* Words of Wisdom *
If you want some beautiful art and drawing paper, go to a local printer and ask if you can leave a box for them to put the week’s scraps in. It saves the environment and gives your child unusual supplies to work with.
—Bridgett, Overland Park, Kansas
134
Fashion Design
Age Range: 30 to 36 months
Materials
Sheet of craft or butcher paper
Markers
Fabric scraps, ribbons, and yarn
Glue
Have your little one lie down on a giant piece of craft or butcher paper. Trace her body with a big marker. Armed with colorful markers, fabric scraps, ribbons, and yarn, let her design an outfit. You may want to help glue the fabric down once she places it where she wants it. This is also a fun way to design a costume you might want to make for a special event. This way you get to see what the finished product might look like and make changes in advance.
135
Pot Painting
Age Range: 30 to 36 months
Use masking tape to make horizontal and/or vertical stripes along a terra cotta garden pot. Let your child paint the pot with acrylic paints. Remove the tape when the paint dries and see how delighted he is to see that he created such tidy, symmetrical work. Later, protect the painted finish from the elements with a coat or two of polyurethane varnish. These make great daycare-provider or grandparent gifts, especially when you fill them with an herb or flower.
* Words of Wisdom *
Whenever we give gifts to grandparents or teachers, I ask my son to tell me all the things he can remember about that person, as well as the things they’ve done together, or what he likes about them. I write it down exactly as he says it, then put it in a card to go with the gift.
—Fran, Half Moon Bay, California
Game Time
136
Container Magic
Age Range: 15 months and up
Materials
3 or 4 colored large plastic bowls
Small toys
Put the bowls face down on the floor. Place a small toy under one of the bowls. Make sure your child sees which bowl the toy is placed under. Then move the containers around, sliding them on top of the hard surface, as if in a magic act. Once you’ve moved the bowls around for a while, have your child guess which container the toy is hiding under.
137
Magnet Mystery
Age Range: 15 months and up
Materials
Metal cookie sheet or cake pan
Magnets
Kids love to play with magnets—maybe it is the slight resistance of pulling them off metal or the way they jump to stick back onto metal. Collect a variety of magnets or buy a sheet of flat magnets and glue pictures or objects onto them. Make up stories with the magnets. Have your child sort the magnets into similar groupings. Buy a set of alphabet magnets and begin to make words. Simply taking the magnets on and off a cookie sheet or sliding them around is entertaining. Have your child cover his eyes, then take one away and ask which magnet is missing. Best of all, there is no mess and all the pieces stick together for carrying.
138
Penny Waterfall Game
Age Range: 18 to 21 months
Materials
Container
A bag of pennies
Here’s a fun game that everyone in the family can participate in. Fill a container almost to the top with water. Give each player a pile of pennies. Go around the circle and have each player take a turn putting one penny into the container. The player whose penny makes the water overflow loses the game. You can also play this game using dice. Roll the dice, and whatever number the player gets determines how many pennies are to be put in the container.
139
Paper Pull
Age Range: 21 months and up
Materials
Construction paper
Stapler or glue
Make a bunch of construction-paper chains and then, on the count of three, do a gentle tug of war with them—the winner is the one who holds the most loops when it breaks. Continue grabbing the remaining chains and counting again before doing a tug of war. Keep doing this until there are no more linked chains.
* Words of Wisdom *
My son gets upset when he doesn’t always win, but of course he can’t always win—especially when he plays with his peers. One thing we do is periodically change, during an activity, what winning is. Sometimes the long straw wins, and other times the short straw wins.
—Charlie, Lumpkin, Georgia
140
Object Outline
Age Range: 21 to 24 months
Materials
Paper, pencil
Small objects: spoon, key, cookie cutter, etc.
Put each object on a piece of paper and draw an outline around it. Place all the pieces of paper with outlined items into a big box. Place all the real objects in another box or on the counter. Give your child the box of outlined items. Ask him to place the real object on top of the drawn matching outline. A harder version of this game is to put all the real objects back where they belong. Then cut the paper object outlines into individual cards and give your child a particular card. Ask him to go find the object that was outlined.
141
Go Get It
Age Range: 21 months and up
Ask your child to find a variety of objects. You might ask her to find one object at a time or a few similar items at a time. For instance, you might ask for a pink toy or a favorite bear. Then ask for an item from the kitchen, followed by a ball of some kind. As your child brings you each object, put it in a pile behind a couch, so your child can’t see it. Once all the items are hiding behind the couch, take one of the items and put it into a big bag. Have your child close her eyes and reach into the bag to feel the object. Encourage her to tell you what the object is that she is feeling without opening her eyes to look at it.
