Isn’t it crazy when you think back over the past year and how much your toddler has changed between 12 months and 2 years of age?!
From crawling/wobbling 1 year olds to energetic, running 2 year olds their interests change right before our eyes.
As it is my little girls 2nd birthday this week I wanted to share some simple, fun activities for two year olds which we love to do.
These fun activities for two year olds continue to help build their development in so many different areas such as creativity, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, imagination and independence.
1.Pretend Play
Pretend play generally starts around the age of 18-24months old and is an absolute delight seeing our little ones role playing and pretending to be the next mummy/chef/ doctor etc.
Take a look at our Pretend Play For Toddlers article to read some fun ideas which our two year olds will love getting involved in.
Be warned, they take their new roles very seriously!
2. Hide And Seek / Peekaboo
This has to be our current favourite activity whether it be indoor or outdoors.
The smiles and giggles of our two year olds are so addictive whilst playing this game and makes us keep coming back time and time again.
My little girl calls this “Boo” and is always asking to play. and her favourite moment is whilst at the park amongst all the trees and bushes.
Despite most of the time her being able to see where mummy hides, she bursts into fits of giggles as she chases after her ‘target.’
Check out our favourite hide and seek & peekaboo books that your two year old will really enjoy during story time.
3. Stickers & Glueing
I don’t know what it is about stickers but at this age our kiddies sure are attracted to them.
Where’s the most unusual place you’ve come across a sticker that your little monkey has previously stuck somewhere around the house?
It is important where possible to try and reinforce where the stickers are actually allowed to be placed otherwise you’re in for a lot of un-sticking fun mummy!
Peeling the stickers are actually wonderful as a fine motor skill activity for our two year olds- as you are probably aware peeling a sticker isn’t as easy as it seems.
You could also place some pom poms, feathers, pieces of string, glitter etc. on a great arts and crafts set up which you little ones will love to glue on to paper or boxes.
4. Wash The Toys
Yes you read that correctly, a chore that we hate is actually seen as a ton of fun for our kiddies.
A mixture of water and bubbles in a large bowl will keep our children entertained for ages!
Preparation is key and place a large towel where the activity will be taking place to prevent any unwanted spills.
Place another empty bowl along with a drying towel for when they have finished washing the toys.
We love playing this activity with our Lego models and animal figures.
5. Play Music & Dance
There’s nothing better to build both mummy and little one’s moral than putting some music on loud and get up dancing.
As the saying goes “dance as if no one is watching” and your two year will have an absolute ball joining in the craziness.
Not only is it fantastic exercise for everyone involved, but it is perfect for language development and learning instructions.
Many people try learning a new language by listening to music so teaching new words to our mini human sponges’ is no exception.
Do different dance moves so your little dancers can copy, for example; jump, hop, turn around, clap your hands.
6. Create Dens
Is this one of your fond memories from when you were child? Because it sure is for me whilst playing with cousins and my grandparents house.
This is without a doubt one of the most fun activities for two year olds, whether it be indoors or outdoors.
Collect as many blankets, sheets or towels lying around the house and find the nearest table and chairs to set up the biggest den.
Even a simple thing such as taking a book inside the den will have two year olds yelping with joy as they now have their very own private space that only us adults are allowed access when summoned 😉
7. Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
This exciting activity can be made as easy or complex as desired and can be tweaked with our children’s age.
At the age of two it is important to use a list of items in the scavenger hunt that they already know and won’t have any difficulty in searching for.
The scavenger hunt could be played by simply shouting out the word and yourself and your munchkins can go on the search outside, examples such as ; leaves, sticks, pine cones, stones, flowers, shells.
Otherwise word cards could be made with an image of the item so they have it to help them along in the search.
As our two year olds get a little older a tick box could be added which they can complete as each item is found.
8. Playdough
Playdough can be enjoyed even before the age of two as we explained in Playdough Play For 1 Year Olds but the creativity and imagination of the playdough inventions really start now.
Playdough play can be a relaxing activity for our young ones as they manipulate the material between their fingers and create different shapes and sizes.
Our current favourite play dough inventions are pizzas made from cutting out a circle with a cup and adding various coloured toppings and making a slithery snake as long as we possibly can before it snaps in two.
What does your little one enjoy making?
Check out our Pumpkin Playdough recipe and fun too for an exciting seasonal activity.
9. Moon Sand
Moon sand or most commonly known (well in my case) as kinetic sand has to be up there as one of the most successful activities we have done.
The moon sand is a sensory delight for both mummy and our children- big and small. The fun of the sand can definitely be used for a wide range of children.
My daughter has a very short attention span for most activities and before long has the house turned upside down with all her toys-not in this case!!
We both enjoyed the easy task of making the sand together and then playing with the finished result.
Check out our article Homemade Moon Sand to find out how to make the sand and fun play ideas.
10. Finger Painting
Finger painting or in our experience hand painting too!
This edible finger paint can be whipped up within seconds for both babies and older toddlers and despite the large age range of suitability, a great amount of fun can be had for all.
