11 Activities to Improve Your Toddler's Development
Encourage cognitive and language development with these fun, everyday learning activities for toddlers.
By Amanda Lehrman
Perhaps one of the most important things your tot does each day is play. It's a way for toddlers to explore the world around them while practicing their skills.1 Caregivers can take an active role in playtime by organizing educational and interactive activities at home.
Need some inspiration? Check out our round-up of 11 developmental activities for toddlers. All of these activities support their physical, cognitive, and emotional growth. They also promote parent-child bonding, which strengthens your relationship.
As a bonus, most of these developmental activities can be completed with items found in the house, such as painter's tape, cotton balls, drawing supplies, and paper. With these playtime pursuits, your toddler will be entertained while enhancing their growth and development!
01of 11
Try Out Textures
Toddlers are sensory learners who touch, smell, and taste to understand the world around them. Use a dark marker to trace letters and numbers onto poster board. Then have your tot decorate the letters with textured items such as cut-up sandpaper, cotton balls, and pipe cleaners (avoid items that could be choking hazards).
Touching the letters gives kids the opportunity to feel the way a letter is formed. For little ones learning to write, their fingers can experiment with the shape of a letter before grasping a writing utensil.
Each day, say the letters and numbers out loud as your child runs their fingers over them. Later on, extend the activity by creating a poster that spells out their first name. Soon your child will notice these letters on signs, posters, and billboards.
02of 11
Measure Up
This toddler developmental activity uses everyday items to teach them how to measure. Although a ruler is the most common measuring tool, experiment with other forms of measuring to make the learning process more interesting.
In the fall, have your child lie down on the grass and then line up apples next to them to measure how many "apples tall" they are at certain ages. Or determine how many "Legos tall" the couch is or how many "wooden blocks wide" the refrigerator is in your home.
For extra fun, discover how many of your child's books it will take to cover your bed. Always count as you lay down the different objects, and soon your child will be counting and measuring in all different ways!
03of 11
Label Your Household
Pick one or two items to label in your house—such as the refrigerator, windows, and chairs—and rotate the labeled objects every few months. Make labels the same size and use a basic font so kids can identify them easily.
Type, print, and cut out individual words. Then use blue painter's tape (which allows for easy removal) to adhere them to objects. You can also glue the words to index cards and stick them on objects.
Labeling allows children to know that everything has a set of common symbols to be written down and identified. If your child is old enough to recognize letters, ask them what letter "lamp" begins with and ask them to find the label that starts with "L."
If they are still too young, point out different letters and introduce them to the words. Reinforce the concept daily, and over time, your child will be able to identify the words independently.
04of 11
Introduce Organization
Nurture your child's helpful spirit by promoting organization in your home. Try to embrace this quality even though it may slow down activities and chores. Tie in the "Label Your Household" activity (described above) by keeping toys, clothes, dishes, and household items in specific places. As you put things in their labeled bins and drawers, turn the process into a guessing game.
Ask your child where certain items belong ("Where do your toys go? Where should your shoes be stored?"), or place forks in a sock drawer or a toy in the refrigerator and challenge toddlers to fix the mistakes. They will love to reorganize for their parents, who can't seem to remember where the cups belong!
According to Bridge A. Barnes and Stephen M. York, authors of Common Sense Parenting of Toddlers and Preschoolers, these tasks give you a way of teaching young children about responsibilities. It also demonstrates the importance of helping others and being part of a family.
05of 11
Arrange a Scavenger Hunt
Children are natural investigators and they love to explore. Scavenger hunts can be created beforehand or invented on the spot. At the supermarket, search for foods that are one specific color (like purple) or look for objects of one shape (like a circle) around the house.
If your child needs assistance, gather three objects for them to choose from while asking, "Which object is red? Which object is a circle?" Expand on the "Label Your Household" activity (described above) by arranging a scavenger hunt for different labeled items, or ask them to search the bookshelves for a specific letter, word, or number.
You can also pretend you can't find the orange juice carton or a pair of socks. Send your child on a fun mission to locate the items in the house.
