Things to do indoors with a 2 year old

[catsofa]

It's raining again, we do go out at least once a day but I need more inspiration for things to do indoors. Please share how you amuse your 2 year olds all day when it's wet.

Successes so far:

Made own play doh, have a few cutters and things for him to play with.

Drawing in chalk on the kitchen lino... followed by...

Bubble machine in the kitchen (which helps to wash all the chalk off the floor).

I save all cardboard packaging so he can draw on it with washable felt tips, pencils, crayons etc. Card doesn't get screwed up like paper so is easier for him to control, and shapes like the insides of kitchen roll are interesting to colour in.

He's currently playing cooking.

Any more suggestions?

Baking
"Sink of float" game - gather up
lots of small objects and guess if they will sink or float in a bath of water.
watching cbeebies

I really struggle with ideas too but one thing he seemed to love was a plastic box full of water and bubbles on the floor and then I gave him a sponge and some plastic plates etc.. to 'wash up'. The floor did get very wet though so plastic mats and towels would be a good idea!

Take masking tape or electrical tape and make your own roads on the floor so he can drive his cars about. My kids love that

Pinterest is your friend for rainy days! Search for indoor activities for toddlers and there is so many ideas. Particularly ones that involve wearing them out have helped here!

Marking my place as I'm in the same position with a two year old dd. My only suggestion so far is painting with a potato cut in half or making a den with a large cardboard box for your child to play in.

You and him could make a 'tent' under the table , take some food and or drinks under there , you could 'knock" on the table he can let you in and vice versa, act out goldilocks under there etc etc.

I invested in a few games recently. Pop up pirate, a wooden magnetic fishing game and buckaroo. 2 year old loves these (me too!) and they've been a great investment.

I like to do a sensory game with lots of different size shape dishes and cups. I fill them with different things like various pastas, dried peas/lentils, could cous, cornflour (made up with water obviously), plus fuzzy felt things, feathers, pom poms, straws. She loves playing and experimenting with all the different things, mixing them together. It can be messy, I do it on a giant plastic play mat.

Sometimes I look for new and interesting things around the house that I can put in the bath and she will play for ages in there.

i also let her play on the iPad now, on apps like Bimi Boo. She loves all the puzzles and it's great watching her learn. I was avoiding using it because they get such a bad rap on here but honestly it's been a great addition to our activities.

PVA glue. Rip up old bits of paper and stick them to bits of cardboard. Squish the glue around with your hands. Bit like painting but more fun.

Sorting different colour toys into different pots, pouring them all into one big basket, repeat.

Painting pebbles (5 or so) - a pot with paint in, a bowl with water in, a bowl with washing up liquid water in. Clean the pebbles in the washing up liquid, rinse off in the water bowl, drop in the paint bowl. Take out, put on kitchen roll. Repeat indefinitely until they get bored.

watching CBeebies

I also put YouTube on the big Tv and put on toddler dance/exercises and we both jump around and dance to them. She loves this and it tires her out for bedtime.

Sticker books are also very popular here. She likes sticking them on our faces and feet instead of the pages sometimes.

Magnets and the fridge door have entertained her in recent times too.

Thank you I've just done the tape Road!!

He is loving it!!

Could you buy some cheap waterproof pants/wellies, coat and go puddle splashing. Even when it was raining we'd go out and find big puddles to splash.

We bake, pretend cooking which is just mixing all sorts together. We have a plastic dinosaur and play hide the Dino and ds has to find it in the living room or bedroom.

Yes to the puddle splashing , great idea! itsjustaphase

Threading, I got a lovely set from Amazon cheaply. Posting spaghetti through a colander. Non cooked....

Thank you so much, loads of great ideas here!

Feeling a bit less daunted by tomorrow now, he was in such a shit mood all day today I used up all my ideas desperately trying to distract him.

Tape road will happen first thing tomorrow I think, he's obsessed with cars so that should buy me enough time to drink my tea in peace.

I've got some small macaroni pasta somewhere that he could thread onto scooby strings - he's been enjoying threading hama beads onto scoobies lately so pasta tubes would also work I think, and I guess they could also be coloured in with felt tips.

Maybe a swimming trip.

Then something messy in the dry bathtub, followed by a bath, followed by playing quietly in the bathroom watching mummy have a bath...

Fridge magnets work well in a metal bathtub btw, and washing cars can go on for a very long time if anyone else has a car obsessed kid.

There is one box of toys that's been out of rotation for a while and is due a day out, but it's the "musical instruments" box...

Oh I forgot holding one end of a piece of string and him holding the other end and us leading each other around the house, reeling each other in, getting tangled around chairs etc.

Then I have a stressful evening meeting that I'm looking forward to because it means his dad will have to put him to bed for once .

Poundland have massive plastic sheets that are useful for messy play.

With my 2 year old we do
Icing biscuits & putting sprinkles on them,
Painting with hands & feet - can do dinosaurs with hand prints etc,
Sensory box with different things in,
Yoga from YouTube,
Made a sensory bottle for his brother.

I came across a page on fb which had some good ideas. Making a pom pom run, tape toilet roll middles to the kitchen doors, drop pom poms down them. Pom pom colour sorting in a muffin tin. Cut pipe cleaners into smaller lengths and post them in to a container (like a large spice jar, I have a large one with peppercorns in, with the right sized holes)

Zip lock bag, put something gloomy in (they used a clear hand soap) and buttons of two or three colours. Draw a circle for each colour. They smoosh the buttons into the appropriate circle.

There are some great kids exercise/dance videos on YouTube. We did a good one yesterday called "popsico".... just to get them moving when it's raining. Got a good half hour of crazy silly dancing.

I have a two and three year old and I don't do half the suggestions on here but I do shaving foam in a washing up bowl and they wash cars

Sandpit outside (but you could put in a basin inside)

Painting

Make rice crispie buns

Duplo lego

I used to have a book called 'I'm bored' by Suzy Barrett. Lots of ideas for keeping little ones entertained.

2 bowls/ baking trays, one a mix of hot chocolate powder and the other water and washing up liquid and water

Plastic animals/people/cars

They go in the 'mud' first and then into the water for a clean

Bit messy but fun

Toy diggers, dried pasta, rice and strips of paper. Diggers scoop pasta and paper

Again. Messy but fun.

Upside down colander and pipe cleaners, thread the pipe cleaners in

I'll think of some more

Some lovely ideas on here!

We dance a lot! Sing nursery rhymes using her toys. E.g. 5 little monkeys using a monkey toy etc.

Painting. I recently drew a tree and DD added leaves using her fingers.

Big fan of the Usborne First Sticker Books - they are wonderful for this age. You get extra stickers and in the past I have drawn a beehive and let DD put the leftover bees around it.

Love playdough and recently bought farm animal cutters with a laminated farm scene mat and she loves it.

Washing up.

Baking. Loves passing me the eggs. Pours in the ingrediants. Mixes. Sometimes decorates depending on what we have baked.

Baths. The usual really