Other Ways to Learn
Your toddler learns in three main ways: through direct instruction, through imitation, and through sensorimotor exploration. Through demonstration and verbal directives, for instance, you can help your child learn basic skills, such as how to brush his teeth. You are a powerful role model for your child, and your actions speak louder than words. Other behaviors and skills, therefore, your child will learn by imitating you. The most effective mode of learning, however, is through trial and error in sensorimotor exploration. Lessons that are relevant and that engage your child as an active participant will have the greatest impact.
How Activities Help Your Child
You will not find any traditional academic rote-learning exercises in this book. But don’t worry—neither you nor your child will miss them. Just about every activity described here is aimed to help your child develop in at least one critical area, and all of them are simply fun!
Play is the work of young children. Through play activities, your child is exploring and discovering. Play is the most effective and powerful way for young children to learn. Some scientists have found evidence that play can sculpt the brain and build denser webs of neural connections. When children play, they literally exercise their brain cells and make them expand and grow—a physical development that happens as your child learns. Play activities engage your child and help her develop many skills, including vocabulary, problem solving, reading preparation, math comprehension, social skills, and more!
Are all play activities of equal value?
No. Although structured recreational activities and games do have value, the best activities are open-ended. Allow time for your child to choose and create her own play scenarios. She will benefit the most when she has the opportunity to explore the themes and ideas that are most important and relevant to her.
There are many different types of play activities, and each type addresses certain skills and promotes development. Here are just a few examples:
Cooking: Develops math skills (counting and measuring), nutrition, and science concepts (prediction, cause and effect).
Art: Develops creativity, emotional expression, symbolic representation, fine motor skills, large motor skills, cooperation, and spatial concepts.
Pretend play: Develops social skills (cooperation, turn-taking, and sharing), language and vocabulary development, imagination, and emotional expression.
Puzzles: Develops problem-solving skills, abstract reasoning, shape recognition, and spatial concepts.
Block building: Develops a foundation for more advanced science comprehension including gravity, stability, weight, and balance.
Choosing Appropriate Activities
Not every activity designed for toddlers will be right for your child. This is true for the activities in this book as well. You may find activities that are appropriate now and then come back later, as your child develops, to find other activities that are worthwhile. How do you choose appropriate activities for your child?
Start with your child’s interests and follow his lead. If he seems to enjoy spending time watching ants on the back porch, you may want to consider planning some activities about insect lore. If your child is afraid of clowns, you would avoid going to the circus. You can also let your child’s interest dictate how long an activity lasts and when to repeat it.
You want to choose activities that are a good match for your child’s skills and abilities. Each activity in this book includes a recommended age range meant to serve as a general guideline. Some of the activities in this book are meant to engage young toddlers (beginning at eighteen months of age). Many other ideas presented here will be enjoyable for children as old as four and five.
Use your personal knowledge of your child’s unique abilities to determine if an activity is appropriate. If an activity is too complex, he may become frustrated. On the other hand, activities that are too simple may bore him.
Although you want to choose activities that reflect your child’s skill level, you don’t have to worry about always keeping things easy. On occasion, go ahead and try an activity that poses some sort of challenge for your child. This doesn’t mean something so difficult that he becomes confused or frustrated. Just keep an eye out for activities that allow your child to try something new, with your encouragement and guidance.
General Guidelines
There are ways for you to ensure that an activity is a fun and valuable experience for your toddler. Whether you are trying the activities in this book or those from another source, the following sections provide guidelines to help you.
Keep It Short
Most toddlers have a very short attention span. Do not expect your toddler to be any different. He is too young to focus on an activity for any length of time and is apt to be easily sidetracked—especially from quiet activities or those that require him to remain passive, such as storytelling. Most activities presented here can be done in less than twenty or thirty minutes. If you want to plan a solid half-hour of activity time for your child, it is a good idea to set up two or three short activities rather than one longer one.
Be flexible, and respond to your child. If you notice that he is losing interest in an activity, try to modify it to recapture his interest or simply move on to something else.
