Artful Homemaking

practical help and encouragement for homemakers

by Joy Kincaid 37 Comments

Over 50 Creative and Simple Ideas for Keeping Little Ones Busy

Toddlers and Preschoolers are a delight!  Sometimes, though, it takes a bit of creativity to keep them happily occupied, whether you’re working on school with older children, or just working on a project of your own. Here are some ideas for keeping little ones busy.
Some of these ideas use free items you probably have in your kitchen!
As I was thinking about the coming school year, I decided to make a list of activities that our soon-to-be-three-year-old would enjoy doing.
Some of these activities he can do completely unassisted, but others will require a bit of help from an older sibling or Mom (I plan time into our schedule for each child to have a one-on-one playtime with our preschooler, and I also plan to have a preschool time with  him).
Some of the activities would be suitable for a younger child (toddler), but some of them involve small parts and possible choking hazards.
Since our youngest will be three next month, he is past the stage of putting things in his mouth, and I have included some activities for him that contain beads, buttons, dry beans, rice, and other small items. Know your own child and use common sense when you are picking activities for little ones.  Be safe!

Keeping Little Ones Busy

Here’s what’s on my list:

1.  Lauri Shape and Color Sorter

2.  Wooden Block Cart

(Ours has been well-loved!)

3.  Colored toothpicks in a cheese shaker

These have always been a favorite with our little ones.  It will sometimes occupy them for a long time. Something about sticking the toothpicks into the holes fascinates them.
keeping little ones busy

4.  I Spy Bottle

This cost me nothing to make, as we already had all of the supplies here at home.  I just gathered little random items and tiny toys and then filled the bottle part of the way with bird seed.
The idea is to have the child turn the bottle to find the items hidden in the bird seed.  My little one will need someone to do this with him, probably.

5.  Wooden String- a -Farm

(This has also been a favorite for years.)

6.  Primary Lacing Beads

7.  Playdough and Playdough Toys

I usually make my own playdough, and the toys were given to us  by grandparents.

8.  Nuts and Bolts

9.  Wooden Stencils

(We’ve had these for years, so I’m not sure the ones I’m linking to are exactly the same…)

10.  Straws to String

(Cheap straws, cut into pieces and used for stringing with a plastic yarn needle.)

11.  Pattern Matching With Pony Beads

I used some wooden toothpicks and cut the ends off.  Then I glued one bead onto one end.  I made a pattern with the beads, and then glued the other end, using my glue gun.
This will be an activity my preschooler will need help with.  He already knows all of his colors though, so he may actually be able to do it.

12.  Pony Beads and Pipe Cleaners

(Little ones think it’s fun to thread the beads on the pipe cleaner.) It helps to put each activity on a plastic tray.  They work great to hold a preschool/Montessori-type activity or art project.

13.  Large Buttons and an Ice Cube Tray

(They can sort the buttons by color, or younger children can just put them in the ice cube tray compartments.)

14.  A Basket of Really Large Buttons

(These can be sorted by color or shape, or just played with.)
I got the above basket and the below divided tray at the dollar store.

15.  Stacking Cups

In this activity box I have stacking/nesting cups and various items to sort and/or just play with.
Stacking cups are also fun with the pony beads.  He filled the whole tray with cups and then wanted to put beads in them.  It kind of became a pouring activity then.

16.  Pom Poms, Tongs, and Tea Light Holders

17.  Beads, Tongs, and Tea Light Holders

18.  Pom Poms, Ice Cube Tray, Plastic Tongs

19.  Lacing Cards:  Farm Animals Lacing Cards

Eric Carle Lacing Cards
Friendliest Bug Lacing Cards

20.  Covered Cake Pan with Magnetic Letters (or other magnets)

Both of these items are from the dollar store:

21.  Wooden Pattern Blocks and Pattern Block Cards

22.  Beginner Pattern Blocks (love these!)

23. Puzzles

Lauri Toddler Tote
Magnetic Puzzle
(This is a huge hit.  It will sometimes occupy a little one for a long time as they try to “catch” a fish with the magnetic fishing rod.)
Farm Peg Puzzle
Jumbo Knob Farm Puzzle and Fish Bowl Puzzle (These are wonderful for very small hands.)

