Toddlers love to play. It is how they explore the world. That is why play-based learning activities for toddlers are very helpful. These play-based learning activities for toddlers are fun and simple. They also help kids grow in many ways.
With play, toddlers learn faster. They use their hands and minds together. This builds creativity and curiosity. They try new things with joy. They also gain more confidence step by step.
Play-based learning activities for toddlers are easy to do at home. You do not need fancy tools. Just everyday items can help your child grow. These activities are also approved by experts.
In this article, you will learn the best games and ideas for play-based learning activities for toddlers. You will see how play can build smart, happy kids. Keep reading to learn fun and easy ways for play-based learning activities for toddlers to help your toddler grow strong in both mind and heart.
Why Play-Based Learning Activities?
Play plays a key role in how children learn and grow. It supports formal education later on and helps children build self-esteem. Through play, children start understanding their value and abilities.
The UN considers play so vital that it has made it a universal right for all children. This highlights how crucial play is to a child’s health and happiness. Play boosts concentration, which is important for academic success. It also helps children learn social skills, understand rules, and develop early scientific thinking.
Play is essential for younger children. In preschools and Reception, children follow the EYFS National Curriculum, which is rooted in play-based learning. This approach is the cornerstone of developing language, emotional skills, creativity, and thinking abilities.
Play helps children manage their emotions and improves their problem-solving skills. It also sparks creativity and encourages intellectual growth, laying the groundwork for future learning.
Understanding The Impacts Of Play-Based Learning Activities For Toddlers
When schools and kindergartens close temporarily, play-based activities can keep children learning at home. These activities allow kids to continue growing while having fun in a familiar environment.
This list of activities encourages learning, creativity, and playful exploration. More importantly, it creates opportunities for meaningful and enjoyable time between you and your children.
Through these activities, children not only learn, but also express themselves creatively. Plus, they help strengthen the bond between parents and kids, turning learning into a shared, joyful experience.
So much happens between the ages of 1 and 2, right? It’s truly one of the biggest years of growth and change in a child’s life. While there may not be hard research here, just think about it—it’s amazing how much they learn in those early years!
Understanding babies and their needs can take some effort. On our website, we’ve shared different sensory play ideas for kids. Now, we’re expanding on that by offering activities suited for a broader age range of 1- to 2-year-olds.
Each baby, toddler, and child grows at their own speed and in unique ways. That’s why it’s tricky to assign exact ages to specific activities. To make things easier, we’ve included a wider age range, giving more flexibility to parents and caregivers.
The Five Core Elements of Play
Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, and Eyer, in Einstein Never Used Flashcards, describe five key features of play:
- It should be spontaneous and voluntary
- Play must be fun and enjoyable
- It needs to involve active engagement
- There should be an element of make-believe
- Play should have no specific goals
These elements make play an effective tool for learning and development.
Key Learning Areas for Ages 1 to 2
For this age group, there are a few core areas to focus on when planning learning activities:
- Sensory Play: Activities that engage sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
- Fine Motor Skills: Tasks that develop hand and finger control.
- Gross Motor Skills: Exercises that involve larger movements like crawling or walking.
- Arts and Crafts: Simple, creative projects that let kids explore colors and textures.
These activities help support your child’s growth while keeping the learning process fun and engaging!
Play-Based Learning Activities for Toddlers
Here’s a variety of play-based learning activities for toddlers designed to support learning while keeping kids engaged and entertained!
Happy Mirror
This home activity helps children aged 4 to 6 learn geometric shapes like circles, squares, and triangles. It also boosts observation, focus, and perseverance skills.
Bingo
A flashcard game for kids aged 4 to 6 that encourages persistence during learning and discovery.
Happy Shapes
Through fun geometry games, children aged 4 to 6 learn to recognize and name shapes like circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. It also helps build their self-esteem.
Happy Wheel
An interactive game for kids aged 4 to 6 that teaches sorting by shape, color, and size while building endurance.
Stars and Numbers
A family-friendly game for children aged 4 to 6, where they learn about quantities and strengthen perseverance.