Guide Your Child
Toddlers like to feel competent, and that means they want to do things for themselves. This does not mean that you should set up an activity for your toddler and walk away. You need to be available to encourage and guide your child through all stages of each activity.
Although you do not want to “do” the activity for your child, it is acceptable to intervene if your child is having difficulty or showing signs of frustration. Gently make suggestions or ask questions to guide your child along. For example, if your child is having a hard time with a puzzle, you might say, “Why not try the blue piece?” or “What other piece could you try?” With your guidance, your child will be able to master many new skills.
Reduce Waiting
Waiting is especially difficult for the young child who does not clearly grasp time concepts. You cannot expect your toddler to be patient for long. Avoid activities that call for children to be eliminated. A game like musical chairs is an example. Once the child is out, he is left, often frustrated and angry, to entertain himself.
Involve Your Child
The most valuable and fun activities are those that actively involve your toddler. Avoid activities that require your child to be passive—to just sit back and watch. You can adapt most activities to enhance your child’s involvement depending on his interest and skill level. For example, when an activity requires cutting out pictures, you can let your older toddler help you. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to involve your child more. You might let him stir the batter in a cooking activity or help set up the boundaries for a game.
Keep Activities Open-Ended
Whenever possible, look for activities that encourage your child to make choices. For example, the main goal of art experiences for young children is to promote creativity and emotional expression. There is very little value in having your child follow a rigid pattern to create something that looks just like the thing you or anyone else could make.
In the world of childhood art, boats may look like bananas, cats may have three eyes, and the sky can be orange. In the world of childhood games, someone may be “it” twice in a row, and it is okay to pin the tail on the donkey’s head. When rigid rules and restrictions are lifted, the real fun begins!
CHAPTER 2
Activities Throughout the Day
There may be times when you have the leisure to plan activities in advance for your toddler. However, there will certainly be many other times when you need to come up with something fun to occupy your toddler on the spot. The activities in this chapter are designed to fit into your normal daily routine without much effort or planning. You will find ways to entertain and involve your young child and to make any ordin
ary day more pleasurable for both you and your toddler.
Morning-Time Activities
Start your day on the right foot! These activities can help with routines and promote bonding with your toddler. Follow your child’s lead; if they are not a “morning person” they will not enjoy too much stimulation early in the day.
Down by the Banks
Add some pizzazz and excitement the next time you bounce your little one on your knee.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
Chant the following words and use the corresponding actions:
Down by the banks of the Wanky Swanky (bounce child on knees)
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky (lift child from one to knee to the other)
With a hip, hop, and hippity hop (bounce child on knees)
They jump off the lily pad and land kerplop! (lower child between your knees)
Matching Sock Game
Here is a fun way to promote classification skills. Don’t be afraid to include your socks in this game.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Socks of different colors and patterns
Place a pile of loose socks on the floor in front of your child.
Encourage your child to sort the socks by color or pattern.
Wake Up Tickles
Adjust the intensity of your touch to suit your child.
Some children find tickling to be an unpleasant sensation.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 12–40 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
Slowly wake your child by gently tickling parts of his body. Start with extremities such as fingers and toes and work toward his belly.
Tiptoe
Young children will enjoy the overexaggerated sense of suspense.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
Encourage your children to creep or tiptoe throughout the house as they get ready for the day.
You may wish to whisper and add to the excitement by pretending not to wake a sleeping giant or family member.
Bath-Time Activities
Bath time can be very soothing and calm. But there’s also a dark side to getting clean—bath time can also be stressful, marked by battles and tantrums. It is not uncommon for children to resist the need to take a bath. Young toddlers often worry that they can slip down the drain. You can help make this a better experience with a very simple first step and just ensure that the water is a comfortable temperature. You will also find it helpful if you avoid rushing this routine and take the time to make things fun with these activities. To ensure the safety of your toddler at bath time, make sure that you eliminate all distractions. Turn on the answering machine, do not answer the door, and be sure to have all of your supplies close at hand.
