The Everything Toddler Activities Book
Page 17
Who lived in a box.
(draw outline of a square in the air)
He swam in the water
(swimming motion with arms)
And he climbed on the rocks.
(climbing motion with arms)
He snapped at a mosquito.
(clap fingers and thumb together on one hand)
He snapped at a flea.
(clap fingers and thumb together on one hand)
He snapped at a minnow
(clap fingers and thumb together on one hand)
And he snapped at me!
(clap fingers and thumb together on one hand)
He caught the mosquito,
(tap finger and thumb together and make chewing noises)
He caught the flea,
(tap finger and thumb together and make chewing noises)
He caught the minnow,
(tap finger and thumb together and make chewing noises)
But he couldn’t catch me!
(shake finger back and forth)
Frog’s Dinner
This fun game will help your child learn more about frogs while she develops coordination as well. You can get small plastic insects from a dollar store or a bait and tackle shop.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
White craft glue
Velcro discs
Small plastic flies and insects
Paper party blowers
Glue Velcro to each insect.
Attach Velcro to the end of the party blower.
Show your child how to blow the paper party favor so that it unrolls. Show her how to use this as a frog’s tongue to catch the bugs.
Fairy Tales
Young children enjoy the classic fairy tales and rhymes. By sharing the stories and these activities, you will be helping your child develop literacy skills and imagination!
Sail Away
For a change, let your child drag a favorite toy or teddy bear around.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–36 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Towel or blanket
Have your child sit or lay in the center of an old towel or blanket. If possible, do this on a hardwood or linoleum floor.
Slowly drag your child around and point out imaginary points of interest. Example: While passing the couch you can say, “Oh look, there goes the king’s castle!”
Which Is the Best?
You may wish to start this activity by reading the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears first.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 24–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
3 bowls of oatmeal with spoons (one very warm, one cold, and one just the way child likes it)
3 chairs or pillows (one with a board under it to make it stiff, one very soft, and one just the way the child likes it)
3 sweaters (one too small, one too big, and one just child’s size)
Tell your child that not everyone is suited for the same things.
Present the oatmeal and call it porridge and ask your child to pick the one he would want.
Repeat with the cushions and the shirts. This time, let you child try them out if he wants.
Cinderella’s Shoe
Bring the Cinderella story to life and promote problem-solving skills at the same time.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 24–36 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
1 fancy shoe or slipper
Read the story of Cinderella to your child.
Hide the chosen shoe and ask the child to find it.
You may choose to hide the shoe in a room or simply within a pile of other shoes.
Giant Shoes
What young child would pass up an activity that encourages him to be loud and rambunctious? Because your child won’t be able to move as nimbly as usual, you need to closely supervise this activity.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Scissors
2 shoeboxes
Masking tape
Recording of marching music
Cut a hole in the center of each shoebox lid just big enough to fit your child’s foot.
Securely tape the lids to the boxes.
Help your child insert his feet into the boxes.
Once he is able to walk in his shoebox shoes, play some marching music and encourage him to march and stomp in time with the music.
CHAPTER 15
Exploring Concepts
Your young child learns best through play. This is her way of exploring and learning about her environment. For example, when your child is playing with LEGOS, she is learning about colors, counting, and spatial relationships. You can help promote your child’s mastery of basic concepts with some of these fun, hands-on activities.
Shapes
When your child is learning about shapes, he is learning about basic mathematical and spatial concepts. Everything has a shape. Start to broaden your child’s awareness by pointing out the shapes of everyday objects.
Shape Characters
These cute characters and rhymes will help your child with shape identification.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Construction paper
Scissors
Crayons
From the construction paper, cut out a circle, a square, and a triangle.
Let your child color in facial features for each shape.
Teach your child the following rhymes for each shape: I am Suzy Circle, watch me bend
Round and round from end to end.
Tommy Triangle is the name for me;
Count my sides: one, two, three.
Sammy Square is my name;
My four sides are all the same.
Shape Hunt
As your child searches for shapes, he is also developing visual discrimination skills
that will help him with reading when he is older.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Construction paper
Scissors
From the construction paper, cut out a circle, a square, and a triangle.
Work with one shape at a time. Show your child the shape, and tell him that he is going on a shape hunt. Help him find other items that are that shape. For example, show him the circle and then go around the room looking for circles. Help him find circles in things like a doorknob, a plate, or a clock.
Circle Prints
Let your child use his creativity while he explores the circle shape.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Tempera paint
Pie tin
Circular objects
Construction paper
Pour some paint into the pie tin.
Have your child help you find circular items to use. Some suggested items include jar lids or the rim of a paper cup.
Show your child how to dip items in the paint and then press them onto the paper to create circle prints.
Shape Animals
This activity will help your child use problem-solving skills as well as help him with shape identification.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Scissors
Construction paper
White craft glue
1 sheet poster board
Precut a variety of shapes from the construction paper, making multiples of each shape as well as different sizes of each.
/> Show your toddler how to arrange the shapes to create the forms of animals. For example, a triangle could be the head, and four circles can be used for paws. Glue each animal to the poster board.
Help your child identify the shapes that he uses. Encourage your child to label the animal that he made. Did he make a lion, a bear, or perhaps a new species altogether?
