21 Quiet Indoor (and independent) Activities for Kids 1-5 Years Old

Being a preschool (daycare) teacher for over 10 years has taught me a thing or two about what keeps children busy AND quiet.

For a time when kids are home all day cooped up in the house, it is nice to have activities for them so they don’t get bored.

To keep your sanity and theirs, we suggest these amazing quiet time activities you can od with your kids while they’re home all day.

You may have to work at home while your kids are home all day also, and I want to help you get through it!

Here are some quiet indoor activities for kids…

(PS: Make sure you stick around till the end for a BONUS activity for all ages in this post)

✅ 1-3 years old

Shape Recognition Wooden Puzzles

  • Build early shape, color, and size differentiation skills: it can inspire children’s imagination as well as promote their physical and intellectual development. Perfectly sized for toddlers’ hands, great choice as travel toys.
  • Encourages hand-eye coordination and imaginative play: This is a wonderful Educational shape toy for toddlers, help kids learn shapes, colors, counting and hand-eye coordination. Great toddler toys for 3 4-5 6-year-old boys girls.
  • Stacking Blocks Contains 16 pieces, detachable and removable blocks, which can increase the baby’s ability of creativity.
  • NON-TOXIC and safe to use, They are all non-toxic, BPA Free, Lead-Free, Phthalate Free. The wood is smooth and the keys are well attached. Very durable and of the highest quality.
  • GUARANTEED TO PROVIDE SKILLS AND FUN!

See it here.

Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog

  • FINE MOTOR GAMES FOR KIDS: Build fine motor skills with chunky, peg-shaped pieces that fit the back of this friendly hedgehog
  • DEVELOP: Colorful quills help kids build color recognition, sorting, and counting skills through fine motor skill games
  • TOYS FOR TODDLERS: Now fine motor intrinsic toys come with easy to grasp pieces that are just the right size for little toddler and preschool hands to hold. Fine motor set includes 2-piece hedgehog about 6” in diameter, 12 quills, and activity guide
  • EASY STORAGE: When playtime is over the quills easily fit in the Hedgehog

See it here.

Activity Books

  • In this Kids activity book, your child will practice holding a pencil or crayon correctly while playing the games.
  • Improve brain learning, drawing skills and meditation practice for kids.
  • Your child will develop the fine motor control needed for Kindergarten and beyond!

See it here.

Sticker Play

Give Your child a couple of pieces of paper and a row of stickers and they will be occupied for awhile.

This activity is so simple and a hit with the young ones.

If your child is 1-year old make sure you keep an eye on them as the stickers may end up in their mouths instead of on the paper.

See it here.

Large Aqua Magic Drawing Mats

If your child is younger than two you may choose to store away the accessories to this particular mat.

This is a great activity to have them do independently because of the water based messy free markers.

All you need is water in the markers and they can go at it on the floor with this awesome activity that will have them playing for hours.

  • No ink, No paint, Non-toxic, Non-polluting. Never make a mess. The back of the mat is water-resistant nylon material, clean and safe for kids.
  • The traces will never be chaotic, satisfying the imagination and creativity of the kid’s infinite painting.

See it here.

Coloring Books

Coloring books are amazing for your baby to sit quietly and be learn fine motor skills as they try to stay in the lines.

Your child will be sitting and coloring quietly for a decent amount of time which will give you plenty of time to get some work done!

Can’t go wrong with coloring books.

See it here.

Wooden Puzzles

Wooden puzzles are great and these are fantastic!

These baby wooden puzzles are safe and help with hand eye coordination.

They help with recognizing colors and shapes as well.

See it here.

Basic Skills Activity Boards

  • Education- Features 9 buckles, ties, and buttons to stimulate your tiny tot and develop essential life skills. It is a good toy for children to learn dress by themselves, a good educational toy for preschool teaching aids, home educational tools, and it is also a parent-child activities toys!
  • Developments- Invest in our toy busy board to aid in the development of hands-on learning, cognitive and fine motor skills. Let kids learn and practice essential dressing skills at their own pace while playing.
  • Portable Design: Comes with handle and Straps design, it is very convenient for your kids to carry it anywhere. Your kids will like our colorful toy busy board.

See it here.

Water Play Tables

  • Water table features a 5-Piece accessory set with 2 rubber Ducks and 1 water-squirting frog
  • Don’t get sucked into the whirlpool created by the attached water table spinner
  • Spring your favorite water toys back into the water table with the water table slingshot!
  • Scoop up the water and splash into the whirlpool water tower to add to the splashing fun!
  • The water table holds up to 4 gals. (15. 1 L) of water
  • Note from Step2: All Step2 water tables come with pictured accessories for no added charge.

