Doctor’s or Nurse’s Hat (see activity in this chapter)
Fabric marker
Old adult-sized, short-sleeved white shirt
Dolls or action figures (to act as patients)
Band-Aids
Gauze or ace bandages
Rubber gloves
Plastic syringe
Fit the hat onto your child. Make a lab coat by drawing a pocket and adding a name to the shirt.
Let your child put Band-Aids on her dolls and pretend to give them shots to make them feel better.
Props for Pretend Play
Your child’s imagination can make a shoe transform into a trailer or a boat, while a margarine container becomes a swimming pool or a foot stool for a doll. Sure, you can buy many toys and props that will add to your child’s imaginative play. However, you can engage your child’s imagination and creativity in making these simple props as well. Props for pretend play don’t need to be elaborate.
Shopping Bag/Purse
Toddlers love to tote their toys around. Here is a fun craft that yours can make.
Always use caution when using long ribbons or cords that could pose a strangulation hazard.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Scissors
Old pillowcase
Fabric paint
12 length of ribbon
Cut the pillow case in half crosswise to create a shorter case.
Let your child decorate the pillow case with fabric paints.
When the paint is dry, gather a small amount of fabric from each end of the opening. Tie the ribbon to the fabric to make the handle.
Doctor’s and Nurse’s Hat
These easy-to-make props will enhance your child’s imaginative play.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
White bond paper
White craft glue
Scissors
Bobby pins
Cardboard circle 3 in diameter
Tin foil
Crayons
Fold each sheet of bond paper lengthwise into thirds, then fold in half. Let your child glue the folds to form a band. Glue 2 together lengthwise for a longer band. For the doctor’s hat, the band needs to fit completely around your child’s head. For the nurse’s hat, the band only needs to go ⅔ of the way around. You may need to trim off excess.
For nurse’s hat: Fold up the corner of each end to form a triangle. Reopen slightly and attach to your child’s head with bobby pins.
For doctor’s hat: Help your child cover the cardboard disc with the tin foil to create a mirror. Let your child glue the disc on the front of the band. Secure the ends with glue.
Let your child decorate the hats with crayons.
Paper Bag Vest
Your child can decorate this vest to suit her imagination.
It can be a cowboy vest, an astronaut suit, or perhaps a police uniform!
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
1 large brown paper bag
Scissors
Crayons, markers, or paint
If the bag has printing on it, gently turn it inside out.
Cut a straight line up the middle of the front of the bag.
On what was the bottom of the bag, cut a hole large enough for your child’s head.
Cut armholes on each side, positioned 2–3 below the fold.
Provide different materials for your child to use to decorate the vest.
Silly Glasses
Now your child can truly see the world through rose-colored lenses.
Remember these glasses are just for play and will not protect your child’s eyes from the sun.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Paper cup
Poster board
Pencil
Scissors
Colored cellophane
Hole punch
2 pipe cleaners or chenille stems
Crayons
Use the paper cup to trace two circles on the poster board. Leave about 1 between them for the bridge.
Cut the glasses frame out in one piece.
Cut out an inner circle in each eye, leaving a 1 rim.
Cut out cellophane pieces slightly larger than the eye holes. Help your child glue them in place to create lenses.
Punch a hole in the far end of each frame.
Loop and attach a pipe cleaner into each hole, then bend back the other end for the ear pieces. Be sure no wires are exposed on the pipe cleaners.
Let your child decorate the glasses with crayons.
Dolls
Dolls are universally popular toys for your children. Toddlers love to imitate and try out the role that they see the most—that of adult caregivers! Playing with dolls gives your child the opportunity to pretend to be the mommy or daddy and also helps her or him to be less egocentric.
Baby Bonnet Doll
This adorable craft also makes a nice gift idea.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
1 little girl’s anklet sock (with a frilly cuff)
Cotton balls
Ribbon
Fabric paint
Show your child how to stuff the sock half full of cotton balls.