Mix Colors
In this activity, children aged 4 to 6 mix colors to create secondary colors. It promotes curiosity and persistence in completing tasks.
Magnetic Story
Designed for kids aged 4 to 6, this game lets them create stories using character templates, sparking imagination and creative thinking.
Recognize Your Emotions
Children aged 4 to 6 learn to identify emotions by cutting and pasting different facial expressions.
Playful Shapes
This game helps kids aged 4 to 6 recognize and name geometric shapes and colors.
Making Ice Cream
A creative activity for children aged 3 to 6 where they match ice cream boxes and balloons by color, encouraging problem-solving skills.
Playful Spider Story
Kids aged 3 to 6 play catch and throw with the Little Spider, building perseverance and curiosity.
Compass
For children aged 8 to 10, this game enhances the use of nouns, adjectives, verbs, and numbers while boosting self-esteem. Family members can join in too!
Fruit Math
Children aged 6 to 8 use strategies to solve math problems, building confidence and sparking curiosity.
From Letter to Word
Kids aged 6 to 8 learn to arrange letters correctly by forming words from pictures.
Playful Puzzle
This game helps children aged 6 to 8 practice multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction in a fun way.
The Importance of Sensory Play-Based Learning Activities for Toddlers
Sensory play is a toddler’s best friend! It introduces new experiences, builds vocabulary, and sparks pretend play. Many people think sensory play equals mess, but that’s not always true. You can find fun, low-mess activities too. However, if things get messy, that’s fine—just lay down a towel and let the fun begin!
Has to Do with Fine Motor Activities
Fine motor skills involve small muscles in the hands and fingers working with the eyes. Strengthening these muscles helps with pencil grip, handwriting, cutting with scissors, and other key skills. These are essential as children enter their first years of elementary school.
Has to Do with Gross Motor Activities
Gross motor skills help control large muscles needed for walking, running, and jumping. Building these muscles is crucial for physical development. As a former early childhood teacher, I’ve noticed that kids learn and remember better when they’re active. So, adding movement to learning activities is always a win!
Encourages Arts and Crafts
One word: creativity. Letting kids be creative never leads to anything negative—at least in the right setting! Arts and crafts introduce new experiences, spark creativity, and often build fine motor skills and vocabulary. Sometimes, they even provide sensory play, all at once!
In this article, we have enlisted different play-based learning activities for toddlers that will be of help for your kids’ education. I hope these ideas spark inspiration and help you create hands-on learning activities that feel like play for your little ones!
Sensory Play-Based Learning Activities for Toddlers
5 Little Ducks Sensory Play
Materials:
- Clear storage container
- Water
- Blue food coloring (optional)
- Rubber ducks
- Green craft foam (optional)
- Scissors
- “5 Little Ducks” book
Optional items like blue-dyed water and foam lily pads enhance this sensory activity. Start by reading or singing “5 Little Ducks,” then dive into water play! This helps with story re-telling, vocabulary, early counting, and sensory development.
Balls in a Pool
Materials:
- Ball pit balls
- Kiddie pool (plastic or inflatable)
- Water (optional)
This simple activity works indoors without water or outside in summer with water. Fill the pool with balls, and if outdoors, add water for extra fun. It’s perfect for discussing colors!
Dish Soap in Water Table
Materials:
- Water table
- Hose
- Dish soap
Toddlers love bubbles! Squirt dish soap into the water table, fill it with water, and watch the bubbles rise. It’s fun to touch, smells great, and makes for a perfect summer sensory activity.
Ice Cube Transfer
Materials:
- Large storage container
- Two small storage containers
- Large spoon or measuring cup
- Ice
- Water
Set this up indoors or outdoors. Fill one small tub with ice and water, leaving the other empty. Kids use spoons or cups to transfer ice cubes, improving fine motor skills and engaging in sensory play.
Painting Ice & Salt
Materials:
- Small storage container
- Ice cubes
- Tempera paint
- Salt
- Paintbrush
Paint plain ice or add salt for texture. The salt creates a grainy effect on the ice, adding sensory fun. Squirt different colored paints on the ice, sprinkle salt, and let your child paint!
