THE
TODDLER ACTIVITIES
BOOK
2ND EDITION
Dear Reader,
Your toddler is at an exciting stage of their development. He is growing rapidly and gaining many new skills. You have an amazing opportunity to promote your child’s emotional, social, physical and cognitive development all while still having fun!
You don’t need to break the bank to occupy, educate and entertain your toddler. Put away the expensive toy catalogs and craft kits. Your toddler will respond to simple games and activities that keep her involved.
Your toddler is bound to keep you on the go. You will be able to use many of the ides in this book with no materials and no advanced planning. I hope that you will turn to this book again and again for ideas and inspiration!
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THE
TODDLER
ACTIVITIES BOOK
2ND EDITION
Over 400 games and projects to
entertain and educate
Joni Levine, MEd
For Lizzie, the daughter I used to only
dream about. You bring me more
joy than I ever imagined.
Contents
Top 10 Materials to Have on Hand for Toddler Activities
Introduction
01 All about Toddlers
What Are Toddlers Like? • How a Toddler Learns • How Activities Help Your Child • Choosing Appropriate Activities • General Guidelines
02 Activities Throughout the Day
Morning-Time Activities
Bath-Time Activities
Calming and Rest-Time Activities
Mealtime and Cooking Activities
Transition Times
Helping Around the House
Anytime Activities
03 What to Do on a Rainy Day
Shake Out Your Sillies
When Bad Weather Threatens
Let’s Go Out
A Day at the Beach—Indoors!
Fun with a Box
Backward Upside-Down Day
Last-Minute Activities
04 Away from Home
Air-Travel Activities
Car-Travel Activities
In the Hospital
Activities to Do While Waiting
On the Spot—When Child Gets Fussy
Beach Activities
Zoo Activities
Museum Activities
05 Art and Exploration
Coloring
Painting
Sculpting
Making Collages
Other Art Media
Crafts
06 Sensory Activities
Sand Activities
Water Activities
Natural Materials
Playdough and Clay
Bubbles
Miscellaneous Materials
Music Activities
Visual Activities
07 Dance and Movement
Dancing
Action Plays
Exercise Activities
Creative Movement
Using Props
Parachute Activities
08 Let’s Pretend
Pretend Themes
Props for Pretend Play
Dolls
Block Building
Pretend Play Games
Puppets
09 Games
Traditional Games
Cooperative Games
Group Games
Games for Two
Paper Games
Create Your Own Game
Fast and Simple Games
10 Backyard and Nature Activities
Gardening Activities
Bugs!
Weather Activities
Outdoor Activities
Nature Crafts
Astronomy and Nighttime Activities
11 Literacy Activities
Skills and Readiness
Using Books
Storytelling
Verbal Games
Flannel-Board Activities
Making Books
12 All about Me
Learning-about-Family Activities
Learning-about-My-Body Activities
I Am Special
How I Grow
Five-Senses Activities
Learning to Be Safe and Healthy
13 For Special Needs Toddlers
For Children with Sensory Disabilities
For Children with Autism
For Children with Mobility Disabilities
For Children with Cognitive Disabilities
For Children with Language Disabilities
14 Exploring Themes
Animal Activities
Community Helpers
Transportation
Dinosaurs
The Ocean
Birds
Pond Life
Fairy Tales
15 Exploring Concepts
Shapes
Colors
Numbers
Letters
Time
Spatial Concepts
16 Seasonal Activities
Harvest-Time Fun
Leaves Are Changing
Scary Things
Let It Snow!
Arctic Animals and Hibernation
Springtime
Summer Activities
17 Holiday Activities
New Year’s Day
Valentine’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day
Passover and Purim
Earth Day
Easter
Fourth of July
Thanksgiving
Chanukah
Christmas
Kwanzaa
18 Party Time
Theme Parties
Birthday Parties for Two-Year-Olds
Birthday Parties for Three-Year-Olds
Group Craft Projects
More Party Games
Party Preparation and Props
Appendix A: Recipes for Activity Materials
Appendix B: Recommended Resources
Index
Acknowledgments
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.
Top 10 Materials to Have on Hand for Toddler Activities
Crayons: Remove the labels from crayons when possible. For the younger child, fatter crayons work best.
Construction paper: Construction paper is very versatile. Be sure to keep a wide variety of colors on hand.
Poster board: Use poster board when you need a stronger, more durable paper.
White craft glue: You can also use rubber cement or school paste for most projects. Choose what works best for you and your child.
Old magazines: Old magazines are a wonderful source for collage and activity pictures. Nature and home-living magazines are the best for this.
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.
Felt-tip markers: Markers are useful for adding small details to projects. Some manufacturers even make washable markers.
Food coloring: This is handy for coloring homemade dough and various other craft materials. Please note: It does stain.
Recycled household materials: You can reuse materials such as egg cartons, yarn scraps, toilet paper tubes, and boxes for many activities.
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.
Introduction
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.
What Are Toddlers Like?
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.
This time of becoming an individual includes separation and can be difficult. However, it will be easier if your toddler feels securely attached to you. When she knows that she can rely on you for love, comfort, and reassurance, she will be emboldened to take those first tentative steps away from you.
Emotional Volatility
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.
Desire for Independence
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.
Desire for Power
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.
Limitations
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 mos
t 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.
How a Toddler Learns
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.
Sensorimotor Exploration
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.
Flashcards were once a very popular way to teach young children. Sometimes you will still see television demonstrations of “baby geniuses” who, with the help of flashcards, can name the state capitals or identify photographs of past presidents. You should know that these children have been drilled with memorization exercises and do not have a true understanding of the facts they are reciting.
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!