1. Let the child throw the balls in the box.

Telephone talk

Mom1123, UK

1. Pretend the phone is ringing.
2. Let the little one pick up the phone and talk with you on the other line.
3. To make it more fun you can hide behind something so that you’re in the same room but not directly visible.

Fishing game

Nethra, USA

Learning:  Same/ different,  counting,  judging the distance , drawing fishes, cutting along the lines

Construction papers, marker, paper clips, small sticks,

Thread/ yarn, magnets, ice cream buckets/large ice cream tubs

1. Draw and cut fish pictures out of construction paper as many as possible in various shapes and colors.   Put paper clip on each of them near the mouth
2. Draw a large circle (pretend lake).   Scatter those fishes in lake.
3. Take a stick, tie one end of thread / yarn to the stick and other end of yarn with a   magnet. That becomes fishing rod.  Magnet holds fish thro clip for fishing. Collect them in fishing bucket (ice cream tub)
4. Rules: For infants and toddlers it’s simple fishing game.  They randomly fish and put them in bucket.
5. For kids who recognize colors ask them to catch a particular color fishes, collect them in their own bucket and count their catch at the end.
6. For 3+ year olds set up more rules like if they stand/ touch the water (pretend) inside the lake, the fishes they collected in their bucket jumps back in water.  If the circle is large and fishes are scattered in distance kids will be able to judge the distance and move to the nearest place.

Opposites in the bath

Barbara, Australia

1. Fill the bath. Place a few toys inside the bath and let some be out.
2. Ask your child – “Is Leah in the bath or out? Is the duck in or out? Is the ring on the water or under the water? Is the tortoise dry or wet?”
3. Other opposites include hot/cold, big/small, clean/dirty, top/bottom, shiny/dull, smooth/rough etc.

Find me in the bath

Barbara, Australia

1. Fill up the bath tub and place your child and toys inside.
2. Take a toy and swim it towards the child. Use these props to introduce new words, reinforce meanings etc.

• eg.“is the duck coming towards Leah or away? Where is the duck sitting? On Leah’s tummy or on her head? Is Leah splashing in the tub or jumping?  

My turn your turn

Barbara, Australia

1. Sit facing your child in a comfortable place. Remove toys so that the child is not distracted.
2. Now say – “this is mommy’s nose. Do you have a nose? Where is Leah’s nose? You can assist by pointing to the nose and another body part and give a choice.” And introduce other parts till the child shows interest.

Where Oh Where

Barbara Australia

1. Sit facing your child in a comfortable place. Remove toys so that the child is not distracted.
2. Cover your head and sing – “Where oh where has mommy’s head gone Oh where Oh where can it be?”
3. Shake your head if your little one doesn’t immediately remove the cloth. When she removes it, say “hooray, you’ve found mommy’s head”
4. Go on to other body parts similarly introducing other parts till the child shows enthusiasm.
5. The singing and hiding always made my little one giggle!

Sorting together

Charu, India 

1. Select a category that you think would interest your child the most.
2. Sort along with your kid into categories. Eg – Papa’s clothes, Riya’s clothes or Pairs of socks, or big clothes and small ones etc.
3. This is a great way to introduce concepts like big and small, mine and your’s, numbers, matching, colours smooth and rough etc.
4. Children love being helpers too!

Counting and eating

Charu, India 

1. Cut your child’s food into smaller pieces. Eg. If is eating strawberries, cut it into smaller bits.
2. Count the pieces slowly.
3. Reinforce counting as the child takes in each bite. You could also say things like – only three bites remaining. You can use your fingers to aid counting.

Show me sizes

Charu, India

1. Select an appropriate book. Point at a picture and ask – show me a big animal, a big bed, a small nail etc.
2. Relate everyday objects. Eg. A bus is big while Riya’s cycle is small etc.

Show me colours

Charu, India

1. Select an appropriate book. Point at a picture and ask – show me red things etc.
2. Relate everyday objects. Eg. A red tomato, Riya’s red lobster etc.

Colourful treasure hunt

Mingmei07, Singapore

1. Give your toddler a bag to collect things and embark on your treasure hunt.
2. The objective is to collect as many colorful things as you can find.
3. Each time he picks an object, say out the colour and link it to some toy or clothes of the child.
4. At the end of the hunt, count how many different coloured things the child has found.
5. You could link the number of different colours to a treat. Eg. 4 cheerios, 6 stars etc.

Magical Odd one out?

Mingmei07, Singapore

1. Select 4 objects of the same shape, size and colour.eg red
2. Explain to the child as to why they are similar.
3. Cover them with a cloth and slip another similar object but of different colour under the cloth. Eg. green
4. Say “ Abracadabra whoosh” and remove the cloth.
5. Now there are 5 objects. Ask Can you find which one is different? Which one does not belong? Which one is not like the rest?
6. Change other parameters like size and shape and play the game.

