Especially in Corona timesMany parents find it difficult to keep their children busy at home. Because what can you do with 2-year-olds when the zoo and playgrounds are closed? We're happy to help and offer 25 fun game ideas, activities and craft suggestions for toddlers between 2 and 3 years old. They can be achieved with household items and you don't have to spend anything on them. This way you can keep your children occupied in an age-appropriate manner if you can't go out due to curfews. With these tips you will ensure fun and a good mood, promote creativity and help parents find time for themselves.
Keep 2 year old children busy: fun craft and game ideas
Everyone is at home and parents are facing a big challenge. When kindergartens are closed and playing outside is canceled, frustration quickly arises, especially among small children. Who not only struggles with children in a bad mood, but alsomake a home officemust, they quickly feel overwhelmed. A daily plan then comes to the rescue. Plan activities and breaks in between. We'll show you game ideas for the whole family, but also ideas for how children can keep themselves busy. As an introduction to the topic of “Ideas for what to do with children” we offer you an idea for puppet theater. You can make funny dolls out of paper bags and cardboard and play your favorite fairy tales to the children.
Keep a 2 year old child busy: a race track made from kitchen paper rolls
What else can you do with a 2 year old child? It's not a baby, but it's not a toddler either. Although it can understand a lot and now has its own interests and favorite toys, it cannot yet clearly express its preferences. For 2-year-olds, the games have to be uncomplicated and at the same time develop fine motor skills. The next one is perfectGame idea for toddlers. Empty the toy box, cut paper towel rolls in two and attach them to the edge of the box with glue. The racetrack is finished. Most toddlers love homemade toys and are guaranteed to be happy.
What can you do with a 2 year old child? Play fishing
Do you have leftover felt fabric around the house? Then you can for yoursChild playing a fishing gamecraft. The game is ideal for small children because it promotes fine motor skills and can be played alone or in groups. Of course, it's twice as much fun if mom and dad play too. But it's just as exciting when older siblings show the toddler how to play the game. For the fishing game you will need the following materials:
- A template for fish that you can download from the internet or make yourself.
- Felt fabric, different colors
- Googly eyes (or cardboard in black and white)
- Scissors
- Glue or hot glue
- Disc magnet (from the craft shop or if you have fridge magnets then you can use these)
- Metal bottle cap (one piece for each fish)
- Wooden skewer or stick
- Bindfad
This is how the fishing game is played: Cut out fish of different sizes from the felt material. For each fish you need two pieces of equal size. First place the first part of the fish on the work surface, then place the magnet on it and the second part of the fish on top of it. Glue the fish pieces together so that the magnets stay inside. Then stick on a googly eye. Hang the magnet on the end of the skewer (cut off the pointed side to be safe). Complete!
Activity for 2 year olds: game idea that promotes fine motor skills
Help each frog find its way home! You need the following materials for the game:
- Cardboard, white
- Cardboard in green, orange and yellow
- punch
- 3 frog figures, one green, one orange and one yellow.
- 3 erasers with house shape
- Dice
This is how the fun game is played: Use the hole punch to cut out circles from the yellow, orange and green cardboard. Glue a circle to each side of the cube and glue the remaining circles to the white cardboard at a distance of 5 cm from each other. All yellow circles form the first row, all orange circles form the second row and all green circles form the third row. Glue the three erasers at the top and ask the child to throw the dice. Depending on which side of the cube is facing up, the child has to move the respective frog. For example, if yellow is pointing up, then move the yellow frog forward, if green, move the green one, etc
Keep 2-year-old children busy: Build your own Lego table
Playing with Legois fun for big and small children. But so that the individual components don't get lost and building is twice as much fun, you can build a Lego table yourself. Ikea tables that you just need to give an update are ideal. If you have several children, then you can opt for a long table. This way each child plays at one end and they aren't constantly fighting for more space. Place a Lego base plate on the table. You can place large toy boxes under the table and several Skädis containers with lids can be used to store tiny Lego pieces.
