A Week of Toddler Activities: Where and How to Start!

My "Why"

This is my very first blog post so this is definitely an exciting day for me! On my About Me page, you can read all about my intentions for starting this blog. In a nutshell, I’m hoping it will help me to be more intentional with my activity planning for my toddler, G, and hopefully help others who may be in a similar situation; looking to plan fun and educational activities for their little ones. As a Momma currently on maternity leave, it’s important for me to have easy and affordable activities to set up and clean up. I try to use things we already have in the house or in our ever-expanding craft box, usually garnished with finds from the Dollar Store. So, this blog illustrates “Just a Few Gems” to hopefully spark some ideas for ceating with your little ones.

When the pandemic began and daycares closed, I went from “Ok, let's make a detailed schedule for the day and get on track". Reality set in pretty quickly and I realized that while I could have a schedule to loosely follow for the days, I did not like a rigid schedule, nor did I find it helpful, especially while at home with a newborn. Our new "schedule" involves making time for outdoor play, a walk when the weather cooperates, indoor play, a planned educational activity a day, a nap, meals, reading, and a little screen time each day. How they fit into the day often changes, but fitting these into each day at some point, has helped us all to be the happiest.

A Week of Toddler Activities

In order to plan activities that would be engaging and educational, I had to first identify the skills I was hoping to teach. To me, learning skills such as independent play, self-regulation, co-operation, responsibility, resilience, creativity, and self esteem are the most important skills at this stage and my goal is to teach these through engaging activities, such as learning ABC's, colours, or using fine motor skills.

DAY 1: DIY Outdoor Obstacle Course

Creating the outdoor obstacle course was so easy and fun! We just used objects found in our yard/garage already and put it together in a few minutes. 

List of objects:

• Broom
• Two toddler chairs
• Two bowls from the mud kitchen
• Toddler wheel barrow
• T-ball set
• Bouncy ball

G loved this activity and tried it multiple times with us and by herself. She even added extra objects at the end and was excited to try it with the new changes. Then she added a couple of chairs to relax in for a job well done! 

DAY 2: Colour Sort

We were visiting my in-laws this week and someone woke up a little grumpy from her nap (She comes by it honestly!) This activity was the perfect way to wake up and get moving. I just put out six pieces of colour paper (pink, red, purple, green, yellow, and blue) and asked, "Hey G, can you find something in the house that is pink?" It turned in to a super fun game of finding as many items as she could for each colur. It didn't last that long and we moved on to something else. She also definitely spilled some juice on the purple. However, she was immediately in a better mood after moving around, completing this challenge and was ready to take on the afternoon! I'd call that a big WIN!

DAY 3: My Name Starts with a G!

Today's activity was very simple. All we needed was a piece of paper, a crayon, and stickers. We used circle stickers but any stickers will work. My goal was to have G recognize the letter "G" and understand that her name starts with a "G". We talked about the letter, she traced it with her finger and then we used stickers to trace it. Oh, and of course, we wore a fun hat! 

DAY 4: The Animals Got Caught in the Grass!

This was a fun little activity that inspired free play with the little animals we used. I told G that some of the animals were playing in the long grass and got stuck. We needed to help them get free. She used her safety scissors, with my help, to free the animals and then we played! She has used her safety scissors before with help and I was very surprised to see the imrovement with just a couple of tries. I'm hoping to incorporate one activity with safety scissors every week. The animals were wrapped in paper strips. You could really use any of their favourite toys for this activity.

DAY 5: Paint a Letter

This activity I thought would be another opportunity for her to get familiar with the letter "G" while having some painting fun. 

Materials used:

• Washable paints
• Sponge brushes
• Paper plate
• Small canvas
• Masking tape
• Plastic or paper cover for table
• Toddler painting smock

Our family loves to paint and have done painting activities before so G knows not to put anything in her mouth. I would recommend going over rules and guidelines before introducing any new activity or medium.

I used masking tape to make a G on the canvas and then let her be creative and create whatever kind of painting she would like. At first, there were many different coloured blobs and then it turned into a beautiful purplish colour. I let the paint dry overnight and took off the tape in the morning. Beautiful work! Painter's tape may have worked better and maybe making sure the edges were stuck on really well, as some of the edges bled a little. However, for me, that part is not important. The imperfections are perfect! We will put it in her room on display!

Our first week of planned activities were a definite success! We used lots of different media and different kinds of activities so they didn't get boring. G worked really hard to complete the activities. I loved seeing all the learning skills at work and how excited she was. Can't wait to see what next week brings!

*All activities on this site are activities that I have tried. I only recommend trying these activities under constant supervision of the child and at the parent or caregiver's discretion.