24.  Latches Board

(This is cute, but it’s a little hard for really little ones to do on their own.)

25.  Magnetic Hide and Seek  Board

Open each door to reveal a surprise…
The items behind each door are magnets.  The child tries to match each item with where it would be found (cow in the barn, cookie in the cookie jar, etc.).

26.  Bean Bags With a Box or Bucket

27.  Spray Bottles and Paint Brushes

I mostly use this activity for outside play.  They can fill the spray bottles with water and go on the back porch with a sibling and spray to their heart’s content!
I give them a recycled plastic container full of water and a paint brush (from the dollar store) and let them “paint” the deck, the house, or whatever they want.  Another favorite activity, especially when it’s nice outside.

28.  Small Items and a Pringles Can

I started saving these tags from bread bags years ago. I thought, “Hey, these are free…what could I do with them?”
If you cut a hole in the top of a Pringles can, you can have fun inserting small items (like the bread bag tags) in the hole.
You can also use play money, pennies, buttons, beans, or whatever.  It seems to be the act of dropping something in a hole that thrills little ones.

29.  Dyed Pasta

(I used the instructions here for dyeing pasta.)
You can sort this, string it, make a necklace, or whatever.  Very cheap and easy.

30.  Dyed Rice

(This is great for sensory tubs.  Pouring, sifting, scooping, etc.  Just add a variety of plastic containers, scoops, spoons, bowls, or whatever you have on hand.)

31.  Packing Peanuts

(These are absolutely free!  Great for sensory tubs.  For some reason children find them fascinating. Great for keeping little ones busy! My little guy likes to put these in the back of his toy dump trucks and dump them out.  He also likes to just scoop them up and pour them out.)

32.  Play Food

(Our children have had so much fun through the years with this wooden play food.  They love the crunching sound they make when you slice through them.)

33.  Magnets and a magnetic board (love this one)

34.  Counting Bears and Balance Scale

(Or you can use any other item with the scale: beans, buttons, beads, etc.)

35. Kumon Workbooks

(These are so bright and colorful.  Little ones do need help with these, but they are very quick to do, and then they feel like they did their schoolwork, too!

36.  Laminated Worksheets and a Dry Erase Marker

(I took some of the pages out of one of the Kumon books many years ago, and laminated it.  Little ones love to write with the marker and then wipe it off.  Wipe-off books are also fun.)

37.  Wedgits

38.  Duplo

39.  Lincoln Logs

40.  Blocks

41.  Washable Markers and Paper

42.  Stickers and Paper

43.  Envelopes and Paper

(The free envelopes that come in the mail and would otherwise be thrown out.)

44.  A Box

(They can use this for a car, a boat, a house, or whatever their imagination dictates.)

45.  Bubbles

(On the back porch with an older sibling.)

46.  Cars and Car Mat

(the car mat was a gift from Grandma)

47.  Lauri Pegs and Pegboard

48.  Wikki Stix

49.  Magneatos

50.  Dress Up Box

Our dress up box is filled with Grandma’s dress shoes, old dresses, vests, construction hats, bonnets, fire hat, clip-on earrings, purses, wallets, long strings of beads, velvet jackets, bandannas, and other fun stuff.  🙂

How to Organize it All

So, there’s my list of ideas for keeping little ones busy!  It may sound/look like a lot of stuff, but keep in mind that we have been collecting these items for 13 years (since our oldest daughter’s birth).
We knew we wanted to invest in quality wood toys, and we got our first set of wooden blocks when she was just a tiny baby.  And they are still going strong!
The grandparents also know that we love to receive educational items and art supplies for gifts, so a lot of them were given to us.  I also try to take advantage of free/cheap/used/recycled items.
Where do we store all this stuff?  As I mentioned in the post about our homeschool room, this basket on top of the bookshelves holds preschool activity bags:
These plastic shoe boxes hold some items:
And other items are kept in the craft cupboard.

More Ideas

For more ideas, check out The Preschooler’s Busy Book, and The Toddler’s Busy Book and this free ABC Snacks Plan.
What activities do you use for keeping little ones busy?

