The Everything Toddler Activities Book (17 page)

This activity will help your child with story comprehension, memory, and creativity. A simpler variation of this activity is to have your child act out specified motions that are mentioned in the story. For example, you might ask your child, “Can you huff and puff like the big bad wolf?”

1. Review a well-known and beloved picture book or story with your child.
   
2. As you slowly read or recite the tale, have your child act out the drama.
   

Engage your child’s imagination and build his vocabulary with this activity.
It is interesting to see the differences between your child’s story and the original.

1. Present a new picture book to your child, and ask him to examine the pictures.
   
2. Ask him to guess and describe what is happening in the story. For younger children, each picture will have its own tale. You can help your older child link the sequences of the pictures together for a more involved story.
   
3. If you wish, you can extend this activity by asking your child to draw his own picture to supplement his story. Perhaps his picture can depict what he thinks will happen next.
   

Here is a fun way to help your child learn story sequence and motivate him to look at books.

1. Share with your children some of the classic songs that tell a story. Some popular ones include “Froggy Went A-Courting,” “I Know an Old Lady,” and “Three Ships Have I.”
   
2. Select a picture book that illustrates a song that your child knows. Let him read and sing along with you.
   

Long before the invention of the printing press, fables, myths, and tales were being shared with young children. Each time the tale was told, it was shaped by the teller’s interpretation and expression. Today there are literally thousands of wonderful books available for children. But you shouldn’t be afraid, once in awhile, to put down a book and spin a yarn for your young child. You have the opportunity to bring a story to life. Use different voices and facial expressions to add interest. Encouraging children to make up stories is a great way to facilitate imagination as well as promote both early verbal and written literacy skills. Get started by involving children as you develop a tale.

Here is a way you can spark your child’s creativity and encourage her to create her own stories.

1. Place 5 or 6 common objects into a paper bag. Suggested items include keys, a bell, a comb, and a flower.
   
2. Have your child remove the items from the bag. You can either have your child look at all of the items at once, or have her remove the objects one at a time. Help her create a story incorporating these items. For example, “One day a man heard a bell ring. He combed his hair. He used his keys to lock his door and he took a flower to his friend.”
   
3. Consider having your child draw illustrations for her story. Alternatively, write down her story so that you can reread it together.
   

This is a silly activity, like the school-age game of Mad-Libs. Each story will be unique.

1. Glue the pictures to the index cards, and place them in a hat.
   
2. Recite a well-known nursery rhyme or fairy tale. Stop at points in the story where a substitution can be made. Ask your child to pull a card from the hat.
   
3. Substitute the new word into the story for a silly result. For example, “Little Red Riding Hood was taking a basket to her grandmother. Her mom reminded her to take flowers with her also” might become, “Little Red Riding Hood was taking a rake to her grandmother. Her mom reminded her to take kittens with her also.”
   

This is a game that can be played by all members in your family.
This a great activity for long plane rides or when you have to wait somewhere.

1. Each person takes a turn by adding a sentence to the evolving story. The adult may need to keep the story somewhat on track.
   
2. Your new story may evolve like this:
   

   Parent: One day there was a bear who…
   Child: Lived in a house.
   Parent: This bear was hungry and…
   Child: The boy likes toys.
   Parent: So they got together to get lunch and go to the toy store. When they got there they saw…
   

3. Consider having your child draw illustrations for her story. Write down her story so that you can reread it together.
   

You can engage your toddler in verbal games in just about any place at any time. These games promote his vocabulary development, expressive language skills, auditory memory, auditory discrimination, and listening skills. Additionally, young children are often very fond of these activities as they feature interaction with you!

This activity will help your child with auditory discrimination skills and build his vocabulary.

1. Glue the pictures to the index cards.
   
2. Show your child a card, and have him identify the picture.
   
3. Ask him to generate rhymes for the picture. Not all rhymes have to be real words. For example, if the picture is of a cat, potential rhymes could include bat, fat, gat, lat, and mat.
   

