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Children

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  Baby
  Toddler
  Age 2 and Up

 

Activities for Toddlers
(18 to 36 Months Old)
What do toddlers do?

  • Learn new words every day.
  • Speak using groups of words ("Ned go out").
  • Take turns while talking with people.
  • Ask many questions ("What that?").
  • Name objects in picture books ("Ball").
  • Follow two-part directions ("Pick up the socks and put them in the basket.").
  • Say "no" and "not."
  • Copy adult voices and actions.
  • Follow simple stories.
  • Look at books on their own.
  • Join in when a book has rhymes and repeated words.
  • Scribble with crayons and washable markers.

How do toddlers learn?
Rosa tugs on Ms. Vega's arm and says, "Wet." Ms. Vega says, "Your diaper is wet. Let's go change it."

Rosa lies down on the changing table. Ms. Vega washes her hands and tells Rosa what she is doing. "I'm washing away all the germs so you will stay healthy. I'm taking off your shorts. They're red, like your sneakers." Rosa says, "Red sneakers."

Ms. Vega takes a diaper from the shelf. She replaces Rosa's wet diaper with a dry one. "All done," says Ms. Vega. "Wash hands?" asks Rosa. "Yes," says Ms. Vega, "let's wash our hands."

Rosa heads for the sink, singing. "This way, wash hands, wash hands, wash hands." Ms. Vega sings along, then says, "Rosa, you learned a new song to sing." "Sing song," says Rosa.

Like many toddlers, Rosa is learning about language:

  • She communicates her needs using groups of words.
  • She repeats words she hears adults speak.
  • She learns a simple song.
  • She asks questions.
  • She answers questions.
Rosa's caregiver helps her learn about language:
  • She responds to Rosa's request by answering with a group of words.
  • She describes what she is doing and names a color--red.
  • She asks a simple question that Rosa knows how to answer.
  • She sings with Rosa, then congratulates her on learning the song.

ACTIVITIES AND IDEAS FOR TODDLERS
Activities
Listening and Talking

Toddlers are beginning to enjoy make-believe play.

  • Have plenty of telephones (toys and real ones) on hand. Look for push-button and portable phones like the ones toddlers see at home. Help toddlers talk on the phone to a friend or family member.
"You seem a little sad today, Jenny. Would you like to call your Mom? Okay, let's call her. Mrs. Trent, here's Jenny. She wants to say 'hello'."
  • Provide dress-up clothes and props--hats, scarves, shoes, keys, tote bags, and pocketbooks. Most toddlers like to dress up, pack a bag, and pretend to leave and come back. They play house with pots, pans, dishes, and other household items.
  • Join toddlers in their make-believe play to introduce new words and to encourage them to talk.
"That smells delicious. What are you cooking?" "Are you going to work? Say 'hello' to your Dad for me."

How to help families:

Invite families to share traditional songs and rhymes from their culture. Make an audiotape of the toddlers singing a song or saying a rhyme to share with families. Play the tape during drop-off and pick-up times, and lend it to families who are interested.

Toddlers are learning to play with each other.

  • Invite two to four toddlers to do something together. You can sing a song, do a fingerplay, talk to puppets, or play a silly word game about opposites.
"Do plates go on the table or under the table?"
"Are elephants big or little ?"
  • Move on to another activity when toddlers lose interest. As toddlers' attention spans grow, slowly increase the time for very small group activities.
Toddlers ask a lot of questions.
  • Answer toddlers' many questions. Try a simple answer first. If that's not enough, try again. Toddlers may ask more questions because they don't understand the answer or because they like asking questions.
"Where's my banana?" "You ate your banana."
"Where did it go?" "It's in your tummy."
"Why?" "Because you chewed and swallowed it."
  • Be patient. Toddlers ask many, many questions because they are trying to learn as much as they can about the world. They come to you because they know you can help them learn.
Toddlers like talking to people who will listen to their stories.
  • Let toddlers know that they have interesting things to say. Comment on what a toddler is doing, ask a question that encourages the child to talk, or join in the play and talk about what you are doing together.

    "Mia, our soap bubbles are floating in the air."

  • Talk during activities, such as when eating, washing hands, and picking up toys. Learn some words and phrases in a toddler's home language.

    "Este pollo es muy bueno."