Related Posts:

Our Homeschool Room

Circle Time

Planning a New School Year

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Comments

  1. Marla says

    April 12, 2017 at 7:06 am

    I love all your ideas on how to get little ones busy and happy. Kids don’t need expensive toys to be happy. I don’t have any little ones at my house but do have some visitors with little ones and they get so much fun out of all my kitchen refrigerator magnets and play with them for a long time. Congratulations on being featured on Homestead blog hop. Have a healthy, happy & blessed Easter.

    Reply

  3. Meagan says

    November 2, 2016 at 6:18 am

    So many great ideas!! I love the wooden toys and all of the recycled ideas. I have a 14 month old and I’m constantly looking for new things to keep him busy…I’m going to start my collection now and use some of your ideas. Thanks!

    Reply

  5. His Grace Abounds says

    February 15, 2013 at 9:57 pm

    Joy,
    Thank you for sharing your passion of homeschooling on your blog. Your blog will be so encouraging to me as I begin homeschooling in the next year.

    I was wondering, what size trays did you order (the colored plastic ones). When I connected to the link, there was 5 larger ones or what looked like 5 "smaller" ones. Wondering what you've found useful?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Joy Kincaid says

      February 16, 2013 at 4:22 am

      Thanks for your kind comment! I got the smaller trays. I was tempted to get the larger ones, but I wanted to use them on a bookshelf to hold activities, and they didn't fit on my shelves. The smaller ones have worked well for us, and they've been just right for little hands.

      Reply

  9. Sarah says

    July 18, 2012 at 9:56 pm

    I love these ideas, Joy! This is one post that I will definitely be saving not only for future reference, but to use with the little children I know now. Many of the ideas are so simple, but so good! Thank you for sharing!!

    Reply

  12. Lily says

    July 18, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    This has made me feel so nostalgic for pre-school days. How about sponges cut into shapes and used to print with poster paints. Little Son used to love doing that. We used to keep old magazines and store catalogues for him to cut up and stick onto paper as well. xxx

    Reply

    • Joy Kincaid says

      July 18, 2012 at 3:22 pm

      This age is one of my favorites! Thank you so much for sharing the ideas of painting with sponges and magazines. We love those activities also…but I'd forgotten about the sponge painting! My mother-in-law has a friend who is a teacher (at a school), and she gave me some sponges shaped like hearts, stars, circles, and squares. I don't think my current little guy has had the fun of using them yet. Thanks for the ideas, Lily!

      Reply

  13. Lisa says

    July 17, 2012 at 8:03 pm

    Great ideas, Joy! It's been a few years since I've had a toddler in the house, so this list was a great reminder for me. Loved looking at all the bright colorful pictures too! Thanks for taking the time to share. Some of these I have and some new ideas I've gleaned for my just turned two year old. I'm going to link your blog to my church's homeschool group.

    Reply

  15. Nabila Grace says

    July 17, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    Thanks for this post! I have a very busy just turned 3 yr old and expecting again. I have a few of the things that you posted and she loves them. This gives me some more ideas as to what more I can get together for her to play with. :o)

    Reply

  16. Anna says

    July 17, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    Wow! What an awesome list of ideas!! Thank you so much for the time you spent putting this list together to share with others. I will definitely refer back to it.

    Reply

  17. Heather says

    July 17, 2012 at 1:09 pm

    I do a really great job at organizing everything, but then my kids want to use the geometry shapes for furniture with their legos and like to make soup with their blocks. I can't seem to keep the activities separate 🙂

    Reply

    • Joy Kincaid says

      July 17, 2012 at 3:58 pm

      Yes, that happens here, too! I do keep most of these things put away just for school time (except for things like blocks, which they get out regularly, and they like to combine those with cars or dollhouse items), and that tends to keep them more separate. If we just get them out at school time and then put them away after we're done with them, then they seem more special and interesting. Remembering to make sure everything gets put away nicely is what's hard for me! 🙂

      Reply

  18. Holly says

    July 17, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    So many great ideas! I'm starting a notebook so I can remember some of these. You just showed that it doesn't have to be expensive, it just takes some creativity sometimes. Thank you for sharing with us! Have a great day!

    Reply

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