It is easy to get restless and irratable when you are stuck in a car or on a plane for long hours. The way to survive this is to have carefully chosen activities to keep your hands, bodies, and minds busy. The trouble is that there are so many options.

You have to pack things that are small so you can fit more and not be weighted down by a million toys.

You have to consider what your child’s interests are and what keeps them occupied the longest.

You have to come up with new things so they are fresh and exciting…

Is it just me or did some of the fun of trip planning just fly out the window? Hang in there. Help is on its way.

One of my kids is a huge fine motor person. They love puzzles and drawing and tinker toys. When we travel, I pack things that will keep his hands busy.

For the fine motor fans though, this is your list! Pick a few and give them a try on your next road trip or flight.

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Top 10 Fine Motor Ideas for Travel

1. Cross Stitch

We got this adorable book to review and we are IN LOVE. On our trip to Wisconsin earlier this month this kept my fidgety children happy for most of the flight. All you need is the Stichables book, some lightweight yarn, needles, and small scissors (note: needs to be under 4 inches to carry onto plane) for hours of fun!

2. Nesting Materials

There are plenty of variations on this material – the most simple and compact that we have used is a colorful set of curlers that our Minnesota pen pals sent us. I continue to be amazed with how many different ways my kids have used this basic material. We have colorful ones like these.

3. DIY Toddler Buckle Toy

This gorgeous busy bag is from Swoodson Says. This is such a fun way to keep little toddler hands busy and teach them important self-help skills at the same time. Find the directions here.

Also Read: 7 Tips for Surviving Lines at Disney with Little Kids

4. No Sew Button Snake

My kids loved this when they were toddlers. It’s another example of working on fine motor and self help skills. These are super simple to put together too. Twitchetts has great instructions!

5. Wikki Sticks

These things are awesome. These colorful little sticks can be bent and stuck together to form pretty much whatever you can imagine, but then they can also be re-straighted and made into something else. We love these for planes and restaurants. You can find a set here.

6. Map Drawing Activity

Maps and travel go perfectly together and this is such a fun way to get kids interacting with maps. You can learn more at Little Bins for Little Hands but I will be printing off a map for our next Road Trip and making one of these kits for sure!

7. DIY Foam Lacing Cards

My mind was kind of blown when I saw this post on Powerful Mothering. My kids loved lacing cards when they were toddlers and preschoolers but it never crossed my mind to make my own. Check out her brilliantly simple directions and then start investing in foam.

8. LEGO travel kit

If your kid likes to build and play with their hands, then one of these is a must. They make transporting Legos easy and give you a spot to build when you don’t have a table or floor. You can find a few different colors here.

9. Mini-Paper Airplanes Guide

Compact and simple, but a complete how-to guide for paper airplanes. Throw this little book and the short list of supplies into a bag and you have an easy activity to take anywhere. The directions are straightforward enough for a beginner, but there is enough variety to engage a more seasoned paper airplane maker as well. We enjoyed that they include a rating for each airplane’s speed, airtime, distance, acrobatics, and uniqueness. It was fun to test them all and see how they compared for us. Obviously your child can’t use this on a plane or in the car, but it is great for stops. We had our kids make a plane or two right before a stop and then when we had space to run they could test them out. This encouraged running around which was a great way to let off some steam. FIND ONLINE

Also Read: QUALITY, ENGAGING, AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY BOOKS TO BRING ON FAMILY TRIPS

10. Paint with Water

For anyone nervous about handing their kids markers or crayons on a plane or in the car, this is a fun alternative. My kids love, love, loved these ones from Melissa and Doug when they were toddlers.

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Tucked into the lower level of the Casa de Balboa Building on the Prado in Balboa Park is the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Don’t let the basement entrance fool you, at 27,000 sq. ft., it is the largest such indoor model train exhibit in North America, and one of the largest in the world.

Trains have been an interest in our house for a long time. My son fell in love with Thomas the Tank engine when he was about two and from there he dove into all things trains. By 3 he could tell you not just the name and type of every engine on the island of Sodor, but also everything from how a diesel engine worked to how fast a bullet train could fly down it’s rails. Whether you have a Thomas the Tank engine fan or a grandparent with a lifelong love of model trains or someone somewhere in between, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum has something for everyone.

Also Read: In Depth Look at Balboa Park for Families

San Diego Model Railroad Museum

If you have a train fan in your family, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum is not to be missed. It is wonderful for all ages – from toddlers all the way through grandparents. All train enthusiasts are welcome.

Basic Information:

San Diego Model Railroad Museum
1649 El Prado
San Diego, CA 92101

Check the website for current hours and pricing. Right now (Summer 2021) they are only open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays 11am – 4pm. Note: there is a military discount and the SD Model Railroad Museum is included if you have the Balboa Explorer Pass.

