Toddlers Are So Fun to Teach

Toddlers seem to grow and change daily

Toddlers ages 12-24 months seem to grow and change daily. They make great strides in every area of development.  It is an exciting time for families to share activities.  What are some of the milestones of this age and how can we encourage our toddlers along the way?
  One of the most noticeable changes is the increase in vocabulary and development.
They are learning new words daily.  They will begin by pointing to objects such as their favorite blanket.  Encourage your children to use words even if you know what they want.

They are learning new words daily

Add additional words of your own such as “You want your blanket. Daddy will get your blue blanket.”
  There’s nothing like reading with your toddlers to help increase vocabulary and understanding.  It’s also a great time to give your toddler some choices.  Do you want to read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” or “Good Night, Moon”?  Do not give choices when they don’t exist.  For example, “It’s time for your bath.” rather than “Are you ready for your bath?” They may say,” No.”
  Your toddlers are learning about emotions by reading your face.  They respond to the expression on your face and the tone of your voice.  Feel free to be over expressive.  For example, “You found your teddy bear! Let me give you a big hug!” or  “Stop! We need to stop, look both ways, and listen before we cross the street.”   Toddlers are just beginning to recognize and manage their feelings.  They have a wide range of emotions and may respond with a tantrum when tired or frustrated.  The best way to prevent tantrums is to distract them by suggesting another activity or offering a source of comfort such as a teddy bear.
  Toddlers are beginning to understand imaginative play.  They may imitate what you are doing

Play is important...

in the kitchen or out in the garage.  Play kitchens or tool sets are good toy choices for this stage.  They may also use objects in different ways.  For example, a block might become a truck or a telephone.  Offer opportunities to   play with sand, water, and play dough as well as drawing materials. 
  Provide safe play areas in your home and yard where your toddlers can move around freely.  Take walks outdoors and visit parks and nature centers where you can explore the environment. Seek out

Visit parks and nature centers

playgrounds where your toddlers can interact with other children and adults.
 Enjoy this special time with your toddlers.  They are so open to learning, especially when it’s with the people they love most.  Talk, laugh, and move around together. Share the fun of learning! Take photos of block building, art, and other projects and send them to relatives.
photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos - sketch: Mark Nowicki 


More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Making a Kid’s Indoor Golf Course

Preschool teachers have many good suggestions for making child care easier for parents and grandparents. They recommend alternating short active and quiet activities between meals, nutritious snacks, naps, and reading. Quiet activities are easy indoors, but active ones can be easy, also, when weather is inclement.  Almost any sport can be adapted for indoor play with recycled materials.
Indoor Mini Golf
  To make an indoor miniature golf course collect small boxes, plastic containers, small rugs, cardboard tubes and pieces, duct tape, paint stir sticks, cups, stuffed animals, and small balls.
  Conversation and planning together are so important while creating the obstacles for a miniature golf course. If children have never been to one, search on You Tube or Google images for miniature golf courses. Make a list of obstacles. Then think of ones you can create with materials around the house. If you make the obstacles in small modules they can be stored in a few bins and taken out again later.
Construction Plan
  Design your course together and make a map of your plan. You’re teaching children that a plan is needed whenever they do a project. Do children want a theme of princesses, teddy bears, Star Wars, or cars? What is the course’s name?
  Real miniature golf courses often have obstacles with an entry and an exit.  Children can choose boxes, decorate, and plan placement while adults cut the openings. An empty oatmeal cylinder makes a good tunnel.
  Courses often have ramps. These can be made with blocks or small boxes and a wide strip of cardboard or wood.  Look among the toys.  Perhaps children can make Lego or large block bridges and ramps. The construction time is another means to create time for family discussion and vocabulary building.
   Talk about gravity and ramp height. While making ramps, add cardboard and duct tape fences along the edges to keep the ball on the ramp. The toy box might also have plastic train parts that can be curved ramps for the ball.  Some ramps might lead to nowhere with a cup at the end.
  Stuffed animals, dolls, and action figures are excellent for guiding the ball’s path and decorating the course.  Each section can be named for a character.
  Courses also have rough areas. Use a rug and make small bumps. Stuff newspapers or small blankets under rugs or sheets to make the curves and hills. The difficulty can easily be adjusted.
  Golf clubs may be a small hockey stick or a paint stick with a rolled newspaper or cardboard attached with duct tape. Balls can be made from newspaper surrounded by tape.
The last step of playtime is cleaning up so toys can be found again.
Photo: Fran Darling; Sketch: Nowicki
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Indoor Snowball Fun

When the weather is cold or the snow doesn’t pack well, it’s time to be creative indoors. Children love to read and do quiet activities, but they also need to be active even if there is crazy weather outside. It’s the way they are. When adults put them in front of DVD’s to quiet them, too often behavior problems occur when the DVD is finished because they still need to run around.
Snowballs Inside
  Snowballs can be made from crumpled paper towels or newspapers and secured with cellophane or duct tape. They are fun to make and easy to store until needed again. Keep the balls soft, remove the breakables, and have a snowball fight.
  If families want the real feel of snowballs there are fluffy balls on-line that are fuzzy and squishy.  Google “fake snowballs.” These snowballs are durable, washable, and don’t hurt.
Design Forts
  The quickest defensive forts are behind the couch or chairs covered with blankets.
  If there are some cardboard boxes around children can design their own fort held together with duct tape. Families can split up and discuss strategy of attack and defense. Often the youngest has fun sneaking around gathering snowballs and supplying older throwers.
Families can also throw snowballs in a laundry basket or paper bag for target then add up the points. How far can each person throw and measure the distance. Invite grandparents over for an inter-generational snowball fight and hot chocolate on a wintery evening.
Snowball Launcher
  Picture a tube within a tube with a rubber band slingshot at the end. For this launcher families will need two cardboard sturdy shipping or wrapping tubes about the same length. One must slide easily inside the other. Also needed are four sturdy rubber bands, duct tape, pointed scissors and pom- poms.
  Adults poke one hole one inch from the edge on either side of the larger tube and insert, tie, knot the rubber band and reinforce the hole with duct tape so it will not rip the tube.  Cut the smaller tube in half to be the pom-pom stuffer.
  Affix the rubber bands the same way as the large tube. Secure the two sets of rubber bands to each other with the remaining bands. The tubes and rubber bands are now connected. The tubes may need to be reinforced as they are used.
  Stuff a pom-pom in the launcher with the extra tube, pull back gently on the rubber bands and let go.
The technique will require a little practice.
  Later relax with a few newly published snow books:

“Blizzard” by John Rocco; “Outside” by Deirdre Gill; and “First Snow” by Peter McCarty.

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest