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Toddler Activities

Outdoor Shape Activities for Kids

May 9, 2022 By Terri Thompson

Whenever the weather is nice, it’s always so much fun to take your learning outside.

You can play, explore, and learn all at the same time.

These fun outdoor shape activities for kids are great ways to play and learn with your toddlers and preschoolers.

Your kids will be having so much fun, they won’t even realize how much they are learning.

Outdoor shape activity collage showing several activities like sidewalk chalk shapes, rock shapes, and water play

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Fun Outdoor Shape Activities

Get moving, explore nature, and get creative with all of these fun ideas.

They’re perfect for anytime of the year and a great excuse to get outside and learn with play.

Outdoor Shape Activities

These fun outdoor shape activities for kids are great ways to play and learn with your toddlers and preschoolers.

Shape Hopscotch Outdoor Game

Learn shapes with a fun sidewalk game when you play our version of Shape Hopscotch.

Driveway Shape Maze

Find your way through our Driveway Shape Maze and learn all about shapes as you go.

Outdoor Shape Hunt

Grab a camera and hunt for shapes when you go on our fun Outdoor Shape Hunt.

Running Circles

Get your wiggles out by running circles and other shapes with our fun driveway game.

Geometry Game

Photo Credit: simpleplayideas.com

Explore big shapes by measuring, walking, and creating them with your body with this geometry game from Simple Play Ideas.

10 Ways to Play with Rocks {Sensory Summer} - Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten

Photo Credit: mrsplemonskindergarten.com

Create shapes with rocks with this fun idea from Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten. (You'll find several other cool rock ideas in this post too!)

Scooping Shapes Bubble Water Play

Photo Credit: www.fantasticfunandlearning.com

Play in bubbles with this bubbly water shape sorting game from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Find & Erase the Matching Shapes

Photo Credit: Hands On As We Grow

Find and erase shapes with water with this fun activity from Hands On As We Grow.

Making Shapes With Acorns Fine Motor Shape Activity

Photo Credit: www.creativelittleexplorers.com

Build shapes with acorns with this simple idea from Creative Little Explorers.

Nature shapes outdoor math activities

Photo Credit: nurturestore.co.uk

Use nature treasures to create shapes with this fun activity from NurtureStore.

I don’t know about you, but I’d love to do all of these outdoor shape activities! Which ones do you think you’re going to try with your kids?

Outdoor shape activities for kids collage showing water play, grass shapes, and sidewalk chalk shapes.

You May Also Enjoy One of These Other Fun Outdoor Activities:

10 Fun Walk Ideas for Families

Driveway ABC Game

Silly Races

You can find all of our toddler activities at this link.

Smaller outdoor shape activities collage showing the different activities talked about in this post.

My Recommended Shape Resources

It’s so much fun to learn shapes through play. You can play these fun outside games or try one of these great shape toys for toddlers. Here are a few more playful ways to learn shapes:

Shape Hopscotch Outdoor Game

May 4, 2022 By Terri Thompson

Shape hopscotch, a fun outdoor shape game, is not a new idea to us, nor is it new to this blog. (I shared it here in the very first months of this blog.)

But, I wanted to share it again for a few reasons.

First, it’s fun and we play it often.

Second, it’s easy to do and it’s a great way to get outside.

And third, both toddlers and preschoolers will love learning with this fun outdoor shape activity!

Two pictures of children playing shape hopscotch with the words shape hopscotch overlayed. You can see the children jumping on shapes drawn with sidewalk chalk on the driveway.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Set Up Your Shape Hopscotch Game

Grab a few fun colors of sidewalk chalk and a bare spot of cement.

Draw several shapes in a line; the same as you would do for a regular hopscotch game.

Get moving and learning with this fun outdoor shape activity, Shape Hopscotch. It's easy to set and so much for for preschoolers and toddlers.

I used simple shapes as a review for my 3-year old, but you could make things even harder by using octagons, polygons, and any number of shapes

Find a couple of rocks, grab the kids, and start playing.

Get moving and learning with this fun outdoor shape activity, Shape Hopscotch. It's easy to set and so much for for preschoolers and toddlers.

How to Play Shape Hopscotch

For our version, the girls took turns throwing their rock onto the shpaes. They had to hop to the shape closest to their rock.

They practiced jumping on one foot and they also had to name each shape as they landed in it.

For these two, the hopping on one foot was a much bigger challenge than naming the shape.

