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The Best Of Alphablocks - Part 1 (FULL EPISODES)

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See It, Say It, Sign It | Letter Sounds | ASL Alphabet | Jack Hartmann

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Very Hungry Caterpillar - Book Read/Sing-Along

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Very Hungry Caterpillar - Book Read/Sing-Along

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https://open.spotify.com/track/0PDJs4BK7OglsCfjV61dbw?si=f49ece63857c483a

I typically just point along in the story to what he's singing.

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The winter wind blows, the winter wind blows, it gives me a shiver from my head to my toes.

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Some of my attention getters for my 4th graders #teacherlife #teachers #classroom

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Improve Your Classroom Behavior Management- Tips For Kindergarten and First Grade

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Miss Nina - Music & Movement for Preschool

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Preschool Attention Getters | 5 Attention Grabbers for Preschool You Can Use Right Now!

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Miss Nina - Music & Movement for Preschool

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Preschool Circle Time | Songs and Tips To Get Preschoolers Attention For Circle Time

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Wordwall

-Type in the topic and grade you want into Google and end with Wordwall, it will take you to a web page with games and activities for that grade and topic. For example, Second grade colors Wordwall

Lyrics Training

- You can choose different songs and while they play students fill in missing lyrics to the song

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Simon says

Telephone

Pictionary

Charades

Head Up

Matching Flashcards

Put vocabulary flashcards on the board, pictures and their words, students must match the picture to its word

You could also spread the cards around the classroom and have students find the matches

Go Fish

Guess Who

Comic strip

Popcorn Practice

Start by asking a question using the grammar of the unit, for example, "Do you like chocolate?" Call on a student to answer "Yes, I do" or "No, I don't" Once the student answers they then ask one of their peers "Do you like...?" and they need to answer the same way, have this continue until all students have had a chance to speak. You can do this with any grammar structure.

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https://youtu.be/EMsVth2_erk

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Tips on a Successful Circle Time with 2 Year Olds

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https://youtu.be/9bIBsjCMqmg

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Toddler and Preschool Free Circle Time Props

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If you have a little one under 5 years old at home, then you've experienced what it's like to try to keep up with an energetic toddler or preschooler. But did you know that kids this age need three hours of physical activity a day?

Children between 2-4 years old don't only need a lot of movement, they also need a lot of variety of movement. This age group is ready to move in new and exciting ways! So while it's essential to make time for unstructured, active playtime, it's also important to have access to plenty of fun, simple activities that you know will help them get active and develop skills in many different ways.

This list of 57 fun activities for kids is the ultimate go-to for any playdate, home child care setting, or a morning or afternoon with a caregiver. Whatever the situation, short attention spans mean that it's a good idea to have a few of these up your sleeve.

1. Animal Walk

Inside or out, encourage your child to slither like a snake, hop like a frog, gallop like a horse, or walk like a bear on all fours.

2. Keep the Balloon Up

Outdoor on a calm, windless day, or inside, have your kids use their hands or half of a pool noodle to keep a balloon afloat. How long can they keep the balloon off the ground?

3. Puddle Jumping

Preferably outside in what our two year old called "chocolate water", throw on your kids' most waterproof gear and let them jump in, out, and over puddles.

4. Wet Sponge Designs

On a hot, summer day, gather up lots of sponges, provide a tub of water for endless resoaking, and have your kids throw their sponges on a wall or on a cement surface to make designs. Sponges can also be used to "paint" walls.

5. Digging for Treasure

Whether it's an inside or outside sandtable or sandbox, kids love to dig for treasure. Hide small toys like plastic dinosaurs, small cars, or marbles, and let your child release their inner pirate as they search for booty!

6. Run Away From the Monster

Kids love a game of chase, especially with a parent or other adult they trust. A game of running from a "scary" monster will involve much squealing with delight.

7. Simon/Simone Says

While the rules are simple, the options for movement are endless. Simon can have kids jumping like a kangaroo, standing as tall as a house, making funny faces, standing on one foot, or waving their hands over their heads.

