5 Activities to Keep Your Toddler Busy Without a Trip to the Store

School is out for summer! You really can’t even say that without the song ringing in your head, right?

[ReviewDisclaimer]

I have always wanted to teach in some capacity, whether it’s shapes & colors, Sunday school or even coaching cheerleading. Helping someone learn motivates me. Now that I have little ones, I get to teach all the time and HOPEFULLY it’s all good habits (only time will tell).

When Risden was 18 months, I enrolled him into the Autry Academy Tot School. I would lesson plan and have activities for my mom and mother in law to do with him every day. I also have a full time job, side hustles and church and…and…and…busy! You feel me? I quickly got burned out but wouldn’t give up; I just had to become more resourceful.

I’m going to teach you how just a few “school supplies” can provide you fast, fun, and educational activities for your tots! Better yet, chances are you probably already have these supplies hanging around your house.

Here’s what you need:

1. Construction Paper
2. Balloons
3. Random Colored Toys
4. Laundry Baskets

• Activity 1: Color Matching

Set out a few sheets of construction paper and have your children group their toys based on color and lay them on the matching paper. For kids that are older, it will be fun for them to “hunt” those certain colored toys. However, if you have smaller ones, preparing a basket of toys in the corresponding colors and allowing them to sort will work best.

• Activity 2: Shape Matching

Same concept here except you are taking it up a notch with matching shapes. Gather the shapes you are using in a basket and have your children sort them by placing the correct shape on the corresponding sheet. In the pics, I have printed out some shape cards I made.

This activity is perfect because you can always get more complex as they master the simple shapes.

• Activity 3: Balloon Match

Balloons!! If you don’t have balloons in your house, stop reading this post and go buy some now! I swear balloons are awesome and the kids absolutely love them! Just blowing one up and letting them bounce it around the house will keep them occupied for at least 5 minutes.

This is color matching as well but it also requires some gross motor skills. You will want 2-3 laundry baskets (if you have lots of laundry and more baskets, use them all).

Place a piece of construction paper inside each basket and pick out balloons that match the color of your paper or vice-versa. You will need to blow up several balloons of each color and in different sizes (in preparation for the next activity).

When you are totally out of breath, the kids can start playing. Let them toss the balloons in the correct laundry basket. Any balloon that bounces out has to be tossed again.

• Activity 4: Balloon Sort

Since you already have balloons and hopefully they are different sizes, you can use them again for a different activity. Using two laundry baskets, differentiate between them by writing “BIG” and “small” on construction paper and place it in the bottom of each basket.

Your tot may not be able to read but will be able to recognize the difference between the big letters and the small ones. Handing your toddler different sized balloons let them choose the correct basket to toss them in. Make sure they tell you what size the balloon is each time they toss.

• Activity 5: Balloon Ball

This is more of a gross motor skill activity that will bring lots of laughs. Use one medium to large balloon and tie a piece of string to the end. I hung ours from the light in my living room but you can also tack up in a doorway. You want the balloon to be head level with your child.

Now for the fun…you can start by letting your kid hit the balloon with their hands and then give them different objects to use. I have a boy and girl so we have used light sabers and swords as well as a  pink tennis racket. Even your soup spoon or “sweet tea” spoon (ya’ll southerners know you have a certain spoon you stir the tea with) would work great. Just let them keep hitting it and pick which “bat” they want to use.

These activities are simple but my kids have so much fun doing them. It’s a quick set up and easy clean-up. Don’t forget to clean-up any popped balloon pieces! After the games, you can have your 5 minutes of peace and quiet while they play with the balloons.

I hope this gives you some great ideas to do with your toddlers this summer. I would love to know if you try them. Remember, these are just fun activities. If they don’t go according to plan, don’t stress! The important part is having time well spent with each other.

Do you have any “go-to” activities to keep your kids entertained? I would love to hear them. Please share!