The Everything Toddler Activities Book (23 page)

Challenge your child to guess/estimate how long certain activities will take to complete. You can use an hourglass, a timer, or simply count. Sample activities to time include brushing his teeth, walking up the steps, or singing his favorite song.

The progression of time follows a predictable rhythm.
This activity will help your child track the passage of time as he learns to predict and anticipate events.

1. On each index card, glue a picture depicting a child performing a routine activity. Examples might be a child getting dressed, taking a bath, eating dinner, or listening to a bedtime story.
   
2. Help your toddler to put the cards in order as they occur in his day. Be sure to discuss the concepts of routine and sequence with him: “What do you do after you come home from Grandma’s house?” or “Do you take a bath after dinner time or before dinner time?”
   

Helping your child learn spatial concepts will help her master mathematical and reading skills when she enters school. These activities will also help her to learn to follow directions and build her vocabulary.

By playing this fun game, your child will be learning the directions in, out, and through. It is also a great way to build large motor skills. Once your child has mastered the basic activity, add excitement by challenging her to do it faster and faster.

1. Participants hold hands while standing in a circle. Players need to stand far enough apart that they can hold their arms outstretched.
   
2. Players can make one of two configurations. If they hold their arms straight out, they are making a window. If they raise their arms, they are creating a door.
   
3. One player stands in the center. She then goes in and out of the circle by passing through the doors the other players have made. She cannot go through any windows. Players in the circle can change from a door to a window as they choose.
   

Use the famous nursery rhyme to help your child learn spatial concepts.

1. Tape the moon onto the poster board. Stick a loop of tape to the back of the cow.
   
2. Teach your child the classic nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle.” Ask your child questions like, “Did you ever see a cow jump over the moon?” or “Do you think a cow can really jump that high?”
   
3. Ask your child to stick the cow “over” the moon.
   
4. Introduce variations to the rhyme and have your child place the cow in the appropriate place each time. Examples: the cow hid under the moon, the cow danced beside the moon, and so on.
   

This is a traditional action song that will get your child moving while she learns directions.

Teach your child the following song and the movements that accompany it:

The Noble Duke of York,
He had 10,000 men
(hold up ten fingers)

He marched them all straight up a hill
(point up and rise up on tiptoes)

And marched them down again
(point down and squat to the ground)

And when they’re up, they’re up up up!
(point up and rise up on tiptoes)

And when they’re down, they’re down, down, down!
(point down and squat to the ground)

And when they’re only halfway up,
(stoop halfway)

They’re neither
Up nor down!
(quickly jump up and then land on the ground)

Your child may be too young to swivel a hoop around her hips, but she can still have fun while she is learning.

Give your child directions for moving with the hula hoop. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

With the hoop on the ground:

• Stand inside the hoop.
  
• Jump out of the hoop.
  
• Walk around the hoop.
  

While holding the hoop:

• Put the hoop over your head.
  
• Step through the hoop.
  

CHAPTER 16

Seasonal Activities

Your child still has a lot to learn about the world around him. Help your child observe the natural changes that occur with the seasons. He will be learning about the predictable rhythms of time. Because the most concrete signs of the seasons are changes in nature, you will find that the activities in this chapter often use materials found outside.

Harvest time is a fun season to celebrate with your child. Take this opportunity to talk about where food comes from. If you can, consider a trip to a local commercial farm. Many have programs for children where they can pick their own pumpkins, taste fresh apple cider, or participate in other activities.

Celebrate harvest time with a bounty of fresh apples.
This activity will help your child have fun with this popular fruit.

1. Cut the apple in half crosswise. Dry off the inside with a paper towel.
   
2. Pour a small amount of paint into the pie tin.
   
3. Show your toddler how to grasp the apple to dip it into the paint. Have her press the painted apple on the paper to create a print. The effect will look a little like a star.
   

What is a more popular symbol of harvest than the cornucopia (horn of plenty)?
Here is an easy way to make one. While you are working on this project,
take the time to discuss with your child where different foods come from.

1. Roll the sheet of brown paper to create a horn shape. Secure the edges with tape.
   
2. Go through the magazines with your child to find appropriate items to add to the cornucopia. Explain that the cornucopia holds foods from a harvest: fruits and vegetables that have been picked.
   
3. Assist your child in cutting out the magazine pictures or have her tear out the pictures. Let her tape the food into the cornucopia.
   

This simple painting activity produces a unique effect. You may also wish to have your toddler try painting and printing with other vegetables, such as potatoes, cauliflower, and green peppers.

1. Have your child roll the corncob in the paint in the tin the same way that you would a paint roller.
   
2. Your child can then roll out different patterns and designs on the paper.
   

Help develop your child’s motor skills while exposing her to some fall vegetables. Your child will enjoy exploring the different colors and interesting textures. Look for gourds that are shaped like bottles, with a wide base and thin neck.

1. Set the gourds up like bowling pins.
   
2. Stick a strip of masking tape to the floor to make a start line. This should be quite close to the gourds, as the pumpkins will not roll very far.
   
3. Show your child how to roll the pumpkins to knock down the gourds. Don’t worry about keeping score.
   

If you are fortunate to live somewhere where the leaves change colors in the fall, be sure to try some of these activities. When you do activities around fall leaves, you are promoting your child’s observation skills. This is a wonderful way for your child to see how things change and to observe the passage of time and seasons.

This is a great way for your child to explore the different shapes and textures of autumn leaves. Avoid leaves that are already dried out. This simple project seems to work like magic.

1. Have your child place one leaf or a group of leaves under the sheet of paper.
   
2. Show your child how to use the side of a crayon to rub on the paper. The shape and texture of the leaf will be revealed.
   

Your child will enjoy making this crown. He can use it as a prop in his imaginative play.

1. Measure the circumference of your child’s head. Cut 2-wide strips from the construction paper and staple them together to make a band that will fit your child’s head.
   
2. Help your child glue the leaves to his crown.
   

Here is a new way to add pizzazz to your child’s drawing and artwork.
You may choose to add store-bought glitter to the mix.

1. Help the child crumble up the leaves into fine pieces.
   
2. Let your child sprinkle leaf “glitter” to his glue design on the paper. He may also choose to add the leaf glitter to other pictures he has made.
   

You may or may not choose to celebrate Halloween with your young child. Toddlers have a great deal of difficulty understanding the difference between fact and fantasy, so common symbols and sights of this holiday can be truly frightening for them. Giving your child hands-on, safe opportunities to explore scary things can help her understand and feel more in control.

Popular culture has done much to malign the reputation of bats. Most bats are harmless and even helpful in keeping the insect population in check. You can talk to your child about bats while you do this craft.

1. Cut off one cup of the egg carton. This will be the bat’s body.
   
2. Let your child paint the cup black and then use the red paint to add facial features.
   
3. While the paint is drying, cut out two wings from the construction paper. Each wing should be no longer than 2 long.
   
4. Show your child how to glue the wings onto the bat.
   

This is such a simple activity with a very cute result.
Your child may want to make a lot of ghosts and then hang them around the house for decoration.

1. Show your child how to drape the sheet of tissue paper over the cotton ball.
   
2. Help your child secure the cotton ball by wrapping a piece of masking tape tightly below. This will form the neck. If you wish to hang the ghost later, stick a piece of yarn under the tape.
   
3. Your child can use the marker to draw on the eyes and mouth. Hang the ghost where the breeze will catch it and make it fly.
   

Even if your child is afraid of spiders, she is still likely to enjoy this cute craft.