Blog: Toddlers

Welcome back! We hope you and your toddler enjoyed the warm weather this weekend. It looks like it will be cooler and cloudier today. Here are three ideas for engaging your toddler today.

Fine Motor Invitation: Scooping and transferring from bowls to an ice cube tray

For this invitation you will need at least three bowls, small measuring spoons, an empty ice cube tray, and some objects to go in the bowls. In our example we used some of the moon sand/dough from a previous post, pom poms, and smooth stones (the pom poms will probably be full of moon sand by the end of this and not reusable). Invite your toddler to move things from the bowls to the ice cube tray. Placing everything on a cookie sheet or tray displays the materials nicely and makes for slightly easier clean up.

These materials invite your toddler to explore moving, mixing, scooping and dumping all while building fine motor skills.

Art Invitation: Markers and paper

What kinds of marks will your toddler make today? Dots? Lines? Circles?

What colors will they use?

How will they hold the marker? Will they remove and replace the cap by themselves?

What are they looking at with curiosity as they explore these materials?

These are questions we consider when watching toddlers explore markers and mark-making. They are building skills for creative expression, exploring sound, touch, force, color and shape.

Sensory Invitation: Glitter gel bag

For this invitation you will need a gel-like substance (hair gel, aloe vera gel, etc.), a gallon zip-top bag, some glitter or food coloring, and strong tape to reinforce the seal and sides of the bag.

Put at least 1/2 cup of gel into the zip-top bag, add food coloring and/or glitter, squeeze the air out and seal the bag. You can use masking or other glass-safe tape to put the bag up on the window, or put it on a table. Invite your toddler to see what they can do with the gel in the bag. Can they make lines with their fingers? Can they make a hand print?

While exploring the texture of the gel, toddlers are building sensory schema, refining small motor skills, and exploring something new.

 

 

 

Happy Friday! It’s going to be pretty warm today, and all weekend. We hope you have found some moments of peace and joy this week and wish you a wonderful weekend!

Outdoor Invitation: Outdoor water play

Cooling off with water outdoors can be as simple as a bowl of water, something to stir with, and some natural materials. Here we picked herbs (mint, rosemary and lemon balm) to add a scent aspect to the sensory exploration. Children can pound the herbs using rocks to release their scents, or make soup by putting them in the water.

Sensory Invitation: Checking in on/ cleaning up the carpet of paper

On Monday, we invited you to create a carpet of paper with your toddler in a corner of your house. Is it still there? What is the paper like now?  Your toddler can now explore ripping and tearing the paper, crumpling it into balls, and tossing those into a box for recycling.

Reengaging with this invitation asks toddlers to explore more deeply. Ripping, tearing, and crumpling use fine motor skills while toddlers investigate the physical properties of the various types of paper.

Fine Motor Invitation: Bottles and craft sticks

In this invitation children are given an opportunity to explore enveloping and enclosing schema. You will need a bottle with a small neck and some craft sticks (aka Popsicle sticks), small sticks from the yard, or other long, thin objects. Set a dish of sticks next to the bottle or bottles and invite your child to explore. You can also offer a funnel.

This invitation is one we have suggested before and we are revisiting it again here because it is such an excellent one for toddlers. You might see what else they can find around the house that fits into the bottle, or offer a variety of bottles with differently sized openings.

Happy Thursday! Today should be warm and lovely for an adventure.

Large Motor/Outdoor Invitation: Leaf Collecting adventure

Where can you find leaves around your house? Are there any in the refrigerator? What about in the yard? What textures and shades of green can your child find? Take a small cup or basket and see what your child can find. Before you begin this adventure, talk with your child about which leaves are okay to collect. 

This adventure invitation is an avenue to exploring texture, nuances in color, different shapes and leaf composition. It also encourages children to move and explore the world.

Art/Fine Motor Invitation: Leaf designs

For this invitation you will need some leaves, perhaps the ones your toddler collected on their adventure, and an empty frame, reflective surface, or sheet of paper. Invite your child to see what kinds of designs they can make with the leaves and explore them with their fingers. If you have found and collected herbs, they might also explore the different smells.

In creating designs children are building fluency in creative expression, using and refining motor skills, and learning about the world.

Language/Literacy Invitation: Harry the Dirty Dog read by Betty White

Over the last few weeks, we have been searching for high-quality read alouds for young children. Last night we discovered Storyline Online and Betty White reading Harry the Dirty Dog. Storyline Online has many other books, most of which are longer and suited to children with fairly long attention spans. Your toddler might also enjoy Michelle Obama reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

It’s Wednesday! We are excited to share these invitation and hope they spark your curiosity as well as your toddler’s.

Sensory/Cooking Invitation: Exploring making rolls

Young children often want to help in the kitchen. Cooking is a fascinating process full of science and sensory experiences. This very simple recipe creates a dough that toddlers can pinch, roll, poke and pat before baking and eating.

Simple Rolls

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup Greek yogurt
• Edible decorations such as raisins, chopped dried apricots, nuts, coconut, sprinkles, etc.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the yogurt. Your child can mix and sculpt the dough with clean hands and pat it into shapes. Place shapes on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until golden.

 

Art Invitation: Crayons and paper

Did you discover any interesting papers in your house when pulling things together for Monday’s paper carpet invitation? Perhaps something that would invoke curiosity in your toddler? What would happen if you invite your child to explore different types of paper with some crayons? Do the crayons work the same on every type of paper? How does your toddler interact with the different textures?

 

Building Invitation: Blocks, cars, ramps

The Middlers and Preschoolers have been invited to explore ramps over the past few weeks. We’re wondering how toddlers might explore this concept at home as well. There is a long carpeted ramp in the toddler room at LACS which is used as a slide, a road for cars, and a place to experiment with what rolls. You can use a length of board, a long block, or longer piece of cardboard for this invitation. Prop one end on something and invite your toddler to see what will roll down. What will they choose? How will their theory about what will roll change as they experiment?