Website: https://www.sdmrm.org/

Tips for Visiting with Kids

• Come early. Like all things, it is less crowded the earlier you go. There was a small line when we arrived shortly before opening but once inside, even on a summer day, it didn’t feel overly crowded.
• If you have kids over about 7 years old, I highly recommend the scavenger hunt. You can pick it up just inside the entrance, after you’ve paid. There is a little stand in front of the end of the first exhibit when printed scavenger hunts. It helped my kids slow down and really look at all the incredibly detailed miniature worlds.
• Bathrooms are located outside the entrance, down the hall from the Model Railroad Museum. I had my kids try before we entered.
• If you’re there with smaller kids who don’t have the attention span to check out every single inch of the museum, make sure you don’t miss the outside area with the tram and the toy train room. Both are at the back of the museum.
• In the toy train room Thomas runs around the bottom of one of the exhibits. He’s the perfect height for tots and there’s a button you can take turns pushing to make him go.
• The whole museum is very kid friendly with interactive elements and steps for kids to get up higher for a better view.

Trains of all sizes. Fantastic details in the scenes around them. Interactive elements. Enthusiastic employees and volunteers. It is a really fun place to visit.

Terrific Train Ideas for Kids Who Love Trains

When my son was a preschooler he could not get enough of trains. We read all the train books. We rode all the nearby trains. He toddled around in his Thomas the Tank Engine boots and train engineer hat everywhere we went. If you have a kid in this phase, then a visit to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum is perfect, but what about when you get home? Here are some of our favorite ways to extend train play and learning after a fun field trip like visiting SDMRM.

Ideas from San Diego Model Railroad Museum

1. The San Diego Model Railroad Museum has a special page on their website for kids. It has storytime videos you can watch, coloring pages to print and more.
2. Thomas Fans! There is also a Thomas Page on their website that allows you to explore the Island of Sodor and More.

Literacy Activities

3. Read books about trains. This Ultimate List of Picture Books about Trains from My Storytime Corner is a great place to start.

4. Alphabet Train from Teach Beside Me

5. Freight Train Name Craft from Clare’s Little Tots

6. DIY Foam Train for Easy Bathtime Fun and Learning from Bambini Travel (also works with numbers!)

Math Activities

7. Train Carriage Counting Game from Rainy Day Mum

8. Transportation I Spy and Graph Printable from School Time Snippets

9. Chocolate Train Cookies from Inspiration Laboratories

10. Geometric Shapes Train from Mama Smiles

11. Train Track Card Game for Preschoolers from Preschool Powol Packets

Science, Technology and Engineering Activities

12. Transportation Playdough Mat from The Moments at Home

13. Transportation Sand and Water Play from My Bored Toddler

14. Fingerprint Train Ornament for Kids from The Educators’ Spin On It

Art & Fine Motor Activities

15. Freight Train Drawing Prompts from My Storytime Corner

16. Painting with Trains on Canvas by Play Trains

17. Build a Train from School Time Snippets

18. Train-Themed Unwrapping by Craftulate

19. Transportation Connect the Dots by Craftulate

Movement Activities

20. Easy DIY Paper Train Table for Kids from Toddler Approved

21. Polar Express Storytime with Yoga Routine from My Storytime Corner

You May Also Like:
50+ Kid Friendly Things to do in San Diego

When we left the fire station it was clear our twins were fascinated. They chatted all the way home and all afternoon about what we had seen and done. They were running around the house putting out imaginary fires and asking me questions about fire trucks.

It was obvious that a new interest was emerging.

What do you do when that happens with a toddler? Obviously you can’t have the extensive conversation you could with an older child, but you can still build a project around their interests. 

affiliate links are included below.

I have read extensively about Reggio Emilia and Project Approach. However, both in my work before having children and with our twins, I have worked with very young children. Much of what is written about following the interests of children on the other hand is geared towards preschoolers and above.

Now I understand that more children enter a formal setting around 3 or 4 and I also understand that toddlers are interested in the world, everything in the world. They flit from thing to thing rapidly. In our case, our twins flit rapidly from thing to thing in different directions so that I sometimes start to feel like my head might literally spin off.

HOWEVER…toddlers have interests.

Start with an interest.

My son was interested in trains almost constantly for his first 3 years. Although he temporarily directed his attention towards fire fighters, trains was an interest that stuck for a long time. He is now eight he still pulls out his train set at least once a year. A lifelong interest that developed before 2.

I think the hardest part with toddlers is trying to figure out which interest you should grab onto and help them probe deeper. Sometimes this is obvious (trains) sometimes it is not (rocks). Some interests will putter out in a day or two, some will last for weeks and months.

It gets easier with practice.

Two things to consider when choosing an interest to pursue.

1. Is it a subject with a lot of options?

Is this something that you could pursue in depth with a toddler? Something that you have the ability to see first hand? That offers a depth of vocabulary and ideas to learn about?

2. Do they seem interested on more than one instance?

Do they go to the zoo and get excited about monkeys but then never mention them again? Or do they like the monkeys at the zoo, on their blanket, and in a book? Does the interest seem to appear in different places and without prompting?

