Toddler Activities and Crafts - My Philosophy

I'm a former elementary school teacher with a graduate degree in Teaching Reading and Language Arts, now a stay-at-home-mom of an amazing and super active toddler girl... and with a second baby girl on the way in October!

Many days, I sit around thinking.. ok, what am I going to do with Kylie today? While she's content playing on her own for a little while, she's the type of toddler who needs to stay busy and wants activities to do!

It's hard coming up with spur of the moment activities, so I started thinking back to my teaching days and decided I would plan out mini-"lessons" to do with my daughter. Especially for this age, early toddler-hood. It seems like so many crafts and activities I Google or hear about are geared towards older pre-school aged children.

Of course nothing is formal or too structured.. they are toddlers after all! Toddlers learn best through active play. Play being the key word there. They need some guidance but you should also stop once they show disinterest or want to move on to something else. Follow your toddlers lead! And don't forget not to over-schedule and to give them plenty of independent play-time as well.

** If and when I found an idea on a website or in a book, magazine, or such, the source will be linked below in the "References (linked) section. Please check out the links for additional ideas.

*** Please feel free to comment and add your own thoughts or additional ideas and activities related to each post.