This has been a crazy year so far. Quarantining with toddlers is hard, and I mean HARD. I have so much more respect for teachers, daycare workers, and stay at home parents than I did before. Not that I didn’t already respect those individuals. Believe me, I did. But my respect is so much deeper now.
I love my kids. They’re 4 and 2. I love watching them learn new things, make their own decisions, and find their voices. I also kinda hate when they learn new things (like how to move chairs to reach items on counter tops), make their own decisions (like asking for juice instead of the milk I poured), and find their voices (if I have to listen to the lyrics of “Into the Unknown” one more time…).
Even as parts of the country start to reopen and people are returning to work, many parents are still stuck at home with their kids. Schools are closed, summer programs are getting cancelled, and most extracurricular activities are still paused. Not to mention, some people just aren’t comfortable returning to a normal routine when there are so many unknowns.
Parents everywhere, including me, are going to have to entertain children of all ages for the foreseeable future. So, why not share some fun projects to keep them busy?
I sourced a group of fellow bloggers to help me come up with this list of 25 DIY Projects for Toddlers.
Let’s start with some scavenger hunts! I’ll be honest, I hadn’t thought of this myself. My kids love games and they adore search and find books. Scavenger hunts are the perfect activity for them.
I love this simple and fun free printable from This Tiny Blue House. I printed a few of these, laminated them, and tossed them in my stroller to use on our daily walks. Give the kids a few dry erase markers and let them go to town.
Neighborhood Walk Scavenger Hunt – This Tiny Blue House
This Tiny Blue House has another free printable available for a Spring Scavenger Hunt. Tis the season!
Spring Scavenger Hunt – This Tiny Blue House
For the rainy days, Moms Collab has some great tips for creating a fun indoor scavenger hunt for kids. She writes about themes, clues, and even prizes! I know what we’re doing after naps today…
5 Steps to an Unforgettable Indoor Scavenger Hunt – Moms Collab
If your kids enjoy the indoor scavenger hunt, they might like another game from Moms Collab. It’s the Letter Fridge Matching Game. I definitely feel like my kids would be into this. Especially since I’m not teaching them nearly as much as they were learning at daycare (#momfail).
Letter Fridge Magnet Game Using Large Magnet Letters – Moms Collab
Another great type of game to play with toddlers is the memory matching game. My kids have a Disney one like this that they LOVE. They’ve gotten really good at it and can often beat my husband and me. One Mama’s Daily Drama has actually created a free version of the game that’s perfect for toddlers. She calls it the Fruit Memory Game, and if I didn’t spend a good deal of time picking up the pieces from our Disney game from all over the house, I’d make this one just to switch it up for a bit. Still might…
Fruit Memory Game – One Mama’s Daily Drama
Alright, let’s get into some painting projects that should provide some good, fun entertainment.
Chalk paint! My kids love sidewalk chalk. They would spend hours on the driveway making fun creations if I let them. Well, let’s be real… sometimes I do. When else am I going to find time to work on my own projects?
Sidewalk chalk is fun, but chalk paint is even more fun! The kids might get a little messy, but I guarantee they’ll enjoy themselves. Both Finding Myself Young and South Lumina Style have great DIY Chalk Paint tutorials, so I included both!
Chalk Paint – Finding Myself Young
DIY Chalk Paint – South Lumina Style
As if two recipes for chalk paint weren’t enough, I have a recipe for Sidewalk FOAM Paint! This tutorial from ConservaMom looks pretty legit and I can’t wait to try it.
DIY Sidewalk Foam Paint – ConservaMom
Let’s stick with the painting theme for the next few projects. It seems like rock painting was a popular activity during quarantine. We had kids from all over the neighborhood putting out painted rocks with encouraging messages on them. We even painted a few of our own. We also enjoyed collecting shells. We were able to get to the beach house recently to spend a few days in a different setting. We gathered some shells and talked about all the fun projects we were going to do with them. Unfortunately, they’re still sitting in a bucket in the garage. Which is why I was so excited to see this Painted Seashells post from Tales of a Tired Mom (winner of best name for a parenting blog).
Collect and Paint Seashells – Tales of a Tired Mom
Life Anchored also offered up another fun painting project. Flower Stamped Wrapping Paper. I am super intrigued by this tutorial. It’s the perfect way to personalize gifts from your kids. I bet if I sent the grandparents gifts that were wrapped in toddler hand-painted wrapping paper, they might be more excited about the wrapping paper than the gifts.
DIY Wrapping Paper Flower Stamped – Life Anchored
This next project, also from Life Anchored, is a good one for those toddlers who just want to make a mess of everything… you know the ones. It’s NO MESS Stained Glass Finger Painting. Let them play with paint without ever touching it. Brilliant!
No Mess Stained Glass Finger Painting – Life Anchored
The last paint project I have for you is from Rose to Life. It’s a “These Little Piggies” Craft. This is another one the grandparents would be happy to receive. Lately, I’ve been laminating all my kids artwork from over the years and hanging it on their walls or sending it to grandparents. No sense letting it sit in a drawer and the fridge isn’t big enough for all of it.