8. Leaf Play

Not everyone loves the raking jobs that come in autumn, but kids love leaves. Rake them up and let kids jump into the piles, throw the leaves in the air, and crunch the foliage in their hands. If you don't have a garden or a tree, go for a walk and let kids make music as they crunch through the leaves on the ground.

9. Hopscotch

A favourite with kids of all ages, hopscotch is a game that can be played inside or out. Inside, use painters tape on the floor to pattern your own board and use buttons, rolled up socks or bean bags instead of rocks. Outside, use chalk to make a court and use rocks or the chalk itself as a marker. The rules [PDF] are simple and the game can be played alone or with friends.

10. Fly a Kite

Find a wide open space in a park, a beach, or a field, make or purchase a kite, pick a day which is breezy but not too windy, and head out to watch your child delight in running with their colourful toy.

11. Throw Snowballs

Snowballs are the perfect antidote for cabin fever! Have your kids throw snowballs against a surface to make designs as they did with sponges in the summer (see #4) or make a circle or other target in the snow and see how close they can get to a bullseye.

12. Ball Kicks

Balls are a staple for so many games and activities. Using different types and sizes of balls, have your child see how far they can kick, or play goalie in front of a wall or fence and see if your child can kick the ball past you.

13. Dance Party

Indoors or outdoors, turn up the music, use lights or decorations for ambiance, and let your kids twist, macarena, floss, dance like their favourite animal, or freestyle their way to fun.

14. Mini Sticks

Pass a ball back and forth with your child or have them shoot at a target while teaching them to keep their stick on the ice (the floor) and to hold their stick with two hands.

15. Bubble Play

Ideally an outdoor activity, use various sizes and types of bubble wands and have kids blow their own bubbles or blow them yourself and have kids chase and pop them.

16. Ride a Bike

Whether it's a tricycle, a balance bike, a bike with training wheels, or a two-wheeler, kids love to zoom around under their own steam.

17. Freeze Tag

If you've got a group of four or more kids looking for some fun, look no further than a good old game of freeze tag. Pick one child to be "it," and have them chase the other kids around. When "it" touches a player, they must freeze (stand still) until another player "unfreezes" them by touching them. When "it" freezes all players, the game begins again with a new child as "it."

18. Fill the Bucket Water Game

Provide your child with a cup and two buckets (one smaller, one larger). Place the smaller bucket a short distance from the larger bucket and fill the larger bucket with water. Have your child scoop water from the larger bucket and fill the smaller one. To make the game more challenging, put small holes in the cup or have your child dance as they move from bucket to bucket.

19. Paper Airplanes

There are so many ways to make paper airplanes at home. Throw them inside or outside and see how high they can fly, how far they can fly, or if your child can throw them through an object such as a hula hoop.

20. Avoid the Shark

Cover your living room floor (the shark-filled ocean) with foam floor tiles or towels (taped to the floor with painters tape) and have your child jump from one to the next without getting nabbed by a shark.

21. Bean Bag Toss

Bean bags are an easy-to-grip and throw item for kids. Indoors or out, have kids throw them into targets such as laundry baskets or hula hoops.

22. Egg and Spoon

For this ultimate hand-eye coordination and balance game, give kids a spoon and have them balance a hard-boiled or plastic egg from one point to another either indoors or out. How quickly can they go? Can they dance as they move?

23. Ribbon Sticks

Tie a length of ribbon to the end of a stick or baton and watch as your kids dance and swirl their ribbons in the air.

24. Pillow Walk

Set up a line of couch, throw, or bed pillows on your floor, and have your child walk from one end to the other. It may sound easy but their balance will be challenged!

25. Kick Bowling

Switch up regular bowling inside or outside by having your kids use different sizes of balls to kick down different objects such as empty bottles or rolls of paper towels.

26. Climb a tree

Pick a tree with low branches and let your child climb. Be close by for help but let your kids see how far they can get on their own.

27. Bean Bag Balance

Have your child balance a bean bag on their head and walk from one point to another without dropping it. As they master the walk, move the points further apart or make the course a bit more challenging by adding zig zags or circles, or objects around which they have to maneuver.

