Cognitive Activities: Ideas for Toddlers 1 to 3 Years Old

January 20, 2022

As a developmental therapist working in early intervention, I’m excited to share my favorite cognitive activities for toddlers aged 1 to 3. These fun and developmentally appropriate activities can be enjoyed at home or in the classroom.

Support toddlers’ cognitive development with interactive activities that enhance executive function and problem-solving.

A toddler plays with blocks during a cognitive activity.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is the building of mental and intellectual skills. For toddlers, this is thinking, learning, and understanding. Here’s what it looks like:

Curiosity about the world and how things work
Knowledge of objects and their functions
Longer attention span for activities
Pretend play and role-playing with objects
Learning numbers, counting, and “more”
Sorting and noticing similarities and differences
Creative problem-solving in various ways

Check at FAQs at the end of this post to learn more.

Cognitive Activities for Toddlers

Nature Play

Nature play offers toddlers an open-ended, sensory-rich experience, fostering cognitive development and executive function skills. From exploring the outdoors and experiencing different weather to engaging in risk-taking play and moving through obstacles, these activities promote emergent science, recognition, and motivation, enhancing attention and persistence in playful ways.

Exploring outdoors
Experiencing different weather
Na ture scavenger hunts
Fill + dump with rocks, pinecones, or sticks
Sink or Float with nature objects
Moving through obstacles (over, under, around, through)

Cognitive Skills: emergent science, recognition, motivation, attention, persistence

Loose Parts Play

Loose parts play offers toddlers open-ended materials to explore, promoting cognitive development through creative manipulation. This unstructured play fosters emergent math and science skills, encouraging persistence, reasoning, and the ability to watch and imitate others. Learn more about the benefits of loose parts play and check out a giant list of loose parts materials.

Scarves
Cups
Plastic bottles and jugs
Electric Tea Lights
Funnels
Fabric Squares
Boxes
Lids
Tubes
Nature Objects

Cognitive Skills: using objects in a new way, emergent math, emergent science, persistence, reason/logic, watching and imitating others

Imagination Games

Imagination games play a vital role in toddler cognitive development by encouraging role-play and introducing symbolism. Favorite imagination play toys include costumes, toy animals, and toy vehicles. These activities enhance cognitive skills, such as imaginative play, motivation, and memory, while fostering discovery and self-expression.

Dress up
Pretending to be an animal
Cars, trains, construction vehicles
People figures
Animal figures
Find the toy
More imagination games for toddlers

Cognitive Skills: imaginative play, motivation, using objects in new ways, memory, exploration/discovery, watching and imitating others, finding hidden objects

Books

Books and reading are wonderful cognitive activities for toddlers, introducing early literacy skills and broadening understanding of objects, living things, and people through symbolism. Engage your child by exploring illustrations, adding actions to books, and reading books about your child’s interests.

Find and name objects in the pictures
Connect stories to real life
Play with the sounds of letters and words
Emphasize rhyming and alliteration
Choose books that match your child’s interests

Cognitive Skills: identifying objects when they are named, attention, reason/logic, exploration/discovery

Sensory Play

Sensory play is a fantastic cognitive activity for toddlers, providing an immersive body-mind experience. Engage your child with sensory bins, dough play, sensory books, painting, and eating new foods. Sensory play allows toddlers to begin building early science skills.

Sandboxes
Water tables
Dough
Sensory bins
Painting
Eating new foods

Cognitive Skills: reason/logic, emergent science, emergent math, persistence, motivation, exploration/discovery

Music and Fingerplays

Music and fingerplays are excellent cognitive activities for toddlers, fostering memory, attention, and cause-and-effect understanding. Engage toddlers with singing, dancing, and musical instruments to promote emergent math and science skills while encouraging imitation and following instructions. Learn how dancing supports the vestibular and proprioceptive systems.

Singing
Dancing
Scarf dancing
Pot and pan band
Rhythm sticks
Fingerplays (The Itsy Bitsy Spider or Patty Cake)
Music set with children’s instruments

Cognitive Skills: memory, attention, following instructions, watching and imitating others, cause and effect, emergent math, emergent science

A dad and toddler talk about pictures on the wall.

Blocks

Block play offer a fun cognitive activity for toddlers, nurturing creative, early science, and math skills. Engage your child with open-ended building with anything from tree blocks to Magnatiles for a perfect blend of STEM learning and imaginative development.

Discover all our favorite block activities for toddlers ages 1 to 3.

Cognitive Skills: emergent science, emergent math, imaginative play, using objects in a new way, reason/logic, problem-solving

Puzzles & Close-Ended Toys

Close-ended toys benefit cognitive development, building trial-and-error and problem-solving skills and instilling confidence. However, they should not replace other play experiences as they can lead to frustration. Striking a balance between close-ended and open-ended toys is key for fostering holistic cognitive growth in toddlers.

Puzzles (chunky or knob puzzles)
Shape sorters
Pegboards
Stacking/nesting cups and rings
Pop-up toys
Hammer and peg toys

Cognitive Skills: emergent science, emergent math, cause and effect, attention, reason/logic, problem-solving, persistence

Cognitive Activities in Daily Routines

You can also enhance toddlers’ cognitive development through daily routines. Explore these simple ways to nurture their learning and understanding in day-to-day activities.

Counting with food at meals
Sorting toys at clean-up time
Water play in the bathtub
Completing household chores together
Practicing dressing and undressing
Singing in the car

Cognitive Skills: cause and effect, attention, reason/logic, problem-solving, persistence

FAQs: toddler cognitive development

Cognitive skills for a toddler include the ability to think, learn, and understand as they explore and interact with the world around them.

Here is a list of skills related to cognitive development for 1, 2, and 3-year-old toddlers:

Executive Function

Memory
Reason/Logic
Motivation
Attention
Persistence
Following simple directions
Finding hidden objects

Creativity

Imaginative play
Using objects in new ways

Recognition

Identifying objects when they are named
Understanding the purpose of familiar objects

Emergent Science

Problem-solving
Exploration/curiosity
Cause and effect
Observation

Emergent Math

Spacial awareness
Matching/sorting
Counting
“More”

Created with: Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, Teaching Strategies Objectives for Development and Learning , and the CDC Developmental Milestones.

Signs of cognitive development delays in toddlers may include:

Not pointing at items
Losing skills once had
Not searching for items they saw you hide
Not learning familiar items
Not mimicking others
Not able to follow simple instructions

This is not a comprehensive list of potential delays. Contact your pediatrician if you have concerns about your child’s development. Remember, while checklists like the CDC Milestone Tracker help, there is no replacement for intuition.

For those in the United States, you can also contact your local early intervention services for an evaluation.

While limited use of educational apps and programs can be beneficial, it’s essential to balance screen time with other forms of play. Hands-on, interactive learning experiences are vital for cognitive development during the toddler years.

Adding cognitive activities at home and in the classroom is crucial for supporting and nurturing your toddler’s brain development. Engage in nature play, imagination games, reading, sensory play, music, blocks, and close-ended toys to foster holistic cognitive growth. By integrating these activities into daily routines, you create a strong foundation for your toddler’s future development and learning.