  • Listen to a toddler for as long as it takes the child to tell a story. Ask questions to help the child explain what happened.

READING
Toddlers like being read to.

  • Read toddlers' favorite books in English and their home languages, if possible. Toddlers like to hear the same book again and again. After they memorize some of the story, they can join in and tell what happens next. Later, they may want to retell the story on their own.
  • Read to toddlers in very small groups. Make sure everyone can see the pictures in the book. Look for big book versions of toddlers' favorites. Let toddlers decide when they wish to leave the group, but continue reading to the toddlers who are still interested.
  • Read to toddlers one-on-one. Choose a story that's just right for a toddler in your care.
  • Read when a toddler asks you. Read when you think an active toddler needs some quiet time. Read indoors and outdoors, at the beginning and end of the day, and whenever you can take time to give a toddler your special attention.

How to help families:
Tell families about the books, materials, and services available at their local library. Encourage them to visit the library often to find books that are just right for their toddlers.

Toddlers are gradually learning about books and reading.

  • Point to the words as you read to toddlers, so that they will begin to understand that you are reading the words, not the pictures. They probably won't fully understand this until they are older.
  • Describe the pictures. Point out details the toddlers might have missed.
"He is missing a button. See how his strap hangs down?"
"The daddy is kissing the baby because he loves him so much."
  • Help toddlers understand and talk about a story. Ask questions to help them connect the story to their own lives.

    "What did you do when you were a baby?"
    "How do you help your Dad get ready for dinner?"

  • Extend older toddlers' enjoyment of a popular story by putting out new props or leading a simple activity. For example, after reading stories about baby animals, put a basket of farm animals next to the blocks. After reading stories about caterpillars, ask the children to wiggle like caterpillars, then fly like butterflies.

Building Muscles For Writing

Toddlers can use their hands and fingers to play with toys and to do many things for themselves.

  • Keep toys on low, open shelves so that toddlers can choose what they want to play with and put things away when done. Put things that are used together near each other. For example, put crayons on the same shelf as the paper.
  • Encourage toddlers to help take care of their toys and to keep the child care setting tidy. Have several clean-up times each day. Provide toddler-size cleaning tools, such as small brooms and dust- pans.
  • Follow a schedule that gives toddlers plenty of time to take part in routines such as eating, handwashing, and getting ready to go outdoors. Make it easy for toddlers to do things without your help:
    • Place cubbies and coat hooks at toddlers' height and show them how to hang up their coats.
    • Provide cups and eating utensils small enough to fit in toddlers' hands.
    • Mark each toothbrush with a special symbol--a star, an X, a dot--so children can know which toothbrush is theirs.
    • Place tissues and paper towels where toddlers can reach them.
  • Provide an assortment of table toys and materials that encourage toddlers to use their hands and fingers, such as pegs to place in pegboards and blocks to stack and then knock down. These items must be large enough so that toddlers won't choke on them.
  • Offer new materials as toddlers' skills improve. Older toddlers can build eye-hand coordination while doing puzzles with more pieces and while fitting small blocks together. They may be ready to use a sifter in the sand box and small boats at a water play table.
How to help families:

Take photographs of toddlers cleaning up, washing their hands, and putting on their coats, and post them on a bulletin board near the door so that families can see their toddlers being independent. Ask families to tell you what their toddlers can do on their own at home.

Toddlers can use a variety of drawing and writing tools.

  • Provide many things to draw and write with and on. Store crayons, washable markers, and chalk where toddlers can get them without help from an adult. Large paper is best for toddlers' drawing and writing because toddlers need space to make wide movements with their arms. For variety, toddlers can draw and write on chalkboards and on the sidewalk.
  • Set up easels, washable paint in a few colors, and brushes with short handles and wide bristles for toddlers to use every day.
  • Encourage toddlers to use their fingers to make wavy lines and circles with fingerpaint on trays or a plastic tablecloth.

Toddlers are beginning to notice letters and writing.

  • Introduce letters in a casual way. Provide some alphabet blocks, puzzles, stamps, and magnets for toddlers to play with.
  • Let toddlers see you writing. Sit down with a toddler while making a shopping list, talk about the sign you are making, and explain what's in the note you are sending home to families. Toddlers are likely to copy your writing in the same way they copy other adult activities.
 
 
 
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