As a mom of three children, I have found an increasing need for things to keep my youngest busy. I’ve tried (to no avail) to find enough time in the day to do everything I need to do with my kids on my heels all day. So I’ve had to resort to a little creativity and a lot of Amazon.
Here are some things I’ve found that keep my sweet girl busy while I do my fun stuff… you know, chores.
Magic Painting
We love these books! We ordered through Usborne, but they can also be found on Amazon. Each book comes with a paint brush. All you need is a small cup of water and maybe some paper towels for any spills. Your little one gets to paint the pages with water and colors appear on the pictures!
Water Beads
We’re new to the water bead craze but it looked so fun we wanted to join in! I love that it incorporates colors and water. Two things toddlers love. All you do is place the beads in water and they expand. They’re also really great for sensory play! You’ll definitely want to play with these in the kitchen or outside for easy clean-up.
Splash Pad
We’re not getting out too much these days. OK, we’re not getting out at all, to be honest. And we don’t have (or want) a pool, so we went with the next best thing. A splash pad! My kids could pay on this thing for hours. My two-year old likes to run through it and then fill buckets with water to dump on her siblings, which goes over great as you can imagine. She also likes to sit in the water and splash around! So much fun!
Counting Bears
These bears come in six different colors in their own little jars and lids. They also come with a pair of tongs children can use to pick up the bears and put them in the jars. This is great for a little one’s motor skill! My little one asks to play with these all the time!
Mega Blocks
You can never go wrong with blocks. We bought these jumbo blocks and Ozzy loves to sit (yay!) and build with them. These will keep your little one occupied for a long time. And that’s what we all want, right?
Moon Equilibrium
We accidentally stumbled across this gem and I’m so glad we did. The Moon Equilibrium has bright vibrant colors, which is always a win. It’s all about color sorting and balancing with the different size balls. Perfect for toddlers!
Mess Free Coloring
Anything that says mess free calls my name. Three kids in and I still cringe with messes. These books (there are dozens) are a lot of fun and you don’t have to worry about different color markers ending up around your house. The markers are specially designed to only appear on these pages! No more marker on the floor, walls, or anywhere else!
Busy Cube
I love busy cubes because there’s so many different things you can do with them. There are tons off different kinds of busy cubes and busy boards, but the one below is what I went with (currently out of stock). It’s affordable and has lots to offer. This one comes with a spinning gear wheel, maze, bear puzzle, laces to learn to tie and more. Here’s another great busy cube to consider. You can’t go wrong!
Pom Pom Tubes
For this activity you only need four supplies to make it happen! Paper towel/toilet paper rolls, tape, and pom poms. Easy! You simply tape the paper rolls to the wall (so use wall friendly tape), place a basket under the tubes, and then your little one will drop the pom poms down the tubes for repeated fun. Now if I could just remember to save the rolls to do this one, we’d be set!
Washing Dishes
Yep. I said washing dishes. Believe it or not, your toddler will love this! You’ll need a dish towel or two for this one but it’s well worth it. Take a plastic bin, fill it with water and a few drops of dish detergent, and then add fill some toddler dishes and a sponge. Then, let them have at it! This is great sensory play AND a great life school skill they can play with.
How do you keep your toddler busy? What activities would you add to the list?
