12 Fun, Simple and Free, Indoor DIY Toddler activities

We’ve been on a mission to cut down on screen time in our household. So of course I went on YouTube (I realized afterwards what an oxymoron my initial thought process was. Total Facepalm moment!) to get some ideas. Plus a lot of my mommy groups had suggestions as did many sites. I went through a lot of material…A LOT OF MATERIAL just to get ideas. Even ended up pulling out my own 6th grade (I’m a hoarder, yep).
Some of the activities worked well for us, some didn’t but that could also be the little one’s own preference. I’ve purposely stayed away from water-based activities here since they require supervision. My goal was to keep the toddler busy ( and safely!) without depending on screen time,  whilst I wrap up my work.

I’ll share some of the fun water based activities in my next post!

Do try these out and let me know which ones were your favorite!
Starting with simple at home DIY Counting games!

Counting Games

1. Drop in the box- This one is my favorite! We used to play with this especially when my little one was in the staggering/new to walking phase. Things you need:

   • A plastic or any clear box with a lid
   • 10-30 Straws/Pens or any similar shaped item
   • Any device for punching a small hole

We used an empty detergent box and cleaned it up so no labels remained. I used  a small drill to punch a hole in the lid and cleaned it up again. And that’s pretty much it! The whole was wide enough for the small straws to fall through (I used multi-colored thick straws that I had left over from a party, You can use anything that you’re able to pass through the opening, just as long as it doesn’t fall out if the container is turned upside down). We played it for color identification and for number counting. Pretty soon she was playing with it all by herself by popping them through the hole, opening the lid taking them out and repeat. Just keep an eye out to make sure everything is going in the container only.

Tip- I used single color straws initially, once I saw she was beginning to lose interest, I added a new color of straws and so on, Zero money spent and got back a whole lot of fun for the little one.

Egg Carton Activities

The egg carton is such a versatile item! I love using it for multiple play time activities. Here’s a list of fun activities to keep your little one busy:

2. Egg Carton Paint Palette – Pretty simple, we just cut up that egg carton and squeeze a small gallop of paint in each egg ‘crater’ and Voila, your very own pain palette!
3. Lego/Cotton Ball sorter–Paint each of the crater in a different color and have your little one plunk the matching pieces in the crater!
4. Easter Egg  Color sorter –You know you have the left over plastic eggs, use them!
5. Egg Carton Canvas – Use colors to fill in the carton and decorate!
6. Egg Carton Stacking – This one takes some preparation but it’s worth it! Simply cut out the egg indentations and stick the edge on top of each other to create a cardboard egg shape. Do it until you think you have enough to keep your little one busy. You can color them together or paint them. Then use it to stack them on top of each other. Great for tuning up those fine motor skills

Cardboard Box Activities

We all have boxes lying around at home. These boxes are just one step away from becoming the most entertaining fun your toddler can have! Some of the simple activities that we usually play are:

7. Baggy toss – Simply get a few small bags and fill it up with buttons, beans, cheerios etc. Anything that’s not very hard and won’t hurt if ‘accidentally’ thrown at you(yep, this is an important point!). Put the empty box at a distance and mark a space from where you and your little one stand. Try to toss it in the ‘target’. It’s fun and great for those fine motor skill development especially since you control the toss distance.
8. Boxed Canvas–I love this one! I’m always getting crayons or colors for my little one but the mess afterwards horrifies me. I know I know I have to chill, I know. Which is why this Boxed Canvas was literally made for me! And you have to do nothing really, just place the toddler in the box, hand over the colors and carry on with your chores. Mess stays in the box and on the box. Genius!
9. Boxed Costume – This one is so cute. You will need scissors and glue for this one, And any decorations for the box. Just cut out a hole at the bottom of the box, big enough for your little one’s head to get through. Cut out two arm holes as well. Then grab a couple small boxes or small light containers and stick them on the sides of the bigger box. You pretty much have a boxed suit with storage containers for Shopkins, Legos etc for your little one ready to go!

DIY Puzzles

As you can probably tell, I like things to be pretty easy and simple, otherwise I know I’m going to lose interest in DIYs. I may also be lazy it seems. Ha! These DIY puzzles are actually pretty fun and you can do them with items from your own home!
Things you need:

• Cardboard and/or Pizza box
• A large picture print out or even a painting done by your little one
• old t-shirts, pants, sheets etc
• A couple straws cut into small 1/2 inch pieces
• glue
• pencil/markers
• ruler
• scissors/Paper cutter

You can make a couple different kind of puzzles.

10. Picture Puzzles – Glue the picture on a piece of cardboard and let it dry. Once dry, trace over it with a pencil to divide it into 4-8 pieces (choose the level of complexity according to your toddler). Cut out the traced lines and stick the straw cutouts. Voila! You have a puzzle ready with straw holders!
11. Sensory Puzzles – Use the different type of fabric that you have and cut it out into equal sizes. Stick them on the cardboard with glue and let dry. Repeat the trace and cut process and add on the straw handles. With fabric you can get really creative and cut out shapes and add multiple fabric type on each shape!
12. Puzzle Shapes –This is another fun one! Cut out the lid of the pizza box or if you prefer to leave it attached, that works too! Draw on a few large shapes on it. Use the cutter to trace over and cut out the shapes. Trim the shapes a little. Now use the markers to outline the shape pieces you cut out as well as the outlines on the lid.  Now fix the lid on top of the pizza box so it’s securely in place, Use the glue if needed. Have your little one color out the shapes and then let them get busy trying to place the correct shape int he correct spot!

I hope some of these activities help out and give your little ones hours of fun with out the screen especially as everyone is home during the holidays.
I would to know which ones worked for you or if you have some fun ones to share!