All kids are individuals but one thing they have in common is that a healthy development is important to help them achieve their full potential. Looking for some creative, intellectual and/or physical activities that’ll both keep them entertained and contribute to their continuous development? Then it’s your lucky day! We’ve compiled an ultimate guide to various fun activities per age group that will also help to support different aspects of your kid’s development.

Activities per age

The following list provides examples of activities grouped by age; whether they are intellectual, physical or creative; where the best location to try them is, and what developmental skills they should contribute to. At the end of the article, you can learn more about these developmental skills, namely social-emotional, motor, cognitive and communication.

By clicking on any of the cards you can download the whole card deck. Put it in a jar and choose them randomly to mix it up and make the process of choosing a game even more fun!

Choose the age of your child and find out which fun activities we listed for them!

• 0-18 months
• 2 - 3 years
• 4 - 5 years
• 6 - 7 years
• 8 - 10 years

Do you want to learn more about each of the developmental skills? Click to learn more about them!

• Motor skills
• Social-emotional skills
• Cognitive skills
• Communication skills

0 - 18 months

At this stage, children’s personalities are still in the process of developing and this is when they really start to understand the different senses. Growing up is a fascinating journey of discovery for children, therefore giving your child stimulation from a wide selection of activities will help them and you gain a better understanding of your little one’s character and interests.

Creative activities

1. Painting

It is really important that you supervise this activity.

Let your kid’s imagination run wild with this activity. Just some paint and paper will keep your toddler entertained for ages. Make sure you have different colours and different supplies they can use. Some of our recommendations are:

• coloured pencils
• crayons
• markers
• water soluble paints

This way your little one can experiment with different textures and will start leaning towards a certain spectrum of colour. Toddlers in this age group start developing their personality and encouraging them to use paint might be a good opportunity for you to recognise if they like expressing their creative side or not.

Painting is a fun activity for children, which they can do together with an adult. The cognitive skills of the child will be improved while doing this creative activity.

2. Music

This age range is when kids go from just babbling to actually pronouncing a couple of words, or even sentences. Using songs will help them recognise sounds, remember how certain words are formed and encourage them to communicate with others by singing along. It doesn’t matter if the songs are strictly made for children or not, you can put on anything that makes you both smile!

This will help your kid in developing their creative side. Moreover, if your little karaoke star is in the process of learning how to walk, then a little song could also serve as some encouragement. This creative activity for kids improves their communication skills.

Intellectual activities

1. Picture books

Simple picture books will help your toddler learn more about objects, colours and words. Visual learning is one of the best ways to learn since it is proven that a picture is easier to understand and remember.

Kids love picture books. By looking at the pictures the children will have a lot of fun. And that’s not all! They will also develop their cognitive and communications skills.

2. Texture games

To play this game you have to, first, sit your baby or your small toddler down in a safe place where they cannot fall. Then, on a surface that is within your baby’s reach, put a few objects of different textures over the table. Some of our recommendations are:

• Bread crumbs
• Jello
• Plastic bowl with some water
• Chocolate
• Unpeeled mandarin oranges

Encourage your baby to explore the different textures and learn more about all their senses. This activity is a good example of an inside activity a parent can do with their child. It’s also a great example of an intellectual activity that has a positive effect on the cognitive skills of a child.

Physical activities

1. Rolling and sounds

There are two different ways you can play this game. You can either use an object that makes a sound when moved, like a rattle, or an object that rolls around.

Once you have chosen the object, put it in front of your child and move it around a couple of times until they understand the effect of touching the object and the consequence (i.e. a sound or a movement). Then encourage them to move the object themselves. This way they will improve their motor skills as well as their hand-eye coordination.

Tip: Make sure your toddler is in a safe environment, and avoid high chairs or spots where they could potentially fall when moving too quickly or too far.

This fun game is an inside activity that parents can do with their child. This physical activity will help the child improve their motor skills.

2. Dance and freeze

Kids at this age tend to be really interested in music. Let them explore the different sounds with this fun and easy-to-do game. Put some music on, a song the child already knows and enjoys, and encourage them to dance. After a while, stop the music and act as if you were frozen, kids at this age tend to imitate others when they’re not sure what to do. Repeat this a couple of times, and freeze in different poses, until they understand the game. And there you go, you’ll spend hours seeing your little one play and laugh.

This fun dancing activity for kids is a physical activity that improves the motor skills of the child.

