When you have a toddler at home, everything seems to take longer. Toddlers seem to require you to be by their side every day, watching them play, eat, or poop. While little Norah is quickly becoming not-so-little Norah, I still vividly remember those toddler days. In fact, I still vividly remember those toddler days with all her three older siblings as well.

Now, I certainly embraced those special moments (not so much the poop moments… but the other ones), but we are also a homeschooling family where multiple children need me at any given moment. Not to mention the other day-to-day things I need to accomplish here and there—always a million times quicker without a toddler on my hip.

To help us get through those long days, I came up with a few little toddler activities to help my little one engage in independent play—even if just for a few short moments. I know from experience that these short moments will grow longer, and independence will grow naturally (and it has!).

It is amazing how one simple toddler craft or activity a day can have such a huge impact. This is exactly why I created my Toddler Program, Playful Days! Perhaps it is just right for you and yours as well? 

I also wanted to share my FREE Rainbow Puzzles and Activities Pack for your toddler! A beautiful way to brighten your toddler’s day:

 

Paper Roll Drop Toddler Activity

This particular toddler activity was a huge hit, so I thought I would share it with you. Here is a little video showing you this independent toddler activity in action (back when Norah was still little Norah):

 

This one is great to keep close to the kitchen for when you are trying to get dinner ready.

We made a paper roll drop!

Materials

For this toddler activity, we used:

• paper rolls
• scissors
• paint
• paintbrush
• ribbon
• tape

We used paper rolls (we used empty wrapping paper rolls, but paper towel tubes or toilet paper rolls would work as well). We had a few that were slightly wider than others, which really added to the learning and fun!

Directions

To start, we chopped the paper rolls in different sizes and spent some time together painting and decorating them.

This is a really important step. I have found over the years that in order for quiet time or independent time to really work, I need to first fill up my little one with time of connection and togetherness.

Once the tubes were dry, I found a long piece of ribbon (it had just been Christmas, so wrapping paper rolls and ribbon were plentiful! Any string at all would work for this activity).

We started by tying the ribbon to one chair, threading the paper towel tubes on, and tying the ribbon to a smaller chair. You could also tie the ribbon to a lower rung on a similar size chair—or even straight across if you don’t want the paper towel tubes to slide down. 

My toddler loved playing with these tubes this way! She could fit one inside the other and make them pass through one another. She also loved pushing them from one chair and watching them zip to the other.

However, this set up wasn’t super sturdy—at least not for the busy way my little one was playing with this activity. The chairs would move, and the ribbon would not hold tight… or the chairs would even tip over.

We decided to move this activity to the window ledge. I taped one end of the ribbon to the top of a window ledge and the other to the floor. I really secured it with tape, and it held very well. Painter’s tape worked for us, but if you really have a go-getter, you might choose to use duct tape (I have had a few go-getters myself!).

Norah was practicing so many different skills! As she played with how the tubes slid and which ones would fit inside others, she was:

• crossing midline,
• building her fine motor skills,
• strengthening her hands,
• building hand-eye coordination,
• improving gross motor skills, and
• learning all about math and science

And I made dinner all on my own!

If you love this activity, you will love my program for toddlers: Playful Days. One craft or activity every day, making those toddler years beautiful.

I hope this activity is a hit for your little toddler as well, my sweet friend! Thank you so much for reading. 

xo
Sarah