Frozen Pom Poms
Materials:
- Pom poms
- Ice cube tray or silicone mold
- Storage container
- Muffin tin
- Shovel
Freeze pom poms in different ways for a colorful sensory activity. Once they melt, kids can enjoy water play or sort them by color using a muffin tin.
Painting with Colored Ice/Frozen Paint
Materials:
- Silicone tray or ice cube tray
- Craft sticks
- Food coloring or tempera paint
- Water
- Cardstock paper
Freeze colored water or paint with sticks in trays. Once frozen, pop them out and let kids paint vibrant pictures. It’s a fun sensory activity perfect for indoor or outdoor play.
Painting with Water
Materials:
- Suction bowl for water
- Paintbrush
- Cookie sheet
- Colored construction paper
- Tape
Tape construction paper to a cookie sheet and let kids “paint” with water. It’s simple, mess-free, and great for toddlers learning brush control.
Painting on Tin Foil
Materials:
- Cookie sheet
- Tin foil
- Paintbrush
- Tempera paint
- Small paint palette
Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and let kids paint. The smooth, shiny surface makes for a unique sensory experience, and cleanup is a breeze!
Markers in a Box
Materials:
- Large box
- Markers
Let your toddler sit in a big box with markers and draw to their heart’s content. It’s simple, keeps them contained, and can occupy them while you get things done.
Crayons & a Coloring Book
Materials:
- Jumbo crayons
- Coloring book
Perfect for keeping kids entertained at the table. Jumbo crayons are great for little hands and help develop fine motor skills. Plus, flipping through pages can be just as fun as coloring!
Bubble Wrap Sensory Paint
Materials:
- Easel paper
- Tempera paint
- Bubble wrap
Tape bubble wrap over painted paper for a fun sensory art project. Kids can use their hands or feet to squish the paint, and you can explore different textures by flipping the bubble wrap.
Bugs in Kinetic Sand
Materials:
- Toy bugs
- Kinetic sand
- Baking pan or storage container
- Magnifying glass
- “Backyard Bugs” book
Hide toy bugs in kinetic sand and let your child dig them out. Pair with a bug-themed book to build vocabulary while engaging in sensory and pretend play.
Colored Beans Sensory Play
Materials:
- Dried white beans
- Vinegar
- Food coloring
- Storage container
- Spoons and bowls
Dye beans using vinegar and food coloring, then let them dry. Once ready, kids can scoop, sort, and explore the colorful beans, enhancing sensory play and fine motor skills.
Scooping Dried Beans
Materials:
- Various dried beans
- Measuring spoons
- Small containers
No dyeing needed! Use different types of beans for texture exploration. Kids can scoop, pour, and mix, fostering creativity and sensory engagement.
Pom Pom Sensory Bin
Materials:
- Pom poms (regular and sparkly)
- Storage container
- Spoons
- Small containers
Pour pom poms into a bin and add spoons for scooping. Simple and quick, this activity is great for fine motor skills and color sorting.
Poms in Water
Materials:
- Pom poms
- Water
- Measuring cups or shovels
Add water to pom poms for a squishy, sensory experience. After play, squeeze out the water and dry the pom poms for reuse. The best part of this activity is how simple it is to clean up! Just drain the water, grab a handful of pom-poms, and squeeze out as much water as possible.
Then, spread them on a towel to dry. Once dry, they fluff back up, ready for reuse—whether in water play or for other fun activities. This one is definitely a favorite of ours!
Dried Pasta Sensory Play
Materials:
- Rigatoni pasta
- Straws
- Spoons
- Small bowls
Kids can pretend to make “soup” with dried pasta, promoting fine motor skills by threading rigatoni onto straws or fingers.The kids enjoy sliding these noodles onto their fingers. If you have a spoon with a hole in the center, the noodles fit perfectly through it! We used spoons from our Melissa & Doug kitchen utensil set, and they worked wonderfully. Those utensils are some of my favorites for sensory play!
