5 Quiet Toddler Activities – Ideas for Independent Play
Would you like to sit by me? I have an activity for you!
Magic words for my two year old daughter.
“Yesh Mama! Tibity!” She’ll say.
Five ideas for “Sit By Me” Toddler Activities
Todders are some of the most BUSY people. Many of our “must do” activities for the toddler years involve exploring, going, moving, but we’ve all got to sit (relatively) still sometimes too!
These are the kinds of things I’ll get out for my toddler when I’m trying to get something done with my other kids and we’re all sitting at the same table. They are quiet, quick to grab, not TOO messy and don’t require lots of supervision. This post contains Amazon affiliate links – if you purchase through them I am compensated at no extra cost to you.
Stickers
Make marks on a piece of paper and show your toddler how to cover them with stickers, or get a sticker activity book and let the peeling-and-sticking begin.
Rip and Tear!
Give pieces of paper and a bucket and show your toddler how to rip off pieces and put them all in the bucket. I cut mine into strips to make them more tempting to tear up. As I mention in this post about art with toddlers – destruction can be VERY satisfying to kids this age.
Contact Paper!
Now you’ve got a bucket of paper bits, contact paper is in order! Tape down a piece of contact paper sticky side up. Show your toddler how paper pieces stick to the contact paper and let them take it from there.
Treasures
After a quick contact paper art piece we grabbed this collection of boxes for a mini treasure hunt. You can use any boxes or a set of nesting blocks. In the smallest bin or bag put something like cotton balls and a few “treasures.” Put all of these containers together and let your toddler figure out how they open as they search for the treasure inside. Once they get at it you can ask them to put it into the different boxes, hide it for you and so on.
Mix it All Up
Once you’ve exhausted your supply of quiet toddler activities what can you do? Mix it all up! At the end of this play session (during which I was doing a writing lesson with her big brother) I re-taped the contact paper and asked her if the cotton balls would stick to it too. Then I handed her a pen to see if she wanted to draw on her masterpiece. This gave my older son and I long enough to finish up what we were doing before my toddler reclaimed my attention.
More Resources for things to do with toddlers when you’ve got to keep them busy:
- 10 Fantastic Toddle Board Games
- 16 Materials Perfect for Toddler Busy Play
- Toddler Activity Cupboard
- Tips for Toddler Play When You’ve Got Something Else To Do
- Best Sleds for Toddlers
Does your toddler have a favorite activity for independent play? Let us know in the comments, we can all use more ideas!
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These are great ideas!! One activity that I’ve used and kept my 2-year-old entertained for a while is painting with water. We use construction paper and a simple brush. We put him in his high chair with the paper on his tray and some water in the cup holder. He was busy for at least 10-15 minutes! The other one is using magnets on a cookie sheet. He loves magnets and is fascinated by how they “stick” to the metal 😉
THANK YOU! I Never thought of any of these. So simple yet very satisfying for my little ones. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great post, thanks. Ours love to post things through small holes and see it comes out the other side. Cut holes in shoe boxes and give small balls, pieces of paper, small anything that could fit through the opening. Also interesting to give few object s that are too large and see what they do with that.
I put things in a bunch of plastic Easter eggs and let my toddler open them up. Sometimes I put in snacks (Teddy grahams, Goldfish, etc.) or sometimes I put in cars, stickers, pieces of Play Doh, wood blocks, cotton balls, magnets. Nothing she can choke on, of course. If I put in stickers, then I give her paper for the stickers. If I put in magnets, I give her a cookie sheet to put the magnets on. It’s a little bit of prep the night before but it keeps her occupied!
Katie Wickstrom Stenglein
Sharon Kingshott
Haha! Looks like an older version. How was she when you picked her up?
Just kidding 😉 does look similar x
It is her!
Holy moly Shannon Donoghue looked twice at this thinking it was milla!
Thank you Jennie.
I love this site, full of good ideas
Kathy Hubbard Almássy
I know that this would be a choking hazard with some kids but my little one loves playing with coins and a piggy bank. She fills and dumps over and over again. She loves the different coins and it feels special to her because she gets to play with money.
I provide childcare in my home. One of my moms is expecting and planning to nurse. This would make an awesome “baby” gift for use when she’s feeding the baby. Thanks for all the ideas in one place.
What a great post. As a blogger, student, and stay-at-home mom, this is something I struggle with. I need to work and get stuff done, but my child needs my attention. Definitely doing ALL of these! (PS. I’m sharing on Facebook and pinning this post!)
