Blog: Toddlers

Good morning! Here are three invitations for toddlers today, including an idea for cooling off on another hot July day.

Fine Motor Invitation: Tubes and clothespins

We recommend setting up this offering on a low table or a tray on the floor. Set out some clothespins and sections of empty paper towel tubes and invite your child to explore the materials. If you have clothespins with springs, you might demonstrate how they work. We wonder what your child will do with these materials, especially if they took part in the laundry day water play invitation we shared recently.

Art Invitation: Crayons and boxes

This is a wonderful way to invite your child to explore three-dimensional art. Offer an empty cardboard box and some crayons and invite your child to make marks and designs on the box. They may also want to explore mark-making on the inside of the box. If the box is large enough, they may want to explore mark-making on the box while sitting in the box.

Sensory Invitation: Water play

The weather continues to be hot, and water play can offer an opportunity to use large muscles while staying cool. Today we suggest using a sprinkler or mister to create arcs and rainbows. Invite your child to try to run under the water, through the water, or jump over it as it nears the ground.

Good morning! It’s Monday again and we have three more invitation ideas for toddlers.

Dramatic Play Invitation: Laundry day water play

This invitation offers opportunities to explore water and sensory schema and build fine motor skills. You will need a couple of containers for water (one for soapy water and one for rinsing) and something to use as a clothesline or drying rack. You can also add clothespins or clothes pegs to the laundry line. You can set out doll clothes or small clothing items, or a stack of wash cloths, or invite your child to find some things to wash. Invite them to put the items into the soapy water and swish them around, then rinse, wring them out, and hang them up to dry. This invitation is an opportunity for children to explore this process that happens in machines with their own two hands.

Language/Literacy Invitation: Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley

Durham County Library has several children’s books about doing laundry, you can view a read aloud of Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley using this link. Or try Monday is Wash Day by MaryAnn Sundby or Mrs. McNosh Hangs up her Wash by Sarah Weeks. Any of these stories will connect with your child’s experience of watching or helping with the laundry.

Fine Motor Invitation: Playing with Everyday Objects

We really appreciate the thought and work that Reggio Children put into their resources. The link above will take you to their invitation for “Playing with Everyday Objects.” We hope you and your child are as enchanted with it as we are.

Good morning and happy Friday! We are so thankful that you spent part of your week with us. There are only a few days left of Lakewood at Home before we reopen on August 5th. Here are three invitations for toddlers on this Friday.

Art Invitation: NCMA City in the Grass

If you did not have a chance to see City in the Grass at NCMA, you can see it virtually through their website. It is in the outdoor sculpture park, so it is possible to go and see it in person, but the park tends to be very popular and it might be difficult to socially distance at certain times of day. We really enjoy this piece of art because it is so accessible for young children. It has texture, color, and is at their level. We hope the link above gives you and your child a sense of the piece. You can find additional activity ideas here. 

Building/Outdoor Invitation: Outdoor blocks

In thinking about City in the Grass and the other invitations we have suggested over the past few months, we wanted to suggest taking some blocks to a shady spot outside today. You can add animals, people, or other loose parts to this exploration as well. Block building uses motor skills and is a way for children to explore physics, architecture and engineering.

Science/Nature Invitation: Investigating life in the grass

This is another outdoor invitation. Invite your child to explore a patch of grass. You can provide a magnifying glass and possibly a clipboard and pencil as well. What will they find in the grass? What will they notice about textures, colors, and shapes?

Good morning! We have made it through over half the week! Here are three invitation ideas for toddlers on what looks like it will be another hot day.

Science/Fine Motor Invitation: Cars, blocks and ramps

Over the course of the past several months, we have suggested multiple invitations involving ramps. Today we are curious about how your child’s explorations may have changed over time. Are they still interested in exploring ramps and vehicles? Are they building their own ramps now if offered the materials? How do you think their understanding of this concept has evolved?

Sensory Invitation: Water play

As the hot weather continues, it’s important to find ways to stay cool and continue to be outside. Today we suggest getting out a kiddie pool or large, shallow storage bin (the kind that is made to fit under a bed is perfect) and turning it into a pond for boats. You can make boats out of clean recyclable materials, empty juice boxes, or natural materials if you like. If you make a boat with a sail, your child can explore how to make it move through the water using their breath or a paper fan.

Art Invitation: Sculpting with Play dough

What might your toddler be interested in doing with play dough today? You can pair play dough with a variety of tools and other materials for different experiences. Golf tees and a hammer are interesting to investigate with play dough that may have become a little dry. You can also offer cooking utensils, craft sticks, small cups, or natural materials.