28. Jump Waves

Take a day trip to a local beach or lake and simply jump waves as they roll on to the shore.

29. Bubble Wrap Jump

Bubble wrap is not just for packing fragile objects. Purchase a roll of wrap and on an inside day, have your child jump and pop to their heart's content.

30. Helicopter

Turn a jump rope around in a circle low to the ground while your child hops over it without touching it. Be prepared to be the jumper when your child wants to turn the rope too!

31. Obstacle Course

Indoors or out, let your imagination run wild as you set up an obstacle course for your child. Have them crawl under tables, climb over chairs, jump over ropes, hop from cone to cone, crawl through a cardboard box, jump through a line of hula hoops, throw a family of stuffed animals into a laundry basket, etc. etc.

32. Hike

Get into nature and encourage your kids to climb hills, jump over sticks, and balance on tree stumps.

33. Neighbourhood Search

Prepare a list ahead of time of items to search for as you and your child leave the stroller at home and take a walk through your neighbourhood. Can they spot a stop sign, a blue flower, something with a tail, something round, a fire hydrant, etc.? Check off the items on the list or use your phone to take pictures to review later.

34. Jump in the Sprinkler

Set up a sprinkler in your yard and have your kids jump through using animal movements or dance through (singing along may cause hilarious water in mouth incidents!)

35. Catch

Kids learn to catch at different rates but working with them on the skill can begin with throwing them a balloon or a soft object such as a rolled up pair of socks or a light ball will be less intimidating than a heavy or small ball. Start by standing close to your child and as they master the catch, move further away.

36. Indoor Skating

Have your kids place each of their feet on paper plates, face cloths, or felt squares, and let them slide along like skating pros on hardwood or carpet. Turn on the music and let them skate to the rhythm!

37. Skating

Find your kids proper skates and a helmet and head to your local rink either indoors or outside. Fresh air and perhaps hot chocolate afterwards will make any skating time a great time.

38. Tee-Ball

With a plastic tee-ball stand, bat, and balls, kids can practice their swing indoors or out. Batter up!

39. Long Jump

Just how far can your child jump? Challenge them indoors by having them jump on lines made by painters tape on the floor or outdoors on grass or in the sand.

40. Yoga

Kids can learn all kinds of yoga movements at this age. Look for classes at your local community centre or yoga studio, or teach your children some movements such as a tree pose, downward dog, or sun salutation.

41. Tobogganing

The feeling of whizzing down a hill on a sled is unbeatable for kids. In order to make the activity last, though, remember that your child will not only slide down the hill but will also have to climb back up it. Keep the hill to a height they'll want to climb again and again.

42. Music Parade

Whether you have traditional instruments or pots and pans, kids love to make noise. Gather a bunch of kids and with different instruments in hand, celebrate a real or a made-up holiday while entertaining friends and neighbours.

43. Action Songs

Sing together or find recordings of songs that have kids moving their bodies in different ways. Hokey Pokey, Shake My Sillies Out, I'm A Little Teapot, and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom are all examples of fun ways to get kids moving and shaking to sing along songs.

44. Colour Run

This one is best done in a group! Gather three or four kids together and, on a driveway, sidewalk, or in a park, colour four areas (draw circles or squares) with different colours of chalk. Call out a colour and have the children run to that coloured area. Make it a competition and see who can get to it first! Continue to call out different colours in varying order.

45. Door Fringe

Purchase a door fringe from a dollar or party store or hang streamers from a door frame. Make sure no one is on the other side of the door as your child runs, hops, or dances through the fringe.

46. Beach Ball Blanket Toss

Have two or four children hold the corners of a blanket (or towel). Throw a beach ball onto the blanket and listen to the kids giggle as they bounce the ball up and catch it.

47. Hide and Seek

Kids can hide either themselves or objects such as their stuffed animals in this favourite game played by kids around the world.

48. Limbo

How low can you go? A fun game indoors or out, use your imagination when it comes to using objects under which your child must go under without their hands touching the floor. Objects could include a pool noodle, a broom, or a rope.

