The Everything Toddler Activities Book (2 page)

I have many people to thank for their help in support. Susan Holmes, for many ideas and lots of feedback. Ideas also came from Cathy Abraham, Terri Menzies, and Susan D. Smith. Robin Herbol provided artistic insight and a lot of support. I also wish to thank Barb Doyen, both agent and friend.

1. Crayons:
   Remove the labels from crayons when possible. For the younger child, fatter crayons work best.
   
2. Construction paper:
   Construction paper is very versatile. Be sure to keep a wide variety of colors on hand.
   
3. Poster board:
   Use poster board when you need a stronger, more durable paper.
   
4. White craft glue:
   You can also use rubber cement or school paste for most projects. Choose what works best for you and your child.
   
5. Old magazines:
   Old magazines are a wonderful source for collage and activity pictures. Nature and home-living magazines are the best for this.
   
6. Scissors:
   In addition to adult scissors for you, purchase a pair of safety scissors for your child. If you wish, you can also find beginners’ guiding scissors and fancy-edged scissors at school supply stores.
   
7. Felt-tip markers:
   Markers are useful for adding small details to projects. Some manufacturers even make washable markers.
   
8. Food coloring:
   This is handy for coloring homemade dough and various other craft materials. Please note: It does stain.
   
9. Recycled household materials:
   You can reuse materials such as egg cartons, yarn scraps, toilet paper tubes, and boxes for many activities.
   
10. Nontoxic tempera paint:
    Tempera paint is an easy paint for your child to work with. It has a nice smooth texture and comes in many colors.
    

AS THE PARENT OF a young child, you have a unique role and opportunity. You can add fun, learning, and enrichment to your child’s life every day by spending some time and engaging your child in simple activities. Studies show that early home life and experiences have the strongest impact on a child’s development and future success. There are many reasons why you may have picked up this book.

Perhaps you are looking for activities that will develop and strengthen the bond between you and your child. You know that one-on-one quality time is critical for your relationship, as well as for your child’s social and emotional growth. Many of the activities in this book are nurturing activities. You will find also activities that will enhance communication and interaction between you and your child.

You may be looking for ways to make your own life easier. If you are juggling many responsibilities and roles each day, raising and caring for a toddler can be an additional challenge. Sometimes you simply need a way to occupy or entertain your young child for a few minutes. After all, most parents do not have the luxury of devoting all of their time to their child. There are telephone calls to make, dishes to wash, bills to pay, and more. In this book, you will find many quick and simple ideas, many of which require little advance planning and few (if any) materials. Furthermore, most of the activities in this book do not require that you set aside large chunks of time or go to specialty stores to track down materials. You will also find a special section in this book to help out when you need something on the spot to help your child calm down.

Perhaps you wish to do more activities with your child that will help him learn and develop. You want activities that will have a clear benefit for your child, such as promoting growth or helping with school-readiness skills. This is still the book for you! Young children learn best through playful, hands-on activities. Just about any activity in this book will benefit your child’s growth and development. You will find activities that develop preliteracy skills, motor development and coordination, social skills, concept development, mathematical skills, and more! It does not matter where your child is developmentally, you will find ideas to meet her needs.

This book is designed to make it easy for you to find just the right activity for your child. Each activity includes a suggested age group and a time estimate. You will even find activities designed especially with special needs children in mind. Activities are easy to follow with a clear list of materials needed and step-by-step directions.

Activities that may pose any safety concern include a warning and/or suggestions for keeping your child safe. Some activities do use small items or potential choking hazards, such as Styrofoam and balloons. All activities in this book should be done under the direct and constant supervision of an adult. Carefully use your best judgment in selecting safe activities for your child.

CHAPTER 1

All about Toddlers

The very first step in choosing activities for your toddler is to make sure that you understand her. You need to be familiar with what toddlers can and cannot do, what they enjoy, and what may frustrate them. You probably know better than to purchase a chemistry kit for your two-year-old or to ask your three-year-old to join you in a game of gin rummy. However, you may not know what toys are best to promote problem-solving skills or why sharing can be so difficult for a toddler.

Toddlerhood, which encompasses the ages of eighteen months to three years, is an exciting period of your child’s development. You have most likely noticed that she’s growing rapidly and quickly acquiring many new skills and abilities. It may seem to you that just yesterday she was an infant, very passive and dependent on you. Now you can see that she is on the threshold of becoming a full-fledged individual.

