Somewhere between their first and third birthdays, toddlers go from passive explorers to active ones. They can walk, climb, follow simple instructions and start making their own choices about what to touch, taste and explore. This opens up a much wider range of sensory play than what works for an infant.
Sensory play at this stage supports language acquisition, problem-solving, social skills, and both fine and gross motor development, while helping toddlers build knowledge about the objects and materials around them. Because a 14-month-old and a 2½-year-old are working with very different skills, we’ve split these 18 activities into two age bands: 1–2 years and 2–3 years.
Looking for ideas for a younger baby? See our companion post: 20 Sensory Activities for Infants (1–12 Months).
A Quick Refresher: The Seven Senses
Toddlers are refining all seven senses — sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste, balance and body awareness (the sense of where the body is and how it’s moving). We cover each of these in more depth in our infant sensory activities guide, but the short version: every activity below builds one or more of these senses, and we’ve noted which.
Sensory Activities for Toddlers: 1–2 Years
Toddlers at this age are newly mobile and still exploring a lot with their mouths and hands. These activities favor bigger movements and simple cause-and-effect over fine motor precision.
1. Sensory Table
Overview: A sensory table is a surface with bins that parents can fill with different objects to provide sensory learning opportunities for their young kids.
Why it works: Sensory tables are versatile. Parents can choose objects by color (yellow objects – a banana, a lemon, dandelion flowers, yellow felt or cloth balls, a rubber duck, etc.), or by type (nature objects – leaves, bark, pinecones, dirt, grasses, flowers, pebbles). Parents can even create sensory tables with edible objects so toddlers can learn by tasting.
Sensory development: Seeing, Touching, Tasting
2. Rice or Pasta Bin with Scoops
Overview: Bins of rice or pasta with scoops and shovels of different sizes are a fun way for toddlers to develop the sense of touch.
Why it Works: Kids love to shovel, scoop and dump objects as they develop motor skills and sense of touch. Parents can provide scoops and buckets of different sizes to help toddlers learn that heavier objects require more effort to move. Using cooked (and cooled) pasta or rice can make this sensory activity edible and even more fun for kids.
Sensory Development: Touching, Tasting
3. Sponges and Water
Overview: Give your toddler a shallow tub of water with a couple of sponges to squeeze and soak.
Why it works: At this age, toddlers can intentionally squeeze and release, which builds hand strength while they observe how water behaves.
Sensory development: Touching, Seeing
4. Sandbox Games
Overview: Sandbox games include things like building a sand castle or moving piles of sand with scoops, buckets, shovels and other toys.
Why it works: Toddlers are learning how to manipulate their environment and surroundings using different tools. Parents can encourage play by hiding objects in the sand for toddlers to find or teaming up to build a sandcastle.
Sensory development: Touching
5. Textured Walk
Overview: Line up a few different surfaces (a bath mat, bubble wrap, a towel, grass) and let your toddler walk barefoot across each one.
Why it works: Walking across new textures with bare feet builds body awareness and balance while introducing new tactile sensations through the feet, not just the hands.
Sensory development: Touching, Balancing, Body Awareness
6. Smell & Guess (Simple Version)
Overview: Parents hide scented materials in opaque containers. Toddlers are encouraged to smell the inside of the container without looking and guess the smell.
Why it works: Smell & guess is a novel and exciting game for young kids who love to learn while being challenged. Scented oils like lavender, vanilla extract and peppermint extract can be used, along with fresh items like cinnamon sticks, garlic, lemons, vinegar, flower petals or ginger.
Sensory development: Smelling
7. Finger Painting
Overview: Finger painting gives your toddler the opportunity to use their imagination and be creative while learning through sensory experience.
Why it Works: Finger painting incorporates many different senses. They develop their sense of vision by choosing colors. They develop the sense of touch while mixing paints by hand. They use vision and touch while painting a picture. They develop the sense of hearing by listening to parents for help and feedback. They also develop fine motor skills, coordination, and creativity skills.
Sensory Development: Touching, Seeing, Listening
8. Musical Sound Exploration
Overview: Create a safe musical exploration station with various homemade instruments. Sealed containers filled with rice, wooden spoons, and metal bowls are examples of the “instruments” for this activity. Set up the instruments on a large mat, demonstrating different ways to create sounds. Encourage toddlers to tap, shake, and explore the instruments, experimenting with volume, rhythm, and sound production. Guide children to listen carefully and observe how different actions create different sounds.
Why it works: This activity supports auditory processing, rhythm recognition, and motor skill development. Toddlers learn cause-and-effect relationships by discovering how their actions produce different sounds. The hands-on musical exploration promotes creativity, listening skills, and early mathematical understanding through rhythm and pattern recognition.
Sensory development: Hearing, Touching
9. Bubble Time!
Overview: Set up a controlled bubble exploration area with child-safe bubble solution and large bubble wands. Demonstrate bubble-blowing techniques, encouraging toddlers to watch, chase, and attempt to create bubbles. Use different wand sizes to create varying bubble sizes. Supervise closely and use a waterproof mat for easy cleanup.
