65 Fun Games For Bored Toddlers (+ Free Printables)

At the time of writing, my son has not started preschool yet and so he easily gets bored at home every now and then, especially these days when the days outside are too hot to engage in anything except waiting for the evening.

Also, I think sometimes during the spin of the day I tend to forget the ‘variety’ of activities he can do while inside the house.

So I brainstormed and made a list to put on my wall for whenever the inspiration is low or he has none of his own plans to execute that day.

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Also, while some days we do default to being lazy and spend hours playing with the same toys, I have come to realize that adding different things to his daily activities (within the bounds of his routine) helps him look forward to the day with excitement and doesn’t wear out the fun.

So here is the list I came up with.

I have divided the overall list of activities he can perform into five main categories:

• Monitored/partnered activities with toys
• Independent play with toys
• Independent play without toys
• Monitored/partnered activities without toys
• Outdoor activities (Helicoptered!)

This division is so I can see which mode of play (independent or monitored, toys or no toys) I over or under-utilize.

Let’s dig right in:

Monitored/partnered activities with toys

toddler activities for boys at home video from Hena Bilal on Vimeo.

1. Basketball/ Mini golf
2. Badminton with balloon
3. Toss the rings
4. Puppet show
5. Squirt gun
6. Matching animal toys with the animal book
7. Boxing with his boxing kit
8. Skipping rope with mama
9. Electronic toys
10. Bouncing Ride-on ball

Independent play with toys*

1. Building blocks city for superheroes/animals
2. Setting the animal kingdom (trees, animals, fence etc)
3. Playdough (the real one)
4. Puzzles
5. Kinetic Sand
6. Cars
7. Dinosaurs’ wrestling
8. Grain scooping/transport with cranes & trucks
9. ‘Fixing’ cycle with toy tools
10. Coloring, washing, wiping animals

Independent play without toys*

1. Color sorting
2. Coloring
3. Cooking (mock)
4. Making bread (mock)
5. Bubbles
6. Storybooks
7. Whiteboard drawing
8. Cutting (with child-safe scissors)
9. Water spray bottle
10. Stickers
11. Colored straws sorting
12. Ice Cubes and a muffin tray
13. Magnifying glass or torch
14. Playing with grains (using deep measuring spoons for scooping and throwing into different pots)
15. Peppa pig or Noddy in Toyland (🙈) but not speechless cartoons like Mr. Bean or Minions etc because I only let him watch cartoons that encourage his speech. 

* Whenever my son is busy with any kind of independent activities, it doesn’t mean he is completely out of my sight.

Related: Safe & Easy Independent Activities For Preschoolers

Monitored/partnered activities without toys

1. Pillow fight
2. Jumping on the bed
3. Obstacle course
4. Spoon race
5. Play in water bucket/pool
6. Feeding the fish
7. Watering the plants
8. Collecting milk from the milkman
9. Dressing up alike
10. Hide n seek
11. Riding mama – the horsie
12. Throwing water and then wiping (with a wiper!) the veranda
13. Slide
14. Stacking pillows and cushions into a tower
15. Singing and acting out poems with mama

Outdoor activities (Helicoptered!)

1. Cycling
2. Feeding the ducks
3. Zoo
4. Picking flowers
5. Collecting leaves for coloring
6. Catch ball
7. Swimming
8. Chasing/Watching butterflies & ladybirds
9. Climbing trees
10. Boating in the pond
11. Camel/Horse riding
12. Picnic
13. Park Swings
14. Racing
15. An exclusive visit to McDonald’s play place. He’s very fond of it because of having the company of other kids there and insists on going there often.

Download the Printable Toddler Activities Pack

I hope you find the list useful. Please also take a moment to pin any image in this post on Pinterest to share this list with your friends or save it for later.

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