Tie the open end of the sock securely. If there is concern that the ribbon could be a hazard for your child, take extra steps to secure it with glue or a few stitches.
Fold back the cuff to create a bonnet.
Let your child use fabric paints to add on the facial features.
My Statue Doll
Your child can use this personalized doll as a prop in pretend or block play.
For added fun, consider making a doll to represent his friends and members of the family.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 4 hours
Instant camera
White craft glue
Poster board
Clear contact paper
Scissors
Air-hardening clay
Have your child stand facing forward in a simple pose. Compose the picture so that his head and feet are close to the edge but still in the frame.
Let your child glue the photo onto the poster board.
Help your child cover the photo with the clear contact paper. The contact paper should overlap the photo by ½ on each side. Cut out the photo.
Have your child roll out a piece of clay into a disc the size of a half dollar. This will form the statue’s base.
Show your child how to stand the photo doll up in the clay base. After several hours, when the clay is dry, your child can then play with the statue doll.
Handkerchief Doll
Here is a cute doll that is easy to make. Skip the ribbons if your child is still putting things in his mouth.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Handkerchief or square piece of fabric
Small Styrofoam ball or tennis ball
3 rubber bands
Ribbon (optional)
Fabric paint
Fold the handkerchief in half.
Have your child place the ball inside, positioning it at the center of the fold.
Secure a rubber band under the ball to create a head.
Help your child to gather the fabric from each top corner to form points.
Secure each point with a rubber band to create arms.
Tie a ribbon around the neck and arm joints.
Let your child paint on a face and other features w
ith the fabric paint.
Block Building
There are many ways that your child will benefit from block play. Blocks are an open-ended material, meaning that your child is free to create and imagine whatever she dreams of. When she is building with blocks, she is learning problem-solving and mathematical concepts including spatial relationships, balance, and shapes.
Block City
Help set the stage for many block-building adventures.
Activity for an individual child
Duration of activity: 30 minutes
Plastic tarp or old plastic table cloth
Ruler
Permanent markers
Scissors
Photos or magazine pictures of different buildings
White craft glue
Lay out the tarp to define the city limits. Help your child use the ruler and markers to draw streets, parks, and other desired features.
Trim magazine pictures of buildings to glue onto the face of your child’s building blocks. A fun alternative is to help your child take photos of buildings in your neighborhood. Capture easy-to-recognize buildings such as city hall, the library, or the firehouse. Only a few blocks have to be decorated with pictures.
Let your child enjoy building a cityscape with the blocks.
Stuffed Blocks
Save money and add fun to your child’s imaginative block play.
These blocks are lighter than traditional wooden blocks as well.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 30 minutes
Newspaper
Empty food boxes, such as those from cereal, rice, or macaroni and cheese
Masking tape
Decorative contact paper (optional)
Show your child how to crumple the newspaper into tight wads.
Have your child stuff the newspaper wads into the boxes. Be sure to stuff each box to the top.
Securely seal each box with tape.
If you wish, you can help your child decorate the blocks with contact paper.
Paper Logs
Here is a simple way to create safe logs for building and imaginative play.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Newspaper
Scotch tape
Spread three sheets of newspaper on the table.
Show your child how to roll the paper into tight tubes.
Securely seal each tube with tape.
Let your child make a lot of these to use for building, pretend campfires, and more.
Pretend Play Games
Most likely, your child will not need much encouragement to engage in pretend play on his own, but if she does, these activities can get the ball rolling. You will notice that each activity also promotes social interaction.
Act It Out
This simplified version of charades is a great activity for the whole family.
Activity for a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
White craft glue
Magazine pictures of characters and animals that are easy to mime
Index cards
A hat or other container
Kitchen timer
Before the game, glue the magazine pictures onto the index cards.
Place the cards into a hat or other container.
Each person gets a turn to “act it out.” The player removes a picture from the hat and gets 10 seconds on the timer to imitate/mime the character on the card. When the time is up, other players guess the picture.