49. Outdoor Picasso

Get together some paint brushes or rollers of any size, fill buckets or paint trays with water and let your little artist's creativity go wild. Perhaps they'd like to "spruce up" your fence, a wall, a garage door or a sidewalk.

50. Snow Angels

Find a clear patch of snow and have your child lie on their back. Show them how to move their arms and legs like they're doing jumping jacks. And when they stand up and move carefully away ... voilà.

51. Squish and Walk

Amongst the games to play with 4 year olds at my kids' birthday party, this one was a huge hit! Find a ball that isn't fully inflated and have your child place it between their knees. See how far they can walk while keeping the ball from falling out. Can they run with it? Hop?

52. Pooh Sticks

A fun game Winnie the Pooh and friends loved to play, kids will love it too. Find a bridge and have two or more kids find sticks. Each player drops a stick on the upstream side of a bridge and the one whose stick first appears on the downstream side is the winner.

53. Shadow Catch

Find an open space on a sunny day and get ready to play a fun twist on the old standby game of tag. Choose one player to be "it." That person chases the other players and tries to step on their shadow. Once they've "tagged" that player's shadow, that person is now "it."

54. Golf

The game of golf can be played by kids in so many ways. Head to a mini golf course or even better, design your own at home inside or out. For a club, have your child use a toy golf club or hockey stick. Your home course can be as simple as using cups or bins on their sides to putt balls straight into. Make the course more fun by creating ramps out of cardboard boxes or obstacles to be putted around such as pylons or empty items from your recycling bin.

55. Stuffie Wagon Ride

Put out a wagon or sled for your kids and let them fill them with stuffies or other toys. Kids can take their friends for a spin around the neighbourhood or their own backyard.

56. Hill Roller

Whether you find a hill that's grassy, muddy or covered in snow, kids love to roll down hills! And run right back up them to roll down again.

57. Car Wash

Pull out your kids' bikes, ride-on toys, and any other items they can wash and prepare for some splashing good fun. Pour water into a tub (or tubs), provide your kids with sponges, cloths and scrub brushes and have them get cleaning! Balls, toy cars, plastic animals and any other toys which are waterproof can also be scoured.

Find more great resources and fun activities for kids:

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57 fun physical activities for kids aged 2 to 4

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This updated list of 57 activities offers plenty of fun and simple ideas that will help your young ones get active and develop skills in a variety of ways.

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Activities for 2-3 Year Olds — Oh Hey Let’s Play

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This post shares close to 40 easy, hands-on, learning activities for keeping 2-3 year olds busy learning & playing! These activities include sensory play, fine motor & gross motor skill building, color sorting, shape recognition, problem-solving skills, & early numeracy & literacy ac

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After your child celebrates their second birthday, they will experience major intellectual, physical, social, and emotional changes that help them make sense of the world.

"The stage from 2 to 3 is major because language is really beginning to develop," says Robert Myers, Ph.D., a child and adolescent psychologist, founder of the Child Development Institute, and assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. "Children are also starting to recognize that they're independent beings and are actively exploring their world."

Dr. Myers adds that parents can provide encouragement and support that enable the child to master key developmental tasks. For example, they can introduce children to hands-on learning activities.

"Always layer activities with lots of language, interaction, and imaginative play," adds Roni Cohen Leiderman, Ph.D., dean of the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development at Nova Southeastern University, and co-author of Let's Play and Learn Together. "Child development comes through the portal of relationships with parents or caregivers."

With that in mind, try these simple learning activities for 2-year-olds at home. They'll entertain your child while aiding their development.

1. Play Dress-Up

Haul out a pile of old clothes and let your child play dress-up. "You can also participate, but it's great to encourage group play with two or three other children their age," Dr. Myers suggests.

Skills learned: Creativity, imagination, language skills, and social development

2. Decorate a Crayon Carrier

Cover a table with newspaper, then gather a resealable zipper storage bag, glue stick, pompoms, and crayons. Let your child use the glue stick to coat the bag and help them stick on the colorful pompoms. They can fill the bag with crayons when it dries. Next time you go to a restaurant, whip out the carrier and let them show off their creation. They will be excited to use their creativity again.