“These Little Piggies” Quarantine Kids Craft – Rose to Life
Ok, no more paint projects. My kids love to paint, but it’s like a giant ordeal every time they do. Instead, let’s do a few easy crafts that toddlers can work on with parents. Starting with a personal favorite of mine.
If you’ve ever read any of my other blog posts, or if you poke around while you’re here, you’ll see that I love Halloween. I’ve written all sorts of fun Halloween tutorials. Like this Giant Trash Bag Spider, these Magic Potion Bottles, this Creepy Tree, these Spider Web Lanterns, or this Paper Mache Kraken. So, when The Inspiration Edit sent me a link for these Halloween Bat Magnets, I was pumped! Definitely going on my list.
Halloween Bat Magnets – The Inspiration Edit
Next up is a super cute Yarn Heart from Drugstore Divas. My kids would be all over this one. So simple, yet so adorable.
DIY Yarn Heart – Drugstore Divas
Another cute yarn project is this American Flag Pom Pom Craft from Any Reason Life. Perfect for the next two holidays coming up!
American Flag Pom Pom Craft – Any Reason Life
Any Reason Life also offered up this Coffee Filter Flying Butterfly. Another easy craft that can be done over and over again with different results.
Coffee Filter Flying Butterfly – Any Reason Life
If you’re using coffee filters for your flying butterflies, you might as well use them for Adorable Tie-Dye Flowers from The Play Based Mom, too.
Adorable Tie-Dye Preschool Flower Craft – The Play Based Mom
Life Anchored, my new favorite blog, has another colorful toddler tutorial – a Jellyfish Stained Glass Suncatcher. I absolutely love the way this looks and my kids are going to have a blast with this project.
Jellyfish Stained Glass Suncatcher – Life Anchored
The last addition from Life Anchored is DIY Dinosaur Fossils. My neighbor’s son is OBSESSED with dinosaurs. He can name dinosaurs I didn’t even know existed (he isn’t even 3 yet). His mom took just about every shirt he has and painted dinosaurs on them because he refused to wear anything else. So, this project is definitely going on the list.
DIY Dinosaur Fossils – Life Anchored
Now I want to introduce some tutorials from a blog called Upcycle My Stuff. My favorite one by far is the Personalized Name Crayons. My 2 year old is a TERROR when it comes to the treatment of toys and clothes. She has outfits that survived 3 other children before her that she covered in holes, food stains, and pen marks. If something has parts that can break, she will break them. That being said, crayons do not last long in our household. She breaks them ON PURPOSE. And, of course, no kid likes to color with broken crayons. So, this project is perfect! I can melt down all those bits and pieces and make bigger crayons that might survive the wrath of my youngest. I bet we even have enough to spell out all 6 letters in her name and the 7 in her sisters.
Personalized Name Crayons – Upcycle My Stuff
This next project from Upcycle My Stuff is a Kids Apron Made from a Man’s Shirt. I love this idea. I jumped on the Marie Kondo bandwagon about a year ago and purged my closet. I used all my old t-shirts to create cloth rags for all my DIY projects. You can see the post here. I’ll have to declutter my husband’s side of the closet next so I can make my kids some cute aprons!
Kids Apron from a Man’s Shirt – Upcycle My Stuff
The last project from Upcycle My Stuff is a Junk Journal Coloring Book. My kids are big fans of getting the mail. They also enjoy opening it. I generally give them all the junk mail so they can feel like they’re opening their own letters. This tutorial provides a great way to upcycle all that junk mail into a personalized book for your kids to write/draw in. So smart!
Junk Journal Coloring Book – Upcycle My Stuff
This next project is one that requires quite a bit of work up front, but it’s amazing! I have to have one. It’s a Customizable Felt Play Car Mat from Saving Talents. You have to check it out!
Customizable Felt Play Car Mat – Saving Talents
Tales of a Tired Mom has a cute gift idea that toddlers would have a lot of fun making. It’s a Dried Flower Frame. Kids can help with almost every part of this project.
DIY Dried Flower Frame Handmade Gift – Tales of a Tired Mom
The final tutorial I have for you today is from the Crafts and Activities for Kids blog. It’s a Time Capsule! My kids would be all about this activity, but their minds right now are like little steel traps. I know they’d probably ask me about it every single day, or at least point out the spot it’s buried every time we pass it. I do need to do something like this though. I never think very far ahead when I’m considering projects. This would be a nice activity to do now and an entertaining experience for the future when we open it. Especially if we include stuff from this absolutely insane year. 2020 is going down in history!
Time Capsule for Kids – Crafts and Activities for Kids
Whew! That’s a lot of projects! I hope you found this post useful. I know I’ll be testing out quite a few of these projects this summer. I want to take full advantage of my time home with my children so I won’t feel guilty sending them back to daycare as soon as this mess is over. Love them, but yeah… they gotta go.
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