Blog: Toddlers

Good morning. Here are several invitations for toddler for this warm Thursday.

Sensory Invitation: Water play (cups and funnels)

It is going to be warm today, and water play is a wonderful way to engage toddlers while helping them stay cool. For this invitation you will need measuring cups, measuring spoons, or a ladle, a funnel, a shatter-resistant bottle and a bin or other container of water. Remember to stay alert when your toddler is exploring water. Invite your child to see how they can fill the bottle with water.

As an extension you can add some ice cubes to the water. What will your toddler do if the cubes do not fit in the funnel or bottle?

This invitation is a way to explore the properties of water, problem solve, and build sensory schema.

Fine Motor Invitation: Stickers and paper

Peeling stickers and placing them on paper builds pinch grip and accuracy as well as patience. Young children also find a lot of joy in working with stickers.

Large Motor Invitation: Animal walk

This can be done alone, or as an extension to a yoga practice or book reading. Invite your child to walk/move like an animal across the room. Can they slither like a snake? Scuttle like a crab? How does a cow move? What about a cat or dog?

This invitation uses imagination and large muscles.

Good morning. It looks like today will feel like summer in Durham with pretty warm temperatures, so we have put together some invitations to help your toddler stay cool and engaged today. In light of current events we also wanted to share this resource from NPR about talking about race with children, it also includes links to other resources.

Art/Sensory Invitation: Finger paint

It is going to be warm today, so we invite you to set up some finger paint for your toddler. This cool, squishy sensory and creative expression invitation is the perfect prelude to water play. Finger paint often becomes a full-torso experience, so be prepared. If you are running out of finger paint, it is fairly simple to make your own. Remember to allow time for it to cool, but not become too bouncy.

Fine Motor Invitation: More muffin tin sorting

If your child was interested in the muffin tin sorting invitation, what else could you offer for them to sort? Perhaps they have a collection of small farm animals, or you have some fabric scraps or pieces of different kinds of string. You could also take this invitation outside and invite your child to collect and sort herbs or non-toxic leaves and flowers. You could also offer muffin papers. Separating them and putting them in the tins is an excellent fine motor challenge and invites exploring one-to-one correspondence.  

Large Motor/Outdoor Invitation: Wet sponge toss/throw

This invitation will work with a kitchen sponge, but a bath sponge or clean car wash sponge would work even better. Set up a bucket of cool water and the sponge outside and invite your child to dip the sponge in the water and toss it at a target. A small basketball hoop, hula hoop, another bucket, cooperative older sibling or parent will work. You can play catch with the sponge as well. This invitation builds tossing/throwing skills.

 

Good morning! We hope you had an opportunity to enjoy the cooler weather yesterday. Here are three ideas for engaging toddlers today.

Sensory Invitation: bubble/foam sensory bin

Put two parts baby wash and one part water in a dish pan or empty storage bin. Use a whisk or handheld mixer to beat the mixture until it forms stiff peaks (It is a great workout if you do it by hand!), add some small trucks or animals and invite your child to explore.

This soft, fluffy sensory material provides children with a different sensory experience from sand or water. 

Thanks to middler teachers Sarah and Caitlyn for this idea!

Art/Fine Motor Invitation: Stamps and paper

This invitation is particularly interesting to children who like to make dots with markers and crayons. Find a washable ink pad and some stamps and set them out along with a piece of paper. As an alternative you could offer Do-A-Dot markers.

Stamping is another multi-step process like watercolor painting. Children need to remember the sequence in order to make marks on the paper. They may also explore the materials in unexpected ways. 

Fine Motor/Building Invitation: Monochromatic material exploration II

Recently we proposed offering a selection of materials that were the same color and seeing what your child would create with them. Today we are wondering if you offer things that are a different color, how might their engagement be similar or different. Will their interactions with the materials be different with a different color? What will they notice about the texture, shape, or hue of the materials?

Welcome to another week of Lakewood at Home. We hope you found some moments of joy this weekend. Here are three invitations you might offer your toddler today.

Music/Language Invitation: “The Wheels on the Bus”

The toddler class at Lakewood has been asking to sing “The Wheels on the Bus” during morning Zoom meetings. They like to drive the bus, open and close the doors, and pretend to be babies and parents. The song involves motions, language, and play. What will your child put on the bus?

For a fun twist on “The Wheels on the Bus”, try The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort.

Art Invitation: Crayons and paper

Today you might consider offering a simple invitation for creative expression, building motor skills, and learning the language of mark making. We suggest crayons and paper. It takes slightly more force to move crayons across the paper, building stronger muscles. You can offer plain printer paper, cardboard, or a variety of papers as we have suggested in previous offerings.

Fine Motor/Science Invitation: Ramps and bridges

Today we are wondering how your toddlers work with ramps might alter if you offer a bridge as well as a ramp. What will they do? Will they notice that the tunnel also creates a tunnel? Where will they drive their vehicles? How will offering a bridge change their work or their understanding of ramps?

This invitation aims to further understand what toddlers know and think about ramps and bridges.