toddler activities that you can do today. What will be you be up too?

Claire x

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