5 ways for your toddler to (safely) play with small objects

Bugs, buttons, miniature dolls, rocks, Q-tips, stickers, pompoms… toddlers love tiny things 🙂 

In the Montessori philosophy, a “sensitive period” is a span of time during which a child shows a natural inclination towards learning, doing, or trying something. The sensitive period for small objects occurs between 1 and 3 years. Keeping a close eye on your toddler to make sure they don’t put small items in their mouth can be a challenge, but it’s worth it. 

Occupational therapists recommend providing toddlers with manipulatives—small objects that can be handled and studied—to hone their fine-motor ability and build the hand strength needed to hold a pencil and write. 

Here are some inexpensive DIY ways for your toddler to play safely with small objects, at home or on the go:

Matchsticks in a container

This activity builds on your toddler’s interest in putting coins in the wooden coin bank. Toddlers are naturally driven to practice their emerging fine motor skills. Poking small objects through small holes will capture all of their concentration and effort. 

You can find coloured craft matchsticks* at a craft store or online. Any container with a soft, cuttable plastic lid will work (like this one). 

Ice lolly Velcro sticks

Toddlers love sticking velcro together and pulling it apart. They will also enjoy feeding the sticks through a slot in a container. 

You can find velcro stickers and large coloured ice lolly sticks at a craft store or online. Stick the soft part of the velcro on one end of the ice lolly stick and the rough part on the other end. 

To create the slot activity, you will need a container with a soft, flexible plastic lid. Porridge containers work well because they are tall enough to hold the sticks. Cut a slot in the plastic lid with a box cutter or utility knife. A larger slot is easier for your toddler to feed the stick through; a smaller one presents more of a challenge. The container is also a great place to store the sticks. 

Hang onto these for older toddlers too, who will enjoy using them to build roads for their cars and for colour matching. 

Felt pockets

You can also create some coloured felt pockets for your toddler to practice their fine motor skills. At first, they can experiment with containment, putting the coloured ice lolly sticks in the pockets and pulling them out. Eventually, they will learn to match the colour of the stick with the colour of the pocket.

To make the pockets, cut out felt squares and use some fabric glue along the edges to join them together. You can find coloured ice lolly sticks at a craft store or online.

Q-tips and an egg carton

To create a fine motor challenge similar to the matchstick activity above, poke holes in the bottom of a paper egg carton and offer your toddler q-tips to poke through. 

*Note, be careful your toddler does not poke the Q-tips or matchsticks into their ears, nose, or eyes ❤️

Plastic water bottle repurpose

Put a clear plastic water bottle to new use by giving your toddler many objects to push inside: pipe cleaners, pompoms, q-tips, puffs, etc. After they have filled the bottle, work with your toddler hand over hand to put the lid on and shake it all up. To recycle the bottle later, it might be easier to cut a larger hole at the top and shake out the contents.

Little treasure box

You can buy craft-style metal tins like these here, or you can invest in a metal bento-style lunch box like this. Your toddler loves to store (and will later sort) little objects, work to open and close the hinged lids, and hide little treasures. You can also use these tins to carry the q-tips, puffs, toothpicks, and pompoms for the activities listed above.

In this post

The Play Kits

The Play Kits by Lovevery are thoroughly tested, baby safe, eco-friendly and Montessori inspired. Give your child the best start with our stage-based play toy subscription boxes.

Learn more