2 - 3 years

2. Storyteller

Encourage your kid to tell stories based on small things such as a word or an object. It is a good experience for them to be able to create their own stories out of the blue, as it develops their imagination and improvisation. In the beginning their stories might not make much sense, but with time, they will start connecting the objects in more imaginative and humorous ways. There are different ways of playing this game:

• Use objects : you can create your own box full of small objects dedicated to storytelling time.
• Use words: be patient and tell your kid different words to include in their story at random parts of it.
• Use cards: write different words on separate cards and randomly choose three cards for them to include in their story.

This is a creative activity for kids which helps them develop their communication skills.

Intellectual activities

1. Search and find

You can help children understand and learn more about object characteristics, such as shapes, colours, and textures, by encouraging them to find something in the room with those qualities.

It is a simple game, just go to a room your kid is familiar with and start with objects they know well so it is easier for them to recognise the characteristics of the object. If you want to play this game with multiple kids you can always make it a competition (who can find the object first or who can find the most objects with certain characteristics).

This activity can be played outside or inside the house. It’s an intellectual activity which helps kids improve their cognitive and motor skills.

2. What’s in the box:

Similar to the previous activity, this activity will let the kids explore and develop their senses further by encouraging them to recognise objects without seeing them. It is really easy to set up and you can just use objects that you have around the house. That way they might be more familiar with them and therefore they will be easier to identify.

How to set up the game:

• Find an old cardboard box: make sure the box has one side fully open and create a cut on the opposite side of the box big enough for your child to put their arms through.
• Put the object you want them to recognise on the table and cover the object with the cardboard box.
• Cover their eyes with a scarf or a sleeping mask.
• And let the game begin!

Make sure you reassure your kid that the objects they are going to touch are completely safe and inanimate, so they don’t experience any fear of the unknown when playing the game.

This fun activity for kids is an intellectual activity that stimulates the cognitive skills of the child.

Physical activities

1. Step by step

It is really important that you supervise this activity

Even though it’s true that stairs can be relatively dangerous for children when they are really young and left unattended, this feature of the house is actually a great place to help children exercise once they have started walking independently. Moreover, kids tend to be naturally curious about stairs so let them explore these mysterious features!

Start encouraging them to crawl up the stairs carefully if they are not familiar with the steps. Once they can crawl up the stairs, teach them how to manoeuvre safely back down. You have to be careful and make sure you’re always there to help them if they can’t do it but it is really important that you’re giving them instructions and tips, so they can do it on their own.

If your kid is older, you can encourage them to try jumping up and down the stairs. It’s good exercise and also a physical activity you can easily do inside, which is perfect for rainy days.

This physical inside activity helps children with their motor skills.

2. Obstacle course

It is really important that you supervise this activity

If you want to increase the physical activity your child does or simply help them to develop skills, such as balance, creating your own obstacle course is a perfect idea.

You can create the course inside, and use everyday objects that will make this activity both economic and easy to prepare. Some of the things you can use to create your own obstacle course are:

• Blankets: easy to jump over or as a safety net to put beside some other obstacles in case the child falls.
• Boxes: easy to jump over. You can use boxes made of harder materials for them to walk on and help them with their balance.
• Sticky tape: to show where they should do the different actions. It is also really easy to remove from any surface.
• Pieces of paper with visual cues: put them beside each of the obstacles so they know what to do.

Kids can do this fun activity with others or all by themselves. This physical activity helps kids with their motor skills.

4 - 5 years

• Create cardboard masks with different emotions, which they can then put on and off to act out the emotion.
• Play a guessing game in which one of you has to act out an emotion and the other has to guess it correctly.
• You can also entertain them further by making your own emotions DIY. You’ll only need some empty recycled jars and paint to create your own visual interpretation of the various emotions.

It is nice to have multiple children playing this game at the same time, this way they will feel more comfortable expressing their emotions in front of other kids their age. This activity is a creative activity that helps children with their emotional and communication skills.

2. Act in a play

Whether it is a made up short story or reenacting a part of their favourite tale, this activity will help your kid develop their communication and interpretative skills. Being in character enables your little one to pretend to act out different emotions. This will help them to identify emotions by putting a name to them. For example, if a character is surprised, your kid will be able to connect the emotion’s name with the way ‘surprise’ is being performed, which will make it easier for them to recognise others’ emotions in the future. You can also use costumes, it will help your kid get into character better.

