Here a a few ideas for Toddler Play from different website I like!
Painting with Ice (Laughing Kids Learn)
Materials needed
ice cube tray • water • food colouring (various colours) • paper
Add three or four drops of food colouring to the water in an ice cube tray. Ensure the food colouring and water is well combined. Allow the ice blocks to freeze completely before tipping them into a bowl and rinsing them under some water. Rinsing them will allow the ice blocks to begin the melting process and the painting fun to begin.
Gloop (Play Explore Discover)
Materials needed
cornflour • water • yellow split peas / lentils
First, choose a suitable container. I like to use a large storage box, especially if you have more than one child. If you have a baby who is able to sit, you could make the gloop on their highchair tray.
Start by pouring some cornflour into the container, and let your child explore it in its dry state. Next, pour in a little water. Just add a little at first – you can always add some more – and begin to mix it all together. Help your child to squeeze, mix and scrape it together until it reaches a consistency you can grab by the handful but that then ‘melts’ through your fingers. This basic gloop mix is great to explore on its own, even without adding anything extra.
DIY Noisemakers (Babble Dabble Do)
Materials needed
clean, empty food containers: coffee tins • baking soda tins • plastic bottles noisy items: rice, dried beans, bouncy balls, nut and bolts, small craft sticks, beads, pasta, salt/sand, aluminum foil...the sky’s the limit!
To decorate (you can ask bigger kids to help with this process) hot glue gun/glue • colorful paper • decorative tape
Assemble all your materials. Use containers of many different sizes. Smaller ones are perfect for your baby to hold and shake.
Add different noisy items to each container and test out the sounds. You’ll quickly see which containers and items make the best noises when paired together. Make sure not to overload your containers. It’s tempting to add a lot of noisy items to a container but adding too many items will make less resonant sounds.
Playing with playdough (Art House Worthing)
Make your playdough from the recipe here. Make different colour playdough to make the activities more fun!
No Mess Sensory Bag (One Perfect Day)
Materials needed
Press seal plastic bag • adhesive tape • liquid such as hair gel or shaving foam • small items such as buttons, beads or sequins (optional)
Sensory bags are simply a press seal bag filled with a liquid sensory material such as hair gel, paint or shaving foam. Other items, such as glitter or foam shapes can also be included to add to the fun and learning. Once you have filled your press seal bag, seal it with adhesive tape (don't rely on the zip lock alone) and that's it, the sensory bag is ready for play. You can also anchor the sensory bag by taping down all four sides of the bag to a table, or the tray of your baby's high chair.