Get moving and learning with this fun outdoor shape activity, Shape Hopscotch. It's easy to set and so much for for preschoolers and toddlers.

Shape Hopscotch Variations

You can mix up this game any way you want!

If you’re playing with toddlers, just have them jump (or run) to each shape and then name the shapes as they stand in them. If they’re just learning their shapes, you can call out the name of the shape. This is such a fun and active way to learn shapes!

You can also call out a shape and have your kids run to that shape.

Practice your gross motor skills by hopping, standing on one foot, skipping, etc. The possibilities are endless.

The best part is that it gets you outside and gets your kids moving!

Have you ever played shape hopscotch?

Get moving and learning with this fun outdoor shape activity, Shape Hopscotch. It's easy to set and so much for for preschoolers and toddlers.

Find more shape activities here:

Get Crafty: Shape Collages

Shape Hunt

Driveway Shape Maze

10 Shape Activities for Toddlers at Hands On As We Grow

12 Shapes Themed Sensory Bins for Preschoolers at Fun With Mama

Fun Toys for Learning Outside

It doesn’t take fancy toys to learn outside. In fact, a package of sidewalk chalk is about all you need. But, if you want to kick it up a few notches, here are some fun tools and toys for learning outside.

Fun Weather Crafts for Toddlers

April 20, 2022 By Terri Thompson

Do you like to craft with your toddler? They’ll have so much fun with all of these awesome weather crafts for toddlers that I found!

I’ve got ideas for snow, rain, clouds, and sunshine that are simple enough that your toddler can do. But, they’ll also be fun for older kids, which makes these crafts perfect for siblings to do together.

Let’s grab some supplies and get ready for a fun craft project with your toddler!

Your little ones will love making all of these great weather crafts for toddlers. You'll find fun ideas for clouds, rain, sunshine, and snow.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Grab a fun book to go along with one of these fun crafts. This makes for a delightful activity time together with your kids.

For example: Read Little Cloud by Eric Carle along with the Cotton Ball Painted Cloud project.

Weather Crafts for Toddlers

Weather Crafts for Toddlers

You'll enjoy all these toddler weather crafts that celebrate rainy days, clouds, and sunshine. They're all easy enough for toddlers to enjoy, open-ended, fun, and creative. These crafts are a perfect way to spend some quality time with your kids.

Making Umbrellas

Brighten a rainy day with this simple paper plate umbrella craft. It's open-ended, fun, and makes a pretty window decoration.

Making Clouds

Let your toddler paint these simple clouds with a cotton ball. It's easy and so much fun!

Cloud Mobile

Photo Credit: craftulate.com

Your toddler will have great fun gluing cotton balls to make this simple cloud mobile. It's a fun craft that they'll be proud to display.

Squish Painted Sun Craft

Photo Credit: www.123homeschool4me.com

Celebrate sunshine with this fun mess-free painting craft. It's beautiful, easy, and fun!

Q-tip Painted Snowflake Crafts

Photo Credit: www.notimeforflashcards.com

Paint with Q-Tips to make this simple snowflake craft. This is great craft for fine motor skills.

Bubble Wrap Rain Craft

Photo Credit: www.123homeschool4me.com

Save a bit of bubble wrap so your kids can great this fun printed rainy scene. Prep the umbrellas ahead of time (or use a sticker) to make this craft go smoothly.

Rain Cloud Gravity Painting for Kids -

Photo Credit: alittlepinchofperfect.com

Let gravity do the work to create this fun rain cloud craft. Your kids will be amazed and love their finished product.

Puffy Paint Clouds

Photo Credit: www.notimeforflashcards.com

Try this simple puffy paint clouds craft. It's a completely open-ended and easy craft. Your little one will definitely want to create more than one cloud!

Super Easy Snowball Painting

Photo Credit: brilliantlittleideas.com

Create a snowy day with this simple printmaking craft. It's so much fun to paint with a puff ball! (Psst... this is another craft that is great for fine motor skills.)

Tissue Paper Rainbow Craft for Kids

Photo Credit: whereimaginationgrows.com

Decorate your window with this simple rainbow craft. It's colorful, fun, and looks absolutely beautiful!

So, what do you think? Don’t these ideas look like fun?

Choose a few ideas and plan some fun activity time with your toddlers. They’ll love the chance to create and will have a project that they’re proud of.

Which of these weather crafts for toddlers is your favorite?