Next, Brainstorm.

Once you notice an interest, here are the 5 main things I start brainstorming:

1. Field Trips:

Where can you go to see, feel, touch, experience the interest. Peruse our field trips section for some ideas.

2. Book Lists

Request a stack of books from the library also have your child ask the librarian for ideas. These themed booklists might help you find some good ones. 

3. Real Life Examples

Similar to field trips, but what real examples can you go to or bring into your environment? For example, during our Firefighter Project we walked to the fire hydrants on our block to look at them up close.

4. Sensory Experiences

Toddlers are in the sensory stage where they need to get their hands on a topic. Consider all 5 senses. What can they see, hear, touch, taste, smell? What about this topic’s sensory properties may have grabbed their attention? How can you expand on that? Can clay or other sensory materials be incorporated into their learning?

5. Pretend Play

How can they learn about this through pretend? Can they dress up like it? Can they engage with a miniature version?

Use Resources.

I have the resources below on hand and then help me think of ideas when I get stuck. There’s also always Pinterest.

On Pinterest, you can obviously type in a couple keywords (like Firefighters Toddlers) and browse, but I also keep a running board of fun ideas for toddlers. When I am brainstorming I often go through it and see what sticks out. Often an idea that worked for one interest and sounds like a good fit for my kids can also be adapted to work with their current interest.

Most Helpful Books:

The Language of Art by Ann Pelo

This one is a beautiful introduction to art with young children. It covers the basics of teaching your children how to use simple art materials. I also use it as a reminder of the art options for young kids.

Infants and Toddlers at Work by Ann Lewin-Benham

I used this book constantly when my kids were infants and toddlers. It has tons of ideas for materials to use with young kids. It always gets my wheels spinning.

Project Based Homeschool by Lori Pickert

This is the basics of project based homeschool. It is geared towards older kids but I still find it useful in thinking about our process.

Working in the Reggio Way by Julianne P. Wurm

If your projects lean more towards the Reggio approach, then this is a must have. It walks through the process of emergent curriculum in the Italian way and is again useful when I’m thinking about the process. Questions to ask, ways of presenting ideas, etc.

If you want more, check out my book LITTLE WALKS BIG ADVENTURES for 52 weeks of play, learning, and adventure with toddlers.

Then start small…

Keep these ideas in the back of your mind. Then start with gathering books and putting 1 or 2 things in the environment to see how they respond.

Lay out an art invitation or water experience.

Put some play props on the shelf. Watch how they play with the materials, ask them questions, or listen to conversations they have with peers or siblings.

Read books and listen to their questions.

and see where it goes.

Use the observations and questions to direct where you go next. Toddlers might need a little more prompting than preschoolers, but generally they know what is interesting to them even if they can’t make a KWL (Know, What to Know, Learned) chart with you yet.

For instance, from my observations on the topic of fire fighters after our trip to the station I learned that:

*My son was most interested in the hoses and how the water is involved.

*My daughter was most interested in the fire fighters themselves. Where they ride in the truck, how they save people, etc.

And that is where we began. We walked to a fire hydrant to talk about how firefighters connect their hoses… 

I should state this first. In the 15 or so years I have spent educating young children, this is the messiest project I have ever undertaken. That’s second only to our muddy play date – which was also a messy and awesome good time.

In my opinion, it was entirely worth it.

A few years ago painting by rolling pumpkins was a big thing. It seemed like everywhere I looked that Fall I saw cute photos of kids rolling pumpkins around and one afternoon during nap time I sat in my kitchen surrounded by apples after our trip to the farm, I thought – Apples roll…

Ball vs. Apple Messy Paint Roll

There are seemingly endless ideas for exploring various STEM ideas with preschoolers and school aged kids, but fewer for toddler.

Toddlers however are just as curious as their older counterparts and STEM activities can be just as enjoyable – but they often look more like play since they won’t have the charts and graphs and deep conversations.

STEM with toddlers looks a lot like exploration, messy play, curious attention, and lots of questions.

My toddlers are very excited about throwing and rolling balls right now so I thought comparing the two, apples and balls, would be an intriguing experiment for them. The best science starts with curiosity.

This Ball vs. Apple experiment is simply looking at how to mostly round objects roll. This is super basic physics and so much fun to explore.

First. Explore the Materials.

I think a good place to start is to explore a little with a few balls and a few apples.

Let your toddler(s) experiment.

Then ask questions such as:

• How do they roll?
• How do they feel in your hand?
• What’s different? What’s the same?

Or verbalize what they’re doing to scaffold vocabulary by saying things such as:

• I see you watching the apple roll. Should we watch a ball roll next?
• Hmm…you look confused right now. Does the apple roll differently?

Then, add paint.

This is obviously the messy stage of this experiment and certainly a step you can step if you really want to – but I think if you’re prepared it is doable….but yeah. It’s messy.

