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.
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