10 activities for under 2’s

 Do you need some inspiration for activities for your under 2’s

Have you exhausted your list of activities for your under 2’s and would like to try some new fresh ideas. Keeping activities stimulating for this age group of children  can at times be difficult, as children at this age have very little attention span, leading to them flitting in between activities. Tailoring activities to children’s interests can help, as they are more like to concentrate on this activity for a short period of time.

Why not try some of these activities with your under 2’s

• Fill a tuff spot tray with some water, bubbles and dolls. Washing the dolls is a simple activity that combines water play with personal social and emotional development. Children will enjoy giving the babies a bath as well as themselves.
• Flour painting – This edible paint is ideal for the younger children as many children will at some point put the paintbrush in their mouth. Mix flour, food colouring, and water together to create this type of paint.

• Create a simple obstacle course – Use tunnels and tents and small ramps to create a simple indoor or outdoor obstacle course for the children to explore. Even babies who are crawling will enjoy going through the tunnel to see who is at the other end.
• Interactive song time – Why not use puppets and a piece of large material to create a fun song time session. Children are much more engaged when props are used which helps them to sit for longer.

• Sand Moose – Mix Sand, water and corn flour to make this gooey consistency. A simple sensory activity for the children. For more messy play ideas for under’2 click here
• Washing the cars with crazy soap. Instead of washing the cars with water why not spray crazy soap over the cars and the garage and pretend this is a car washing activity. The children will thoroughly enjoy pretending to wash the cars with the sponges.
• Printing using different items – Look around the room to see what you can find to do printing with, e.g., bricks, animals, playdough cutters, etc. Offer the children a range of colours and let them create their own masterpiece.
• Add different pots and pans to a tray of sand- Children will spend a considerable of time filling up the pots with sand and emptying them.

• Set up a teddy bears picnic either indoor or outdoors – Set up a teddy bears picnic consisting of teddies, play food, cups saucers teapots, etc. and sit back and watch the children reenact some of their past experiences. This activity is great for developing children’s early pretend skills.
• Fill a paddling pool with different size balls. This is a simple activity but kids will enjoy sorting through the balls to find the different sized ones. They will also enjoy throwing them back in the pool. A simple maths and physical activity.

When observing children during these activities don’t forget to look out for the characteristics of effective learning. It is important practitioners fully understand how children learn, as this will help them when completing observations and planning activities.