Naughty fruits/vegetables

Harshita, India

1. At the basic level mix a few fruits and vegetables in a bowl.
2. When the child is not looking roll away the fruits and vegetables on the table.
3. Now say “Look at these naughty ones. Let us call the fruits back. Come back fruits”.
4. Slowly roll the fruits back. Look at each and say its name studying carefully its size, shape, colour, smell etc. This way you can help the child identify fruits vs. vegetables.
5. With an idea to learn names of fruits/vegetables, take only one category (fruits or vegetables) in the bowl and roll them away.
6. Then say “look at these naughty fruits. Let us call the fruits back. Come back fruits. Apple can you come back.”
7. Roll back the fruit you’re calling.
8. The activity continues.

Fee Fie foe fum

Chow Australia

1. Sit in a comfortable position with your toddler in your lap. Say – “Fee Fie foe fum, here is mummy’s thumb. Fee Fie foe fum lets find Cai’s thumb. Here it is, we found Cai’s thumb”
2. Move on to different parts of the body. You can change the fum to another word to rhyme with the body part. Eg. Fee Fie foe fear with ear, Fee Fie foe deck with neck, Fee Fie foe heat with feet and so on.

Hot Soup Pot

Faith, UK

1. Remove the lid of the saucepan to make soup.
2. Let your child choose the ingredients to put in the soup from the basket. Say the name of the objects chosen before putting inside.
3. Stir the soup and pretend to taste it. Ask what all has been put in?
4. Add a few objects of your choice and ask your child to stir the soup. Cover the soup.
5. Ask your child if he remembers what tasty stuff has been put in the soup.

Indoor Obstacle race

Faith, UK

1. Set up an obstacle course as creatively as you can.
2. The cardboard box can be a pit you fall in and climb out of, the sheet can be a lake you swim through, the ribbon is a log in  a river you walk over to cross the river, the chair can be a tunnel you crawl through, the cushion can be a boat you row, the socks can be stepping stines and so on.
3. Start with mimimal obstacles which you can increase gradually as your child gets familiar with the game. Show the start and the finish and the reward at the end of the game.
4. “Ready set go”.
5. Help him negotiate the obstacles while naming each.
6. Do the course a couple of times and see if he recalls the names of the obstacles.

Naughty note

Faith, UK

1. Play one note in a series repetitively. Explain that the sound is trhe same.
2. Now do the same but in-between get a different note.
3. Ask if it was the same or a naughty note crept in.
4. Take turns being a “listener” and “player”

Where has it gone?

Faith, UK

1. Let the child choose 3 objects to place in the tray.
2. Cover the tray and remove when object. Uncover it and say –“one naughty thing ran away. What was naughty”?

Waiter, Waiter

Alice45, USA

1. Place the objects in an accessible place for the child. The child is the waiter and that is his kitchen.
2. Pretend to be the customer placing the order from the menu. Say “waiter, can you get me a crayon, a chalk and a car” (all from the objects collected)
3. When the order arrives. If its correct, pretend to enjoy the meal or else repeat the order.
4. Continue ordering as you enjoy your meal.

Truck, car, Jeep, Bus, motorcycle

Alice45, USA

1. GO for a walk and decide to spot one vehicle of each category - Truck, car, Jeep, Bus and motorcycle.
2. As you spot, describe what it is and help your child raise one finger. As you spy more, help the child hold the fingers.
3. You can thus teach counting till five and then adapting this activity, counting till 10 using both hands.

Who am I?

Harshita, India

1. Slither on the floor hissing and ask “who am I?”
2. Similarly pretend to be a rabbit, frog, dog, lion, elephant, horse, cat etc.
3. Young children would be able to associate the sound with the movements.

Copy me

Chow, Australia

1. Stand facing the kids.
2. Put your hand in front of you, then behind and then shake. Simultaneously while doing this, say “Put your in front, put it at the back and shake it all about.”
3. Now repeat and see if the kids can copy what you’re saying and doing.
4. Now try other things like – “Put your hands on your head and then get them down, clap your hands and turn around, swing your arms up, swing them down” etc.

Maya, UK

1. Hide the object in an easy to reach and safe place.
2. Initially to make your child understand the game, you can try and find the object with him/her.
3. When you’re near, you can say “you’re close” or else “you’re far”
4. When you’ve found the hidden object, you can praise the child saying “you found it in/near/under/over etc. the ________”
5. Soon even the younger toddlers will get the hang of the game and enjoy playing it.

Yamini, USA

1. Let the child bat the balloons with his hands or a stick (shouldn’t be ragged/too big that can cause injury)

Yamini, USA

1. Toss a balloon into the air. The child makes sure that the balloon doesn’t fall.
2. Slowly increase the number of balloons and watch the fun.

