16 activities to do with toddlers during a staycation. This post contains affiliate links. I appreciate your support!

My spring break is wrapping up over here and I have just had such a fun week with Zoey, William, and Rob. Even though we did not do the typical spring break travel, we have had some great weather in Denver this week and have been enjoying time with friends and just generally slowing down as a family. It has been so good for my heart to spend all this quality time with our little people.

Zoey just continues to amaze us with how sympathetic she is towards others kids. If she sees, or even hears, another child crying she will go over and try to make them feel better by either patting them on the back or trying to give them a hug. Her grasp of words is also incredible as she is a little chatterbox and loves to try out new words and sounds. Really getting to see her in action this week has been so interesting as she comforts kids at gymnastics and we have full conversations during the day.

I was really looking forward to this specific vacation to get to know William better. At nine months old, his little personality is certainly coming out and we believe we are going to have our hands full. William is super active, into everything, and if you say he cannot do something (like touch the baseboard heater), he will just look you in the eye, give a little smile, and touch it anyway. He is going to be a feisty one for sure!

These are the quirks and personality traits that I have been enjoying (and rolling my eyes at) during this past week off. It has been too much fun to get to spend all this time with them!

While we have had lots of time to hangout at home, this time off has been jam packed. I am still not used to the schedule of two kids. With just Zoey, and when William was still tiny, we would be up and out of the house by 9am. Since William takes a morning nap for anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours, I have definitely had to adjust a bit. We have still been doing some type of morning activity, home for lunch and afternoon naps, and then have had some afternoon/evening activities to enjoy.

For those of you who may not be able to travel during time, or really just want the ease and comfort of a staycation, this is a list of activities we tend to do on breaks to make the time feel more special and out of the ordinary from the usual day to day grind. If you want more no screen toddler activity ideas, you can get a full list here. These are the ones that kept us busy all summer!

Keep in mind that we are a no screens family, meaning we do not watch shows or movies with Zoey (except during potty training as a reward), and we do not have an iPad for her to play on, so all of our activities here involve getting up and getting out. Personally, I always feel refreshed after time away from social media and phones, so these staycation ideas are right up my ally.

The goal of all of these staycation activities is to really spend quality time together. That means not focusing on the endless to do list, letting some of my blog work slide, and really being present with the games the kids are playing and playing with them.

Mall Play Places

If the weather is not as nice as you hoped, we have lots of play areas in our local malls. They can be pretty packed, but Zoey loves to run through them and get her energy out.

Stream Side Play

We started going to the river to play last summer and Zoey just adored it. With spring upon us and everything thawing out, we were able to go again this break. The girl did not want to leave and I had to keep catching William so he would not crawl right into the water like he wanted. I would say it is a winner for sure! Whenever we go to play by the streams, I bring a bunch of sand toys so Zoey can dig, scoop, and build.

Cooking Activities with Toddlers

Chocolate chip cookies were a hit! Zoey helps me cook pretty often, but we never make anything special, so cookies were a fun treat.

Aquarium

This is usually a pricier option, but a perfect way to enjoy your area and get an almost full day outing.

Zoo

Look for a free one in your area or free days. We have a living farm in our area that we love to go to. I also recommend you check out your library for Culture Passes. Often times they will let you book a free admission to a local attraction.

Play Dates with other Toddlers

I love using my vacation time to see friends that we do not have time to connect with during the regular weeks because of all of our crazy schedules. While you might want to take the opposite approach and just relax with your family during your staycation, we enjoy getting to see friends when our time is not so rushed.

Hiking

While Rob and I do not do double digit hikes anymore, we do try to get out to hike a few times a year with the kids. Even just a 2-3 mile loop is refreshing for us and Zoey loves to be in the hiking backpack.

Dinners With Friends

Same as above!

Drop In Gymnastics Classes for Toddlers

Again, this is part of our normal rotation, but it is too much fun to pass up!

Parks

All the parks and playgrounds we can find. The best is exploring new ones in our area as it is usually a guaranteed long nap day afterwards.

Backyard Play

Anything that involves throwing balls, playing in dirt, or playing with water are a huge joy around here.

Bike Rides

Zoey is getting so fast on her Strider Bike and we are almost to the point where we have to run to keep up with her. I have daydreams about the time when she will be able to bike next to me while I run.

Library Story Times with Toddlers

So these are not out of the ordinary week for us, but they are still a hit with both kids. We also pick out a ton of new books to bring home to read every time we go.

Arts and Crafts

(or as Zoey says, “Projects”.)  Pinterest has so many ideas! I like to plan ahead for at least one project per day and gather all the materials each one needs into folders or pencil holders. Then we are good to go when the project mood strikes and I am no scrambling around looking for materials while trying to keep things out of William’s mouth.

Puzzles

Our little lady is a puzzle fiend and we have spent hours sitting and working on them. Her favorites right now are this color peg puzzle, this number puzzle, and this clock puzzle.

Reading with your Toddlers

On mornings when Zoey is up before William, she is happiest to sit in her room and read together. When we are playing in the house, she is happy to sit and read together. The girl just loves her books.

After this dreamy week with the kids, it is now back to the grind for two months before the joy of summer is upon us! I have to say that Fall used to be my favorite my season, but I have definitely become a convert to Summer. The freedom, the fun, the heat, the water. It’s all a blast, especially with Zoey and William in tow. I’m sure we will make good use of the activities I compiled last summer again.

You can get your list of 43 Screen Free Toddler Activities here.

Brooke Selb

I’m Brooke Selb, a Personal Trainer and Health Coach specializing in helping busy moms and moms to be to easily juggle mom life with family friendly recipes, and easy exercise routines to help you achieve your fitness goals that fit in with your already busy life with sound nutritional advice.