Skills learned: Motor skills, planning, creativity

For an easy indoor activity for 2-year-olds, hide a toy somewhere in the house, and ask your child to find it. Explore with them, using cues like "warmer" and "colder" to guide them. You can also use flashlights for the search or hide several objects at one time.

Skills learned: Listening, problem-solving, social skills, and memory

4. Make a Mailbox

Create a mailbox by decorating an old shoe box or cardboard box and cutting a slit in the top. Fill it with your junk mail for your child to open. "Not only does this develop fine motor skills as they open the envelopes and take out what's inside, but you can also use it to teach your child basic concepts," Dr. Leiderman says.

"Talk about the pictures, colors, and letters; help them sort it by size, shape, or color; or count the pieces. You can also layer in imaginative play by playing post office, or playing store with the coupons."

Skills learned: Develops an understanding of basic concepts, and fine motor skills

5. Imagine a Boat

Lay out a towel or blanket on the floor and have your toddler sit it, gently pull them around the room. Pretend the blanket is a train or a boat and that you are stopping at different places, like the zoo, the grocery store, or a favorite restaurant. This activity for 2-year-olds at home will also improve balance!

Skills learned: Balance, pretending

6. Trace Their Body

Have your child lie down on a large piece of paper and trace the outline of their body. "Because the child has to lay still to be traced, they learn self-control," Dr. Leiderman says. "You can show them where the two eyes, nose, and mouth go, but if your child just wants to color all over it, that's fine. Don't impose anything on them, just let them have fun with it."

Note: If your child doesn't want to lie still, don't force them. Start with tracing just their hand or foot, or tracing your hand and foot.

Skills learned: Sense of self, self-control, and identifying body parts/language skills

7. Play Simon Says

Start out with simple directions ("Simon says, touch your toes"). Then graduate to silly, more complex routines ("Simon says, tug on your left ear, then your right ear"). You can also encourage your child to jump, skip, catch something, and more. And don't forget to drop "Simon says" every now and then during this learning activity for 2-year-olds!

Skills learned: Gross motor skills, following directions, and receptive language

8. Try a "Stop and Go" Game

Play games that involve starting and stopping, such as "red light, green light." Developing self-control will eventually help children negotiate, compromise, and work out conflicts without losing their temper, Dr. Leiderman says.

Skills learned: Self-control

9. Craft a Collage

Cut out different noses, eyes, hair, and other features from old magazines, and give them to your child. Encourage them to make funny creatures or silly faces with the features, then glue them onto a piece of paper.

"Talk to your child about the pieces and how to glue them down, but don't be too directive with it," Dr. Leiderman says. "Ask a lot of 'wonder questions,' like "I wonder what would happen if you put the pieces down without the glue?' and 'I wonder why the glue is getting all over the table?' Childhood is about learning new facts and applying them to theories, so help them make theories."

Skills learned: Creativity, language

10. Pass a Ball

This fun activity for 2-year-olds requires a play tunnel. Standing at opposite ends with your child, take turns lifting each end to roll a softball back and forth. "This can take some trial and error for your kiddo to get the hang of, but it's great motor planning practice and takes teamwork," says Rachel Coley, an occupational therapist, and author of Simple Play: Easy Fun For Babies, and founder of CanDoKiddo.com.

Skills learned: Motor planning, understanding cause and effect, teamwork

11. Draw a Song

As you sing one of your child's favorite songs, draw a simple picture of what is happening in the lyrics, then hand your child the paper to draw something else mentioned in the song. For example, Coley would sing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" to her son, first drawing the spider and then having him draw his version of the rain. Go back and forth until the song ends.

Skills learned: Language skills, creativity, storytelling

12. Initiate Conversation

Hand over a doll or plush toy, and encourage your child to hold, talk, dress, and take care of it. "Talk to the doll the way you would talk to a child, and encourage your child to do the same," Dr. Myers says. In addition to language skills, this activity for 2-year-olds also teaches creativity and imagination.

