5 Activities for 9 – 12 Month Olds

If you’re like me, you’re probably always looking for new ways to entertain your little munchkin. These 5 activities for 9 – 12 month olds are great for entertaining your babe and working on their fine motor skills. I’ve tested all of them out on Logan and have some tips to make them more successful, like don’t use a strawberry container because it’ll probably get crushed – oops! ????

I’m thinking about making this an ongoing series with a new post every few months with activities that Logan’s liked. If this is something you’re interested in please let me know in the comments below, and make sure you pin this post so you can refer to it later!

I think this also goes without saying, but please make sure you are keeping an eye on your little while doing these activities. You always want to make sure they’re safe and not choking on anything, because you know how they like to shove everything in their mouths 😒

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Jello Dig

This is a fun but messy one. Make some jello and pour the liquid mixture over some of you little’s favourite toys in a pan. Let it set. When it comes to playing I recommend stripping them down, plopping them on some garbage bags, or some sort of easy clean up surface and let them dig in.

Logan really liked this activity, but it was a little cold when he tried it. I recommend keeping this to a warm day activity and be prepared for a sticky mess.

Card Drop

This activity is great for their hand-eye coordination as they place the card in the slot. To make the card slot, take some sort of container, I recommend a clear Tupperware container and cut a slot in it. Make sure to tape off any sharp edges, then hand them a deck of cards and show them how they can drop cards into the slot.

Be mindful of the type of container you use. I made the drop box out of an old strawberry container and it didn’t take long for Logan to totally crush it ????

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Tape on a Box

This was probably one of Logan’s favourite activities. Take a piece of tape, fold a tab on one side and stick it to a box or container. We used all different kinds of tape that we had lying around, duct tape, painters tape, etc. Show your little how they can pull the tape off and place it in a different spot.

Again, you’ll want to be mindful about the container you use. I used a bowl that had a bit of a hard edge which didn’t work out that great. I think it would have worked better on a large Tupperware container.

Grab the Toy

This is another activity that is really great for fine motor skills as they have to navigate through the “maze” to grab their toys. Take a laundry basket, weave twine or some sort of string through it in a criss-cross pattern at various heights. Place some of their favourite toys at the bottom and encourage them to reach through to grab their toy.

You can make various versions of this for different ages. When Logan was younger I would use a square cake pan and criss-cross elastics for him to reach through. It worked great for a few days until he figured out how to pull the elastics off. Of course, parental supervision is good for all of these activities to make sure they don’t choke or hurt themselves.

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Push Pull Q-Tips

This activity is super easy to make. Take an old egg carton and, using a pen, poke a hole at the bottom of each egg section. Close the carton and place it upside down. Encourage your little to push and pull qtips through the holes.

As your babe gets older you can turn this into a colour activity by adding a colour to the bottom of each egg spot and on the qtips. Then encourage them to put the green qtip in the green slot, etc.

I hope your little has fun with these activities for 9 – 12 month olds. Please let me know if you like these kinds of posts and I’ll continue to share more fun activities for babies and toddlers and make sure to check me out on social media @JannineMacKinnon.

xo Jannine