Acting is an amazing activity that kids can do all by themselves or with their friends. This creative activity is a perfect way for children to improve their emotional and communication skills.

Intellectual activities

1. Bingo

Bingo is a perfect game for practising numbers. Take turns in playing and calling the numbers. Calling the numbers is a good way to practise the pronunciation of the numbers. Then playing the actual game will help your kid to recognise the numbers by the way they sound, and then to find them by the way they look.

Bingo is an activity that can only be done with several people. This intellectual activity helps children with their cognitive skills.

2. 3D puzzles

At this age puzzles should start getting a little bit more complicated. That’s why 3D puzzles, specifically geometric ones (that have 24 or more pieces) are perfect for keeping your kid entertained. These puzzles will help to develop their spatial awareness and their logical thinking.

You can start by using puzzles which have different coloured pieces. Once they start getting better at the activity, switch to a simple wooden puzzle that has no colour.

Doing 3D puzzles is a fun activity for kids, which they can do all by themselves or together with a parent or some friends. By doing 3D puzzles, kids work on their cognitive skills.

Physical activities

1. Flying a kite

Let’s go fly a kite! This is a perfect activity your child can do outdoors. It is good for their balance, coordination and strength. It may seem easy but it can be quite challenging if the weather is against you. Therefore, it will also exercise their patience!

Since they are starting to feel accomplishment for their successes at this age, being able to fly a kite will make them feel good because of the achievement itself, and because they are mastering a complex skill. Double the satisfaction, double the fun!

This activity can only be done outside. While the kids run with the flying kite they work on their motor skills.

2. Hide and seek

This well known game is perfect for your kid to interact with others while minimising the physical contact between them. It’s also the perfect game to play outside, encouraging kids to enjoy and embrace nature in their daily lives. Since kids at this age start feeling competitive, it is a good game for them to challenge themselves and each other in a safe way.

Hide and seek is a great physical activity for kids, with which they can work on their motor skills. The game can be played inside and outside, but you need at least two people to play the game with.

6 - 7 years

2. DIY Guitar

Let your kid explore their creativity through both making the guitar and playing it! It’s a craft that they can continue to have fun with long after it’s made. And who knows - maybe you’ll discover that you have a little rockstar on your hands!

What you’ll need:

• An empty tissue box
• Elastic bands
• Two popsicle sticks and/or pencils
• A cardboard tube (i.e. from a roll of baking paper, wrapping paper, etc.)
• Glue, tape, scissors, etc.
• And some paints to add a splash of colour!

Step-by-step:

• Step 1 - Place the end of the cardboard tube against the end of the tissue box and draw around it. Then carefully cut it out to create a hole.
• Step 2 - Paint the box, tube and popsicle sticks(/pencils) any colour of your choice.
• Step 3 - Once the paint has dried, place the cardboard tube into the hole you cut and secure it in place with tape.
• Step 4 - Glue the popsicle sticks(/pencils) on either side of the hole on the front of the box. When it has dried you can wrap elastic bands of different lengths and thicknesses around the whole box (this’ll create different sounds!).
• Step 5 - It’s time to perform!

This activity is a creative activity that can be done inside. While making this DIY guitar, kids will work on their motor skills.

Intellectual activities

1. Fishing for Numbers

There are a lot of benefits to learning a second language, such as being able to maintain attention better than kids who only know one language (Cornell Language Acquisition Lab)
. However, sometimes kids don’t always see the point. Therefore, we recommend this simple game to help to start making language learning fun for your kid.

To create your fishing rod and ‘fish’ (i.e. the numbers), you’ll need:

• A dowel (or a stick)
• A magnet
• String
• Paper
• Pen
• Scissors
• 10 paper clips

Step-by-step:

• Step 1 - Tie one end of your string around the top of the dowel, then tie the other end around the magnet. Voila - you’ve got yourself a fishing rod!
• Step 2 - Draw 10 simple fish-shapes on your paper and write the numbers 1-10 on each fish. Then cut them out and attach a paper clip to the front of each fish.
• Step 3 - Finally, you can start playing! Just call out the numbers in a second language of your choice, and see if your kid can translate and then catch the correct number with their fishing rod.

This game is an intellectual activity, which a kid can play by themselves or with other people. While doing this activity the kid will work on their cognitive skills.

