8 Learning Activities for Toddlers

Even though your toddler isn't enrolled in school, the world serves as one big classroom for them. As they navigate everyday life, they're learning basic concepts (like shapes and colors), beginning to grasp more complex skills (like math and language), and gaining a greater sense of self. Parents can further this education by introducing some toddler learning activities at home.

Toddlers "love to master new concepts, so it's the perfect time to lay the foundation for future skills like reading and counting," says Erin Seaton, Ed.D., a lecturer in the department of education at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

Looking for some inspiration? We rounded up eight fun toddler learning activities that fit into your everyday life. Through these easy projects, your toddler will practice recognizing their name, counting items, reading signs, differentiating colors, and more.

1. Displaying Their Name

Around age 2, your child will begin to recognize the letters that make up their name, so be sure to display it throughout your home—on their bedroom door, a bathroom step stool, the fridge, etc. Point to the letters, saying each one out loud, suggests Dr. Seaton. Talk about other words that begin with the same letter as their name does ("C is for Caitlin, but it's also for cat and cup").

2. Reading Signs

Point out words and letters on street signs, in stores, and at the doctor's office, says Sherril English, an education professor at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas. Say them out loud ("That sign says stop"), and help your child think of other rhyming words ("Stop sounds like hop, bop, and mop"). To help your toddler connect letters to the sounds they make, speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and place your finger under the letters and words as you read.

3. Counting Everyday Items

Your 2-year-old may be able to recite the numbers one to ten in order, but the ability to truly count probably won't come until their preschool days, says Dr. Seaton. Still, you can bolster their number recognition by tallying up totals as you get them dressed ("One, two, three buttons"), prepare meals ("There are six peas on your plate"), and shop for groceries ("I have three potatoes, so I need one more to make four"). Use your fingers when counting, and encourage them to copy you with their fingers.

4. Separating Objects by Type or Color

The act of observing, comparing, and contrasting objects is a vital part of early mathematics, says Dr. Seaton. Fortunately, little kids are master sorters. In this learning activity for toddlers, ask your child to group their stuffed animals by type (cats in one pile, bears in another) or by color. See if they can separate your clean socks from theirs when you do the laundry, and have them put different-size spoons in their proper place in the silverware tray. Sometime before age 2, your child will also recognize the difference between less and more. "Ask questions like 'Which pile has the most and which one the least?'" says Dr. Seaton.

5. Making a Shape Book

Lots of children's titles teach kids about shapes, but you can go one better by helping your toddler make their own bound volume. After drawing shapes on a piece of paper, flip through magazines and newspapers together and cut out items that match each one, suggests English. Then go for a walk to look for other objects with distinctive shapes. Snap photos of the things your child points out—a square window, a round tire, a rectangular brick. Print out and paste the pictures into the book when you get home and label the shapes. Put multiple examples on a page to show that shapes come in different sizes.

6. Teaching Shapes in the Kitchen

Cookies needn't always be round, and not all sandwiches are square. Many favorite foods—pancakes, cheese slices, and bread—can be cut into triangles, squares, stars, ovals, diamonds, and more. Out of the kitchen, try letting your child trace shapes of cookie cutters onto a piece of paper, and then help them identify and label each one, recommends English.

7. Finger Painting for Color Recognition

For hands-on exposure to colors, let your child dip into finger paints as a fun learning activity for toddlers. Name the colors as they spread each one. Once the masterpiece dries, you can go on a scavenger hunt around your home, looking for items that match the colors used in the picture. Talk about how there are many shades of colors—from pale sky blue to blue that's so dark it looks almost black.

8. Incorporating Colorful Language

Use descriptive language as much as possible to help your child recognize different colors ("Can you put this yellow ball into the blue bin?"). At mealtime ask, "Do you want more of the red apple or the yellow banana?" You can also try designating a day in honor of a color, says English. Wear green on Thursday and eat green grapes and green beans while drinking green-colored milk (a little food coloring will do the trick). Then, at the end of the day, let your child unwind in a bath tinted green with fizzy bath tablets.