Your toddler is truly caught in a time of transition. She is just starting to develop her own sense of self. At first, her only knowledge of her identity was that she was united with you. During the first few months of her life, she developed an attachment to you (and you with her). Her first relationship was with you. Now, however, she is slowly starting to see herself as a separate person, and soon she will develop new relationships.

As your toddler develops, she acquires many new skills. Along with physical and cognitive development, she also is maturing emotionally. You may find that your toddler’s emotions are very close to the surface. Like flipping a light switch, she may go from happy and calm to fussy and agitated. At this age, she is likely to be easily overwhelmed and frustrated. Your calm, patient demeanor will be beneficial as you help her cope with and appropriately express her emotions.

You have probably noticed your toddler beginning to show a desire for independence. No longer completely dependent on you, she may even resist you during care-giving routines. She may start to insist, “Me do it,” or “Let me try.” Your child is developing autonomy. It is important that you give her opportunities to have some independence and to be sure to recognize both her efforts and her accomplishments.

Along with this new desire for independence comes the wish for some degree of control and power. Your toddler is starting to learn that she can influence both the events and the people around her. Feeling a sense of autonomy and power is an important emotional milestone. Children who are restricted in this area can become doubtful of their abilities and may be reluctant to try things or act independently later on.

In an effort to assert this desire for autonomy and control, some toddlers may become defiant. They start to challenge limits and say “No!” to your requests. If you recognize that these behaviors are not made out of spite, you will be better able to manage them with patience and humor.

Keep in mind that although your toddler is acquiring many new skills, she still has many limitations. She is quite egocentric, meaning that she has difficulty understanding the world from the perspective of other people. This makes sharing and empathetic behavior a challenge.

Your toddler also has a long way to go in developing language skills. The second and third years of life are the times of the most rapid language growth. Some of the activities in this book take into account that some toddlers are still nonverbal, and will actually help to promote your child’s language development.

Young children are naturally inquisitive. It may seem to you that your toddler is compelled to explore and touch everything he can. His horizons are broadening daily, and there is much for him to discover. With so much that is still so very new, there will be no other time in his life that he will be this eager to learn. Capitalize on this enthusiasm, and nurture this inquisitiveness through both your attitude and the activities that you plan.

Young children learn best through direct sensory and movement experiences. If you wanted to teach your toddler about camels, you could try a few different teaching techniques. To your child, the information that a camel is a quadruped mammal that mainly resides in desert regions of Africa is meaningless. Nor is showing him a photo of a camel a very effective way to develop an understanding of what a camel is. Instead, you must engage your child in a quest to learn about camels. The best strategy would be to take him to the zoo, where he has the opportunity to see, hear, and touch an actual camel.

According to psychologist Jean Piaget, toddlers are in the sensorimotor stage of development. During this stage, a toddler learns best through direct, hands-on, concrete experiences. The capacity to learn through pictures, symbols, and abstractions does not develop until a child is six or seven years old. This is the reason that you will not find any worksheet activities in this book. Instead, each activity is geared to take advantage of the way toddlers learn best—by playing, by touching, and by having fun!

Your toddler learns in three main ways: through direct instruction, through imitation, and through sensorimotor exploration. Through demonstration and verbal directives, for instance, you can help your child learn basic skills, such as how to brush his teeth. You are a powerful role model for your child, and your actions speak louder than words. Other behaviors and skills, therefore, your child will learn by imitating you. The most effective mode of learning, however, is through trial and error in sensorimotor exploration. Lessons that are relevant and that engage your child as an active participant will have the greatest impact.

You will not find any traditional academic rote-learning exercises in this book. But don’t worry—neither you nor your child will miss them. Just about every activity described here is aimed to help your child develop in at least one critical area, and all of them are simply fun!

Play is the work of young children. Through play activities, your child is exploring and discovering. Play is the most effective and powerful way for young children to learn. Some scientists have found evidence that play can sculpt the brain and build denser webs of neural connections. When children play, they literally exercise their brain cells and make them expand and grow—a physical development that happens as your child learns. Play activities engage your child and help her develop many skills, including vocabulary, problem solving, reading preparation, math comprehension, social skills, and more!