06of 11
Take on the Town
Get familiar with your town by pointing out the supermarket, fire station, gas station, and other places of interest. As you pass each place, discuss the details of these neighborhood staples. This includes who works there, the purpose of your visit, and what items you find inside.
Then draw or print pictures of these places and put them on index cards along with their details. The next time you're out with your child, refer to these "neighborhood" cards.
For example, if you stop by the dry cleaner, ask your child to find the matching neighborhood card and ask them questions: Do you buy dry clothes or pick up clothes that are cleaned? Who works there, a cleaner or a firefighter?
Extend the exploration of your surroundings by arranging visits to a local fire station or police station. Solidify this activity by teaching them the song "The People in Your Neighborhood" made popular by Sesame Street.
07of 11
Sing Vocabulary Words
For this developmental activity for toddlers, create funny tunes about rhyming words and counting to 10, or sing classic songs such as the "Alphabet Song" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."
"During the pre-reader years, children learn an average of nine new words a day," says Eugie Foster in Your Child's Writing Life written by Pam Allyn. Parents can support their child's word development by using different words and sounds to enhance their child's expanding vocabulary, says Allyn, who is also the executive director and founder of LitWorld.
Encourage singing in the car, while playing at home, and during bathtime. If your child attends daycare or preschool, ask the teacher for the class's favorite songs and reinforce them at home.
Teach songs to grandparents and babysitters so that all of the important people in your child's life will be involved in this lighthearted activity. Your child will start learning through song as they recite letters, numbers, days of the week, and body parts to melodic tunes.
08of 11
Number Your Mornings
On a piece of poster board, create a calendar grid and leave space at the top to add signs that represent each month. Write the days of the week across the top and number 31 cards with numbers one to 31.
Attach Velcro to the back of each card and to each of the boxes on the poster. Hang the calendar at your child's eye level, and on the first day of each month, add a monthly sign and the number one card under the correct day of the week.
The next day, challenge your child to find the number two card and figure out the day of the week. Singing the "Days of the Week" song can also help. Your child will begin to understand the calendar and numerical system. Plus, according to Allyn, routines like this one provide comfort to kids.
09of 11
Pin Up Pictures
Keep pictures of friends and family on a bulletin board in your child's room to develop word association and improve memory. Write people's names on sticky notes (include titles such as "aunt," "uncle," and "cousin") and put them at the bottom of each photo.
Refer to the words often, especially at a family gathering. Remove the sticky notes from the pictures as your child becomes more familiar with everyone. Also, read books about brothers and sisters or aunts and uncles, and ask your child to identify each family member mentioned.
As your child grows, extend the activity by creating a family tree with names and pictures. Make this an ever-changing piece of artwork in your home.
10of 11
Set Up a Weather Windows Wall
Your tot can become a junior meteorologist by creating a weather window. Take a piece of blank white paper (8" x 11") and have your child draw a picture of the day's weather by using any art medium (crayons, markers, watercolors).
Then cut three long strips (11" x 1") from brown construction paper and three short strips (8" x 1") to represent a window frame and panes. Help your child glue two long and two short pieces around the paper edges to create borders for a window.
The last two strips (one long and one short) should be placed in a cross shape and glued in the middle of the paper to create a four-pane window. Add a word to the window frame that describes the weather (cold, snowy, sunny) and date to compare the weather patterns over time. Choose a weather corner to hang the "windows" and change them every month!
11of 11
Encourage Pretend Play
Toddlers learn about the world around them through pretend play or make-believe. Not only can they emulate some of the adults they see in their lives (like doctors, nurses, firefighters, and police officers), but they also get the opportunity to use their imagination and creativity.2
Equip your little one with simple clothing to dress up in. Look for basic items around your home like different hats and accessories, or you can purchase an inexpensive doctor's kit or other dress-up items like a chef's hat and apron.
As you interact with your little one, let them lead the way. When they're pretending, they will be developing their social skills as well as learning to master basic actions like putting on a hat or pulling an apron over their head.3
You also can use pretend play to prepare for things, too. For instance, use the doctor's kit to prepare your child for an upcoming visit to the pediatrician.