Skills learned: Social, language, and fine motor skills, creativity, and imagination

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12 Fun Learning Activities for 2-Year-Olds

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After your child celebrates their second birthday, they will experience major intellectual, physical, social, and emotional changes that help them make sense of the world. "The stage from 2 to 3 is major because language is really beginning to develop," says Robert Myers, Ph.D., a child and adolescent psychologist, founder of the Child Development Institute, and assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.

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Match animals to the map

Scarlett loves this activity because it involves matching and animals. I got her a small world map that has illustrations of animals around the world. Then we take one of our animal figures and see if we can find it on the map so we can place it there. This map is not big, so it easily fits on the table, but because of its size it's easier to fit smaller animal figures on it. We have a large collection of Schleich animal figures that we decided to invest in because of their beautiful quality - but since this map is not too big, only a few of them can fit on the same continent. I'll probably get a bigger map like this for this activity since we both like it so much.

Guess an animal by the tail

This activity was inspired by the book Whose Tail on the Trail , where you have to guess an animal by its tail. I wanted to try a version with our animal figures and it was a hit. Scarlett was sticking animals into the box herself after a while. I made it by taking an old gift box, making cuts radiating from the center in the form of the sun rays in order to fit different size of animals. The other end of the box is open. I stick an animal there, she guesses, and I turn the box the other way for her to check.

Caterpillar color and numbers game

We love board games and here's a simple game we play with our 25 month old Scarlett. Each person gets a board with a caterpillar of certain color. Then we take turns rolling dice, and depending on which color is on the dice, we take a circle of that color and put it on the caterpillar. Then we count how many circles that caterpillar already got. Here's a free printable of this game.

Make story stones

Story stones can be a great addition to your story time. I made story stones for Room on the Broom book. We play by matching rocks to the pictures on each page of the book. Another way to play is to recreate a story without a book. And when Scarlett gets a little older I'm thinking to make more story stones for other books, and then all stones can be mixed up in a bag, and we can take rocks in a random order and create our own stories. I made these with stones I got at Michael's, I painted them with white acrylic first, and then painted art with acrylic paint using miniature brushes, and finished the details with brush pen.

Color wheel color sorting

Draw or glue printed color wheel to a box, make openings of the size that fit crafts sticks, and encourage your toddler to insert each craft stick to the matching color section on the wheel. Since Scarlett loves cats, I converted craft sticks into cats to keep her more interested, but this is really optional. Here's a free download of a color wheel.

Drop mice into a cat mouth

I made this activity for Scarlett's two year birthday but we still play it once in a while. We had a cat theme party, so I got these mice (sold as cat toys), and made a cat from a box by taping a cat face cut out from construction paper. We then took turns dropping mice into cat's mouth from various distances.

Lids and stickers matching game

I finally got to use the lids I've been collecting for a while! Here's a fun and simple matching game - you will need stickers with either 2 identical or similar images for each animal, paper/poster board, and lids of different sizes. I used poster board which I cut into book size rectangles. Then I placed stickers of different sizes onto the board, leaving enough space around to place lids. Then I placed the matching stickers onto lids. I used some stickers that are identical (like a bunny, pig, owl on the picture) and some stickers that are similar ( like flamingo and frog on the picture). The game can be played in different ways - either place all lids in a bag and have your toddler get them out one by one and place on the matching picture, or play it like a bingo game - each person gets a board and whoever fills their board with lids first is a winner. We used these animal stickers but any stickers that have a pair for each picture would work.

Find matching wheels for cars

You can download these printable cars for this game. Since my son is obsessed with cars, the first activity we did was matching the color of the wheels to the color of the car. You can print a few copies of car sheets if you have extra pouch caps to make the game longer, and optionally car shapes can be also cut out.

Memory cup game

Here's a fun memory game to play. Arrange small toys under different cups without mixing them up. Various cups can be used. The child needs to remember the order in which cups are arranged. Then you can ask her or him to find a certain toy, so she or he will have to look under each cup, thus remembering which toy is under which cup. Increase the number of cups as the child gets better at remembering the order.

