As parents, nothing brings you more joy than your kids picking up something new, be it a new word to use every day or identifying more objects around them. For parents who are stuck at home with the kiddos while working from home, these 10 DIY educational Montessori-esque home activities will keep your toddler busy and learning all day long.
We’ve also rated them according to how easy and safe it is to make as a gauge for your prep work.
Table of Contents
Image credit: @mothercould
Take spelling to a whole new level with colour writing bags! As your toddler writes out letters and mixes colours around, you can drop a few buzz words for him or her to pick up some new vocabulary. The colours aren’t just there for aesthetics either, you can take this opportunity to impart knowledge of primary and secondary colours!
Great for language development and hand-eye coordination, you can put your own spin on it to have your little one draw all sorts of things from shapes to animals!
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Ease of preparation: Easy
Dipping the paper towel hand in water “reveals” the germs
Image credit: @mothercould
In these trying times of COVID-19, your toddler might be having a hard time understanding what germs are because kids, in general, won’t believe something till they see it in the flesh.
This paper towel germ experiment is a perfect activity for germaphobes and concerned parents alike to teach their children what germs would look like if they were visible and why hand washing is so important.
Be sure that you don’t go overboard with the fear factor as germs – on an ordinary day – are not that bad for them.
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Ease of preparation: Easy
Image credit: @aaubbs
If your kid loves to nibble on anything and everything within reach, make your own non-toxic, baby-safe play dough with a couple of everyday ingredients sitting around at home!
Gather your flour, salt and food colouring and you’ll soon have yourself all the colours of the rainbow without the toxins and hefty price tag that comes with commercial playdoughs. Let your kid’s imagination run wild – you’ll be training their fine motor skills and muscle coordination in their hands, wrists, and fingers.
P.S. This will be helpful with handling pencils and scissors in the future.
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Image credit: Kidlabraleigh.com
To spice up your toddler’s playdough experience, throw in DIY play dough rollers for your kid to explore how the new textures on the playdough are created.
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Ease of preparation: Medium
Image credit: @7daysofplay
You might have flashbacks as a child suffering with maths in primary or secondary school, but you can save your kid from this by starting your toddler early with this DIY counting bead puzzle! Other than introducing him or her to simple arithmetics, your youngling can also practice identifying the different colours.
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Ease of preparation: Medium
Image credit: @mothercould
The DIY coloured chia seed tray is great for toddlers who are still shoving anything in sight into their mouths. Consider this as a non-toxic slime option as chia seeds are naturally gelatinous when soaked in water.
This sensory tray is a great way to expose your toddler to new textures. While mashing around this faux slime, try introducing your kid to some descriptive words about the textures your kid feels!
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Ease of preparation: Easy
Image credit: @7daysofplay
This is the easiest and quickest DIY in the whole home activities list. You can make these shape puzzles out of just ice-cream sticks or even paper strips and coloured markers. If you need a good distraction for your kid, you can whip these up in a jiffy.
Image credit: @7daysofplay
Don’t undermine the learning points you can get from simple home activities like this one, which use only recycled materials and basic stationery. They’re great for your kid to reinforce memory work, recognition skills, as well as their vocabulary for shapes and colours. If you want to spruce it up, you can draw animals instead of shapes for a longer playtime!
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Ease of preparation: Easy
Image credit: @diekindergartenpaedagogin
If your toddler enjoys salon visits or wants to be a hairstylist when he or she grows up, creating a DIY toilet roll hair cutting activity is an apt choice to keep your kid interested and occupied at home.
Draw little faces on the toilet roll and add on your weave of choice with some coloured thread. Remember to use a pair of child-safe scissors while you’re at it to keep those little digits safe.
Your kid can give the characters a trim, a fringe cut, or even a total botak look.
Image credit: @diekindergartenpaedagogin
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Ease of preparation: Hard
Image credit: @diy_inspiration_montessori
Have you ever experienced your toddler getting curious about the zippers on their clothes when you dress them after bathtime? This DIY zipper board can groom your child’s independence by having him or her to practice handling the zipper and the motion to zip up and down. PSA: it builds dexterity and trains the pincer grasp too!
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Ease of preparation: Easy
Keep your toddler preoccupied with these educational home activities that can level up your child’s motor skills in the comfort of your home.
Instead of spending copious amounts of money on over-the-top commercial toys, these handmade home activities will allow you to reap greater benefits and mother nature would defo be proud.
Learn more about other home activities and tips you can do to help your child along the way here:
Cover image credit (clockwise from top-left): @7daysofplay, @mothercould, @7daysofplay, @mothercould
Originally published on 7th April 2020. Last updated by Renae Cheng on 13th July 2021.
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