Before delving into the different activities for your toddler let’s first talk about why the toddler years are perfect for starting a child-led approach to learning.
Starting child-led learning during the toddler years is similar to having on-the-job training for when your child becomes “school age”. This approach comes naturally for both the toddler and the adult in this life stage.
Toddlers are extremely curious about the world around them. They are not only willing to learn, but are excited when they succeed in learning.
Experiencing the world through the eyes of a toddler reminds us of just how exciting and beautiful life can be. I had forgot how much I loved finding insects, lizards, and snails as a child in my backyard. Now I get to relive my childhood digging through the dirt with my 2 year-old boys. The sparkle in their eyes and smiles on their faces when we find something new provides the energy I need to be on the same level of excitement as they are.
Table of contents
A Toddlers Brain
Why is child-led learning an easy approach throughout the toddler years?
Since toddlers are still new to the world, they constantly learn new ideas, facts, and activities. To a toddler, every activity is a fun game. Letting your toddler decide what they want to know when they want to learn it increases the likely-hood that they will learn it quicker and more thoroughly.
Toddlers’ brains are often referred to as sponges. They rapidly absorb new information through observation and play. This new information is reinforced through repetitive play and asking a trusted adult repetitive questions.
A Message to All Mothers (or Guardians) with Toddlers
In today’s world, more parents are falling for the pressure to start book work (or curriculum) in the toddler/pre-k ages. With social media, the news, and the internet readily available at our finger tips, the pressure to prove that our 2-5 year-olds are little geniuses has never been greater.
From the the start of motherhood, moms are constantly feeling inadequate and stressed with the persistent comparison of when their baby reaches milestones. That feeling never truly subsides as you are preparing your toddler for home education or kindergarten.
If the above sounds a little or a lot like you, I have an important message for you.
STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO WHAT OTHER MOTHERS ARE DOING. STOP COMPARING YOUR BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT TODDLER TO OTHER CHILDREN! THEY WILL LEARN WHEN THEY ARE READY TO LEARN.
For those of you in the back who didn’t quite hear that, I’ll say it again.
YOU ARE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB RAISING YOUR TODDLER. EVERY TODDLER IS THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL AND THEY NEED A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT PERSONALIZED TO THEIR PARTICULAR NEEDS AND WANTS. THEY DON’T NEED TO BE COMPARED TO ANOTHER TODDLER.
Activities for Toddlers: Guidelines
Now that we’ve established an understanding to let go of the pressures surrounding your child’s education, we can start learning new ways to enrich your toddlers learning experience.
It truly doesn’t matter what activities your toddler is engaging in, so long as the activity follows 1 or more of these guidelines.
1) Exploration
I’m a firm believer that exploring nature is truly the best remedy for success. Let your littles run around barefoot and feel the earth beneath them. Let them climb a tree, dig in the dirt, and discover different plants and animals.
Exploration can also be done indoors. With the use of toys or common house hold items. Allow your toddler to make messes and be prepared for the reality that things will end up lost or broken. This is how they learn best and provides you with an organic opportunity to explain the importance of cleaning-up and being careful.
2) Creativity
Get creative with the new activities you present to your toddler. Try to approach new ideas from the viewpoint of your toddler and make adjustments as needed. Most importantly, don’t stifle your child’s creativity. What will almost always look like a mess to you, may look like a masterpiece to your toddler.
3) Involve Senses
Incorporating a toddler’s senses in activities will enhance their experience. Use specific activities that only allow the use of 1 of the 5 senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste). And then integrate more of the senses to add complexity.
4) Encourage Role Play
For most young toddlers, this would mean allowing them to imbody the role of the adult. Their world revolves around their parents and most toddlers are eager to learn the activities that we engage in daily. This can include chores like cooking and cleaning or may include your hobbies.
For the older toddlers, they may want to role play characters they’ve seen on TV or have read in books. Your child may want to act like your pet dog or conduct a pretend train. Give them the freedom to chose what they find interesting.
5) Go on Fieldtrips
This is pretty self-explanatory, but try to bring your child to new environments to let them experience new things. If you’re on a budget like myself, this doesn’t mean you have to spend $$$. Take advantage of free spaces like parks, trails, nature preserves, national parks, and even friends houses. Try not to get stuck in the merry-go-round of the same 3 parks you always visit.
6) Provide Feedback and Support
Providing feedback and support during and after your toddler is engaged in an activity will encourage them to continue learning and experiencing the new and potentially scary tasks.
7) Display Progress
I think most parents understand that proudly displaying your toddlers art work and creations gives the child a sense of pride. However, displaying progress, whether it be art work or other achievements, allows the toddler to visualize their improvements, even the miniscule differences. Which provides the determination to continue working towards success.
Activities for Toddlers
Chores
Cooking
Using child sized and safe equipment is a must!
– Cut soft fruits and veggies
– Pouring
– Mixing
– Measure ingredients
Cleaning
Child sized cleaning kits aren’t required, but are very helpful!
– Pick-up and Organize toys
– Sweep
– Mop
– Dust
– Wipe-up spills and messes
Please don’t allow your toddler to clean with or around chemicals!
Games
Mentally Challenging
– Puzzles
– “Can you find” (shape/color/object in house)
– Finding Letters (ABCs) in real-life objects (road signs, stickers, Menus)
– Counting objects while out and about
– Using blocks to build creative things (airplanes, trains, boats, etc.)
– Life-sized board games (People are the game pieces, use chalk/tape to build the board)
Physically Challenging
– Simon Says/Copy me
– Exercises
– Balance games
– Hanging/Monkey bars
– Races that incorporate multiple tasks (Start with just 2 tasks)
Arts
– Color/Draw
– Paint (paper, rocks, shells, body paint)
– Cut with safety scissors
– Abstract art with cut construction paper and the toddler glues the cut papers onto a sheet of paper
– Paper plate animals
– Toilet paper roll animals
– Nature Journals/Pressed leaves and flowers
Books
– Read to your toddler
– Books that are read often should be read slowly with your finger following pointing to each word
– Allow for individual reading time (This is normally looking at pictures and saying words the toddler remembers/pictures represent).
This is done best with a little reading nook
If your curious on “How to Implement Child-Led Learning into Your Homeschooling” please read my other article.
If you have any questions on specific toddler activities, please commit below. I read and answer every question.