Dried Pasta Threading
Materials:
- Rigatoni pasta
- Paper or plastic straws
Threading pasta onto straws helps develop fine motor skills. Use different types of pasta for variety and fun.
Wooden Pegs Toy
Materials:
- Wooden peg toy
This open-ended toy supports color sorting, counting, stacking, and pattern making. It’s great for both toddlers and preschoolers. These toys cover so many skills, from fine motor practice to color sorting and counting. Sometimes, we also use the small pieces to build structures, create patterns, or see how tall we can stack them. Open-ended toys like this are always a favorite!
Hair Ties on a Straw
Materials:
- Small hair ties
- Cup with a straw.
Place a straw in a cup and let kids slide hair ties onto the straw, building fine motor skills in a fun, simple way. Instead of using a cup, you can press a plastic straw into play-dough to help it stand upright. The kids absolutely love this activity! It’s also a fun and simple way to build fine motor skills.
Popsicle Stick Drop
Materials:
- Empty snack container
- Craft sticks
Cut a slit in the lid of a container and let kids drop in craft sticks. It’s a fun activity for improving hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. The lid of this container was just right—thin and flexible enough for me to fold it and create the slit I wanted. I peeled off the wrapper to prevent any mix-ups and gathered some craft sticks to begin the activity.
Balls on TP Rolls
Materials:
- Toilet paper rolls
- Small plastic balls
Stack balls on top of toilet paper rolls to improve hand-eye coordination and balance while exploring colors. This activity was incredibly simple and took just a few seconds to set up. I used balls from one of our ball popper toys (we have two for some reason!), but any small balls would work just fine.
The activity helps improve hand-eye coordination, balance, and fine motor skills. We also spent time discussing the colors of each ball as she stacked them onto the toilet paper roll.
Balls in a Box Color Sort
Materials:
- Cardboard box
- Ball pit balls
- Markers
Cut holes in the box, outline them with different colors, and let kids sort the balls. It’s fun, educational, and perfect for color recognition. Place ball pit balls into a basket and begin sorting them! The kids enjoyed using this box for more than just balls. They started sorting other toys, like trucks and cars by color, Daniel Tiger figures by clothing, and even play food. It’s a great way to encourage sorting and categorizing skills!
Poms in an Egg Carton Color Sort
Materials:
- Egg carton
- Small pom poms
- Markers
Color the inside of an egg carton to match pom poms. Let kids sort poms into the correct spots, improving color recognition and fine motor skills. Take an egg carton and color the bottoms to match your pom-poms. Use markers to create color codes for each section. Then, poke holes in the bottom with a pen or pencil.
Have your little one sort the pom-poms into the correct sections. Afterward, they can open it up, dump them out, and repeat! This activity focuses on color sorting and helps develop fine motor skills.
Poms on Squigz
Materials:
- Squigz toys
- Pom poms
Stick Squigz to a surface and balance pom poms on them. It’s great for fine motor skills, balance, and color matching.Squigz are fantastic for building and sticking to windows, tables—anywhere you like!
They’re highly recommended, and I’ve heard they make a great toy for restaurants too. For this activity, I attached some Squigz to our window and had the kids balance pom-poms on them.
You can also introduce color matching by encouraging them to pair pom-poms with Squigz of the same color. This simple play boosts hand-eye coordination, balance, fine motor skills, and color recognition.
Sensory Sticky Wall
Materials:
- Contact paper
- Easel paper
- Feathers, tissue paper, foam shapes
Tape contact paper sticky-side out and let kids decorate it with various textured materials. It’s a creative and sensory-rich activity. We did this activity for Valentine’s Day, decorating a heart, but it works anytime! You don’t have to draw shapes—just make a simple sticky wall. Collect textured items that can stick to contact paper and let your child explore. I shared what we used, but feel free to get creative!