Play with Peekaboo Bunny game

I really want to recommend this game for toddlers. It got a few awards for helping to develop child's logical thinking and early mathematical skills. It comes with cards, a bunny and 3 wooden blocks. Cards show how the bunny needs to be arranged on the blocks, and the child needs to manipulate the wooden block to match the card. The cards are split into levels. At 25 months we play with the easiest level, and it's nice to see how Scarlett is trying to get it right. I still help her even with the easiest cards, but I see how she's trying to think and figure it out on her own.

Arrange flat marbles in line

For this activity you need flat marbles and a paper with lines of different shape. Show your toddler how to arrange marbles on the line. Scarlett is really into marbles, so after doing this activity, she was busy transferring marbles into different containers for almost half an hour.

Draw shapes in a sensory box

We made this sandbox out of cream of wheat - it's easier to clean up and to get a hold of. I drew some shapes on index cards and showed Scarlett how to recreate the shape in the sand. In our index cards we had a circle, a triangle, a square, a zigzag line, a straight line and a dotted line. Scarlett seemed to be most interested in shapes.

Beach sensory play

After drawing shapes on the sand, we converted the sensory bin into beach scene. Some animals came over to relax on the beach, but Scarlett was most interested in scooping the sand (cream of wheat) into a little cup with a spoon, and then transferring it into another cup. We also poured sand into a see-through plastic cup by using a funnel.

DIY Patches puzzle

You can make this patches puzzle by printing these files, cutting out squares and showing your toddler how to match the squares to the picture to complete it. There are 3 picture puzzles in the downloadable file.

Animal action cards

These animal action cards are a hit with Scarlett. She started to do some of these action when she was about 18 months old, and now at 25 months old she is able to do almost all of them besides puffing her cheeks like a chipmunk. She asks me to play with these cards over and over again. I showed her how to do the actions the first time we played with these and now she does them on her own. It's fun for the whole family, we clap when she does it right, and she gets to let her energy out in a fun way. The digital version of these cards is available here and a printed version is here.

Letters in rice

During these activity we look for foam letters in rice, and then match the letter we found to the letter card. I used flash cards that we had since they have letters on the back of the cards, but you can just draw the letters you put in the rice bin on a piece of paper for matching. Colored or regular rice can be used.

Memory game with stickers

You can make a memory game by using stickers and blank cards. Each card has one sticker on the back that looks exactly like one of the stickers on the front. First, you show the back of the card with, for example, a picture of the red fish, then you flip the card, and the child has to point to the picture that was just shown on the back. This game can be made easier when you use a different animal, for example, it's easier to remember you just saw a cat, and then to pick it among other animals. It can also be made more complicated when you use different colors of the same animal, for example, different color fish, or when you use patterns of an animal skin. We used these animal stickers.

Painting on animal toys and then washing them

It's fun to change up the colors of animal toys - you can make a pink crocodile and a yellow elephant. I taped a big piece of paper to the table, and we started painting on our animal toys. We used regular finger paint. After we were done painting, we started washing those animals in a bucket full of soapy water. We used old toothbrushes to wash off paint from those animals and it turned out to be a fun and creative activity.

Color/walking frogs game

This game was inspired by the Snail's Race Game and is great for kids 2.5+ years. Here's our DIY version. We used 3 jumping frogs of different colors and placed round stickers of matching color on a sheet of paper to make a road for each frog. At the end of each road I put a house for each frog where it's trying to get to (house can be drawn on the paper). The game is played by taking turns to roll a dice with colors, and moving a frog of that color one step closer to a house.

Painting with coffee art stencils

Check out this Coffee Decorating Stencils Set, it includes a bunch of super cute stencils that can be used for art projects with toddlers too. We just place them on paper, paint over and get cute art. If you are a coffee lover - it's a must have, you can sprinkle some cocoa on top of one of this stencils to get a super cute coffee results. I love this one.

