Five-minute activities

Some of the best toddler activities take five minutes, which is about how long a toddler wants to do anything anyway. These are the ones to reach for in the gaps: the wait for the pasta to boil, the twenty minutes before the school run, the moment after a nap when nobody has quite woken up. No set-up beyond fetching one thing, no clean-up worth mentioning. Each has steps, what it builds and a way to stretch it if it lands well and five minutes turns into fifteen.

12 activities

Chair Crawl Under illustration Chair Crawl Under from 12 months · 5 min Gentle Hum Rock illustration Gentle Hum Rock from 12 months · 5 min Mirror Quiet Look illustration Mirror Quiet Look from 12 months · 5 min Snow Globe Shake & Watch illustration Snow Globe Shake & Watch from 12 months · 5 min Warm Cloth Face Wipe illustration Warm Cloth Face Wipe from 12 months · 5 min Stuffed Animal Heartbeat Listen illustration Stuffed Animal Heartbeat Listen from 14 months · 5 min Wipe The Mirror illustration Wipe The Mirror from 14 months · 5 min Dust The Shelf illustration Dust The Shelf from 16 months · 5 min Fill the Pet Bowl illustration Fill the Pet Bowl from 16 months · 5 min Music Box Wind & Listen illustration Music Box Wind & Listen from 16 months · 5 min Hang Coat on Hook illustration Hang Coat on Hook from 18 months · 5 min Water The Plant illustration Water The Plant from 18 months · 5 min

Also

No-mess toddler activities · All activities