Cheerios Play Book
Materials:
- “The Cheerios Play Book”
- Cheerios
Fill in missing spots in this interactive book with Cheerios. It’s a fun, hands-on way to combine snack time with learning. As the book cover suggests, simply place Cheerios in the empty spots—such a clever idea! It’s a fantastic way to practice fine motor skills.
Mini Board Books
Materials:
- Mini board books
Perfect for little hands, these books offer fun reading and fine motor practice. The carrying case adds an extra layer of fun.
These mini books are just right for small hands, and the carrying case adds extra excitement. Both kids enjoy opening and closing the case, taking the books out, putting them back, and flipping through the pages to read. We’ve found these sets to be a hit! There are many versions available, but I’ve shared links to the two sets we own and love.
Puzzles in Rice
Materials:
- Rice (or other dried sensory material)
- Puzzle pieces
- small storage container
- -puzzle
- “Numbers”
- “Count a Block” (pictured)
For this activity, we focused on numbers and counting using two of our favorite number-themed board books. I hid puzzle pieces inside a sensory bin, and my child eagerly dug through the rice to find each piece and complete the puzzle. It was a fun way to combine sensory play with number learning!
Hide puzzle pieces in rice and let your child dig them out. It’s a sensory-rich way to engage with puzzles and learn numbers or letters.
Play Doh: Tools & Textures
Materials:
- Play Doh
- Play-Doh tools
Create textures and patterns with Play-Doh tools. It’s a classic, versatile activity that encourages creativity and fine motor development.
Play-dough offers endless possibilities for simple and exciting activities. We store our tools in a large Ziploc bag, making it easy to explore various textures and patterns. Children love using cutters, stamps, and rollers to create fun shapes. Simple play-dough activities boost creativity and sensory development.
Pouch Lids in a Salad Spinner
Materials:
- Empty pouch lids
- Salad spinner
Put pouch lids in a salad spinner and let kids spin away! It’s simple but engaging, combining sensory play with fine motor practice.
Salad spinners can be a fun toy for toddlers, even without adding anything inside. The kids used to love pushing the spinner and watching it spin. I saved a bunch of pouch lids for activities like this—they were perfect. You can also use pom poms, colorful plastic balls, or even feathers. I thought the lids would make more noise, but it turned out to be more about watching the colors swirl.
Pouch Lid Color Sort
Materials:
- A 3-section sorting tray (ours was from the
- Target dollar section, but anything similar works!)
To build on the salad spinner activity, I added a sorting tray. It might be for food, but we use it for sorting! I helped guide some color-sorting with the pouch lids. This simple activity adds a learning element to the fun.
Magnatile Color Sort
Materials:
- Magnatiles (we use the brand-name, but I linked a cheaper alternative that works just as well!)
Magnatiles are a fantastic open-ended toy for all ages—I even love playing with them! They’re perfect for many learning activities. For this one, I set out two large squares of different colors and gave the kids smaller squares in matching colors. We worked together to stack the small tiles on the large squares of the same color.
Gross Motor Shape Jump
Materials:
- Sidewalk chalk
- The book Friendshape (optional)
We did this outside with sidewalk chalk, but you can also cut out shapes from paper and do it indoors. You could use colors instead of shapes—colored circles with chalk or colored paper inside.
I’d call out a shape, and the kids would find it and jump on it. Moving around helps kids stay engaged and retain what they learn. We read Friendshape from the library before starting this activity.
Squigz on a Window
Materials:
- Squigz
- A window
We love Squigz in our house! I discovered that you can throw them at a window, and they’ll stick. I didn’t believe him at first because it’s tricky, but with practice, they do stick. Even a 3.5-year-old can throw and stick them. The baby, at 19 months, loves pulling them off. Sometimes they have to pull hard, which builds fine motor strength. Sticking them on helps with hand-eye coordination too!
Sand Play
Sand play offers a hands-on introduction to science, boosting self-confidence and physical skills. Scooping, digging, pouring, and sifting help children learn how things work while improving muscle strength and coordination. When done with friends, it also promotes teamwork, sharing, and social skills.
