Blog: Toddlers

Welcome back! We can hardly believe it is almost the end of June! Happy Pride Month!!! We have one additional invitation today, to participate in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge.

Durham County Library Summer Reading Challenge “Imagine Your Story”

We want to encourage you to sign up for the DCL Summer Reading Challenge. This summer they have gotten very creative with great resources for activities, book lists and recommendations, and a code word challenge for older children! 

Language/Literacy Invitation: For all the age groups today we are offering Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. This wonderful story of exploration and support is much-loved by young children. You can watch a read aloud by Dr. Marianne Magjuka  here, or as part of a Drag Queen Story Hour here.

Science/Fine Motor Invitation: Exploring natural materials with magnifying glass

As part of the Boulder Journey School Summer Conference, we had the opportunity to watch a video of a toddler interacting with two sea shells. The child’s exploration of the shells was intentional and slow. They used a variety of techniques, pinching, running their fingers over bumps, turning the shells over in their hands. We are wondering how your toddler interacts with natural materials these days. What might be different if you also offered a magnifying glass?

Art Invitation: Mark making with paint

Warm days are ideal for paint explorations followed by water play or a shower/bath. You can offer paint in small pots with small pieces of paper and a thin brush, or paint and large paper (or cardboard) and a large brush or other painting tool. Some children explore paint with their whole bodies, while others make small marks and delicate lines. You can suit this invitation to creative expression to your child’s preferred style.

Happy Friday! Just a quick reminder that we are taking a break from the blog next week. If you have been on this journey with us, please let us know in the comments!

Here are three invitations for today for toddlers.

Sensory Invitation: Pom pom water play

For this invitation you will need some pom poms (Unfortunately, cotton balls will not work for this.), two containers, and a large spoon or two. We recommend either setting the containers in a large plastic storage tub where they fit side by side, or offering this invitation outside. Fill one container with pom poms and the other with water. Invite your child to explore the two materials with the spoons and/or their hands.

This invitation explores opposites, uses motor skills and builds sensory schema.

Large Motor Invitation: Stepping stones

This invitation is perhaps simplest to do outside, but you could also create stepping stones indoors with some painter’s tape or yoga dots. Find some relatively flat, sturdy objects larger than your child’s feet. Arrange them like stepping stones outside and invite your child to try to navigate the stepping stones. We wonder if children will explore moving the objects to make the motor work more or less challenging. We wonder if they will decide to do something other than step on the objects, perhaps they will go around, or stack them.

Language/Literacy Invitation: Brown Boy Joy by Dr. Thomishia Baker

We love this version of Brown Boy Joy read by Jecorey Arthur. It really brings out the rhythm of the text. This is wonderful for young children who are themselves discovering the rhythm of language.

Good morning! It looks like today will be warmer and possibly drier in the morning. Here are three invitations for toddlers today.

Fine Motor Invitation: Craft sticks and bottles

This is an invitation we have suggested before as it is a favorite with toddlers, builds multiple cognitive schema, and strengthens fine motor skills. You can present the materials on a tray, or set the bottle on the floor below a chair and invite your child to try and drop the sticks in from up high.

Art/Fine Motor Invitation: Creating with stickers

Stickers are more of a fine motor exercise than a medium for creative expression on their own, so you may want to pair them with some colored pencils or crayons in this invitation. We are curious about how their work with stickers might change with the addition of a mark-making tool.

Language/Dramatic Play Invitation: Taking notes with pencil and paper

In the toddler room, the children often want to take notes just like they see teachers and staff members doing. You can try offering your child a clipboard and pencil to see what they would like to do with it. Are there other things you do that your child likes to attempt or imitate? How can you support their exploration of these activities?

Good morning! It looks like it is going to be another cool and wet day today. Here are three invitations you might offer your toddler today.

Sensory Invitation: Mashers/tubes and sand

Sensory invitations can be particularly engaging on rainy days. For this invitation you will need an empty container (large bowl, empty storage bin, etc.) some sand like playground sand, moon sand or kinetic sand, empty paper towel tubes, and tools for mashing. We recommend offering the container on a large tablecloth, sheet, or shower curtain liner for easier cleanup. 

We are curious about what toddlers will do when offered this novel combination of materials. They will be building sensory schema, using fine (and possibly large) motor skills, and discovering new ways to engage with familiar objects.

Art Invitation: Crayons and paper

Today we are suggesting you offer this simple mark-making invitation once again. We are wondering what growth you may have noticed in your child’s exploration over the past few months. Using crayons requires more muscle than smoother tools like markers. How is your child holding their crayon now? What kinds of marks are they making? Which colors do they use the most? Along with building fine motor skills, crayons are wonderful for creative expression.

Large Motor Invitation: Sheet bubbles

For this invitation you will need an old sheet, some empty floor space, and possibly a stuffed animal or two. Lay the sheet out over the floor and sit at one edge. Use small movements to wiggle the sheet up and down and create waves, or create large bubbles by moving your arms up and down more slowly. Invite your child to join you in this experiment. They may want to jump in the waves, pop the bubbles, or toss stuffed animals into the middle. Jumping, hopping, and rolling are important large motor skills.