Materials:

• Big Piece of Paper or large drop cloth
• Tempera (ie. washable) Paint
• Apples
• Balls – Washable or Old
• Paint tray or Plates

Clean Up Materials:

The key to messy play is to have a clean up plan! Know how you’re going to attack cleaning up and have it all ready to go before you introduce the messy activity.

In this case my clean up plan was:

• Contain the activity. We did it in one room with washable walls and floors and I removed all of the furniture. If you can do this outside on a deck or something you can spray down – even better.
• In the room I had prepared: bucket of water, wash clothes, wipes for faces
• I also had a clear path to the bathtub prepared so I could put my kids in their right away when we were done.
• AND – I think this was also key – I did the activity in a room that I could close off afterwards with baby gates so they wouldn’t just run right back into the paint when we were done. Later when they went down for nap I could put a podcast on and clean the room.

Activity Set Up:

Lay out a large piece of paper on the floor. A tarp or huge piece of cardboard would work too. This was their “target” for rolling the objects during the activity. (They missed a lot)

Then I laid out plastic plates with different colored paint and a few balls and apples nearby.

Then I striped them down to diapers (thank goodness their BumGenius diapers were so washable) and dressed myself in my paint clothes (aka clothes I am 100% okay with them hugging me in when they’re covered in paint).

I like to leave our activities open ended so I invited my toddlers over to see if they wanted to try rolling the balls and apples again, but this time in paint!

They had an absolute blast once they confirmed that yes indeed, mom was okay with them rolling and throwing both apples and balls covered in paint around the room.

I asked some questions like:

• You seem a little frustrated. That apple bounces differently than the ball does. Why do you think that is?

Mostly I just observed them and modeled trying different ways to paint with the balls and apples.

Once they had thoroughly explored not only the balls and apples, but also the paint with seemingly every other body part my son signed to me that he was “all done.” so we moved into our clean phase.

I used the water (that until that point had been sitting on the other side of the gate just out of their reach) to rinse my hands and dried them on a wash cloth. I used a wet washcloth to clean off my feet so I could walk to the bathroom without leaving tracks. Then I carried them each to the tub.

I had a fresh set of clothes for all of us in the bathroom – so once they were clean and happy (but still in the tub) I clean off a little at the sink while keeping an eye on them.

Later when they were happily eating and playing in their high chairs I tackled the mess. I got a good start before they wanted to get down and then I finished later when they went down for nap. It was a big mess.

I highly recommend approaching this activity outside or when you are in the state of mind to accept a big mess. However, I think this kind of messy, sensory, free, open ended play is just good fun and helpful in developing important sensory integration.

Hose water spraying, children giggling, sun shining – sounds like the perfect summer moment, right?

I say this a lot, but the simplest activities are often the most meaningful for the littlest kids. Pull out your hose, turn it on, and let your children play.

I did this first when our kids were about 13 months old. They loved to splash the water, hold the hose, pull it, and drink from the hose. It is a wet, splashy good time until it’s not.

“MINE!”

“NO! It’s MY turn!”

Two seconds of happy summer moment perfection and then they would start screaming at each other.

As you probably know if you’ve spent any time at all with toddlers, they are not good at sharing. This is 100% normal. Toddlers are too centered on themselves (exactly what they should be centered on at two) to think about someone else.

Put plainly, toddlers suck at sharing and this is okay. 

With some practice and gentle guidance and time, they will learn, promise! But for the most part with toddlers I avoided too many of these screaming matches by having two of everything.

Unfortunately, with the hose there is one hose and two kids. So a lesson in sharing begins….

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3 Tips for Teaching Toddlers to Share

Teaching infants and toddlers to share seems to be on the forefront of the minds of parents and teachers. Sharing is good. We want our children to get along with others. We want our children to be kind and thoughtful.

However, as I said, developmentally toddlers are not ready to do much sharing. This is normal. It is okay.

I repeat. It is okay.

Until they are more ready, there are some ways to help reduce conflicts and begin looking at someone else’s perspective.

Tip #1: Consider what actually needs to be shared

Everyone has things that they don’t share. Yes, even you generous, all giving mama.

There are things that belong only to you. They are probably a lot more rare these days, but I bet you can think of at least one thing. My wedding ring, my pillow, my favorite pajama pants come to mind.

For everyone these are different, but all adults have something that they do not share. We should respect this right to privacy for our children as well.

Children should be allowed some things that they do not have to share. We have twins and I believe that for them this is especially important that they have their separate, unique property. Beyond these few items, most things should be shared at some point.

Tip #2: Teach Language for Sharing Conflicts

The rest of the things in our home (or classroom when I was teaching) are shared belongings. The super cool things or new things – like a hose apparently or when we first got our Magna-Tiles often cause conflicts.

Generally, when a conflict over an item arises someone had it first. Let’s call them Toddler A. I usually give Toddler B, the child who wants the items two options. Toddler B can find something else to play with (if there is a similar or identical item now is a great time to point it out) or ask if they can use it. Typically, they want to ask.