Colors
There are many activities that can help your child learn color identification. The most successful activities are hands-on and engage your child’s senses. Here are just a few to get you started.
Rainbow Discs
Here is a way for your child to see the world through many-colored lenses.
This activity can also serve as an introductory lesson on mixing colors.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
6 paper plates
Scissors
Red, yellow, and blue cellophane
White craft glue
Put two paper plates together and cut a hole in the center about the size of a plum.
Cut a piece of colored cellophane slightly larger than the hole.
Glue the cellophane to the top of one plate to cover the hole.
Set the second plate on top of the first and help your child glue them together. Now you have a rainbow disc for your child to look through.
Repeat these steps to make two more discs in the remaining colors. Show your child how to overlap the discs to create new colors.
Color Lotto
Lotto games enhance your child’s memory and problem-solving skills.
You can adapt this game for shape, letter, or number recognition as well.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 30 minutes
Scissors
Index cards
Colored construction paper
White craft glue
Make two lotto cards for each color by cutting an index card in half crosswise.
Cut pieces of colored construction paper to fit the halves of each card.
Have your child help glue the paper on the cards. Each card should have a colored side and a blank side.
Mix the cards and arrange them in rows colored side down.
Your child is to flip over two cards and try to find a match. When she does, she can remove the cards. If she does not make a match, she is to turn the cards back over and try again. Do not worry about strictly following the rules. Your child may need to turn over more than two cards or even keep them facing up.
Fishing for Colors
This fun game will help your child develop her eye-hand coordination while learning to identify colors. You need to closely supervise this activity at all times—the “fishing line” could wrap around your child, and the magnets and clips could pose a choking hazard.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
1 piece of string 2 long
1 smooth stick or dowel rod
1 small magnet
Scissors
Colored construction paper
Paper clips
Tie the string around the end of the stick and then attach the magnet to serve as the hook.
Cut the construction paper into fish shapes several inches in length.
Attach a paper clip to the head of each fish.
You can place the fish on the floor or put them in an empty aquarium.
Show your child how to use the magnetized fishing pole to “catch” a fish. Have her identify the color of the fish she catches.
Squish and Mix
This is a great sensory activity that will help your child observe what happens when
colors are mixed. Be sure to talk to your child about what she sees.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Tempera paint
Zip-top bags
Add a small amount of the blue and red paints in a zip-top bag and seal. Place that bag inside a second bag and seal.
Let your child squish and knead the bag to mix the paints and create the color purple.
Repeat with other color combinations (such as blue and yellow to make green, white and red to make pink, etc.).
Numbers
Children develop a mathematical awareness at an early age. Although your toddler is not ready for mathematical equations, you can start to introduce him to the concepts of quantity and the symbolic representation of quantity.
Count Through the Day
You do not need to plan a formal activity to help your child develop number and counting concepts.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
As you go through the day with your child, count with him. Point out things in his environment and encourage him to count with you. “Let’s count how many cookies are on the plate.” “Look, Andy, there are a lot of birds on the tree, let’s count them!”
Three Little Kittens
Use this popular rhyme to reinforce number concepts with your toddler.
You can also do this activity with The Three Bears and their bowls of porridge.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
3 photos of different cats
6 mittens (or paper cutouts of mittens)
Recite the following rhyme for your toddler: Three little kittens,
They lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear,
We sadly fear
Our mittens we have lost.
What! Lost your mittens,
You naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
You shall have no pie.
The three little kittens,
They found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear,
See here, see here,
Our mittens we have found.
What! Found your mittens,
You darling kittens!
Then you shall have some pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
You shall have some pie.
Set up the three pictures and have your child count and distribute the mittens for each cat.
Birthday Cake
Here is a fun way to help your child see the relationship between numerals and quantity.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Scissors
Construction paper
Markers
White craft glue
Cut the construction paper in the shape of a cake. Repeat to make 5 cakes.
Mark the assigned number on the side of the cake.
Cut out 15 thin rectangle shapes for candles. Cut out tiny yellow teardrop shapes for flames and glue them onto the candles.
For each cake, help your child identify the number and glue on the appropriate number of candles.
Number Bag
Here is a fun outdoor activity that will reinforce number concepts and counting skills.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Marker
Small brown-paper lunch bags
Mark each bag with a number, starting simply with just 1, 2, and 3.
Take your child outdoors where he can find things to collect, such as leaves or stones. Direct him to put the appropriate number of items in each bag.
Letters
Your young child is just starting to learn to decode and interpret symbols. Although you may consider letter r
ecognition an important skill, be sure to keep the learning activities fun! Letter recognition is only one step in developing literacy skills and will not be fully mastered for a few years yet. (You will find more literacy activities in Chapter 11.)
ABC Dominoes
Help your child with letter recognition and problem solving with this twist on a classic game.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Index cards
Markers
On each index card, draw a line crosswise down the center.
On each side of the line, print a letter of the alphabet so that the top of each letter faces the line in the middle. To keep it simple, you may wish to use only a few letters.
Show your child how to match up the ends as you would with regular dominoes.
There’s a “B” in My Soup
Help your child with letter recognition and awareness. Show her how there are letters all around her.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Have your child pick out and identify letters in her alphabet soup or cereal.
For a variation, give your child some dry alphabet cereal or noodles and challenge her to find certain letters. Perhaps you can help her spell her name.