Here’s a simple activity to do with your toddler (anywhere from 12 months is a good age for this one):
What you need:
uncooked pasta shapes
container or basket
container with a lid
scissors.
What to do:
Grab a handful of uncooked pasta shapes (whatever size or shape you like) and put them in a small container or basket
Get a clean, empty food container that has a removable lid (margarine containers are ideal)
Cut a hole in the lid of the container slightly larger than the pasta shapes
Place the lid on the empty container
Taking one pasta shape from its container/basket and demonstrate to your toddler how to put a pasta shape into the empty container through the hole in the lid.
Once your toddler has put all the pasta shapes in the other container (or has had enough of that), remove the lid and return the pasta shapes to their original container/basket.
My daughter loves this game and it’s a great one for developing fine motor skills and hand/eye coordination. Even better, it takes little effort or cost to make.
Note: for more of a challenge for the older toddler give your child the opportunity to remove the lid and pour the pasta shapes back into the original container/basket.