When they want a turn with something, now is a great time to teach them language to use.

First, I offer Toddler B the phrase “Can I use that?” Generally the answer is No. In that case, because No is an okay answer to a questions, there is a second option.

Second, Toddler B can tell Toddler A, “I want to be next.” This does not mean that the Toddler A needs to rush, merely it respects that they are using it, but when they are done they should give it to the child who wants to be next. Toddler attention spans are quite short and typically they loose interest in an item within moments and the other child can have a turn.

At first, your toddler(s) might be disappointed (ie. throw a tantrum) that they do not immediately get to use something, but they will catch on. Help them by offering to do something else with them or pointing out two other fun things they could try.

If (haha I know – when) they melt on the floor in tears, say calmly and kindly “You feel really sad because it isn’t your turn with the hose”.

Stay near and offer comfort if that is helpful to your child. If they seem to prefer space, you can remind them that you are nearby if they need you and give them the space to calm down.

When Toddler A is done playing with the hose, I encourage them to give it to their playmate or at least say “I’m done. It’s your turn now”. As with everything, this gets easier and more natural with practice and age.

My twins were about three by the time they had this mostly mastered – but again, toddlers are terrible at sharing.

 Want More Toddler Tips? LEARN MORE

Tip #3: Navigating Special Circumstances

In very rare circumstances, there is something that children are going to want endlessly. The hose is one of those things for us. My son will happily play with the hose until the sun sets and we must go inside. My daughter would never get a chance.

In these situations, I use a timer.

Usually I just use the timer on my phone. Toddlers do not get the concept of time, but they do understand a statement such as, “When the duck quacks it will be the next person’s turn.” Perhaps I should clarify that they help me pick the alarm sound on my phone – duck quaking and dog barking being their favorites.

I do this rarely, but this is my backup sharing technique.

So back to those screaming “MINE”s in the backyard. I walked closer, got down, held the hose and we talked about turns. We figured out who would go first and then what the other one would do while they waited. This time I got away without the timer.

Soon he was back to “watering” our bush and she toddled off to play in the water table.

Perfect summer moment re-acquired.

Click for 26+ A-Z Toddler Ideas

Car playing is often a solitary or parallel activity for toddlers. This activity adds a simple social element to something they already love.

Materials

•  Cars or Trucks (We played this with these cars)

To Play

Ask your toddler to stand a few feet away.

Introduce the activity with some simple, such as “I’m going to pass the car to you” and push the car towards them with an excited “Vroom!”

Then invite them to pass it back. “Can you pass the car back to me?”

We played this with these cars that you can pull back and release. Our kids got them around the time they turned 1 and still enjoy them at almost 3.

If they have a sibling or a friend to play with, invite the other child to take over for you after modeling a few times. You could also have your younger child be your “partner” and help you pass the car to the older sibling.

Demonstrating enthusiasm and playing up the ‘driving’ and car noise portions of the activity tend to lengthen the activity.

Play it again?

My toddlers loved doing things again and again and again. Repetition is great, but after you have done this activity several times, here are a couple variations you can try.

*Pass other things together (such as balls or pom poms)

*Drive cars side by side to different destinations.

Click to Find: A-Z Toddler Play Ideas

Thump. Thump. Thump. As the racers round the corner, my kids pound harder on their drums their eyes peeled for our cousin.

I’m not sure what they’re more excited about; getting to see him running in the marathon or the drums they made themselves. These drums are a huge hit both for cheering racers and later for making music around the house.

We made these after several conversations about an upcoming marathon that our cousin was racing in. We talked loosely about how he would be running really fast and it was important for us to encourage him by cheering.

Whatever your motivation, these drums are easy to make and fun to play.

DIY Coffee Can Drums

Materials

• Acrylic paint
• Empty and Washed Coffee Can
• Cup for Paint
• Paint Brush
• Paint Mat and/or table cover
• Wet Washcloths (for clean up)

Set Up

1.  Prepare an area for each child. A mat, a coffee can, cups for paint, and a paint brush.
2. Dampen some washcloths for clean up.

Activity

The invitations were set up during playtime. When they noticed what was on the table, I asked if they wanted to make drums for cheering.

If you are doing it solely for making music, simply asking if they would like to make a drum works too.

Ask what color paint they would like and pour some in their cups.

Invite them to paint the coffee can. Allow them to paint freely.

Encourage them to paint the different sides if they would like (for example, “do you want to paint on the other side too?”

Clean Up

Use the washcloths to wipe hands and then send your little one to the bathroom to clean their brush.

Move the coffee cans somewhere safe for drying and wipe down the table with washcloths if needed.

Once they are dry – bang away! We used both drum sticks we had, our hands, and plastic shakers to drum on the drums

Read all 26+ A-Z Toddler Play Ideas

Ah Green. The color of grass and grapes and a whole host of things that don’t start with the letter G…but apparently that is what I have on the mind.