See it here.

Developmental Magnetic Play Sticks

  • 20 Jumbo Pieces – 12 (5.7 inch / 14.4 cm) bars with strong attractions at each end and 8 (2.4 inch / 6 cm) hollow iron balls, all pieces come in vibrant attractive colors: red, blue, green, and yellow
  • Specialize in creating educational toys that encourage creativity, fine motor skills, interaction, playful experimentation, and which also serve as a valuable kit for a STEM learning curriculum. Goobi products are always made using the best material on the market such as ABS plastic. The bars (rods) and balls form incredibly strong connections making it possible to build large scale structures that are sure to fascinate the whole family.
  • Creative Play of the Year Award | Product of the Year Award | Preferred Choice Award

See it here.

✅ 4-5 Year Olds

Erasable and Reusable Activity Boards

  • REUSABLE ACTIVITY MATS : Includes 6 Double Sided Activity Mats, 1 Skilly Billy Dry Erase Marker, 1 Duster Cloth and 1 Skilly Billy Achievement Certificate.
  • LEARN THROUGH PLAY : 12 highly engaging and repeatable activities which build core skills through fun learning
  • KEY SKILLS : Logical Reasoning, Creative Thinking, Writing, Focus and Attention, Observation.
  • KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES : Drawing, Numbers 1 to 20, Counting, 3 letter words, Animals, Food we eat
  • HAPPY KIDS : Skillmatics reusable activity mats insure kids have fun while they learn key concepts. It is also ideal for children to bond with their friends and family.

See it here.

Drawing Stencils Set

  • ALL IN ONE FULL ART SET – includes large stencils, paper, colored pencils, sharpener, pen, and case. Best boys & girls toys and Gift for Kids
  • PROMOTE CREATIVITY – spark your child’s imagination and enhance their art with our kid’s crafts stencil kit. Amazing crafts for kids ages 4-8, 8-12.
  • CARRY & GO – our handy carrying case holds all of your kid’s art supplies. Be ready to go with your art and craft toys for any long trips: car, plane, or train
  • FUN FOR ALL AGES – big stencils for kids provide hours of fun for children of all ages. Awesome сoloring art & crafts for girls and boys!
  • SAFETY STANDARDS – our kid’s arts and crafts set are made from non-toxic, BPA-free plastic. Meets Toy Safety Standards for toddlers and kids 4-year-old and older

See it here.

Interlocking Plastic Disc Sets

  • The Original Brain Flakes! | Includes over 500 interconnecting discs and a durable plastic jar for easy storage! | Every set comes with an idea booklet with instructions to build a Brain Flakes Ball! | Discs easily click together for ages 5+ (some children as young as 3 have no problem)
  • Child safe | BPA, lead, heavy metal, and phthalate-free! | Compliant with ASTM US CPSIA safety regulations
  • Develops spatial intelligence and thinking | A great solo or collaborative group activity for school classrooms, Makerspaces, Montessori, daycares, libraries, or home! | Countless design possibilities and hours of skill-building play | Engineers Start Here!

See it here.

Tape Activity Books

  • DURABLE TAPE ACTIVITY BOOK: The Melissa & Doug Tape Activity Book includes 4 rolls of easy-tear tape in 4 colors and 20 reusable pages featuring 20 creatively designed pictures to complete.
  • STURDY PLASTIC SPIRAL BINDING: This spiral-bound activity book is built with a sturdy plastic binding, which allows the tape rolls to store directly in the cover for easy use.
  • REUSABLE PAGES: Kids and grown-ups will enjoy the 20 reusable pages. Each page is designed to allow users to peel the tape easily, without tearing or damaging the images on each page.
  • GIFT FOR AGES 4 TO 7 YEARS: The Melissa & Doug Tape Activity Book makes an exceptional gift for children ages 4 to 7 years. Add one of the Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pads to round out the hands-on, screen-free play and learning.
  • “THE GOLD STANDARD IN CHILDHOOD PLAY”: For more than 30 years, Melissa & Doug has created beautifully designed imagination- and creativity-sparking products that NBC News called “the gold standard in early childhood play.”

See it here.

Scissor Skills Activity Pads

  • HELPS CHILDREN PRACTICE SCISSOR SKILLS: The Melissa & Doug Scissor Skills Activity Book is a paper-cutting project book with 20 pre-printed activity pages. This cutting book includes child safety scissors.
  • DURABLE CHILD SAFETY SCISSORS: To encourage children 4 to 7 years old to learn how to use scissors safely, we’ve included plastic safety scissors that naturally encourage proper form.
  • ENCOURAGES FINE MOTOR SKILLS: Our scissor-skills activity set for kids assists in the development of fine motor skills and cognitive skills. The inclusion of mazes, puzzles, animal art, sequencing activities, and much more stimulates creativity.
  • GREAT GIFT FOR AGES 4 TO 7: This scissor activity set is an ideal gift for kids ages 4 to 7. Add the Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pad – Habitats Set to round out the hands-on play experience and give kids an engaging option for screen-free fun.