142
Channel Surfing
Age Range: 21 months and up
Kids love playing with remote controls. Find an old remote control. Make sure the batteries are removed. Tell your child to push the buttons. When she does, change your facial expression. Every time she presses a button, change your facial expression again. When she realizes that by pushing the remote control she’s changing your channels, expand the charade to include various body poses. Switch roles, and ask her to make faces or poses while you push the buttons.
143
Sensory Guess What
Age Range: 24 months and up
This game can be played with food or other items that have a distinct smell. Either blindfold your child or have him close his eyes. Then set the items one at a time in front of him. Use touch, taste, and smell as you encourage your child to guess what each item is. On the taste tests, simply put the food near your child’s nose and mouth and let him taste if he wants to. For items that you wouldn’t taste, like a blouse that smells like Mom’s favorite perfume, a dog toy, or your child’s favorite blanket, let your child hold the items and put them up to his own nose to sniff. Switch roles and let your child do the taste and smell test on you.
144
What’s Missing
Age Range: 24 to 30 months
Put six to ten objects on a tray. Let your child look at the tray, pick up each object, and tell you the name of the object. Then ask your child to turn around while you remove one object. Then ask her to tell you what is missing from the tray. Give her clues if she has a hard time remembering what is missing. Switch roles. Put more objects on the tray when an adult is guessing what is missing!
* Words of Wisdom *
My son’s favorite game is to pull a helium balloon down from the ceiling and then let it go and watch it float back up. He’ll do this for quite a while. It’s even more fun if there are many balloons so he can run back and forth pulling them at different times.
—Carl, Memphis, Tennessee
145
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Letter Fishing
Age Range: 30 to 36 months
Materials
Old business cards
Paper clips
Box
String
Magnet
Write a letter, number, or shape on one side of each business card. Attach a paper clip to the top of the cards. Put the cards in a large box, face up. Make a fishing pole out of the string and magnet. Call out a letter, number, or shape and have your child fish for it.
* Words of Wisdom *
My daughter used to cry endlessly when I left her at daycare, until the teacher suggested I give her a bottle of the lotion I wear. Now when she misses me she asks the teacher if she can rub some of that lotion on her hands and she feels better.
—Sarah, Liberal, Kansas
146
Bead Catcher
Age Range: 30 to 36 months
Materials
Plastic scoop from a large box of detergent
String or ribbon 8 inches long
1-inch bead
1⁄2-inch bead
Poke a hole in the bottom of the plastic scoop. Thread the string or ribbon through the hole in the scoop. Tie the 1⁄2-inch bead to the string so it can’t slip back through the hole. Tie the one-inch bead to the other end of the string. Show your child how to swing the bead up and around in the air to be caught in the scoop. Make one for yourself as well so you can play together. If your child is not coordinated enough to catch the bead in the cup, set up small plastic figures or blocks; then, have your child hold the scoop above the figures and swing the bead as she tries to knock them over.
147
Puzzle Hunt
Age Range: 30 to 36 months
Select a simple puzzle. Take the pieces apart and hide them around the room. Write down the number of pieces that are hidden. Hunt together for all the pieces before completing the puzzle together.
* Words of Wisdom *
I read a great article in Mothering magazine that recommended letting your child have the tantrum without trying to squelch him/her, but making sure that you’re close by, so that your child knows you’re “there.” It’s worked quite well—her tantrums don’t seem to last that long. One time, she insisted on rolling around the hard kitchen floor. When I offered her a pillow for her head, she said, “Yeah,” and then she just spent a little time lying on the floor. Then it was over.
—Jane, Novato, California
148
Go Fish
Age Range: 30 months and up
Make twelve or more pairs of cards by hand or on the computer using recognizable animals, shapes, colors, or family members. Laminate the cards with contact paper for a longer-lasting game. Mix them up and deal three cards apiece. To play Go Fish, you begin by asking the other player for a card you need to make a pair. If the player doesn’t have it he says, “Go fish,” and you pick a card from the pile. The first person to match all of the cards in his hand wins.
149
Hand Measurer
Age Range: 36 months and up
Here’s a fun way to introduce the concept of measurement to your child. Trace your child’s hand and foot on a sturdy piece of cardboard or felt. Do the same with your foot and hand. Cut them out. Decorate them however you would like. Show your child how to measure an object using his hand or foot as measurement. For example, the kitchen rug might be eight of your child’s hands and five of his feet. See how many hands and feet it takes to measure a variety of objects. Once your child has measured something, take out your own hand and foot cutouts and measure them again. Try guessing how many feet or hands an object might be before you measure it.
