Is your toddler looking for summer activities? This is the list you need.
Toddlers love to be busy, and you’ve stumbled upon a great part of the web for kid activity ideas. I have created, searched, and found the most fun ideas for your toddler summer activity list!
This summer, children of all ages will be playing at home.
So let’s get the best list of summer activities to help engage creativity and inspire play in our toddlers and big kids alike.
RELATED: Want easy ideas for your kids at home? You will love our activity cards.
Great summer activities for toddlers inspire movement, explore texture, and encourage creativity.
Toddlers need experiences that allow them to learn information about the world around them. (which is why we also made this roundup of 40+ Toddler Activities that you will also want to check out.)
We want to provide early learners with summer invitations to play that will help build upon:
self-knowledge
self-regulation
self-esteem
- self-expression through the arts
social development
hand-eye coordination
cognitive learning and development
AND THE BIG ONE…TO HAVE FUN!
RELATED: Our toys for toddlers list is also kept open-ended and simple!
First off, we share these activities with young children, so they have a chance to develop a play schema. – a fancy way of saying the more children have an opportunity to repeat the same play ideas, the more connections they will make.
Since you now understand WHY I picked the toddler activities, let’s get started!
RELATED: This is a great educational article to help explain play schemas.
30+ Summer Activities for Toddlers
To keep this list of summer activities for toddlers easy to navigate, I broke it down into THREE categories:
Arts & Crafts
Water & Ice Play
Summer Games & Easy Ideas
RELATED: Summer activities pair well with our list of Water Games for Kids!
Summer Arts & Crafts
Book Craft The Watermelon Seed – Days with Grey
DIY Chalk Paint – The Best Ideas for Kids
Rainbow Sea Shells – Mama in the Now
Easy Finger Paint Ideas – Hello Wonderful
Toddler Fish Art – Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds
Spray Art for Toddlers – Toddler Approved
Tissue Paper Sun Catchers – Kids Crafts Room
Graffiti Art for Kids – Playground Park Bench
RELATED: Taking a summer road trip? You’ll want to read our summer road trip tips!
Summer Water and Ice
Water play and ice activities are great to enhance sensory play. If you are looking to start sensory play and unsure where to begin, start here with how to train your child for sensory play.
Scoop the Limes – Days with Grey
Bear Soup – Days with Grey
Easy Ice Grab – Happily Ever Mom
Summer Fun Colored Ice Play – Mama Papa Bubba
Ocean Summer Sensory Bin – Days with Grey
Nature Soup – Happily Ever Mom
Pom Pom Water Play – Busy Toddler
Jello Wash Dragons Love Tacos – Days with Grey
Splash the Alphabet – Days with Grey
How to Freeze Paint – Busy Toddler
Ice Boat Racing – Toddler Approved
Colored Ice Play – Crayons and Cravings
Muddy Water Messy Play – Days with Grey
RELATED: Here are some of our favorite gear for spring and summer travel!
Summer Games & Easy Ideas
Outdoor Name Maze – Happily Ever Mom
Musical Color Hunt – Days with Grey
Beach and Ocean Sensory Squish – Fun Fantastic Learning
Sticky Scavenger Hunt – Little Pine Learners
Giant Bubble Recipe – Red Ted Art
Outdoor Maze Walk – Days with Grey
Jello Sensory Play – The Mom Friend
Alphabet Stones – Little Pine Learners
Shaving Cream Block Play – Days with Grey (older toddlers)
Run and Sort – Days with Grey
Sweet and Tasty Sensory Play – Days with Grey
Dry Noodle Sensory Outdoor Sensory Play – Days with Grey
Home Made Bubble Wands – Messy Little Monster
With summer around the corner, your toddler is now ready to play all day!
These are some really interesting and fun backyard activity ideas for kids. You have explained them so well and these games would also help them to develop skills as they grow. Thanks for sharing!