Fizzy Bath Balls
Liven up your child’s bath time with these homemade fizzy bath balls.
Your toddler can also participate in making them!
Makes 4–6 balls
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes to make and 1–2 days to dry
1 cup baking soda
½ cup citric acid
½ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons coconut or almond oil
1 tablespoon water
Combine dry ingredients.
Mix oil and water, and drizzle onto dry ingredients while stirring. Stir to combine thoroughly.
Shape into balls. Allow to dry for 24–48 hours.
Add a fizzy ball to the bath water. The ball will fizz for a few minutes.
Soap Crayons
This activity combines an opportunity for creative expression with bathtub fun.
Your child can use these crayons to draw on the tile or on herself!
Makes 12 crayons
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes to make and 2 days to set
1 cup soap flakes or powder
3 tablespoons water
Washable tempera paint
Ice cube trays or small paper cups (for molds)
Mix soap and water together to make a stiff dough that can hold its own shape. Add more soap powder or water as needed to reach the desired consistency.
Divide the mixture into 3 or 4 balls. Add a few drops of paint to each portion to create desired colors.
Press mixture into molds and let set for a few days before using as crayons in the tub.
Bathtub Finger Paints
Most toddlers love to get messy. What better place for a messy activity than the bathtub?
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
2 tablespoons liquid soap
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Food coloring
Mix all ingredients together for each color and store in covered containers. Mixture will last for a few weeks.
Let your child use the paints to paint on his body or on the tub tiles. When bath time is over, the paint will rinse away.
Fishing in the Tub
Children usually enjoy water play. Here is a way to make bath time a fun time.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Toy plastic fish
1 small aquarium net
Simply add the toy fish to the bath water for your toddler to catch with the net. If you don’t have toy fish, you can cut out some simple creatures from craft foam, or even a kitchen sponge!
Calming and Rest-Time Activities
Your toddler needs his rest. It is recommended that your toddler get twelve to fourteen hours of sleep in a twenty-four-hour period. It is often very difficult for young children to shift gears. They are unable to go from being active and wound-up to calm and restful without a transitional time. In other words, it is unrealistic to expect that your toddler will be able to go directly from chasing butterflies to a long and peaceful nap. Try to have a set routine with calming activities in place to assist your child in unwinding and preparing to rest.
Back Blackboard
Try this to help calm your child before bedtime.
You can also massage your child’s hands and feet this way.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Body lotion, if desired
Ask your child to lie still on his stomach. Direct him to pay attention to what he feels.
Use your finger to draw on your child’s back. For younger children, make shapes and spirals. For the older child, you can draw specific shapes, letters, or numbers and ask him to guess what they are. Use lotion for a variation.
Roll Up
Tucking in your child at bedtime can be part of a soothing ritual.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
Bed
Extra blanket
Spread the blanket out on top of your child’s made bed.
Have your child lie on top of the blanket on one side of the bed.
Tuck the near side of the blanket over him and gently roll him across the bed until he is wrapped up in the blanket roll. Unroll your child before you leave him to go to sleep.
Monster Spray
Help your child use his imagination to conquer his fears and get a good night’s rest.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
1 empty spray bottle
Materials for decorating (markers, stickers, etc.)
&nbs
p; Have your toddler decorate the bottle.
Tell the child that this is now a bottle of monster repellent. Let him spray wherever he thinks there could be monsters lurking!
Counting Sheep
Counting sheep is a well-known way to cure insomnia. Try this cute game to help lull your toddler to sleep. Supervision is needed if your child is still prone to putting things in his mouth.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
8 to 10 cotton balls
Tell your child that the cotton balls are little sheep. Show him how he can herd them all on the pillow one by one. Perhaps they can hide under the covers, too!
Be sure to remind him that sheep are timid and that if he gets up or makes noise, the sheep will be frightened. If you are ambitious, you can use craft pompoms and draw on eyes for more realistic sheep.
Mealtime and Cooking Activities
The Everything Toddler Activities Book Page 2