Homeschooling Toddlers: 17 Learning Activities & Lessons -

Being a stay-at-home mom during the infant years is pretty much a breezy period of your life until you hit the toddler stage, where babies are no longer crawling but walking and grasping everything real to them. Some mamas readily agree that the toddler stage is just the beginning of a wake-up call to you, questioning yourself, “What in the heck am I doing? Am I even qualified for this anymore?” Raising a toddler and deciding to homeschool them in the pre-k stage is just as challenging as going back to college after being away for almost a decade. Why, may you ask? It is simply because although we Mama survived our toddler stage and managed to help raise other people’s kids and live life amongst people who are challenging to live with, the toddler stage is where we must evaluate who we are as a person and learn to grow with our toddler all over again. It is the moment you realize that you may not be as patient as you thought and must grow in that department. Or you may not feel competent enough to teach a specific lesson because you identified yourself as a lawyer, someone who has faced trauma or personal experiences that you lack confidence, a student, someone who cannot control their own emotions, or even a store clerk and find it challenging to prepare further your toddler things that will be impactful for your toddler to know right now. Although they are still young and may not remember everything you teach them, and you find yourself sounding like a broken record, do not be discouraged because they are still a sponge soaking in everything around you. So, if you have become that stay-at-home mama who has become bored or out of ideas on what to do with your toddler and find ways to create simple and creative lesson plans for them to grow in character and do, do not fret. We have all been there, and I am here to help you! Here is a list of ideas for your toddler’s daily schedule and lesson plan. Please do not be afraid to try new things for you and your toddler.

1. Go on adventures (Field trips).

Professional sports event. (Even if it’s the local high school sports teams)
Aquarium
Botanical Garden
Farm
Zoo
Library
Children’s Museum
Fire Department
Park

2. Volunteer work.

Builds a compassionate heart for others.
There are many opportunities to volunteer with your toddler, such as cleaning a park or beach, helping a neighbor, collecting food and clothes donations, and possibly picking flowers or color cards to give to loved ones and/ or people in the hospitals, first responders, and retirement homes for seniors.

3. Make Personal Dates.

If you have children, schedule time with each one and make it a special personal experience for just the two of you. This can easily be a one-on-one date at a diner for lunch or going and doing things that draw interest in your toddler. *(if they love bowling or sports, arrange a day to take them bowling or play sports.)

4. Teach a new skill.

Teaching a new skill that brings your toddler out of their comfort zone builds confidence.

Wash cars
Safety
Basic Hygiene
Reading Books
Problem Solving
Conversational Speech (Communication)
People Skills
Attention Span
Household chores
Counting
Phonics
Coloring
Time Management
Money Management
Painting
Cooking
Home maintenance: This can include tightening the screws with a screwdriver on their tables and chairs
Gardening

5. Give them challenging tasks & real responsibilities.

Laundry (Putting the clothes in and out of the washer and dryer)
Set the table
Get dressed on their own
Make their beds

6. Ask actual questions.

Allow your toddler to build communication skills with you, mama, by asking real questions that can lead to conversations. Keep the conversation going as long as you can to focus and engage and to really show them that you are listening to them and interested in their lives.

7. Building projects.

This will be enjoyable if you have never built anything alone, especially with your toddler. Try to find simple building projects that your toddler can assist you in. You can direct them, but try not to overbear their thinking process. The paint colors may not be what you want, and they may want to add more to the project, but our goal is to be a part of their world and imagination, allowing them to make something come to life from the image they see in their head.

Where can you start?

Birdhouse
Window bird feeder
Mailbox
Planter for flowers and plants
Piggy Bank
Building a fort
Garden bed

*If you need any assistance in this department, try looking up your local Home Depot and visiting the store every first Saturday of the month. They do workshop projects with all supplies provided.

8. Make special treats!

Bakery day

Homemade Ice Cream
Cookies
Muffins
Peanut Butter Balls
Fruit bowels
Baked Apples

9. Find ways to express emotions and care for the people.

Use puppets or playtime with their favorite toys. Add a scenario with drastic emotions known to your toddler and see how they react to open-ended questions. Guide them with suggestions on how to handle the scenario.

Example Scenario: Use one puppet to be sad, express big emotions, and have the other puppet ask questions.

Puppet 1: CRYING

Puppet 2: Notices the puppet, “Are you sad?”

Puppet 1: “Yes, I am sad.” He continues to cry.

Puppet 2: “Why are you sad?”

Puppet 1: “Someone hurt my feelings, and I am sad. I don’t like getting hurt because it makes me cry.”

Puppet 2: “I am sorry. Can I hug you and pray for you?”

Puppet 1: “Sure”

Puppet 2: Gives a hug after getting consent and starts to pray. “Father, my friend is sad and was hurt. Please comfort him and make him feel better. I pray for the person who hurt them too that they will know you and learn not to be mean but to have a heart like yours, loving. Lord, please be with us, and thank you for a new friend. In Jesus name, amen.”

