Everyday I find myself trying to get creative by finding easy toddler activities to do with the girls. While the toys we got for Christmas and all the amazon deals I’ve been scoring are great, it seems their favorite toys/activities are the simple, random things we have around the house. Lately, their favorite super easy toddler activities include stacking cans in the kitchen, playing drums with plastic spoons and bowls and as of today, putting balls into a muffin pan and take them out (and then repeating).
This is such an easy activity and takes very little preparation or planning.
What You Need:
• Muffin Pan
We picked ours up from the dollar store!
• Assortment of Balls
Once you’ve collected the items, it’s time to play! I started by putting the balls in the muffin pan and taking them out. The girls followed shortly, eventually coming up with their own, creative ways to play. I suggest using balls with different textures and sounds. In between putting them in and taking them out, they will stop to feel the textures, shake and roll the balls around.
They played with the muffin pan/balls for a good twenty minutes, which is huge for three 13 month olds. Such a fun sensory activity that also works on eye hand coordination among other things.
This is an easy activity that they can grow with, too. You can work on colors, different textures, using a spoon to pick up and dump the balls, use different shapes and so much more!
Here are the balls we have at home (that I used for this activity), but really anything will work! Check unexpected places and I am sure you will find something.
Fat Brain Toys Baby and Toddler Learning Toy Sensory Roller
Target
I love these because they have different textures, sounds and are weighted. On top of fitting perfect in the muffin tin, they encourage sensory exploration, fine motor skills, experimentation, cause-effect learning, imaginative play
Plastic Egg Shakers
Amazon
Not only did these work perfect with this activity, these are something we use DAILY. The girls first discovered them at library story time months ago and have been hooked very since. They are the perfect size for their hands (and muffin tin) and they absolutely love the noise they make.
Soft & Safe Sensory Balls
Lakeshore Learning
Lakeshore is one of my most favorite stores EVER. They have everything. These balls are great because not only are they super soft and lightweight, you can jingle, rattle and squeak them.
Plastic Balls
Amazon
These are not the exact plastic balls that we have at home, as ours came with another toy. However, these are very similar in size and design. These are great because they are lightweight and fit perfectly into a standard size muffin pan.
I hope you and your little one love this super easy toddler activity as much as we did!