Thanks so much Stephanie, I’m glad you like the ideas!
I remember my youngest sitting at the table with me when he was about 3-4 years and I was trying to study. He’d open one of my textbooks and copy the words out on paper, complete with the printed ‘g’ shape, saying that he was doing his homework. Great memories now he’s all grown up.
Aww, my 3 year old is into pretend writing right now. She talks to herself as she writes little unreadable notes and I recognize her copying my own tendency to mutter a little as I write 🙂
I have a flat bin (like the kind used for sweaters under the bed) halfway full with rice. I have a few dollar store sets of dinosaurs, animals, etc as well as cups, spoons, sifters, cheap around the house stuff. Lay down a vinyl tablecloth, we use a really old holiday one, set the rice box down and open the lid. I keep the sets in big baggies so I rotate them in and out. I know not all kids can resist throwing the rice, but most of them last for quite a while with the texture and “treasures” before it gets out of hand.
Brilliant! I love those big flat bins for containing sensory play like that. Your idea about the various bagged sensory sets is great, thank you!
I’ve discovered that anything that feels like a version of what I’m doing is a huge, huge hit. So, if I’m working with polyclay, he gets the PlayDoh. If I’m painting, he needs to get to do that too. I also keep some activities in reserve to be used only when I need that “quiet” play. Anything that makes him feel like we are doing something special makes him feel like we are working together, and that’s always a hit. 🙂
These activities sound like real fun. My daughter is 17 months and she puts anything in her mouth that she can lay her hands on. It will be interesting to see what she does if I put pieces of paper and cotton balls in front of her.
Thanks!
My kiddo also stuffs everything in her mouth. Cotton balls are particularly tempting. Le sigh.
I’m also featuring your sticker idea! https://bit.ly/1g8VKa9
Alyssa
myclevernest
I’m featuring your water pouring activity on my blog! Come check it out and say hey:) https://bit.ly/1g8VKa9
Alyssa
http://www.myclevernest.com
I am yet to find an activity that will truly get the interest of my 19-month-old son, that is besides trying to destroy everything his almost 5-year-old sister does. Boxing sounds like a very good idea and not tested yet. Who knows we might be successful too:) When I need some quiet time sometimes a box of wipes can be very entertaining:)
Just found this on Pinterest- great ideas! Thanks!
Thanks Erin!
It’s hard to get quiet time with toddlers around..love the activities..will def try some with my daughter..new to you blog and um in love with it:)
Love your activities!!! If you can place the paper for stickers and the contact paper on a slanted surface the slant will help those little fingers develop a good tripod grip. That’s why desks in 1900 were slanted! Try turning a closed 4″ notebook placing rings at top and making a slanted surface! Continue the great suggestions!
I didn’t know that! I’m going to have to try that with the toddlers I work with!
Awesome ideas with the stickers and ripped paper!! Will be doing with my 16 month old tomorrow while the older kids do their schoolwork! Thanks =)
Love the idea for contact paper with the torn construction paper. Going to do that right now after I pin this!
Use tissye paper to make stained glass art to put in windows. Cut into shapes for different holidays too.
I love the sticker activity idea of marking the paper. Thank you for sharing some great ideas.
You’re very welcome. She used to like to put stickers on a paper and then rip them off again – another simple activity. The foam ones work well for that 🙂
Play dough is a biggy here, followed by stickers. For Christmas my toddler got a funny face sticker book which keeps him occupied for ages 🙂
Great ideas thank you 🙂 !!! When I need to do something in the kitchen, I fill the bowl with water and washing up liquid to make bubbles and let my toddler drive his cars through/under the bubbles. I usually tip the water away – it’s great fun but things don’t get too wet! It’s now one of his favourite things to play and my 6yr old also gets involved!!
Yes! Water play on the kitchen floor is a favorite here too 🙂
Okay, that’s just pure genius to pour out the water and leave the bubbles to play with!
Oh that makes sense now! I was trying to figure out what “tip the water away” meant. Haha. Good idea.
Great ideas! I can always use more independent play suggestions, thanks!
My kiddo has recently discovered scissors. So I save old magazines and scrap paper and let her go at it.
Mine too…I never thought about letting her cut up magazines…love that idea!!
Lovely ideas! We often use stickers in our creative activities together but hadn’t thought of the idea of covering marks and putting in specific spots – will definitely try that. I will need these more and more when my new baby arrives in March!
Great selection of activities – We’re big on playdough and stickers here. I buy sticker activity books in bulk (can’t really get stickers cheap otherwise here) and when I need to get anything done they come out.