Magnetic face

Cut out face parts out of construction paper, and stick them to a Magnetic Adhesive Sheet. Cut out shapes out of magnetic sheet and build a face! I made eye pupil and eye iris separate, but it can all be done as one piece, if you don't want small magnetic parts. You can stick parts on a magnetic board or just on top of the round face shape.

Wrapping paper craft

Here's an example of a wrapping paper with our designs. The back of any regular wrapping paper can be used for this. We also used this fingerpaint set which includes a great sturdy paper and 3 paint tubes. We did some thumb stamping, and ink pads are perfect for this. After Scarlett did the stamping, I drew little decorative details to thumb prints. Then we added sparkly lines with glitter glue, and painted polka dots with finger paint and sponge brushes. Wrapping paper can be used to wrap gifts for any occasion and you get to recycle your toddler's art.

Counting with candles

There are 2 things that Scarlett loves the most - cupcakes and birthdays. We seem to pretend it's her birthday here almost every day - she finds something that looks remotely like a cake and we sing a Happy Birthday song to her. So I decided to incorporate counting into this cupcake play. We made and decorated cupcakes, and then inserted different number of candles into each one. Yes, we sang happy birthday for each cupcake, counted the candles, and then I lit the candles and she blew them out.

DIY Paper house for pretend play

I made a foldable paper house for Scarlett to play with, and it is super convenient for our small New York apartment. I made it by drawing a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen on legal size paper sheets, and by gluing them together after. I used stickers to decorate the rooms and it came out pretty cute. We started off by playing with Little People figures but since Scarlett is obsessed with cats, they were replaced with cats in this house 🙂

Water beads volcano

I waited for a while to introduce water beads to Scarlett. Since she's almost 3 now, and doesn't put anything in her mouth anymore, I decided it's time to add water beads into our play. Besides doing a sensory play with these colorful water beads, we also did this fun volcano. All you need for it is water, water beads and regular Alka-Seltzer Tablets. Scarlett enjoyed scooping beads into the jar first, and then dropping alka seltzer tablets in the water to watch the eruption.

Spying for numbers

Dooes your toddler like discovering? How about discovering numbers in drawings? I made this magnifier glass by taking a clear file cover, and drawing with a permanent marker over it to turn it into a dark green color. Then I drew pictures of animals with a lighter color green, and hid a number inside each one with a darker green. When you hover over the drawing of an animal, you see a number very clearly, and the lighter drawing almost disappears. Magic!

Monster doodles

I found these awesome Monster Doodles Activity Cards that I would like to recommend. The package comes with 50 wipe-clean cards with illustrations of monsters that your child has to finish. We love this activity, it develops imagination and drawing skills, and also is super portable for being on the road.

Playdough Gruffalo

Reading is fun, but it's also fun to recreate some of our favorite characters. Here we made a gruffalo with playdough, some pasta pieces and beads. It's great for child's imagination, creativity, reinforcing reading and sensory play.

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Activities and games for toddlers 2 - 3 years old

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Scarlett loves this activity because it involves matching and animals. I got her a small world map that has illustrations of animals around the world. Then we take one of our animal figures and see if we can find it on the map so we can place it there.

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List of activities we can do in class

Hide the word

Twister of sounds

Bingo (Numbers, animals, sounds, etc)

Tracing using sensorial trays.

Playdough (also making the playdough)

Story lab

Mouth and ears to talk about a topic

Fly catcher for number or letter recognition

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List of songs

The animal boogie

Bear hunt

Open shut them

Over in the meadow

Old Mc Donald

Mr Sun

Rain, rain go away

Can you do it?

Who took the cookie?

Five little ducks

The animal boogie

Listen to the water

There's A hole in the bottom of the sea

Down by the bay

Do they rhyme?

Family fingers

Action songs for kids

The ants go marching

Walking in the jungle

Boom chicka boom

Tooty Ta

10 little fish

Daddy shark

After a while crocodile

Today is monday

Prepositions song

Seasons song

Alice the camel

Solar System song

Babies go…

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Resources for teachers
Starfall

Twinkl

Jolly Phonics

Teachers pay teachers TPT
Educators

PBL

Teacher Vision

Magic

Ed Helper