150
Memory Games
Age Range: 36 months and up
Photo match: Whenever you get pictures developed, make sure to get duplicate copies so you can use them for this matching memory game. You might also want to take a special roll of pictures of individual objects, the family pet, family members, or friends that your child will recognize. Place ten to twenty pictures face down on the floor, making sure there is a match for each photo. Turn the photos over two at a time, trying to remember where the match is. As each player finds matching pictures, the pictures are taken off the floor and put in a pile next to that player. Whoever has the most matches at the end wins.
What’s in the picture?: Use photographs or pictures cut from magazines for this game. Give your child the picture. Ask him to look at it for a few minutes. Then take the picture and ask one simple question like, “Is there a dog in the picture?”; “Who has red hair?”; “How many cats did you see?”; “What color was Grandma wearing?”; or “Did Grandpa have glasses on?” If he answers it correctly, ask another—if incorrectly, laugh it up!
151
Where’s It Hiding?
Age Range: 21 to 24 months
Tie a very long string around your child’s favorite stuffed animal or doll. Place the toy in a hiding place in the child’s room or somewhere in the house. Now take the string and run it over and under furniture and around other objects in the room. Give your child the end of the string. Tell him to follow the string to the hiding place of his favorite stuffed animal or doll. This is also fun to do with a present or surprise tied to the end of the string.
Music and Songs
152
Silly Sing-Along
Age Range: 15 months and up
Putting new words to a favorite tune is an easy way to help your child focus on daily activities. For instance, “The Wheels on the Bus” can be adapted to “This is the way we brush our teeth…before we go to bed.” Your child will more happily comply and you’ll find her singing along. You can also make up silly words to go with familiar tunes to make you both laugh.
* Words of Wisdom *
With my first child, I couldn’t remember any songs or nursery rhymes, so I typed them up one day and hung them by the changing table, in the kitchen, and other places where I might like to sing. Now I just look at the words while I sing until I know them.
—Susan, Culver City, California
153
Parade
Age Range: 15 months and up
Marching around the house in a single file line followed by a parent, brother, sister, or pulled toy is a favorite game for all toddlers. The joy of newfound freedom in walking, marching, or hopping to music is a highlight of the parade experience. Consider dressing up to go along with a specified theme of perhaps clowns, animals, or fairies. Play toy instruments or make your own musical sounds. Play music with a distinct rhythm and then try to march on beat. Make sure to videotape the parade so your child can watch his production later.
154
World Music
Age Range: 15 months and up
Expose your child to different kinds of music: African, Brazilian, French, Italian, Gregorian chant, or classical, to name a few. Find a children’s song tape in a foreign language with simple songs that repeat, and then learn one or two. Look for music with unusual rhythms and moods so you can dance to a different beat. Make sure to pull out a world map and point to the country where the music originated. It is also fun to find a book at the library about that country so your child can see how the people dress, live, and play.
* Words of Wisdom *
We sing songs in the car when I want to keep my daughter awake—there’s nothing worse than having her drift off just before we get home for naptime or bedtime.
—Trisha, Bayfield, Wisconsin
155
Rubber-Band Harp
Age Range: 18 months and up
Materials
Several rubber bands of many sizes and thicknesses
Facial-tissue box
Pencil
Cardboard tube
Newspaper
Stretch the rubber bands across the tissue box. Put the pencil underneath the rubber bands just to the side of the hole. Fill the cardboard tube with scrunched up newspaper to make it stronger. Cut a hole in the end of the tissue box
just big enough to fit the cardboard tube—now you have a guitar handle. Tape the tube firmly in place. Pluck the bands with your fingers and listen to the different sounds. Try holding the rubber band in the middle and plucking. What happens to the sound? Also, try strumming your fingers across all of the bands. Your child will have fun pulling and letting go as long as the bands are not so close together that he gets his fingers pinched.
156
Ribbon Dancing
Age Range: 18 months and up
Children move to music naturally. They will quicken or slow their pace according to the musical mood. Give them a chance to be the director of a shower of ribbons as the ribbons dance to the music. Tie three or four ribbons to a plastic shower-curtain ring. Make enough rings so that each child has two, one for each hand. Prepare a variety of songs, from classical to blues. While the music is playing, hold the rings and move the ribbons to the mood of the music. Tell a story with the ribbons as they move through the air. Wiggle them quickly to show excitement, or let them float to the floor in calm. Encourage your child to put her whole body into it.
Sheila Ellison Page 9