Activities for a 2 Year Old

You could do fingerpainting or making things out of clay. Coloring is always a classic.

Doesn't this just show you how much kids vary, even at the same age! My daughter will be 2 in a week :) We're practically in winter here now & it's cold & wet outside. The backyard is a sloppy, muddy mess after some recent downpours of rain so going outside isn't really an option here either. My daughter has been accumulating those Fisher Price, Little People sets - she currently has the farmyard set with extra animals & stuff & happily spends her days playing with them coz she loves the sounds they make when you open the farmyard doors & gates etc. She also really enjoys the books that have buttons down the side - so when she looks at the pictures, you can press the side buttons where you get sounds, music & other things like that! Another good activity i have found is movies - my little one will have a biscuit, a nice warm milky drink & will happily sit & watch movies, especially singing ones like 'Elmo in Grouchland' or just about anything we have in her collection. Barbie is a favourite & she loves the Shrek trilogy as well. I hope that helps some but it can be difficult to keep a toddler entertained when they're stuck inside & you would rather not have any mess!

You know my 2 year old actually is amused by the most simple things. She has tons of little high tech toys. But I've learned that it's the more simple things she enjoys. Like one day we took a few large pieces of paper and she helped me draw a road and a little town on the papers. We drew a slide and swingset for the park, houses, buildings ,etc. She took her little cars and drove all over the road and played pretend like she was swinging and going down the slide. I was really amazed at her being able to use her imagination like that without me even teaching her. Days when I prepared to sweep up a little bit of a mess I have a large rubbermaid box filled with raw rice and beans. I'll thrown down a sheet in the floor and let her play in the rice and beans. She has a blast with it. Really when it comes to 2 year olds just try to think of the most simple things that will make them use their imaginations. You will be truly suprised but how easily amused they are.

To me this is the perfect age to start some real learning things with her. Make or buy flash cards and teach her to recognize the alphabet or numbers to 10. At that age I use to take out the package of 36 markers and taught her colors. She new dark blue from light blue and so on. Play dolls with her this will teach her to love, have a tea party little girls love this. Dress up is always fun too. At 2 they do not have a long attention span so when planning inside activities you really have to do more than one or two things. Have Fun!

i don't have a kid but my little cousin lives with me. she likes artwork projects. the last activity we had was we cut out models from a magazine and drew some clothes on a bond paper. we colored them and made a paperdoll set.

If you are worried about mess...get Moon Sand. The stuff is great. It is just like playing in the sand for the kids and comes in cool colors. The sets come with neat little molds and such. The great thing about moon sand is that it cleans up easy! It can be vaccuumed up if it gets into the carpet, and can be swept up off of the floor. It is such easy clean-up it is great!!! I quit with playdough, because when it gets into the carpet, it is sooooo hard to get out. And the kids would accidentally get it on their clothes or something, then it would fall onto the carpet when they would go to wash their hands. Moon Sand is awesome if you don't like messes...especially if you have light colored carpet!!!

You could cook or bake something together. That way she could start learning about meauring. You could put some music on and do some dancing. Maybe teach her a few steps or make up your own. I keep craft items around the house, like foam shapes, and do a collage with them. You could use other items like noodles and beans, even ribbon, yard paper clips, etc. Oh, that reminds me of paperclip jewelry I used to make with my mom's paperflips. But she might be a bit young for that if she's not keeping things out of her mouth. Don't want any chocking hazards. Follow the leader, and you two could take turns. At that age I had my kids helping me around the house. For example, if I was doing laundry, she would help me put it in the dryer. As I handed items to her, I would say red shirt or black sock or small sock, large sock to help her learn colors and sizes. Even though it's not something special, it helps keep them occupied as the day goes by. You could have a tea party, but with juice if she doesn't like tea. Have fun - I'm sure you'll find something to do together.