2. Memory

Memory is a classic game, loved by kids of many ages. For those who are unfamiliar with the game, all you need is a deck of children’s matching picture cards. After shuffling the cards, you can spread them out on a flat surface, face down. The players then take it in turns to turn over any two cards. If the cards match they get to keep the cards and have another go. If the cards do not match, the player must turn them over again and let the next person have a go. The kid with the most pairs at the end wins!

Alternatively, your kid can also play this game on their own, and instead of competing with others they can time how long it takes them to find all the matching pairs.

The good thing about this game is that you can adapt it to your kid’s level by adding less or more cards to make the game easier or harder. This makes it a great activity for helping your kid develop their cognitive skills.

Physical activities

1. Musical Chairs

Musical chairs is another classic game that gets your kids moving and encourages some healthy competition. To play you just need some music and a chair for each kid.

You can place the chairs in a circle or randomly around the room. Next play the music while the kids move and dance around - make sure they do not stand in one place! When the music stops each kid must run to a chair and sit down. You can first do a practice round where there is a chair for each kid, then once the kids are comfortable you can take one chair away each round. The kid who doesn’t manage to find a chair is out of the game, which means that the last kid standing (or sitting!) will be the winner!

This activity is perfect for kids with a lot of energy. The game can be played inside or outside with several children, and while playing the kids work on their motor skills.

2. Parachute Games

Bringing out a parachute is always a special treat for kids. However, children sometimes get a little too excited at this notion, so before starting it’s important to show them how to hold the parachute properly and to remind them to be considerate of one another.

There are many different games you can play with a parachute. Here are our top 5 recommendations:

• Popcorn
• Cat and mouse
• Merry-Go-Round
• Ball Roll
• Parachute Tag

This game is especially great for kids who have a lot of energy, and can also be a nice opportunity for kids to learn to work together. You can play the game outside with multiple children, and while playing the kids will work on their motor and social skills.

8 - 10 years

2. Make a scrapbook

Is your child creative? Then making a scrapbook is probably a fun activity for them! Get your kid to collect all their favourite photos of them and their friends, including some photos from the past and some that were taken more recently. Now it is time for the creative part. Get them to decorate their scrapbook with stickers, ribbons, photos, paint, etc. Make the scrapbook completely in their own style and let their personality shine through on every page. Making a scrapbook is not only fun for now, but also nice to look back on later.

Your kid can make a scrapbook all by themselves. It’s a creative activity which helps them to improve their motor skills and is especially an enjoyable activity for creative kids.

Intellectual activities

1. Monopoly

As kids in this age group become more aware of rules and the reasoning behind them, intellectual games like monopoly are great for these kids. They can learn how to negotiate, communicate with others, understand rules and consequences, and much more.

Monopoly is a lively board game that can be played with several people. The board game is an intellectual activity that helps kids develop their cognitive, communication, and social skills.

2. Do a jigsaw puzzle

You might think that doing jigsaw puzzles is only for young children, but not anymore! Nowadays, there are even puzzles for adults. Choose a puzzle with more than 300 puzzle pieces, so that putting the puzzle together is an entertaining challenge for your kid.

They can do the puzzle all by themselves, but putting a puzzle together with a few friends is actually a lot of fun! Jigsaw puzzles are perfect for kids who love to solve problems and have a lot of patience. Doing a puzzle is an intellectual activity which also helps your child to improve their cognitive skills.

Physical activities

1. Build a hut

Who doesn’t like making their own hut, clubhouse, fort or tree house?! Take your kid to the park, bring some rope and blankets, find some sticks and leaves, and make your own little clubhouse. Building a hut is an activity which your kid will enjoy for hours.

Building a hut is a physical activity, which can be done by one person or several. It helps kids with their motor skills and they can learn to cooperate with other kids. It can be done inside the house or outside, for example in your garden or a park. This activity is especially nice for kids with an active imagination. They can play the entire day in their self-made hut, and be the king or queen of their own realm.

2. Scavenger hunt

Has your kid always dreamed of being a spy or a detective? Then this activity is perfect for your kid. You as a parent can leave some clues inside the house or around the neighbourhood, which will eventually lead to a nice surprise like candy or cheap toys. Your child and their friends will go through the route by following the clues and ultimately trying to find the treasure. Nothing is more fun than tracking down hidden treasure with all your friends.

This activity is perfect for energetic and curious kids. A scavenger hunt is a physical activity, which helps children with their social and motor skills.

You can also find more fun activities for kids on rainy days
and outdoor activities for sunny days.

Developmental Skills