Working our way through the rainbow of colors, we are now on Green!

Below are some fun ideas for playtime, snack, and more. I also threw in some extra ways to practice numbers because that some how became the focus of our green colored day.

affiliate links are included below.

Books About the Color Green

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
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This is a beautiful book full of different shades of green. The sparse words are perfect for young children, but the themes appeal to a much great range of ages. 2+

Little Green Peas: A BIG book of COLORS by Keith Baker
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From the author of LMNO Peas comes a darling book about colors. Bright colorful illustrations, repetitive text, and those adorable, playful peas.

Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
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Blue and Yellow are the best of friends. They play happily together until one day they get stuck together and neither family recognizes their new joint green personality.

Have You Seen My Dragon? by Steve Light
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This is one of our alltime favorites. The black and white illustrations are splashed with one bright color per page and the details encourage you to look closely. I’ve raved about it before, but for Green day is played a large role in our counting activities.

Green Themed Activities

Wear Green

Part of the fun of a color week is finding an item of clothing or two to wear for the day. We decked out in Green and then snapped some selfies before we headed out for the morning. (Cognitive)

Green Body Paint

Painting with the color of the day is a wonderful way to truly explore it. For green we did this with our whole bodies!

Green Grape Kabobs

Our snack for Green day was Green Grape Kabobs. You will need, bamboo skewers and green grapes. We froze ours in the morning by placing them in a tupperware in the freezer. At snack time we pulled them out and then threaded them onto our skewers. Consider adding some Purple Grapes and making patterns on your skewers for some extra Math fun. (Fine Motor)

Missed the Start? Begin with Rad Red Day.

My kids still sleep with a mound of stuffed animals around them. When I peek in on them before I go to bed I find they both stretched out on their backs dozing peacefully. Tucked under their arms and all around them are monkeys and giraffes and bears and bunnies with well worn ears and noses. An entire zoo right there in their bed.

Animals have been a huge part of their childhood so far. Most little kids seem fascinated by the world of animals.

also read: 20+ Unit Ideas for Kids Who Love Animals

We read endless imagination filled books about zoo animals and we tromp around the zoo in search of animals.

Since this is an interest that seems to follow children through childhood below are zoo animal ideas for every age baby through early elementary school.

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Zoo Animal Learning Activities by Age

Scroll down for zoo animal activities that are perfect for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids!

For Babies: Zoo Animal Peekaboo

How to Make a Zoo Peekaboo Game

Materials:

• Laundry Basket / Table Top / Empty Wall
• Animal Picture Pairs (Make your own or order these – note the ones linked are not identical to the ones I used when they were babies. I wish I had saved them but hindsight…the ones linked are instead the ones I made and have used since they were toddlers.)
• Contact Paper
• Tape

How to Make:

Select a surface at your child’s height to place the game. I did mine on the bottom of a flipped over laundry basket, but a short table, shelf, or low wall space would work well.

1. Tape the full animal pictures onto the surface and cover in contact paper.
2. Laminate the closer animal pictures.
3. Tape one end of each closer animal picture on top of the matching pair.

That’s it! So easy, right?

Even better, this activity help develop the following skills:

• Interesting reason to practice standing.
• Fine motor practice as they work on lifting the flaps
• Practice with cognitive and language skills as they recognize, name, and even make the noise of the animal they find.

Extension Ideas:

Make another version with something else that interests your child. Some ideas include;

• Family members
• Household items
• Vehicles

4 More Zoo Animal Ideas for Babies

1. Make a Song Cube like this one with Animal Pictures
2. Read some awesome Zoo Animal Picture Books
3. Sensory Zoo Activity: Exploring Animal Textures
4. How to make a Sock Monkey (Craft for Mama, but what baby wouldn’t love playing with this?)

For Toddlers: Zoo Animal Photo Cards

Toddlers are OBSESSED with learning new words. “What’s that?” or just “That?” was one of the most common phrases in our house at this age. This is the age for books of real images that they can look to and point at all day – and also for photo cards.

More ideas for matching games and other extensions are below but start with just the cards.

Materials:

• Zoo Animal Printable Photo Cards (use your photos or get these)
• Contact Paper

How to Make:

Use contact paper to cover the photos and make them more durable with all the inevitable drooling, mouthing, bending and general love that toddlers give all things

THEN place these cards in a basket or on a low table for your child to discover. When they do, let them explore. If they look to you or ask what something is, use simple words to talk to them about the cards. “You are looking at a giraffe” or “What do you see?”

This activity help develop the following skills:

• new vocabulary
• finger isolation when they point which helps later fine motor skills
• social skills as they engage you in talking about the pictures

Extension Ideas:

• Tell a story using your photo cards. Put them in a pile face down and flip over one at a time. “Once upon a time there was a lion and he went for a walk and ran into…flip over another card” It doesn’t really matter what your story is about. Keep it simple and just have fun.
• Matching game. Use the close up and far away cards to match. Make it hard and play as a memory card game.
• Match the card to a toy version of the animals. This picture to object matching is an important pre-literacy skill
• Make a book or photo cards of a trip you take to a farm, the store, anywhere that interests them.

