Good morning! It’s the middle of the week again. Here are three invitations for toddlers today.
Art/Fine Motor Invitation: Mark-making with markers
For an interesting change, you might consider using very large paper, or very small paper, or a large piece of cardboard. Markers’s bright colors and ease of use make them a very satisfying material for making marks. This is a time for creative expression and developing fine motor skills.
Fine Motor Invitation: Cups and leaves
This morning, you and your child can gather some edible or non-toxic leaves from your yard (or windowsill garden or refrigerator). Set them on a tray with some empty cups. What will your toddler do with these simple materials? Will they cook? Make drinks? Sort the leaves? Use their fingers to rip the leaves? If you use herbs this is an opportunity to explore smell as well as touch.
Optional extension – cutting the leaves with scissors
Sensory/Outdoor Invitation: Water play with ice
Find a shady place outside for this invitation. You can use a large block of ice or a couple of cups of ice cubes. Put them on a tray with a bowl of water. You could also include some polar bear or penguin figures for a dramatic play extension, or tongs and spoons for moving the ice. Some dump trucks could also provide an interesting transporting option.
This is an opportunity for children to explore the changing physical properties of ice and water, to use small motor skills, and keep cool.
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