How to do crafts with toddlers

If you want to have a great time doing crafts with your toddler, there’s one important thing you need to do. You need to let go of all your expectations.

Your toddler has a mind of their own, so their project may look nothing like your plan. And, you know what, that’s ok! The important thing is that they have fun and you have fun with them. (And, you won’t have fun if you worry about the outcome!)

These toddler weather crafts are all appropriate for 2-3 year olds, but that doesn’t mean your finished product will look like the picture. Introduce the activity, show them how to use the supplies and let them have fun.

For example, with the Paper Plate Umbrella craft, you can cut the paper plates ahead of time and cut out the handle. But, let your toddler do what they want when they decorate their paper plate. They may smear, finger paint, use a small amount of paint, or mix all the paint colors together! Let them own the project and do what they want. They’ll have tons of fun and so will you!

You may also like one of these toddler activities:

Simple and Fun Shape Crafts for Toddlers

Cork Print Tree Craft for Toddlers

Leaf Shape Collage for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Sponge Paint Process Art at Busy Toddler

Combine this activity with a fun weather book

I always love to combine a book with an activity. And, luckily there are some awesome weather books to go along with a fun weather craft. Here are a few that I like:

Maisy’s Wonderful Weather Book by Lucy Cousins

Biscuit’s Snowy Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Let it Rain by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Or you can try any of the other choices below. These books are perfect to go along with any of these crafts.

Valentine Sensory Bags for Toddlers

January 25, 2022 By Trisha

Are you looking for a mess free Valentine’s Day activity for young children? You’ll want to check out our Valentine sensory bags for toddlers.

They are super easy to put together and my kids just love to play with them.

Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Valentine Sensory Bags for Toddlers

A sensory bag allows children to experience different textures and manipulate small objects while being contained in a bag. This means it’s mess free and safe for toddlers who tend to put things in their mouths. (You’ll still need to supervise just in case the bag comes open.)

Supplies Needed for the Valentine Sensory Bags

  • Zip top plastic bag (gallon or quart size works well)
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Paper towel or cloth
  • Water beads
  • Water
  • Marker
  • Tape
  • Hair gel
  • Craft foam sheets
  • Scissors
  • Plastic hearts (This is the link on Amazon but you can find them at Dollar Tree for a $1.)
Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

How to Make a Valentine’s Day Sensory Bag with Water Beads

Select a zip top plastic bag. I used a gallon size freezer bag but a quart size bag can work, too. Use rubbing alcohol and a paper towel to remove any labels from your bag.

Follow package directions to hydrate your water beads. (It might take a couple hours.) Add the hydrated water beads to your zip top plastic bag. I found my water beads in the craft section of Walmart. Amazon sells water beads for a good price as well. You can find some water beads already hydrated like the Orbeez brand at several retailers or online.

Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

You can add extra water to your plastic bag or just the water beads. Adding water will change the sensory feeling just a little bit.

I drew a heart on the plastic bag for an added valentine element. Encourage your child to push the water beads into the heart or away from the heart. This focuses on fine motor control.

Here’s a great opportunity to practice counting. How many water beads will fit inside the heart?

Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

You can tape the plastic bag shut if you’re worried your child might try to open it. Taping the bag shut may also help keep the bag from popping open when your child pushes on it. I like to use the freezer bags because they are a bit more sturdy and their zippers tend to be stronger.

If the bag moves around on the table while your child is playing, tape it down.

Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

How to Make Valentine Sensory Bags with Gel

Instead of filling the sensory bag with water, you can use hair gel. I found a bottle of clear hair gel at Dollar Tree.

Using hair gel changes the way the sensory bag feels. It’s more squishy than water. Water will work for this sensory bag, too. Just be careful how full you fill the bag. It may pop open if your child pushes too hard.

Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

Feel free to use tape to seal the top of this bag as well (especially if you’re using water instead of hair gel). You can also tape this sensory bag to the table to prevent it from sliding around while your child plays.

Use rubbing alcohol and a paper towel to remove any labels from your zip top plastic bag. Add the bottle of gel to your bag.

Cut out foam hearts and place them in your plastic bag.

Add plastic hearts to the bag. I found our plastic hearts at Dollar Tree.

Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

Encourage your child to push the plastic hearts around. I started with the plastic hearts on top of the foam hearts. My toddler immediately pushed them all off.

Then, I asked him to push the red hearts back on top of the foam hearts.

