Activity Set 1

Infants

• Work on fine motor skills and object permanence with your infant with this peek-a-boo box. All you need is a cardboard box or empty wipes container and a photo of your baby!
• Make old infant toys interesting again with this simple container activity!
• Try these infant exercises to strengthen your infant’s muscles

Toddlers

• Take the sidewalk chalk indoors and experiment by painting with chalk and water!
• Practice the fine motor control needed to learn to use scissors with this activity!
• Another play dough activity involving straws and pipe cleaners!

Preschoolers

• Introduce science concepts with this simple bridge design activity making paper bridges!
• Help your child make this simple hand drum for music time!
• Introduce numbers with this easy to make puzzle using an empty cereal box, or any box you may have lying around!

Activity Set 2

Infants

• Combine gross motor development and art with these four activities. You’ll even find clean up tips for each activity!
• Create this baby play station using empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls!
• Encourage tummy time with this easy to make high contract accordion book. All you need is white paper and black tape!

Toddlers

• Introduce or reinforce the concepts of quiet and loud with this read and play exploration activity!
• Explore the sense of hearing during outside time with this listening walk activity!
• Work on color recognition with this color sorting bag activity

Preschoolers

• Explore emotions with your preschooler with the following activities
• Bring the night sky indoors with this flashlight solar system activity
• Try these story time activities to accompany the book “Click Clack Moo” by Doreen Cronin
• If you don’t own the book, you can see and hear it read aloud here or here.

Activity Set 3

Infants

• Here are 3 simple games to play with your infant (article)  (video)
• Try this simple jumbo puzzle activity using a cardboard box. Your infant can help create it as well!
• Hang music toys or random household objects outside for an outdoor music experience!

Toddlers

• Take advantage of the puddles outside with this puddle splash activity!
• Another way to take art time outside is with this nature shake activity that encourages movement as well
• Work on fine motor skills with this block pickup activity. All you need are kitchen tongs and some blocks, or any similarly sized toys!

Preschoolers

• Combine STEAM and story time with this STEAM activity based on the book “Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes”. If you don’t have the book, a video link is included in the article for you!
• Work on number recognition with a loose parts number line using rocks!
• Let your kids explore their creativity and practice using scissors and glue with this cut and glue station idea. All you need are kid safe scissors, glue and any materials from your recycle or trash bins.

Activity Set 4

Infants

• Try these games to strengthen your infant’s muscles and develop communication skills
• Find a box with holes in it, or cut out holes into one yourself, to keep baby entertained with this simple activity!
• Fill a tissue box with appropriately sized toys/items to create an infant discovery box. You can pick a theme or simply fill it with items you think your child would find interesting! (article) (video)

Toddlers

• This quiet time/independent activity promotes fine motor skills and leaves room for toddlers to expand on the activity by themselves.
• This painting activity is great if your child has a sensory aversion to finger paint, or if you are looking for less clean up!
• Try this outdoor challenge to increase physical activity (article) (video)

Preschoolers

• Preschoolers can keep in touch and maintain social interactions from a distance with this Call a Friend Q&A activity!
• This art activity can be done indoors with a storage container to contain the mess, or outdoors for easy clean up. By using washable paint on plastic toys, the toys can be rinsed right off and kids are free to express their creativity.
• This simple rainbow science activity can be done outdoors on a sunny day or indoors with a flashlight

Activity Set 5

Infants

• Here are ways to include your infant in physical activities when you have a mixed age group!
• Three simple games to play with your infant
• Try this window painting activity for infants starting to pull up and stand!

Toddlers

• Here are three calming/cool down activities that still allow kids to move their bodies.
• Try this easy stuffed animal activity that helps strengthen your toddlers core:
• Introduce directional vocabulary (inside, under, next to, etc.) with this simple activity! If you are unable to print the linked printout, you can use a toy or small household object instead!

Preschoolers

• Try this measuring experiment with bouncing balls!
• Here are three easy ways for your preschooler to make their own tracks (article)
• https://cms-tc.pbskids.org/parents/making-tracks-mezz.pdf?mtime=20191105132723 (pdf)
• Incorporate STEAM into your story time with this STEAM activity based on Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. Here they used bottle caps to build a caterpillar, but you could also use blocks or play dough!
• If you don’t have the book, you can listen to the author read it here