Sensory Activities for 18-24 Months Toddlers

1. Set up a shallow bin or large bowl with a small amount of water.
2. Provide 2-3 small cups or containers of different sizes.
3. Show your toddler how to pour water from one cup to another.
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1. Give your child a wide paintbrush and a cup of water.
2. Show them how to dip the brush and paint on the sidewalk, fence, or large paper: "Look — you made a mark!"
3. Watch the water marks appear and slowly disappear: "It vanished! Paint it again!"
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1. Create a path of 4-5 different textures: a towel, bubble wrap, aluminum foil, a doormat, a carpet sample.
2. Lay them in a line on the floor.
3. Take off your child's shoes and socks. Walk the path together.
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1. Blow bubbles while your child watches them float.
2. Encourage your child to chase and pop them: "Pop! Get that one!"
3. Pop bubbles in different ways: clap to pop, stomp to pop, poke with one finger to pop.
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1. Give your child a ball of playdough (homemade: flour, salt, water, oil — taste-safe).
2. Model squeezing, rolling snakes, and flattening pancakes: "Squeeze! Roll! Flat!"
3. Poke holes with fingers, press cookie cutters into it, or push pebbles into the surface.
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1. Pile 4-6 couch cushions and pillows on the floor in a large, soft landing zone.
2. Let your child jump, fall, or flop into the pile: "Ready... set... CRASH!"
3. Let them climb out and do it again. And again. The repetition is the point.
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1. Take your child outdoors with a small bag or bucket.
2. Encourage them to collect interesting natural items: "Let's find things! Look at this leaf!"
3. As they pick things up, engage all senses: "Feel this rock — it's smooth. Smell this flower. Listen to the stick snap."
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1. Squirt a pile of non-toxic shaving cream onto a tray, highchair tray, or table.
2. Let your child touch it: "Feel that! It's fluffy and cold!"
3. Show them how to spread it with hands, draw lines with fingers, make handprints.
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1. Build a course with 5-6 stations: crawl through a cardboard box tunnel, walk over bubble wrap, jump onto a cushion pile, crawl under a blanket draped between chairs, stomp through crinkly paper, and ring a bell at the finish.
2. Walk your child through the course once: "First the tunnel! Then the bubble wrap! Then jump!"
3. Let your child try independently. Cheer at each station.
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1. Take your child for a walk outside — around the yard or neighborhood.
2. Stop and say "Shhh! Listen. What do you hear?"
3. Point out sounds: "I hear a bird! Tweet tweet! Do you hear it?"
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1. Set up a large tray with 3-4 different textures: dry rice, cotton balls, sandpaper, and a smooth stone.
2. Let your child touch each one.
3. Describe what they feel: "The rice is small and bumpy. The cotton is soft and fluffy!"
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1. Gather several items that make different sounds when hit: pots, plastic containers, cardboard boxes.
2. Give your child a wooden spoon or spatula as a drumstick.
3. Show how to hit each one: "This pot goes BONG! This box goes thud!"
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1. Find a safe spot outdoors with soil or a sandbox.
2. Give your child a small shovel or spoon and a bucket.
3. Dig together: "Let's dig! What do you feel? Is the dirt soft or hard?"
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1. Prepare 3-4 small containers (cups or jars) each with a different scent: vanilla on a cotton ball, a cinnamon stick, a lemon slice, fresh mint leaves.
2. Cover each with a cloth or paper so your child can not see inside.
3. Hold the first one near your child's nose: "Smell this! What do you think it is?"
... See full activity in the app