My little one loves using her hands and fingers for most kinds of painting activity so this edible finger paint is ideal just in case they might be tempted to cover their mouth too- yes this has very recently happened at the age of 2yrs old.
-Find out How To Make Edible Finger Paint right here.-
11. Rainbow Rice
Our How To Make Rainbow Rice {Sensory Bin & Activity Ideas} article can be found here.
Another activity that without fail is enjoyed by my two year old.
It can be used in so many ways to help practise stirring, mixing, scooping, pouring, grasping between their fingers and many more.
Yes uncoloured rice can also be used but I find the different colours very visually pleasing which also adds another aspect to the activity.
Only a couple of colours could be made and a colour recognition game be created.
12. Chickpea Foam
There really is nothing that goes to waste when it comes to us mummy’s and creative activities for two year olds.
The next time you open a couple of tins of chickpeas, keep the liquid and use to make this fab chickpea foam that both babies and toddlers will enjoy playing with during sensory play.
Have a look at our Chickpea Foam article which goes through step by step many ways to use the foam in a sensory bin.
PLUS we have solutions for babies/ toddlers who aren’t too keen on getting their hands messy.
13. Balloons
You may well be thinking jeez let’s not state the obvious with balloons but balloons are just not given enough praise, especially for keeping little 2 year old munchkins entertained.
As you are probably very well aware, when you buy presents for 1 year olds they are more interested in the wrapping paper and packaging. Well we have discovered that for 2 year olds, they can’t get enough of the balloons.
Yes, out of all the many presents bought for my daughters birthday, without a shadow of a doubt, balloons have been the biggest hit.
Here’s what you can play;
-Tennis with hands or a racket
-Football (without worrying about damaging any furniture)
-Running up and down the house with the balloon on a string.
In opinion balloons are the unsung activity heroes.
14. Posting Money
This goes without saying for this activity that it is very important for parents to always watch their children while playing with coins and small objects but 2 year olds sure do love posting coins into a money box or similar.
It is a great idea to have a money box or a DIY box with a slot in the lid to allow them to improve they fine motor skills plus their hand and eye coordination.
I think it great to give them a purse (or similar) to allow them to initially open the zips or unclip the buttons to firstly take the money and they can transfer the coins into the money box.
It is wonderful to see our little one’s concentration and keeps them busy for a surprisingly long time.
15. Simon Says
I used to absolutely love this game as a kid and it has almost stuck with me as a good memory from my childhood.
For those that haven’t heard of it you simply have to say “Simon says…” and add a command for example “Clap your hands,” “Stamp your feet,” “Jump up and down.”
Our littlies love playing and become more and more excited as the game continues and its the perfect way of us mums teaching new commands to our 2 year olds.
Join in with your toddlers too!
You could even start saying instructions super fast to change the dynamic of the activity when they start becoming command experts.
16. Rainbow Button Sort
Photo Credit: Oh Hey Let’s Play
At around the age of two years old, learning colours is a big part of the new skills that they gain and also comes naturally as they start to point at many items throughout the day.
Oh Hey Let’s Play has this fantastic activity idea using play dough and allows our kiddies to sort through all the brightly coloured buttons and squish them into the appropriate coloured mounds.
17. Shape Matching Activity
Photo Credit: Little Learning Club
This shape matching activity is one of those super simple activities that makes you wonder how on earth you didn’t think of it earlier.
Little Learning Club also has these as printable on their site which we love!
To enable this shape matching activity to last even longer, make sure you laminate the card and you have your very own puzzle/ matching game available to use time and time again.
Get practising colours along with the names of the shapes during this play time- repetition is key.
18. Pipe Cleaner Threading
Photo Credit: Busy Blooming Joy
A threading activity made a little more difficult for our more advanced toddlers who may have been practising threading using our Pasta Threading Ideas .
This is a wonderful activity to keep our little monkeys entertained whilst preparing dinner if you want to keep them in sight at the nearby table.
We have previously tried this activity using spaghetti but found that it breaks too easily and the pipe cleaner solution by Busy Blooming Joy is a much better idea.
19. What’s Magnetic?!
Photo Credit: Busy Toddler
A mini scientific experiment mixed in with toddler fun learning about different materials.
All that is needed is a magnetic wand plus a box full of random household items, of course some which will be magnetic and others not.
Our cheeky two year olds will enjoy trying to find those magnetic items and watch as they make a ‘clink’ as they are drawn to the wand.
They will equally love the task of trying to pull the magnetic object away from the way.
An interesting way of learning about materials from a young age.
20. Wipe Clean Boards
The question is if your child will enjoy drawing on the board more or doing the cleaning and wiping it clear afterwards?! The decision isn’t easy.
These wipe clean boards can be used for numerous activities and can be used not only now as our two year old wants to scribble all over and create their own drawings.
When the time comes to start learning to write a wipe clean board is perfect for practice.
Generally these boards are also magnetic so another activity idea could be to add magnets too.
The wiping clean part shouldn’t be taken for granted as our kiddies will love to grab a cloth to help mummy tidy up.
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