An Odd story/Rhyme

Yamini, USA

1. Start telling a familiar story or rhyme. (Younger kids might do better with rhymes).
2. Add a twist. Eg. Goldilocks ate the papa bears porridge or Humpty Dumpty played with a ball
3. Ask your child to correct the story/rhyme

Dress-up fun

Mom1123, UK

1. Shorten clothes so that the children don’t trip while playing.
2. Have a large unbreakable mirror close by for the kids to admire themselves.
3. The kids will love to stomp around in the oversized shoes and hats

Telephone talk

Mom1123, UK

1. Pretend the phone is ringing.
2. Let the little one pick up the phone and talk with you on the other line.
3. To make it more fun you can hide behind something so that you’re in the same room but not directly visible.

What if?

Yamini, USA

1. Ask your child some simple questions from everyday life that he/she is familiar with.

Eg. What if you don’t wash your hands before eating? What if we forget to fill petrol in the car? What if we didn’t brush our teeth? What if you’re in a hot air balloon and there is a storm?

2. Let your child come up with answers. You can elaborate on them. You could even ask for/offer solutions for tricky questions.
3. Now the child can take turns to ask questions if he/she’d like to.

Drop the beans

Yamini, USA

1. Let the children stand in a line with a handful of beans in each bowl.
2. Let the kids drop the beans into the individual containers placed on the ground from shoulder length.
3. The child who drops the most inside is the winner.

Odd one out

Yamini, USA 

1. Decide on a category mentally.
2. Say a list of few words with one odd one out. Eg. Sheep, dog, horse, ducks and lion
3. If the child finds it difficult to guess, you can give clues.

A versatile and simple acting game suitable for parties as well

Scissors, markers for drawing or animal stickers, construction paper

1. Make cut-outs of animals on cards.
2. Hold out a card and the group needs to make the sound and actions of that animal.
3. It can be played in teams or without.
4. Kids can dance to the music and when it stops, they act like the animal shown in the card held out.

Say it my way

Karen, Singapore

No materials

1. You say a sentence in your style and the child copies you.
2. Now the child says a sentence in his/her style and you copy.
3. Keep taking turns

Jenny, UK

1. Sit with a ball in your hand. You start telling a story. You keep making-up the story till you don’t toss the ball to your child.
2. Now the child needs to continue the story. He/she can talk till the time the ball is in his/her hands.
3. It can be a lot of fun making silly stories.

Dress-up fun

Mom1123, UK

1. Shorten clothes so that the children don’t trip while playing.
2. Have a large unbreakable mirror closeby for the kids to admire themselves.
3. The kids can pretend to be different people doing different kinds of activities. They could even make up a story themselves which they dramatise. Using face paints, you can make moustache, rosy cheeks etc.

Play to the music

Dalila, UK

1. Play music on the player. The kids try to play their instruments with the music.
2. Try different songs playing them loud and soft

Birds Fly

Yamini, USA

1. The leader calls out “Parrots fly, pigeons fly, elephants fly….”
2. When he names something that flies, the children flap their arms. Otherwise they keep their arms on their side.
3. Who makes a mistake is out and the last one left is the leader.

Chair Ring Toss

Aliya, UAE

1. Draw a line on the floor with a chalk.
2. Players stand behind that line while throwing the rings on the legs of an upturned chair.

Aim the coins

Yamini, USA

1. Place the rings at the bottom of the pail filled with water.
2. Divide the children into 2 teams giving each team equal number of coins.
3. The teams aim to drop the coins inside the rings.
4. The team with most coins inside wins.

Mancala

Nethra, USA

How to Make It

1. Remove the lid of the carton. Paint the egg carton in the color desired. Let dry.
2. Paint the jell-o cups (mancala) on the outside. Let dry.

RULES:

• Place the egg carton between the two players, lengthwise and two mancala (jell-o cup) on sides.
• The cups of the carton towards you are yours. The Mancala (jell-o cup) to your right is yours.
• Place 4 marbles in each of the cups of egg carton. Choose a player to go first.  The first player picks up all the marbles in one of his cups.
• The player then starts sowing one marble in each cup moving clockwise. If he reaches the end of his side, he is to drop one marble in his Mancala, then continue around to the other side of the board.
• He is not, however, to drop a marble in his opponent's Mancala. Keep sowing until you reach an empty hole.
• Take the marbles from the cup ahead of the empty cup and bank in your mancala.
• Now player2 gets his turn. Keep playing until all the marbles are banked. Player with the most marbles in his mancala wins.
• While the game seems random for beginners but after playing it a few times, players will arrive at strategies to bank more marbles in their mancala.