See it here.

WikkiStix

  • STIMULATE IMAGINATION – Encourage imaginative play in your child with this fun and handy doodle toy.
  • PORTABLE – Perfect for on-the-go, Wikki Stix are small, compact and easy to have on hand.
  • INSPIRATION INCLUDED – 24 Wikki Stix plus Ideas and Illustrations will keep your child (or you!) entertained for hours. A QR Code is included for step-by-step instructions.
  • MANY USES – Perfect for purse, backpack, briefcase, and stocking stuffers.
  • SAFE FOR CHILDREN – This product is made with non-toxic food grade wax and hand knitting yarn.

See it here.

Do A Dot Art

  • NO CUPS, NO BRUSH, NO MESS: Washable dot markers are easy setup and clean up. It comes with 4 vibrant non-toxic colors in no spill, no splash bottles. Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue
  • MADE IN THE USA: Designed and manufactured in our own factory guaranteeing that you are getting the best product without the risk of unknown and unwanted contaminants, using only the highest quality materials and standards to ensure kids have endless fun,
  • PROMOTES EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: Designed for layered learning, which gives children the opportunity to do original planning and thinking while creating expressive art, developing hand-eye coordination and color recognition. Easy to use, perfect for t
  • EASY TO GRIP BOTTLE PERFECT FOR LITTLE HANDS: With generous 2.5-ounce bottles. Do A Dot Art! Markers have more paint per bottle than other dot markers. Just twist off the cap and let the creativity begin

See it here.

Rainbow Counting Bears & Matching Sorting Cups

These occupational therapy gifts will the improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills development.

The bear counters are also great as sensory autism toys or math Montessori toys for toddlers.

The counting bears work as baby learning toys for 3-year-old boys and girls.

They are useful for preschool learning toys for 4, 5 or 6-year-olds!

See it here.

Pattern Blocks & Boards

  • Educational wooden block set: The Melissa & Doug pattern blocks and boards classic toy is a set of 120 wooden blocks in various shapes and colors, inspiring kids to assemble colorful patterns on 5 boards
  • Classic learning activity: Our pattern blocks and boards set lets kids enjoy a classic math manipulative and learning activity. It’s great for spatial awareness, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving
  • Double-sided board: The Melissa & Doug pattern blocks and boards set features double-sided boards that provide kids with even more creative play options. Kids can create linear patterns, sort blocks by color, count pieces, and more
  • Gift for kids 3 to 6: The Pattern Blocks and Boards Classic Toy makes an ideal gift for kids ages 3 to 6 years. Add the Melissa & Doug 100 Piece Wood Block Set to round out the hands-on, screen free-play experience

See it here.

Lacing Beads

  • BRIGHTLY COLORED WOODEN BEADS: The Melissa & Doug Primary Lacing Beads set is composed of 30 brightly colored wooden beads in a variety of shapes, 2 colorful laces, and a wooden storage case.
  • EASY TO ASSEMBLE: Our wooden bead playset includes beads in five distinct shapes that are easy for little hands to grasp. The laces are thin enough to allow the beads to fit seamlessly.
  • HELPS DEVELOP STRONG SKILLS: This Melissa & Doug kids beading set helps children develop strong fine motor, cognitive, and visual perception skills while promoting hand-eye coordination.
  • GIFT FOR AGES 3 TO 5 YEARS: These beads set makes an exceptional gift for kids from 3 to 5 years. Add the Melissa & Doug Lace & Trace activity set to round out the hands-on play experience and give kids another engaging option for screen-free fun.

See it here.

✅ 1-5 Year Olds BONUS Activity

Peeling Crayons Fine Motor Skills Activity

This is a very easy concept. Just give your kids some crayons and bowls!

Instruct them on how to peel the crayons. Trust me, they will be focused and quiet for a very long time.

They can sort the crayon paper into colored bowls like the ones above or just put the left over paper into one large bowl.

This activity helps with strengthening your child’s finger and hand muscles to further help with fine motor skills.

It will help them grasp better therefore helping them hold a pencil for writing.

It seems like a messy activity and it could be (if you have nowhere for your kids to drop the leftover paper), but it’s worth it because I have found this really does help with fine motor skills.

you can melt the leftover crayons with your child to create awesome-looking custom crayons with this crayon maker here if you don’t know what to do with them after this activity.

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