Your child’s auditory memory will improve rapidly as he plays this game. Using words with similar sounds will also help him with auditory discrimination. There are also many popular songs that feature echoes.

1. Ask your child to repeat what you say to him.
   
2. Start very slowly and simply and gradually add complexity. You can add complexity by using nonsense words, words that sound alike, or by simply extending the length of your message.
   

What better way to get your child talking and build vocabulary than to have him use the phone?

Encourage your child to pretend to call a friend or loved one. Your child will probably not need much encouragement. Don’t be surprised if he carries on full conversations, imagining the other person’s part.

Discover what many preschool teachers already know, that flannel boards are a great way to engage young children in a story. You can make the story more concrete and involve the child directly. You may choose to buy a ready-made felt-board kit, or you can make one yourself with some felt scraps and Velcro.

Here is a fun way to bring a story to life.
You can also use nursery rhymes and simple poems with this activity.

1. Choose a well-known simple story to illustrate.
   
2. Cut out felt pieces in the shapes of the main characters and props. For the story “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” you would need three goats, a troll, and a bridge.
   
3. Recite the story, and have your child glue the pieces onto the flannel board to match the action of the tale.
   

Your toddler will have fun while learning about shapes and developing
skills in visual discrimination and problem solving.

1. Cut out a variety of shapes and figures from the felt.
   
2. Place the pieces on the flannel board and outline them with the chalk.
   
3. Trim the shapes to make them slightly smaller than the outlines.
   
4. Challenge your child to fit the pieces inside the outlines.
   

What better way to help your child develop a love of books than to have her create a book of her own? You can bet your child will be more motivated to read when she is reading her own words. As your child grows, you may wish to continue this practice. Books can become more involved and may feature ABCs or something of special interest to the child, such as family pets or hobbies. This activity will also help your child understand the symbolic use of words.

Scrapbooking has become a very popular hobby.
Why not let your toddler create a scrapbook of her own?

1. Let your child select the photos and mementos she wants to include in her scrapbook.
   
2. Cut the index cards into strips to use as labels.
   
3. Encourage your child to dictate a label or even a short commentary for each item in the book. Attach the label to the scrapbook.
   

Your young child will delight in creating a book that she can handle and feel whenever she wants.

1. Punch a hole in the top left corner of each foam sheet.
   
2. Attach the sheets with the notebook ring.
   
3. Have your child choose fabric scraps to use in the book. Suggested materials include corduroy, denim, burlap, silk, wool, and nylon.
   
4. Help your child glue a fabric swatch to each page of the book.
   
5. “Read” the book with your child by encouraging her to touch the materials. Guide her, using words to describe what she feels.
   

CHAPTER 12

All about Me

One of your child’s first stops in his exploration of the world around him is learning all about himself. This is an exciting time, when your young toddler starts to develop into an individual. He is becoming more aware of himself as an entity separate from you and is becoming more independent as well. You can use these activities to help promote your child’s growth and build his competence and confidence.

Your child’s first relationships are with her family. By learning about families in general and about her family specifically, your toddler will learn how people interact with, love, and support each other. She will also learn her role in your family. You will notice that some of the activities in this chapter involve other family members. This is a great way to build family cohesion with your toddler as she learns.

Help your child make a physical representation of your family.
This project is even more fun if everyone in the family participates.

1. On the poster board, either glue on the tree branch or use crayons to draw the tree. Help your child use crayons to draw in branches for each family member.
   
2. Glue the photos on the branches. Show your child how to place senior family members such as grandparents and parents on the upper branches. If you wish, label each photo.
   

This activity will help your child learn about sizes and comparison. You may wish to do this activity with hands as well. If you have a cooperative cat or dog in the family, you can include it, too.

1. Have each family member place his or her feet on the construction paper. Help your child trace around the feet with a marker.
   
2. Cut the “feet” out and label them.
   
3. Show your child how to compare the sizes of family feet. Can she guess which outline belongs to each family member?
   
4. Let your child decorate the feet with crayons.