Low Cost Indoor Activities for Toddlers at Home

If you're like me, extremes in weather keep you inside. And if you stay inside, chances are your toddler will have to also. It can be challenging to come up with enough activities to keep your kids from destroying your house and keep you from pulling out your hair--trust me, I've been there, I have a two year old. Here's my list of activities to try when we're stuck inside.

Play-doh. You can buy it from the store or make your own, which is much cheaper and safer because you know what's in it. This is the recipe I use. I don't add the food coloring because I prefer smaller balls of several colors. So I wait until it cools a bit, make a little indentation in the ball, add food coloring and knead with my hands. Yes, your hands end up stained, but it washes off with soap and water. My daughter loves play-doh: it can keep her occupied for over an hour!

Drawing. Kids love to draw. I've learned from experience that colored pencils are the way to go because they're virtually unbreakable. My daughter has broken countless crayons so it was a huge waste of money to keep replacing them. You can buy colored pencils for $1 in a dollar store; kids don't need fancy Prismacolor pencils. Save your money on the markers designed for toddlers because they don't draw well unless they're at a right angle to the paper and few kids hold markers that way.

Painting. If you're brave, go the fingerpainting route. I'm not brave enough so I don't have a recipe to recommend; but Google away and find the recipe that's right for you. I've settled upon watercolor paints: very little mess and if your toddler can draw, they can use a brush and paint. Teach them the mantra "water, paint, paper." You can get a set for $1 in a dollar store so it doesn't sting your wallet to replace them when all the colors get mixed together.

Crafty projects. Get some glue sticks, popsicle sticks, little pompoms, pipe cleaners, yarn, glitter glue, wooden cutouts, paint and anything else you can come up with and go to town! Dollar Tree is a great place for inexpensive craft supplies: everything is $1. If you're adventurous enough to let your toddler work with glue and glitter, make your own from salt. Yes, regular old table salt.

Beans, beans, beans (and buttons, large beads, marbles, etc). Dried beans, buttons, large beads, marbles and similar objects make great, inexpensive toys. Your toddler will love to sort them, pour them from container to container, scoop them up and make a big mess with them. It's a great hand-eye coordination builder and you can take the opportunity to teach about similarities and differences between objects. An empty ice cub tray or two is great for sorting. A piece of advice: don't use metal containers if you can help it, too much noise! Of course, don't let your toddlers play with small objects if they're inclined to put them in their mouth, and watch any babies playing in the same area, but you already knew that.

Chopsticks. My daughter loves chopsticks. She uses them as drum sticks and learns about the fact that different materials make different sounds. She also likes to line them up end to end, pretend they're pencils, and use the dull end to pretend to put make-up on my face. You can get chopsticks for free along with your take-out, just be sure to sand them before giving them to your toddler.

Reading. This one should be obvious, but sometimes we all need a reminder to read to our kids more. It can be anything from Dr. Seuss to junk mail to a catalog, it doesn't even have to have pictures! My daughter was very interested in my cell phone manual and the prospectus from a stock I bought.

Cutting paper. If your toddler is old enough to safely use safety scissors, cutting paper is a really fun activity for them. Yesterday's newspaper, junk mail, catalogs, paper grocery bags and old magazines are great cheap or free sources of paper. Try making collages too.

A bath. Yup, a simple ol' bath is a great activity. Toddlers love pouring water into cups and other containers. Cups from laundry detergent bottles, empty shampoo bottles, measuring cups, funnels, empty yogurt cups, and any other plastic containers are perfect. Tub crayons are fun too. If you've got the room, hop in the tub with them, it'll be a lot of fun! And don't waste your money on those expensive tub toy holders you can buy in the store; buy a small mesh delicates bag, tie a string to it and you're set.

Hide and seek. Even if you've got a small house or apartment, you can still play a simple game of hide and seek. Instead of one of us hiding, I usually hide an object somewhere for her to find. She screams, "Aha! Found it!" and it's simply adorable.

The Ball Game. We invented The Ball Game this past winter. I sit in a spot in the house, toss or roll all the balls we have across the house and she retrieves them. It wears her out and keeps her laughing.

Household chores. Yes, I'm serious. Toddlers are able to do simple chores like unload the dryer, use a sponge or cloth to wipe down a cabinet face and even help you unload the dishwasher. Not only are you teaching them valuable skills, you're helping them feel important and a part of the family. They love to help.

YouTube and Google. Look up clips and websites about things they're into, like animals or cars. You can also look up clips from kids' shows, or search for songs for them to listen to, maybe even find some foreign language instruction.

Matching games. Cut out shapes, collect pictures of similar objects, draw colors on bits of paper, get letter and number magnets and have your toddler match them up. You can teach them about colors, shapes, numbers, letters, similarities and differences between objects and they develop critical thinking skills. Remember, kids learn best through playing.

Family albums. Look at all those old pictures you have. Make it a game. Teach your toddler people's names and see if they can remember them later. Take it a step further and see if they can remember a distant relative's name next time they see them, or see if they recognize the relatives in different pictures spanning several years or decades.

Baking. You measure, your toddler pours, and you both eat the results! A variation on that is have them help you make any household supplies you make yourself, like vinegar and water cleaning solution or homemade laundry detergent. My daughter loves to help me make the solution I use for her cloth wipes.

Climbing. If you're comfortable with it, put all your couch cushions and throw pillows on the floor to create a climbing playground for your toddler. As you probably know, kids love to climb and by giving them a safe environment in which to climb, you have a better chance of keeping them from climbing on more dangerous things like the dining room chairs. They have a chance improve their motor skills while working out some of that extra energy.

I'm sure you can come up with some more ideas that work for your family, but these are the ones that work for us. If you can't get out, having go-to activities can dramatically improve everyone's mood. If you mix it up and do each activity only once in a while, they stay fresh and will hold your toddler's attention much longer than if you do them often. Good luck!