8 More Zoo Animal Ideas for Toddlers

1. Learn this Hey Elephant Song (with printable visuals)
2. Sensory Zoo Activity: Exploring Animal Textures
3. Read some awesome Zoo Animal Picture Books
4. Dear Zoo Story Spoons
5. Zoo Animals Small World Play
6. Easy Zebra Slime
7. Animal Charades with Printable
8. Paper Plate Bear Craft

For Preschoolers: Zoo Animal Tracing

Drawing and tracing lines is a pre-literacy skill that works on building the fine motor skills needed to write letters and words. Bonus – kids seem to find dry erase markers fascinating and fun.

Materials:

• Zoo Animal Printable Photo Cards (use your photos or get these)
• Contact Paper
• Washable Dry Erase Markers
• Wash cloth or paper towel

How to Make:

Simply cover the zoo animal photos with contact paper.

Put the cards with the dry erase markers and wash cloth on a low table.

When your child is interested, invite them to use the dry erase marker to trace the animal.

Note: depending on the age of your preschooler “tracing” may look less like tracing and more like coloring on the animal. Go with it. 

Demonstrate tracing the edges of an animal of your own and then show them how to erase the marker with their wash cloth.

This activity help develop the following skills:

• Fine Motor grip
• Hand-eye coordination

Extension Ideas:

• Add more details to the animal picture. Can they draw some food for the animal? What does the animal play with?
• Play hide and seek with the animal cards. Hide the full photos around the room and give your preschoolers the zoomed in photos as clues / visual reminders of what to look for.

12 More Zoo Animal Ideas for Preschoolers

1. Host a Safari Themed Playdate
2. Animal Fashion Show
3. Bears Picture Books + Big and Small Animals Sort
4. Learn about Polar Bears with this awesome booklist
5. Zoo Animals Theme with Sensory Play and Printables
6. Zoo Animal Counting Mats
7. Zoo Animal Books for Children and even more Zoo Animal Picture Books
8. Zoo Centers and Activities
9. Edible Zoo Animals Sensory Bin
10. Zoo Themed Counting Clip Cards 1-10
11. Dear Zoo Story Stones

Note: Many of the toddler and school age activities above and below may also work well for your child!

For K & First Grade: Writing with Zoo Animal Cards

I love finding ways to make writing more meaningful for my kids and we did this as part of their animal study.

They each had an animal that they love and wanted to learn more about. We took cameras to the Zoo. They took pictures and I took pictures of their favorite animals. We also talked about some of the things we observed their favorite animals doing.

Back at home I set this up as a writing invitation using our photo cards and also included a photo they had taken at the zoo of their favorite animal.

Materials:

• Zoo Animal Printable Photo Cards (use your photos or get these)
• Contact Paper
• Paper
• Pencils and coloring tools

How to Make:

Laminate the cards and place on the table with the other materials.

THEN after your child has had some time to look at the cards and talk about them, as them to write about one or more of the animals.

Depending on your goals this activity will vary.

Kindergarteners might just draw a picture of the animal and work on using their best handwriting to label it with the animal’s name.

For slightly older elementary schoolers: If you are working on non-fiction, have them write a fact about the animal. If you’re working on just writing, have them write a story about the animal.

For my first graders doing an animal study, I asked them to write something they had learned and a question they still had. We used this question to go forward with their study.

This activity help develop the following skills:

• Communicating using words and pictures.
• Understanding the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
• Adding details, capitalization and punctuation to their writing.

Extension Ideas:

• Work on story telling. Give each child a card – or you take half and your child takes half – and go around the circle adding to a story using your photo as a prompt.
• Draw or build a habitat for your chosen animal. Where do they live? What do they eat? What do they need to survive?

8 More Zoo Animal Activities for School Aged Kids

1. Join Suzi’s FREE Wild Animal Passport Club for Kids
2. Make Chocolate Strawberry Zebras for Snack
3. Elephant Craft with Newspaper
4. Going to the Zoo Interactive Book for Emergent Readers
5. Jungle Animals Playset from Toilet Paper Rolls
6. Complete the Animals Kids Craft Activity
7. A-Z Animal Hunt
8. Zoo Scavenger Hunt
9. Zookeeper Training Unit Pack

Note: Many of the preschool activities above may also work for your child!

Get Zoo Animals Photo Cards

Z is for…

Looking for more ideas? Here are some more Z ideas from the A-Z Play at Home series.

• • Zoom Car Play Box from Teach Me Mommy
  • Dear Zoo Story Stones from The Gingerbread House
  • Zoo Animal Picture Books from My Storytime Corner

We’re nearing the end of a fantastic month of alphabet fun with the 31 Days of ABC! All this month activities, crafts, books, apps, and more, all dedicated to teaching young children the alphabet have been shared.