Why it works: Bubble play supports multiple developmental domains, including visual tracking, motor skill development, and cause-and-effect understanding. Toddlers develop hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and early scientific observation skills. The activity provides a magical, engaging sensory experience that promotes learning through play.
Sensory development: Seeing, Touching
Sensory Activities for Toddlers: 2–3 Years
By age 2, most toddlers can follow simple two-step instructions, use tools with more control, and engage in longer stretches of focused play. These activities ask a bit more of their fine motor skills and attention.
10. Salt Tray Writing
Overview: A tray full of salt is a great way for toddlers to practice drawing shapes and making letter strokes as they develop visual/spatial skills, language skills and sense of touch.
Why it works: Practicing pre-writing strokes in salt is forgiving — a shake of the tray resets it instantly — which makes it a low-pressure way to build the visual-spatial and motor skills needed before pencils.
Sensory development: Touching, Seeing, Language
11. Playdough Exploration
Overview: Prepare a safe playdough station with various exploration tools. Demonstrate how to roll, squish, and shape the playdough. Provide cookie cutters, a child-safe rolling pin, and textured surfaces for additional sensory input. Encourage toddlers to explore the playdough’s properties, creating shapes and experimenting with different textures and manipulation techniques.
Why it works: Playdough exploration supports critical fine motor skill development, hand-eye coordination, and sensory processing. Toddlers develop spatial reasoning, creativity, and early problem-solving skills by manipulating the dough. The activity provides a rich sensory experience that supports cognitive and physical development.
Sensory development: Touching
12. Nature Texture Exploration
Overview: Create a nature exploration station using a large shallow tray filled with various natural materials collected from a safe outdoor environment. Provide toddlers with a child-safe magnifying glass to examine textures up close. Encourage sorting materials into different containers based on texture, size, or color. Guide children to touch, examine, and discuss the different natural objects they encounter.
Why it works: This activity supports multiple developmental domains by introducing scientific observation, classification skills, and sensory exploration. Toddlers develop critical thinking skills by sorting and categorizing natural materials, while simultaneously engaging their sensory systems. The hands-on approach promotes curiosity, fine motor skill development, and early scientific reasoning.
Sensory development: Touching, Seeing
13. Pretend Tightrope
Overview: Pretend tightrope is a simple game to help toddlers develop a sense of balance. Parents set down a rope or string on the ground and toddlers play by walking in a straight line along the string without stepping off.
Why it works: Toddlers are growing rapidly, starting to walk, and ready to explore and interact with the environment in new ways. Pretend tight rope is a fun game that promotes body awareness and builds your child’s skills and confidence for more difficult physical activities in the future.
Sensory development: Balance, Body Awareness
14. Simon Says
Overview: Play a simplified version of Simon Says, giving one instruction at a time (“touch your nose,” “jump twice”).
Why it works: Following spoken instructions builds listening skills, attention and short-term memory, alongside body awareness as they carry out each action.
Sensory development: Listening, Body Awareness
15. Freeze Dance or Freeze Tag
Overview: Play music (or run around) and have your toddler freeze in place the moment it stops.
Why it works: Suddenly stopping mid-motion challenges balance in new positions, and playing with others builds early social and turn-taking skills.
Sensory development: Balancing, Body Awareness
16. Color Mixing Sensory Bag
Overview: Fill a sealed zip-top bag with clear hair gel and a few drops of food coloring, then let your toddler squish and blend the colors.
Why it works: Watching colors combine in real time introduces basic color theory, while squeezing the sealed bag builds hand strength with zero mess.
Sensory development: Seeing, Touching
17. Make Popcorn Together
Overview: Making popcorn with your toddler is a fun and safe activity where they’ll learn valuable life skills – and when it’s finished, you’ll have a tasty snack to share.
Why it works: Making popcorn with kids incorporates multiple kinds of sensory experiences. Show kids what the kernels look like before and after going into the microwave. Kids can smell the popcorn while it cooks and listen to the popping sounds. Once the popcorn is made, they’ll enjoy touching and tasting it as well – just make sure to let it cool down first.
Sensory development: Hearing, Touching, Seeing, Tasting
18. Edible Sensory Bin
Overview: Fill a bin with taste-safe dry ingredients like cereal, crackers or dry pasta shapes for open exploration.
Why it works: An edible bin removes the worry of a toddler putting the material in their mouth, so they can explore textures freely while snacking along the way.
Sensory development: Touching, Tasting
Sensory Activities for Toddlers: FAQs
Start with smaller amounts of material, offer noise-reducing headphones for louder activities, and let your toddler opt out or take breaks. An occupational therapist can help tailor sensory play to a specific child’s needs.
Use non-toxic, age-appropriate materials, and supervise closely during any activity involving water, small objects or foods that could pose a choking risk. Check for allergies before introducing new scents or edible materials.
Yes, toddlers regulate their own exposure to new sensations, and walking away is a normal response to feeling overstimulated. Let them set the pace, and try shorter sessions or smaller amounts of material next time.
Looking for ideas for a younger baby? See 20 Sensory Activities for Infants (1–12 Months).
