For 2-year-olds! Fun craft activities and indoor play ideas
As children reach the age of two, a sense of independence—“I want to do it myself!”—begins to emerge.
You’ll start to see them eagerly taking on new challenges and acting with confidence and initiative.
As their fine motor skills improve, the range of crafts they can make using tools and techniques expands significantly.
In this article, we’re introducing craft activity ideas that are just right for two-year-olds’ development.
From season- and event-themed projects to activities that lead into pretend play and ones that use unique techniques, we’ve gathered fun ideas that will boost children’s motivation to create.
Through these activities, we hope children can experience the joy and sense of accomplishment that comes from doing things on their own.
We hope you find these ideas helpful.
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For 2-Year-Olds! Fun Craft and Indoor Play Ideas (1–10)
Stamp-only bug
Handprint stamps are a wonderful material that can also be used as a record of growth.
Let’s use those handprint stamps to make bagworms.
First, make three handprints with the handprint stamp.
Next, draw the bagworm’s face on a circle cut out of construction paper.
Choose art materials that are easy for two-year-olds to use, such as crayons.
Then turn the handprints upside down to represent the bag, and stick them on together with the face.
Fix some yarn to the back and you’ll have a hanging bagworm! You’ll end up with expressive bagworms that showcase each child’s individuality.
Instrument making
Enjoy making instruments with the children and play together.
Since you’ll be using plastic bottles and empty tissue boxes, please gather plenty of materials in advance.
For maracas made from plastic bottles, let the children decorate them freely with drawings or stickers, then fill them with cut-up pieces of straw to complete them.
For the guitar, cut a rectangular hole in the top of an empty tissue box and stretch several rubber bands lengthwise across it.
If you have an empty box with a lid, it can become a drum just by tapping the lid with your hand.
Feel free to adapt these ideas based on the teachers’ creativity.
Making T-shirts with stamps
Would you like to have fun making T-shirts with stamps? T-shirts freely expressed on construction paper will become favorite creations.
First, have the children fold small pieces of cardboard into triangles and secure them with tape.
Use these to stamp patterns onto T-shirt-shaped construction paper.
Once the patterns are done, hang them up to dry like laundry to enjoy even more of a T-shirt vibe.
If making your own T-shirt sparks interest, it’s also a great chance to practice folding a real T-shirt.
This craft is perfect for two-year-olds who are rapidly gaining new skills.
For 2-year-olds! Fun Craft and Indoor Play Ideas (11–20)
Acorn Cake
How about making acorn cakes for an autumn craft activity? Use acorns you picked up during a walk or outdoor play to make cakes.
Use paper clay as the cake base and decorate with acorns.
If you use colors other than white for the paper clay, you can make cakes in all kinds of “flavors.” You can place the acorns on top like strawberries, sandwich them between layers of paper clay—there are many ways to decorate.
Making several small, cupcake-style cakes is also recommended.
Let your child’s imagination run wild and have fun playing!
Santa Claus
During the Christmas season, let’s make Santa Claus crafts to brighten up the festivities! You can draw Santa on construction paper, try origami, and create Santa in various ways.
As one craft-play idea, we recommend using a tissue box.
After covering the tissue box with red or light peach construction paper, attach the facial parts of Santa Claus.
It’s best to prepare in advance by covering the tissue box with paper and getting each part ready.
Have your child stick on the parts, and let them add a yarn pom-pom or cotton as the pom-pom on Santa’s hat.
Making a Halloween costume
Halloween is becoming a big event in Japan, too.
It’s a familiar occasion for children.
Let’s try making costumes perfect for Halloween! If a 2-year-old wants to make a simple costume, using plastic bags is recommended.
Use an orange bag to be a jack-o’-lantern, a white one to be a ghost, and a black one to be a witch.
Draw or stick on your favorite patterns, and you’ll have an easy Halloween costume ready in no time! Make sure an adult handles cutting the holes for the neck and arms.
Kite made from a plastic grocery bag
A fun activity for the New Year season is making a kite out of a plastic shopping bag.
Prepare a bag from the supermarket and let your child draw their favorite picture on it.
Have them draw with the bag oriented so that the handles are at the bottom.
Once the picture is done, attach kite string to both handles and wind the other end around a piece of construction paper or thick cardboard that will serve as the handle when pulling the kite.
Cut a small notch in the handle so the string can catch.
And that’s it—your shopping-bag kite is complete! Even in the chilly New Year season, head outside and have lots of fun playing with this kite.