How to make play time also a time for learning?

Question

I just thought I'd say I love this section. I've only asked a few questions here but you guys give very good advice.

My son is almost two. He is very physically active. We spend most of our day outdoors. We do many things during that time--counting light posts on our walk, looking at butterflies, birds, different trees, and other animals, we look at different color flowers, and we sing different songs. Then we play at the park for a good hour and a half.

We also read every day for a half hour before nap time and again before bedtime. I'm really trying hard to do the best I can but I can't figure out what to do during the blanks.

I would really love to have fun indoors learning but having tons of fun while we do it. We cook, clean, and do all of that other stuff but I would like to know what are good toys and games for his age range. Cognitively, what should we be focusing on? Any advice would be great!

Thanks!

Answer 1

I'd say you are doing a great job already. Everything you are doing with him is teaching him a lot. Counting, talking about colors, observation, those are great skills to be working on at his age.

For indoor activities, I've noticed the children his age who attend the day care I work at love playing with blocks, cars, and the kitchen set. Children his age also love to sing and play with instruments maracas, drums, tambourine. They also love play-doh and painting. You don't have to set a specific time for singing, just do it while you play with blocks, cook, while you are on your walks.

In our toddler room, the main cognitive skills we work on recognizing and matching colors and shapes, and starting to learn to count to 10. We also work on self-help skills like putting on jackets and shoes independently (you can do more with this at home).  

Remember, all children develop differently, so don't be concerned if your son isn't doing everything on the websites right away. Any checklists or suggestions of what your child should be able to do are approximations.

Here are a few websites I like:

http://www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/ages.stage...

http://www.preschooleducation.com/ptwo.s...

Some key words to use while looking things up online:

Ages and Stages

Developmental Checklist

Developmentally Appropriate Practices (some of these may be a little overwhelming if you don't have a background in the field of Education)

All in all, it sounds like you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work!

Answer 2

Sounds like you are doing great!  Fine motor control is something they need practice with.  Those chunky wooden puzzles are good for that.  So are shape sorters.

Answer 3

When my son was that age, we did a lot of "math" activities with those big chunky legos , um........Duplos!    I would stack them in patterns and then in a sing song voice say "  blue, blue, red, blue , blue, red, etc"   then he would try to sing it too.  (looky here momma-----patterning!)

Or  sorting all the boy's 2 million hot wheels and matchbox vehicles.   We would, for example, sort by color.    Or sort by type (ex. trucks vs. fire trucks  vs.  cars)    Looky here momma----sorting by characteristics and making sets!

How about stacking blocks while counting them.  

Or smear chocolate pudding on the table and make shapes and name them (circle, triangle, square, etc.)  or make upper case letters and give their sounds instead of their names (makes reading easier later on.  He doesn't have to unlearn the name of the letter and relearn the sound for phonics)

We would stack cheerios and count them.  Then eat the pile and say ZERO  CHEERIO in a sing songy voice (a pediatric occupational therapist taught me that one. )  She also taught me to use cooked spaghetti (al dente and cold) to let him string cheerios or fruit loops.  It helps small motor devel.

Or rhyming games.  

Or putting up magnetic alphabet letters on the frig and give him a pot to play with and a spoon.  Throw the letters into the pot and give the sound.   Then stir!   Alphabet soup!

In our homeschool co op I've been teaching toddlers this quarter and we have those "splashballs"  and pinchy kind of clothespins.  We've been attaching a clothespin to a dry splashball and giving them names like mommy or daddy or the child's name and then let them act out scenes with these little impromptu puppets.  Then just screech each time we bring these out.....they love them.

About the painting.......put your little one in the dry tub with washable paints.    Naked or undies and let them paint away....then just wash away the evidence!!!!!!