What can I do with my two year old all day?

1. Explore the outdoors.

* every day

Plan an outdoor time each day. In Summer we had this early in the morning

or late in the afternoon to avoid the hottest part of the day. In Winter it would be more in the late morning to make the most of the Winter sun.

* 60 minutes a day

We aimed for an hour a day. My boys often loved being outside twice a day.

Some days we spent most of the day outside, on other days it would be a 20 or 30 minute time, depending on the weather.

* outside toys

Often they played outside on their own with bats and balls, sand and sand toys, bikes and scooters. The trampoline was often a popular choice for fun. Sometimes I would join them and enjoy simply playing together, other times I would be pottering in the garden and doing bits and pieces with them playing nearby.

* outdoor craft

Sometimes I'd organise an outdoor craft activity with paint and huge sheets of paper for them to create monster size pictures.

* cardboard box fun

Sometimes we had a large cardboard box which would lend itself to all sorts of imaginative play.

* water play

In Summer we would fill a small wading pool for hours of water fun. A bucket of water with a large paintbrush provided hours of fun 'painting' the fence. A small tub of water with a few containers from the pantry is great 'pouring and filling' fun.
 

In Winter we would rug up and walk in the windy weather. On rainy days we would pop gumboots on and splash in the puddles. A few times we even made mudpies - with a warm bath straight afterwards!

* nature play

Sometimes they would find a snail to observe - my little ones loved to simply lie on their tummies and watch them for ages!

* building fun

Sometimes they enjoyed creating with a stack of wood off-cuts - building bridges and roads and garages for their outdoor cars and trucks.

* parks and picnics

Sometimes we would walk to the park for a play on the equipment or a very simply picnic with another family.

* walking time

 

Sometimes we would walk slowly around the nearby streets with no destination in mind, simply observing and exploring.