Activity for 2-year-old child: Colorful window pictures or wall decorations with paper tape
Crafting is great fun for most children, as long as the craft idea is age-appropriate. A cool craft suggestion for all children is,colorful window picturesor make wall decorations with paper tape. Simply cut out a fish template from colorful cardboard and glue a smaller template made of white cardboard onto it. Cut tape into pieces of different colors and ask the children to decorate the fish with them. You can also use rhinestones or aluminum foil as decoration. However, it is very important that children only do crafts under parental supervision, otherwise there is a risk that they will swallow rhinestones, aluminum foil or adhesive tape. If you want to be on the safe side, ask the child to paint the fish.
Keep toddlers busy at home: Painting with ice cubes and Mega Blocks
A fun game idea for which you need few materials:
- Food coloring
- Mega Blocks
- Ice cube tray
Simply dissolve the food colors in several bowls and pour them into the ice cube tray (try not to mix the individual colors). Insert a Lego brick into each mold and leave it in the freezer overnight. The next day, place an old white T-shirt on the work surface and take the cubes out of the fridge. The Lego blocks serve as handles and prevent children's hands from freezing. Painting can begin.
What can you do with 2-year-olds: Work on a homemade puzzle made from color patterns
Do you have color samples from the last renovation at home? Cut the colorful color cards in half. The children should put the puzzle back together by finding the matching pieces. Puzzles are a popular activity that develop fine motor skills and memory. With the homemade puzzle you bring variety to everyday life and the child will certainly look forward to it.
Keep children busy at home: make your own plug-in game
Plug-in games promote the development of small children's fine motor skills. Especially in the first three years of their lives, they learn what is possible and what is not by trying things out on their own. If you have pipe insulation or old water guns at home, you can also make a plug-in game yourself. You need the following materials:
- Pipe insulation or optionally kitchen paper rolls
- Trinkhalme
- Pipe cleaners
- Holzklammer
- Other items of your choice
Cut the pipe insulation into several pieces and have the children insert the straws, pipe cleaners and clothespins into them. If you use paper towel rolls, you can first make different sized holes for different objects and then have the child find the appropriate hole for each object. It's a fun game idea, but it can only be played under parental supervision.
Games with 2 year old children: making ships out of household items
You will need a deep plastic bowl or pot, 3 wine corks, twine, bath sponge, construction paper and toothpicks. Cut out a triangle for the sail from the cardboard. A toothpick serves as a mast. To make the ship really float in the water, you can glue three wine corks together or tie them together with twine. You can also use a dish sponge.
Let the child play with the ships and move them back and forth in the water. But don't let him play with water, toothpicks and other small objects without supervision. If desired, you can also use plastic bottle caps as islands. This makes the game more complicated and promotes fine motor skills again.
Make a dollhouse for role play with the children
Making a dollhouse yourself is a child's play. Two-year-old children are just beginning to play role-playing games and a dollhouse offers the best conditions for this. In this way, everyday situations can be processed and social skills can be practiced in a playful way. A homemade dollhouse should therefore ideally have all the rooms that exist in your own home. So you can give the child different tasks, for example: Now all the dolls make breakfast together, now they clean up. The baby goes to sleep after lunch, the parents read a book, etc
A dollhouse made of cardboard can be painted as desired, decorated with stickers and furnished creatively. And the best thing: you can always create new rooms together with the child. Let your imagination run wild and create a beautiful and colorful dollhouse for your child.
What can you do with 2 year olds? Actually quite a lot. If a curfew has been introduced in your state or you simply don't feel like going out on the weekend, you can keep your child busy at home. In the photo gallery you will find numerous suggestions for games and activities.
Make your own dollhouse
Make your own throwing game with rings made from disposable plates and paint it with the children
Activity for 2 year old child: Build your own wooden race track
Make your own stamps out of marshmallows and food coloring
Activity for 2 year olds: making a car wash
Game ideas for babies and toddlers: Fill golf balls into a 5-liter bottle
Game ideas for 2 year olds: Grocery store from Ikea shelves
Game ideas for small children: game of hide-and-seek with toys
Activities for 2 year olds: Organize a picnic in the living room
What to do with 2 year olds: Build a tent in the living room
Game ideas for toddlers: crafting with clay
