Toddler Activities with Hape Toys

As we wait for the remnants of Tropical Storm Karen to pass through town, I spent an afternoon indoors with my little ones. I know the internet is filled with toddler activities for such an occasion, but today I decided to try some new extension activities with our Hape Toys Qubes and Alphabet Puzzle.

Using a the copy function of a printer, I made photocopies of a few of our farm animals and some letters. The animals are from the Qubes collection and have the same image on both sides. When photocopying a letter or number, just flip it so that the correct image appears on the printout.

I made some black and white and some color copies and mounted them on construction paper. This will preserve them for a little longer (as long as possible with a 2-year-old) and also because the paper sort of rolled up after it printed. As you can see, the uncovered space around the images is black. I played around a little with closing the cover or trying to put something on top of the pieces when they were on the glass, but nothing would make the surrounding space white. I ended up satisfied with the black.

I gave the basket of animals and the sheet to my son and he immediately started laying the matching animal on top of the image. He did it several times. I added to the difficulty level by including animals that weren’t on the page. You could also present multiple pages.

He also enjoyed working on the alphabet page. Look at that tongue! That’s concentration!

Other activities to try with the photocopied images could be cutting or coloring. You (or an older child) could also hide the pieces around the house and the photocopy would be the checklist to hunt for all the items.

These animals alone lend themselves to sorting activities. Ask you child which ones make sounds, have feathers, or are orange– any characteristic. Older preschoolers might also be ready for a simple Venn diagram activity using the pieces.

I love activities like this that are engaging yet simple. And I keep my son’s toy shelves stocked with toys that allow for open-ended play and creativity.

How do you spend your rainy days?