Practice counting the hearts. How many red hearts are on the blue heart?

Have some Valentine's Day fun with these simple Valentine sensory bags for toddlers. They're easy to make and fun to play with!

More Toddler Activities for Valentine’s Day

Valentine Crafts for Toddlers – Check out this collection of easy craft ideas for little ones.

Make and play with these fun Silly Heart Puppets!

Frozen Vinegar Hearts – Combines two ingredients kids love: baking soda and vinegar. Add some frozen hearts and you have a perfect Valentine’s Day science activity.

Guess How Much I Love You Movement Game – Have fun moving around and doing the actions from the book with this fun game.

Snowball Toss Alphabet Game for Toddlers

January 19, 2022 By Trisha

I’m always looking for ways to get kids moving and learning especially in winter when we’re stuck inside more.

Let’s practice letter recognition and letter sounds with a pretend snowball fight.

Toddlers and preschoolers will love this snowball toss alphabet game. And, once you’re done playing you can move on to more fun activities for toddlers.

Help your kids learn their ABC's with this fun Snowball Throw Alphabet game for toddlers and  preschoolers.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Materials You’ll Need for the Snowball Toss Game

Snowballs

Card stock(or paper)

Paper cutter (or scissors)

Tape (I used masking tape.)

Marker

Paper plates (or something similar – use plastic bowls, plates, or even pieces of paper)

I found 10 indoor snowballs for $3 at the Target dollar spot. Walmart is selling 20 indoor snowballs for about $10. You can also get indoor snowballs on Amazon. You could even make your own snowballs from balled up socks or crumpled paper.

The indoor snowballs remind me of giant pom poms, but they are weirdly squishy. You know how real snow feels when you make a snowball – that squishy, crunchy feeling? The indoor snowballs replicate that feeling.

Set Up Your Snowball Throw Alphabet Game

I used a paper cutter to cut a piece of white card stock into 1-inch squares. Then, I wrote a letter on each paper square. I drew a line at the bottom of each lowercase letter and some of the uppercase letters just so it was easy to tell which direction the card went.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

I used uppercase and lowercase letters for our matching game. You could play the matching game with the same case to work more on introducing letters.

Select 10 letters to work with. (This helps focus on just some of the letters instead of the entire alphabet. If you have more snowballs, feel free to use more letters.)

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

Tape one lowercase letter to each snowball.

Now you’ll need a landing zone for the snowballs. I used small paper plates. You could use containers or even pieces of paper.

Tape one uppercase letter to each landing zone.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

Place the uppercase letters on one side of the room. We lined the paper plates up near the wall.

Make a pile of snowballs on the other side of the room.

Practice the alphabet with this fun indoor snowball game for toddlers

Play this snowball toss alphabet game

Have your child pick up a snowball and find the letter on it. Ask him to say the name of the letter. (You can also have him say the letter sound.)

Now have your child throw the snowball across the room (towards the paper plates). I had my kids throw the snowballs at the wall.

Next, have your child pick up the snowball and find it’s matching letter on a paper plate. Say: “You have the little (lowercase) letter e. Can you find the big (uppercase) letter E?” Have her place the snowball on the correct letter.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

Keep throwing snowballs and matching letters until you run out.

Then, you can reset the game and play it all over again. Use the same letters or practice different ones. (We stayed on the same set for a while. We’ll switch out the letters and play again another day.)

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

My toddler (age 2.5) and my preschooler (age 4.5) equally enjoyed this snowball toss alphabet game. They loved getting to throw the snowballs at the wall and then had fun finding the right letter.

Sometimes my toddler read the letters upside down and just made a match with whatever he thought the letter was. I had to have him slow down a bit and help him double check the letters.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game.

I love how this game gets kids moving and working on gross motor skills (throwing, bending, running, etc.) while practicing the alphabet.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game.

More Winter Themed Activities for Toddlers

Practice your numbers with this fun Snow Numbers Activity that uses real snow.

Use snow as a canvas for some Snow Painting.

Make a fizzy snow dough sensory bin.

Try some penguin painting, an easy art project that’s perfect for toddlers.

Learn your ABCs with this fun gross motor Snowball Throw Alphabet Game for Toddlers

Find All Your Supplies Here

You may already have some of the supplies you need at home. I know I always have a roll of tape and some card stock. But, if you’re looking to buy some of the supplies, here are a few that I recommend.

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