Play ideas for 2 year olds

17 things to do

• Match the socks8 min · you need a pile of clean socks · Matching takes careful looking, and it gets the laundry done too.
• Sort by color8 min · you need a few bowls, colored things: blocks, toy cars, clothes · Sorting by color is an early way of grouping things that are alike.
• Run to the tree8 min · nothing to get · Running to a goal and back is great practice for strong legs.
• Chalk roads15 min · you need sidewalk chalk, toy cars · Following a road with a car takes careful hands, and drawing roads is the start of map-making.
• Jump the line5 min · you need tape · Jumping with both feet together is a new skill for many 2 year olds.
• Guess the animal5 min · nothing to get · Guessing from a clue is early thinking, and every animal has a name and a sound.
• Thread a pasta snake10 min · you need a shoelace, large dry pasta tubes, tape · Threading takes two hands working together, the kind of control drawing and buttons need.
• Kitchen band parade8 min · you need pots, wooden spoons, a whisk, a plastic bowl · Loud and soft, fast and slow: a band teaches opposites and taking a lead.
• Old MacDonald, your pick5 min · nothing to get · Choosing the next verse gives your child a word to say and a song to steer.
• Feelings faces in the mirror5 min · you need a mirror · Seeing and naming faces helps children recognize feelings in themselves and others.
• Sponge squeeze8 min · you need two bowls, a big kitchen sponge, a towel · Squeezing builds strong hands, and moving the water across is a job with a clear end.
• Circle hunt6 min · nothing to get · Spotting shapes in real things is a first step in noticing shapes everywhere.
• Cereal box puzzle6 min · you need the front of an empty cereal box, scissors (for grown-ups) · Fitting pieces into a whole picture is early problem solving.
• Color match outside10 min · you need three crayons or scraps of colored paper · Matching colors outside teaches looking closely at the world.
• Blanket picnic10 min · you need a blanket, plates, a snack or pretend food, a stuffed animal · Serving others at a picnic is practice in sharing and counting.
• Copy me5 min · nothing to get · Copying actions is practice in watching, listening and moving on purpose.
• Sink or float?10 min · you need a tub or big bowl of water, a spoon, a plastic lid, a sponge, a big wooden block, a towel · Guessing and then trying is your child's first science experiment.