10. Teach your toddler the value of money.

Take care of what is given.
It is not to idolize money but to realize the work you must put in to receive it.
Know that God provides and cares how you manage your money.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:38

11. Let them experience serving you.

Model behavior: After your toddler sees how you have taken care of them, chances are high that they will learn such a love language that they will want to mimic you and serve you back. I know that trying to make you a bowl of cereal or playing with your heart can seem disastrous but give them a chance to learn and serve you. In the end, it is all about the heart’s true intentions.

12. Pray & Worship.

Your Toddlers were made to pray and worship. Teach them! Show them the benefits and the relationship that they will gain when they pray and worship their Heavenly Father. The best way to teach them is to show them through your lifestyle. When your toddler notices your love for God, they will be inspired and want that love, too.

13. Write Letters.

Yes, your toddler may not know how to write entirely yet, but create a time for them to color or draw something for someone they love and send it as a letter to the person they choose.

Idea: (You can have them speak what is in their heart, write it down, and send it with their drawing.)
Idea: (Write letters to your children and save them for later ages, or surprise them with a letter and read it to them. You can do this while they are coloring/drawing for their letter.)

During this time, you can explain why reaching out to loved ones is important.

14. Tell stories.

Telling stories, reading books, and listening to audiobooks are excellent ways of broadening your toddler’s imagination and can be a valuable and simple learning experience.

15. Teach good manners.

Mannerism seems to have faded in today’s youth, but we, Mama, know that God gave us children for a reason. He gave you a son or daughter because He knows you are qualified and equipped to raise the new generation one child at a time. God knows that you are the Mama who will make sure that your sons and daughters will be polite out of the goodness of God that lives in them. So, do not be faint in heart because of what you see around teens today. Instead of noticing the negative stories of children today, let us give joy to our children’s access to other children, pre-teens, and adults who love God just as much as we do. We see today a wave of children not afraid of expressing their love for God, which should encourage you and your children to continue walking out life like Kingdom Citizens y’all are. Displaying manners such as saying “please and thank you” and helping others is just a child displaying God’s love for His children.

Do not neglect this part, because having more children express manners is a wave that the new generation will need to stay on course!

16. Teach them Respect (Respecting them, Self-respect, Respecting others).

Have you heard the phrase, “You have to give respect to receive respect?” I have heard that many times growing up but learned the hard way never to apply that with any adult, whether the adult was wrong or not. Now, as an adult, I entirely understand my daddy’s talk about respect, so much so that I must learn to respect my toddlers daily. My brain triggers, “I am the parent; you’re the child. Now do what I say,” rather than explaining to curious toddlers what they are doing and why they are doing it. I had to learn to respect my toddlers, but it was a humble experience. Talking to my children as if God Is in the corner of the room watching me talk to His child has made me parent differently. The best way to teach respect is by giving respect to our children. It is important to show them simple manners, be kind, communicate the fullness of what we are saying, and be open to listening to the fullness of what they are responding to. Teaching them that we all have boundaries and need our boundaries to be honored because we respect and care also needs to be taught.

When you show and model respect to your toddler, your toddler will understand what you have shown them by example and will soon carry those attributes to their loved ones, people in society, and themselves.

When teaching them about self-respect, you must be sure to include safety rules for their bodies and let them know that they are not to be touched by anyone at any time and that they can tell you and your husband anything because there are no such things as secrets from Mama and Daddy.

17. Show them good work ethic skills

They need to work hard
It Builds Character

Peace and Hope
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:1-5

They do not merely work for themselves or leaders but for God.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Colossians 3:23-24

Do not quit Mindset

“If Jesus finished on the cross, you can finish, too.” I remind myself of this with what God gives me, and I tell my toddlers this when they want to give up on a task. It’s not that they can’t do the task; they just do not want to finish sometimes when they want to do something else.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30

Show them how to be resourceful

“If you do all of the thinking for your toddler, you teach them to come to you whenever they face a roadblock. But telling them to go figure it out on their own expresses three truths to them: you won’t always be there, you won’t always have the answer, and you won’t always be available to solve their problems[i].”

Explain why they cannot take the easy way out and do things halfway.
Speak life in which you are confident in their future endeavors.
Mama, they are capable; let them do it!

Do you still feel discouraged, or did this list help you? I hope this list of ideas to implement in your toddler schedule and day-to-day activities has been helpful as they have been helpful to me in surviving three under three toddlers! You may also be on a budget with just one income, but do not hesitate to research free activities in your local area. Usually, there are free zoo days once a month, as well as museums. There are also toddler times at the libraries for children in most states and churches that have playgroups, too. Do not be shy to look for homeschool communities on social media for your toddler’s age group. There are many more resources, so mama get to researching your local town or city events, write them down, and start enjoying the homeschooling journey with your toddler.

Shalom.

Resources

[i]

Jacobson, M., & Jacobson, L. (2020). 100 ways to love your son: The simple, powerful path to a close and lasting relationship. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.