Pretend play allows your child to use her imagination. Dressing up as a firefighter, a nurse or a veterinarian offers your child a chance to try out these roles. Look for costumes at thrift stores or second-hand shops around Halloween. Use stuffed animals and household objects as props for pretend play.
Encourage your child to make simple snacks in the kitchen, under your supervision. Toddlers enjoy plucking grapes from the stem, cutting out cookies, or spreading cream cheese on celery sticks. Describe the smells, textures and tastes of the foods to give your child's vocabulary a boost.
Kids relish every opportunity to paint. Offer your child finger paints and a large sheet of paper, or let her paint on a T-shirt. Use sponges to create stamps that your child can dip in paint and use to make prints on a brown paper bag. Roll toy cars in a small tray of washable paint, then roll the cars across an inexpensive paper tablecloth. Paint on paper with cotton swabs, feathers or virtually anything else that can be dipped in paint. Paint on an easel, or create an easel by taping large sheets of paper to a fence in the backyard. Use a cup of water and a large paintbrush to paint the sidewalk and watch it disappear.
Kids enjoy scooping, pouring and dumping a variety of materials during sensory play. Give your child measuring cups or spoons, a funnel and small containers. Pour different materials into a medium-sized storage container and let your child investigate it with the cups and small containers. Try using birdseed, salt, water, noodles or beans.
Explore the outdoors and the changing seasons. Build snowmen, collect bugs, run through the sprinkler and jump in leaf piles. The park, the lake and the hiking trail provide opportunities to discover nature. Start your own garden or set up a bird feeder to relive the experience at home.
Music appeals to children of all ages. Dance to music and create your own moves. Wave scarves or ribbons in the air as you dance. Create your own musical instruments using ordinary household supplies.