6 Ideas to Try Right Now
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#1·20 min setup + hours of play
Blanket Fort HQ
🛒Materials: Blankets, chairs, clips/pegs
- 1Drape blankets over chairs to make walls.
- 2Use pegs or clips to secure corners.
- 3Add pillows, books, and a torch inside.
💡
A fort instantly becomes a base for pretend play.
🏃
#2·15–20 min
Indoor Obstacle Course
🛒Materials: Pillows, chairs, tape, blankets
- 1Line up pillows to jump between.
- 2Set chairs as 'tunnels' to crawl under.
- 3Use tape as a balance beam.
- 4Time each run through the course!
🦁
#3·10 min
Animal Walks
🛒Materials: None
- 1Call out different animals.
- 2Challenge your child to walk/move like that animal.
- 3Try crab crawl, frog jumps, bear walks!
🐺
#4·10–15 min
Shadow Puppets
🛒Materials: A lamp (or phone torch)
- 1Darken the room and point a lamp at the wall.
- 2Use your hands to make animal shadows.
- 3Tell a story with shadow characters.
✂️
#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.
