Fun Indoor Activity Ideas to Keep Little Tikes Busy
A couple of the most basic concepts about toddlers is that they are at an age where they are focused on themselves and have tons of energy! As a preschool teacher, you already know that, but may be looking for ways to turn that id and energy into something useful. If so, you've come to the right place! Read on to learn about this fun indoor toddler activities lesson plan.
Is this one of those days when you are at a loss for what to do with your toddlers? Did the day go quicker than you planned? Or, maybe you're just looking for some new material to add to your curriculum. Whatever the case may be, here is where you'll find some fun and brief indoor activities in this lesson plan. None of these take very long and can be great educational time fillers or a wonderful addition to an already great curriculum.
Song and Dance
Looking for something useful to do with all that energy? Use some of these songs the toddlers can sing along with, and modify it to the needs of the group.
- Hokey Pokey. This is a song that the class can sing themselves. It teaches students about different parts of their bodies while getting them up and moving.
- "(Insert number here) Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". This is a great song to teach counting while being active. Insert the number of students in the beginning of the song and have the children jump up and down as they sing it. In case you don't know this one, the song is (with 3 students) "Three little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell of and bumped his head. Momma called the doctor and the doctor said (in a deeper voice) No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" Subtract a number every time and use a child's name instead of the number "one". You can also modify it to use different body parts instead of "head".
Toddlers have an abundance of imagination. Why not help them put that to use while teaching them about recycling with one of the activities below?
- Create a recycled birdhouse from items that are laying around the classroom.
- Use old newspapers to make hats and boats.
- Use small old boxes to make houses for their action figures.
- Turn large boxes into boats or cars.
Toddlers love to be like adults. Sometimes however, they balk at being "adults" when it comes to cleanup time. Use some of these indoor toddler activities to help your students develop good cleanup habits.
- Hand out poker chips to toddlers and have them turn them in each time they get a toy. When the toddler returns the toy, they get the chip back for another one. Use pretend play to make them feel as if they are shopping!
- Pretend to be animals as you pick up toys. How would an elephant pick up their toys? What kind of a noise would a snake make as they picked up their toys?
- Have a cleanup race by timing the students to see how fast they can pick their toys up! Set a goal, and when the students meet it, give them a special treat! This not only helps them want to cleanup, but also helps them begin to learn about the concept of time.