Act Out the Book
After reading a favourite story, act it out together — your child becomes the main character and relives the plot.
Ideas for when you are stuck at home — filtered by energy level, mess, and prep time. Perfect for rainy days, small spaces, and those afternoons when getting outside is not happening.
Rainy afternoon? Start with a low-energy, no-mess option — you can always build up from there.

After reading a favourite story, act it out together — your child becomes the main character and relives the plot.
A simple visual sequence — eat lunch, nap, snack, mum comes back — drawn together so your toddler knows exactly when pickup happens at nursery.
Point at each animal in a board book, make the sound, and wait for baby to try.
A playful game contrasting a drippy whining voice with a calm 'asking voice', so your toddler can actually hear the difference and reach for the clearer one instead of being told off.
Echo your baby's babbles and extend them into real words — a conversation that builds language from the very first sounds.
Copy every sound your baby makes and add a word — the simplest way to teach turn-taking and early speech.
Set up a little corner where your toddler looks after their own doll, feeding, cuddling, and settling it, so they can rehearse life with a new little one and feel like a capable, caring big sibling.
Siblings sit back to back and describe what they're drawing for the other to copy — building listening, communication, and giggly cooperation.
Sit back-to-back and draw separately — physical touch maintained, focus independent.
Dress up in silly combinations — backwards, inside-out, mismatched — turning clothing battles into laughter and learning.
Lay masking tape on the floor in lines and curves, then challenge your toddler to walk along them without stepping off.
Sit facing each other and roll a ball back and forth.