Water Play
Like sand play, water play lets kids explore basic concepts like volume in a safe setting. It teaches cause and effect while building hand-eye coordination and physical strength. Water play is a fun, engaging activity that kids love.
Play Dough
Play-dough is a fantastic learning tool. It strengthens fingers for writing, enhances fine motor skills, sparks creativity, and improves hand-eye coordination. Add beads to the dough for extra fine motor practice, or let kids thread beads onto dried spaghetti stuck in the dough.
Dress-Up and Role Play
Give kids dress-up clothes and props like toy doctor kits, and their imaginations will soar. They’ll role-play as doctors, chefs, astronauts, or anything they dream up. This helps them understand adult roles, boosts social skills, and encourages independence in dressing.
Doll and Character Play
Mini-figures and dolls help kids develop social play, imagination, and emotional expression. Boys and girls alike benefit from this type of play, learning to label and express their feelings in creative ways.
Drawing and Painting
Let kids explore with paints and drawing tools for sensory experiences and self-expression. This develops pre-writing skills, introduces color mixing, and encourages creativity. Plus, it’s a great way to teach tidying up after messy fun!
Blocks, Jigsaws, and Shape Sorters
Playing with blocks, jigsaws, and shape sorters builds spatial awareness, logical reasoning, and recognition of shapes, sizes, and colors. These activities lay the foundation for math and problem-solving skills.
Music, Dancing, and Singing
Music and singing boost language development and early literacy, while also introducing math concepts like counting. Dancing enhances strength, flexibility, and coordination, making this a fun, full-body learning experience.
Imaginative Play
Imaginative play lets kids create their own worlds with whatever objects they have. This builds creativity, literacy skills, intellectual reasoning, and self-esteem. It also helps them understand the world and handle boredom.
Running, Jumping, Climbing, Swinging
Kids love to move, and physical activities like running, jumping, and climbing help them build confidence, resilience, and gross motor skills. Safe challenges encourage risk-taking and independence.
Nature Play
Outdoor play fuels learning by connecting kids to nature. It promotes health, environmental respect, and an early interest in biology. Nature play also fosters independence, curiosity, and exploration.
Sensory Play
Sensory play engages touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing using materials like jelly, aqua beads, ice, or rice. It stimulates curiosity, encourages exploration, and lays the groundwork for scientific thinking.
Basic Board Games
Board games for young kids are fun and educational. They teach numbers, colors, shapes, and phonics while promoting turn-taking, sharing, and patience—valuable social skills for life.
Cooking and Pretend Cooking
Cooking introduces sensory experiences, math concepts, and safety skills. Pretending cooking and playing shop teaches social interaction, basic math, and empathy. Both are fun, hands-on learning experiences.
The Cardboard Box
A simple cardboard box can become anything—a house, car, or cuddly toy home. Add fabric scraps, cushions, and art supplies, and watch kids unleash their creativity while thinking like little engineers.
What We Leave You With
The materials consist of resources from UNICEF and activities designed by educators across the nation. These were created for a national education platform, which UNICEF supports. The platform focuses on “Setting up an environment for quality teaching and learning through co-creation and innovation.”
These resources, made by local educators, aim to foster a better learning environment for both students and teachers. The activities are designed with the goal of encouraging innovation and collaboration in education. Through these materials, UNICEF works to improve the quality of education across the country. The platform offers a space for educators to share ideas and develop new approaches to teaching.
I hope these ideas sparked your creativity and left you eager to try them with your little ones! If you have any favorite activities or questions about the ones I shared, feel free to comment below. Don’t hesitate to share this post with friends or family who have young children, so they can enjoy these fun activities too!
Play-based learning activities for toddlers are more than just fun. They help kids learn many new skills every day. Through play, toddlers become more curious. They also learn how to solve problems. They gain strong confidence and start thinking in new ways.
Parents can use simple games at home. These games are easy, low-cost, and very educational. You can see big changes in your child with just a little time.
Keep playing with your child every day. It helps both you and your toddler grow together. Remember, fun is the best way to learn. Use play-based learning activities for toddlers often, and enjoy the journey of learning with joy.