6 Ideas to Try Right Now
🏔️
#1·10–15 min
Pillow Mountain Climber
🛒Materials: Sofa cushions, pillows
- 1Pile sofa cushions and pillows on a soft carpeted floor.
- 2Let your child climb over, jump on, or burrow into the pile.
- 3Encourage crawling and balancing.
💃
#2·5–10 min
Dance Party
🛒Materials: None (just music)
- 1Play your child's favorite upbeat song.
- 2Dance together in the living room.
- 3Pause the music randomly and yell 'Freeze!'
🥣
#3·10–20 min
Tupperware Tower
🛒Materials: Plastic containers of different sizes
- 1Stack plastic containers from biggest to smallest.
- 2Let your toddler knock them over — they love it!
- 3Help them rebuild and try stacking themselves.
💡
The 'knock down' phase is just as developmental as the building phase.
🔔
#4·5–10 min
Sensory Sound Shaker
🛒Materials: Plastic bottle, dry rice or pasta, tape
- 1Fill a clean plastic bottle with dry rice or pasta.
- 2Tape the lid shut securely.
- 3Let your toddler shake, roll, and make noise!
💡
Use different fillings (beans, bells) for different sounds.
✂️
#5·20 min
Sticky Wall (Contact Paper)
🛒Materials: Contact paper / sticky-back plastic, torn tissue paper, leaves
- 1Tape a sheet of contact paper sticky-side-out to a low wall.
- 2Give your toddler small bits of tissue paper, leaves, or stickers.
- 3Let them stick things on and peel them off.
💡
Great for developing pincer grip — a key pre-writing skill.
🎈
#6·10–15 min
Balloon Tapping
🛒Materials: Balloon, painter's tape
- 1Hang a balloon from a doorway at your toddler's head height.
- 2Show them how to tap it with their hand or a paper tube.
- 3Encourage them to reach and jump.