Find more great resources in our series from past years: 31 Days of ABCs 2013, 2014, and 2016!

Don’t forget to follow our 31 Days of ABCs Pinterest board for even more great ABC ideas!

31 Days of ABC

Teaching the ABCs – October 1

A – October 2

B – October 3

C – October 4

D – October 5

E – October 6

F – October 7

G – October 8

H – October 9

I – October 10

J – October 11

K – October 12

L – October 13

M – October 14

N – October 15

O – October 16

P – October 17

Q – October 18

R – October 19

S – October 20

T – October 21

U – October 22

V – October 23

W – October 24

X – October 25

Y – October 26

Z – October 27

123’s – October 28

Prewriting – October 29

Books, Songs, & Apps – October 30

Printables – October 31

“Look! A Bus!” When my twins were toddlers it seemed like everywhere we went they found buses, trucks and trains to watch. These big machines are endlessly fascinating to most toddlers.

As parents and toddler teachers, we fill our play spaces with trucks and cars and encourage our toddlers to vroom them across the floor. We read great picture books, label vehicles we see, and sing “Wheels on the Bus” more times than we can count. But do these experiences teach our toddlers about these vehicles they find so fascinating?

They do, but the real deal is much more meaningful.

Going on an actual bus field trip allows them to see how massive these vehicles are up close. A field trip shows them the process of riding the bus. A field trip answers some of their questions and gives them new ones to ponder with their toy trucks back at home or school.

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Friday Field Trip on a City Bus

I have done this type of field trip a couple of times. I did it will a class of 3-5 year olds in Minnesota and also twice with my own twins when they were 20 months old and again when they were 2. Below are my top tips from what I learned from these experiences, along with the many things they learned from these fun and easy busy field trips.

related curriculum or projects

*Transportation

*City or Community

Before the Field Trip

Before our field trip my toddlers were very familiar with two things;

1. “Wheels on the Bus song” which we had sung more times than I could count.
2. Wheels on the Bus stories. We did a whole story study inspired by their love of the song.

6 Tips for a successful City Bus Field trip

1. Plan Your Trip Ahead of Time

Bus schedules and maps are online – just search online for your city’s transit system.

Consider how long your child can sit when planning the length of your trip. We were on the bus for about 30m both ways.

2. Avoid Rush Hour

An over-crowded bus will distract from the adventure and potentially overwhelm your toddlers.

3. Talk about Expectations Beforehand

Talk to your toddler about expectations before you get on the bus – for example, you must sit while the bus is moving. Walk through the whole experience so they know what to expect.

4. Have Bus Fare Ready

Have your bus fare ready to go before you get on the bus. Your toddler or preschooler is probably free (another thing to double check online beforehand!) but you will need to pay the fare. Have that handy so you don’t have to dig around for it when the bus arrives and your toddler is super excited.

5. Have a Plan for Wait Times

Plan a few waiting games. We had to wait for a while to get back on the bus and this was the hardest part of our trip. We survived with singing songs and playing ISpy.

6. Dress for the Weather

If possible, plan your adventure for a day with pleasant weather. If it ends up less desirable, make sure you are dressed appropriately for waiting outside.

after the field trip

• Continue reading and singing The Wheels on the Bus
• Set up a pretend area to play bus. For older toddlers and preschoolers ask them what they would need to pretend to be on a bus. They will often have some very creative ideas. All you really need are a row of chairs and some pretend wheels. Paper plates and markers can easily be used to make as many steering wheels as you want.

what do toddlers learn on a bus field trip?

Are field trips with toddlers actually meaningful? Aren’t they too young to remember anything? I get asked this all the time and I understand.

Your toddler is probably not going to remember this bus field trip when they’re 10 or 50. They will remember it next week. They might remember it 6 months from now.

The point is that it is meaningful right now.

• It answers their questions. Even ones they can’t quite verbalize yet.
• It deepens their understanding.
• It gives them more things and experiences to think about and build on. It affirms that their interests are valuable.

At the end of the day the things we take for granted as common knowledge are often brand new information to young kids. Real life and hands on experiences offer a wealth of knowledge that is learned more quickly and integrated in their minds with deeper purpose than reading that same knowledge in a book or having it just explained to them.

Here’s what my toddlers learned on our Bus Field Trip Adventure:

1. That people get on and off a lot! My kids were fascinated by all the different people they saw.

2. That you have to pull the cord to tell the bus driver you want to get off. (Self Help)

3. Where your money or bus pass goes and that you have to pay money to get on a bus. (Math)

4. That buses have to stop at red lights, just like cars. (Cognitive)

5. That the bus does actually bump (like in Wheels on the Bus). (Sensory)

6. You have to look for the right bus number or letter by reading the sign at the bus stop and on the front of the bus (Literacy)

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