Toddler Quarantine Activities: Volume 1

My kid is lucky. Lucky his mom is a crafter and lucky she has 15 years of teaching under her belt. When we were thrusted into quarantine, I immediately busted out a pen and paper and listed a solid 30ish activities I could pull together quickly to occupy time. 

I thought I'd share a few of my tried and true activities that had occupied time during quarantine. 

And once I began this post, I realized I'd need to split it up into a few so here's volume 1. 

1. FIZZY BUBBLES

Take a cupcake tin or ice cube tray and drop 1-2 drops of food coloring in each. Top each with a tablespoon of baking soda. Fill a squeeze bottle with half vinegar, half water. Let them gently squirt into each section and find the hidden color while making fizzy bubbles. 

2. DIY CARDBOARD CAR

With all those big cardboard boxes lying around, take a large one and draw car basics onto the front, sides, and back. Give your kids some paint markers (I love these the best) and let them decorate. Then, have a drive in movie night and they can watch a movie and have dinner while in "their car". Adorable. My son has a few he's made over the years and sometimes will even line them up and put his stuffed animals in the other cars so he has friends at the drive in with him. 

3. HOMEMADE PUFFY PAINT 

So easy. Promise. 1/2 cup glue plus 1/2 cup shaving cream plus 5 drops of food coloring. Mix well then put into a squeeze bottle. Bring the kids outside and let them decorate the driveway and sidewalk. More time consuming (and more fun) than basic chalk. 

4. LETTER NAME HUNT 

Take stickie notes and write one letter on each one. Scatter them around your house. Have your child go on a letter hunt. We've done the ABCs, we're done his full name, we've even done this as simple sight words instead of just individual letters. 

5. PASTA O'S 

Take a piece of spaghetti (or linguini) and place it into a piece of playdoh. Give your child a bowl of Cheerios and see how many it takes to get to the top. Meanwhile, pour yourself a up of coffee and enjoy drinking it hot because this is a good one where you don't have to help! 

6. INDOOR OBSTACLE COURSE 

One of our favorites to date. Take crepe paper (don't use precious toilet paper, too valuable!) and painters tape and make fake-lasers across your hallway. TAKE NOTE: make sure you put some low to the floor so they don't just army crawl under it all! 

7. SALT ART 

Draw a design on a piece of paper with glue and then sprinkle table salt (Kosher salt works too) over it and let it dry. Once dry, use watercolors (regular paint doesn't work as well) to paint the design. 

8. CHALK ART DESIGNS

Take painters tape and create a design on your sidewalk. Give your kids chalk to color in all the designs and then remove the painters tape for a fun surprise! 

9. INDOOR TRACK 

Painters tape, yet again, on the floor in any track design you want. Then take strips of construction paper and make archways over the tape for tunnels. Oftentimes, your kids will find other items to pull to use as buildings, decor, or even more tunnels. My son pulls a rainbow and uses that every time we play this! 

10. HIDDEN PICTURES

One a piece of white paper, take a white crayon and draw a picture. It will be hard to see, but it'll be there. Then, use watercolors (again, regular paint won't work as well) and color all over the paper to discover the hidden picture. 

I hope these activities help you occupy your kids like they've helped me. I have all materials I keep on hand linked in my Amazon store here if you want a one stop shop. Stay tuned for future volumes headed your way.