You can choose to let the person who guesses correctly have the next turn or the turns can be predetermined.
Character in a Bag
This is a silly game that will get your child’s imagination going!
Be sure to use clothing that is easy to put on and take off.
Activity for a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
3 paper grocery bags
Markers
A variety of clothing, shoes, and accessories (vintage or costume items add to the fun)
Label the bags with markers. You can number them or use shapes or colors to make it easier.
Sort the clothing, shoes, and accessories. Place the clothing in the first bag, the shoes in the second bag, and the accessories such as hats and handbags in the third bag.
Each person gets a turn to be a character. The player randomly pulls one item from each bag to put on. Once dressed, the person describes who he is and what he does.
Puppets
Puppets are magical. Not only can they breathe life into any story, but they often seem to have a wonderful effect on young children. Many children who have speech difficulties or are shy often feel more comfortable using puppets for expression. A child can project her own fears, wishes, and dreams through the character of a puppet. Make a puppet with your child and watch her imagination soar.
Rubber Finger Puppets
This a quick and easy way to make finger puppet characters for your child.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Scissors
Old rubber dishwashing gloves
Permanent markers
Cut the fingers off the rubber gloves.
Let your child use the markers to create a face and other features.
Plate Puppets
Because this project is so simple, you may wish to let your child make
a few puppets and then put on a show.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Dessert-size paper plate
Crayons
White craft glue
Wooden craft stick
Let your child decorate the plate with crayons to make a face.
Help her glue on the stick to use as a handle.
Big Head Puppets
This project takes a little more time and effort, but it is well worth it. Remember to use caution when using Styrofoam with young children because it can be a choking hazard.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 25 minutes
Scissors
Styrofoam craft balls
Markers
White craft glue
Yarn pieces
Thin fabric remnants, 4–5 square
Use the scissors to gouge a hole in the bottom of the Styrofoam ball. The hole should be wide enough to fit your child’s finger and deep enough for her finger to fit in the ball to the first knuckle.
Let your child use the markers to decorate a face and other features.
Help her glue on the yarn pieces for hair.
When your child is ready to operate the puppet, have her drape the fabric over her index finger before attaching the head. The fabric becomes the puppet’s body, and the middle finger and thumb become its arms.
Bag Puppets
This is a traditional puppet craft. Frog puppets are especially cute to make.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Small paper lunch bag
Crayons or markers
Show your child how to insert her hand into the bag. Her thumb goes below the fold and her fingers go above it.
Encourage her to open and close her hand to make the puppet talk.
Let her decorate the puppet with crayons.
CHAPTER 9
Games
Playing games is a universal pursuit. Games help children burn off energy, develop social skills, and practice a variety of academic skills. When you teach your child a new
game, you are also helping him learn how to follow directions. The games in this chapter are very simple; feel free to adapt them and add more rules and details as your child’s skills develop.
Traditional Games
Many games have remained virtually unchanged as they have passed from generation to generation. You will also find similar variations in other cultures. Here are just a few classic games that your toddler may enjoy.
Doggie, Doggie, Where’s Your Bone?
Here is another game that is easy to adapt. You can change this game into, “Cupid, Cupid, Where’s Your Heart?” or “Baker, Baker, Where’s Your Cake?” or “Robin, Robin, Where’s Your Worm?” Remember that young children may be uncomfortable closing their eyes, so don’t worry about enforcing this.
Activity for a group
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Small toy or dog bone
Have children sit cross-legged in a small circle on the floor. Be sure that there is plenty of room around them.
Choose one child to be “It.” That child crouches in the center of the circle with a toy or dog bone.
Tell the child who is “It” that he is the doggie and that he should pretend to nap by closing or hiding his eyes.
While “It” is pretending to nap, the rest of the players chant this rhyme: “Doggie, Doggie, Where’s your bone?
Somebody took it and ran away home