50 Real Play Activities
for Every Age and Every Day

Ages 0–6 Months

1. Hold high-contrast black-and-white cards 20–30cm from their face
2. Let them grasp your fingers, feel the squeeze back
3. Sing the same song every day, they will learn to anticipate it
4. Tummy time on a textured mat, even just 3 minutes
5. Talk through everything you do during nappy changes

Ages 6–12 Months

6. Peek-a-boo, one of the most powerful developmental games ever invented
7. Give them a wooden spoon and a saucepan to bang
8. Put objects in and take them out of a container, endlessly
9. Let them feel different textures: grass, bark, smooth wood, soft fabric
10. Crawl in front of them, encouraging them to follow

Ages 12–24 Months

11. Pull a wooden pull-along toy, and let them pull it back
12. Stack wooden rings and knock them over together
13. Walk to the park, naming everything you see
14. Puddle-jumping in wellies (any weather)
15. Point at pictures in books and wait for them to name them
16. Build a two-block tower and let them knock it down
17. Roll a ball back and forth, the original serve-and-return
18. Put objects in bags, boxes and pots and retrieve them
19. Dance together to music
20. Collect leaves, stones and sticks on a walk

Ages 2–3 Years

21. Playdough, make it together (flour, salt, water, food colouring)
22. Sort objects by colour, size, or type with wooden toys
23. Blow bubbles outside and chase them
24. Paint with water on the pavement, it disappears!
25. Make up a simple story together with wooden animal figures
26. Obstacle course with cushions and garden chairs
27. Nature walk: find 5 things that are rough
28. Post items through holes in a cardboard box
29. Water the garden with a watering can
30. Simple 6-piece wooden puzzles

Ages 3–5 Years

31. Build the tallest tower they can from wooden blocks
32. Act out their favourite story with toys as characters
33. Grow cress in an egg shell
34. Simple card games: Snap, Happy Families
35. Make a den out of blankets and chairs
36. Life cycle sorting game (frog, butterfly, bean)
37. Nature journal: draw what they find outside
38. Mud kitchen in the garden
39. Threading pasta or wooden beads onto string
40. Leaf rubbings with wax crayon
41. Make a shop with household objects and "money"
42. Junk modelling with cardboard boxes
43. Catch and throw with a soft ball
44. Bake together, weigh, pour, mix, taste
45. Make up a new ending to a story you know
46. Bug hunt in the garden (magnifying glass optional)
47. Simple woodworking with a hammer and soft wood
48. Design and build a home for a wooden toy animal
49. Play a traditional outdoor game: What's the time Mr Wolf?
50. Write and illustrate their own small book

Free: Activity Cards for all ages (PDF) → Toys for every activity on this list →