Toddlers are changeable.  Sometimes anything will please them.  Other times they are not entertained by anything you can come up with.  Hopefully, with the list below, you will get some good ideas that you and your toddler can do together, either at home or out and about.

1.  Make food.  Most toddlers love to eat, so why not get them involved in the process?  Of course you will need to choose kid-friendly recipes and keep a very watchful eye on the whole process.  But it is about the fun, not the end product, so make sure you let your toddler get in on the stirring, mixing, kneading and measuring and don't be too uptight about messes.

2.  Arts and Crafts.  This one is a no-brainer.  Most kids anywhere from 2 to 5 years old love to get their hands messy with finger paint, squeeze globs of glue onto paper, spread glitter everywhere, and build things with modeling clay or playdough.  If you don't have a kitchen or a room that is conducive to this type of activity, try making at least a space in your home that you can use temporarily for it, preferably on a linoleum or tile flooring (or use newspaper to spread on carpet).  Have a cabinet or a drawer that contains your child's craft supplies and have a time designated to this once a day or once a week, whatever you choose.

3.  Outdoor Item Hunt.  This one is very simple and yet can be a very long-lasting activity that never gets old.  First, make a list of items you know are near your house or in an area you will walk outside.  Name off the items as you and your toddler take a walk together and see if they can spot each item.  This widens your child's awareness while giving you some quality time together to spend in the beautiful outdoors.

4.  Sing and dance.  Whether you think you can sing or not, this is fun to do in the privacy of your home with an audience (your toddler) who is non-judgmental.  Turn on some music and boogy around the living room or the house and try to get your child to follow suit.  This gives your child an awareness of music and at the same time gives both you and your toddler a good exercise session!

5.  Games.  This one has endless possibilities.  As toddlers usually love simple games, you yourself can come up with some custom-made ones to play with your own little one.  Whether it's playing animal charades or the tried-and-true hide-and-seek, you really can't go wrong with this one.

6.  Read a book.  Don't ever underestimate this one.  If you start from a young age, you can promote a love of books and reading in your toddler that will carry over into the rest of their life.  Whether it's 10 or 15 minutes of reading before bedtime, or an hour or two during the day, try to get some time in to do this.  Not only does it broaden your child's mind and stimulate their intelligence, it gives you some special one-on-one time with your child that you will always remember as precious.

7.  Little lessons.  So you may not be a teacher.  So what?  You can either get ideas online or from books, or you can just improvise with tiny little learning opportunities throughout your day or afternoon with your toddler.  You don't have to even treat it as a lesson, but you will always find joy in the fact that you can see the learning process happening so transparently in your child's mind and face, and to know they have learned these things from you makes it extra special.  If you are more intense or you think your child is ready, go ahead and have a formal lesson or two every week to get them ready for those preschool and kindergarten days ahead.