Educational Toddler Activities Ages 1-2 Years Old

Educational Home for Toddlers

1-2 years

Summary

These are activities that we have found successful in our house for ages 1 - 2 years in order to create a learning environment for our children. Some of the activities you are able to start as early as birth, but they should be continued throughout childhood. The headers outline the general skillsets I focus on for this age group. Feel free to allow these activities to spark more ideas that will fit you and your child! The best part of these is they not only educate, but they provide quality play time for you and your child to bond.

Language Development

Activities:

·      Read together daily! (starting at birth)

·      Singing songs together (starting at birth)

·      Introduce everything and have them repeat (starting around 1)

·      Flash card games (starting around 1)

Resources & Tips:

·      First 100 Board Book Box Set. These are great car-books for them to flip through in their seat. (starting at birth)

·      Be verbal throughout your day, pointing out objects to your child and encouraging them to practice pronunciation. Example: “This is a flower. Can you say ‘flower?”

·      DK Touch and Feel Picture Cards (First Words, Counting, Colors & Shapes) (starting around 1)

Familiarity

Activities:

·      Knowing the way in which items are meant to be used (starting around 6 months)

·      Matching animal names to their sounds (starting around 1)

Resources & Tips:

·      Books with animals (“Dada” by Jimmy Fallon and “Little Blue Truck” are two my kids love) (starting at birth)

·      Hape Music Toys for Toddlers – Wooden Pound & Tap Bench with Slide Out Xylophone (starting around 6 months)

·      Melissa & Doug Let’s Play House! Dust! Sweep! Mop! Pretend Play Set (starting around 18 months)

·      Play Tea and Eating Sets (learning utensils, cups, etc) (starting around 18 months)

Sensory

Activities:

·      Sensory Bins – This helps with exposing a variety of sensations using touch (starting around 6 months)

·      Food Variety – This helps with exposing a variety of sensations while eating (starting around 6 months)

Resources & Tips:

·      I prefer messes when they are contained, so I usually will put my child into the bathtub for a task like sensory bins. You can pinterest lots of different bin ideas but think about doing things like tubs of ice, a Jello bin, using small round crafting pompoms, corn kernels, etc. Be intentional about varying different textures as well as temperatures so they can be exposed to different sensations. You can hide toys within the bins for them to dig for to give extra motivation.

·      Offer kids a variety of different food tastes, textures, and colors. My best recommendation is to follow @kids.eat.in.color on Instagram. She has been the best resource I have found on eating tips and tricks for kids.

Habitual Tasks

Activities:

·      Help with Laundry (starting around 1 year)

·      Dusting (starting around 1 year)

·      Cleaning their room (starting around 1 year)

·      Sweeping/mopping the floors (starting around 18 months)

·      Help with Cooking (starting around 18 months)

·      Washing windows (starting around 18 months)

·      Making their bed (starting when they get a big kid bed)

Resources & Tips:

·      Melissa & Doug Let’s Play House! Dust! Sweep! Mop! Pretend Play Set

·      Tovla & Co Kids Kitchen Knife and Foldable Cutting Board Set: Childrens

·      Curious Chef Vegetable Scrubber

·      Joie Fruit and Vegetable Wavy Chopper Knife

·      I recommend organizing their room so that everything is accessible to them so they can learn to clean up on their own. Have book shelves low, store bins in cubbies at a height where they can access them and designate items to go on certain shelves so they learn to know where they go.

·      Have them throw the laundry into the washer and help you turn on the machine. Then, have them hand you the clothes out of the drier so you can fold them. As they get older you can begin teaching them how to fold their own clothes.

·      In the kitchen, start by having them help you wash the fruits and vegetables. Give them a small bowl of water and ask them to give the foods a quick bath. You can then help them to cut things by first holding their hands and guiding them until they learn to do it independently.

·      Anytime you are performing a simple household task like washing the windows or dusting, give them a rag and ask them if they’d like to help you. My kids absolutely love this and feel such empowerment when they feel like they are helping and contributing. Bonus, it is great bonding time!

Creativity

Activities:

·      Freestyle finger/body painting (starting around 9 months)

·      Imaginary Play (starting around 1 year)

·      Huge coloring sheets (starting around 1 year)

Resources & Tips:

·      Roles of craft paper are great for creating large art spaces. I will cut a big piece out and cover a large part of a table for them to color freely.

·      Anytime I have a large cardboard box, I’ll break it down and set up a paint area outside with sheets of craft paper. Otherwise, the bath tub is a great place to get them down to their diaper with finger paint and paper and allowing them to get messy in a contained space.

·      When setting up your kids room or purchasing them new toys, consider how much it is encouraging imaginative play. Focus on the toys and the room items that require them to play a role in the activity and tell a story.

Basic Knowledge

Activities:

·      Practice numbers 1-10 (starting around 18 months)

·      Identify colors with them (starting around 18 months)

·      Tracing Lines (starting around 20 months)

Resources & Tips:

·      Colored poker chips or balls are fun ways to learn colors

·      Search for line tracing worksheets online. There are plenty of free downloads you can print. Start with straight lines, and increase in difficulty as they become better.

Motor Skills

Activities:

·      Using eating utensils (starting around 6 months)

·      Throwing/Playing Catch (starting around 9 months)

·      Placing a golf ball on a golf tee (starting around 9 months)

·      Stacking cups (starting around 9 months)

·      Moving Pompoms into cups with pinchers (starting around 1 year)

·      Hitting a ball off of a tee with a bat (starting around 1 year)

Resources & Tips:

·      Give kids who are first learning how to feed themselves using spoons designated time to practice. I usually will strip my kid down to nothing but a diaper and set them in a highchair with something like yogurt and let them figure it out however they need to. It’s messy, and bath time usually follows, but they learn spoon usage very quickly.

·      Place golf tees into a foam block (or wood for a long-term game) and allow your child to practice placing golf balls on the different tees.

·      In my house my kids just stack blocks and any other item they can find, but I am a big fan of Fat Brain Toys and they have a fun egg stacking set if you want something premade.

·      XREX Toddler Bee Hive is a cool toy that allows kids to practice motor skills using pinchers, but you can easily recreate this activity at home using colorful craft pompoms, cup/small bowls, and a small pair of tongs.

·      I recommend getting a foam bat instead of a plastic bat to practice hand-eye coordination. Our kids always preferred the foam and they’re a little softer. Something like the Uarzt Soft Foam Indoor/Outdoor Baseball Bat and Ball Set