Most parents will agree that mathematical skills are big deal. So what do you do when your child doesn’t seem interested in numbers? Try this clever number match game from mommy blogger Allison at No Time For Flash Cards. What we like about this game is that you can adjust it to be more or less challenging for kids depending on their development level. The best part is you only need colored construction paper and a marker to get your math magicians learning!
Archive for the ‘Toddler (1.5-3)’ Category
Developmental Santa: Best Gifts for Toddlers (Language and Imagination)
Around 18-months of age babies start adding words much more quickly — sometimes several in one day. At the same time, they start showing a lot more imagination when they play. They feed their dolls and tuck them into bed. They also become magicians who can transform a wooden block into a car, airplane, telephone, sandwich, or a cup of tea all by pretending! Symbolic thinking is the great achievement of the toddler years—even more remarkable than walking. Make believe play and language have a strong connection because they both rely on symbols—things that stand for other things.
- Great gifts to help develop language skills and imaginative play abilities: picture books, dolls (for boys as well as girls), plastic animals (make sure these are too big to fit inside a toilet paper roll, to prevent choking), and best of all simple building blocks that a child’s imagination can turn into anything and everything!
Intentionally not on my list of best toys: electronic talking toys. Why? Because these gizmos are designed to do the work of imagining for the child. Often sold as educational toys, what they really teach children is to expect to be entertained. Young children learn best when they are actively involved in solving problems and creating things. If I could wave my Developmental Santa magic wand and make these developmentally inappropriate toys disappear, I would!
Developmental Santa: Best Gifts for Toddlers (Temperament and Physical Development)
From one to two years of age, children are changing along every dimension. Each developmental change can inspire a “best gift.” More and more, toddlers are individuals with their own particular joys and wants.
Temperament plays a big role
- Some toddlers love movement and they need toys they can push around, for example, shopping carts, vacuum cleaners, and ride-on-trucks. Other toddlers are content to sit and smell the flowers, like my own favorite children’s book character, Ferdinand the Bull. (If you don’t know Ferdinand, look for The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. It’s a treasure). Little “Ferdinands” need interesting things to play with while sitting in one place.
Strength, Coordination, and Balance
- Push toys, rolling toys, soft balls to kick and throw, a pair of canvas sneakers (Toddlers are always outgrowing their shoes, so don’t waste money on “orthopedic” leather shoes when canvas ones work just as well)
Hand-Eye Coordination
- Peg boards with a toy for hammering or simple puzzles are my top picks. Also, hard to break crayons or non-toxic markers. Toddlers are amazed to find out that when they move one of these objects across a sheet of paper, lines “magically” appear. Of course, the same amazing effect works on cabinets, tables, and walls so adult supervision is a must!
Creative Play Indoor Activities
With winter beginning to bear down on us, and the holiday season just around the corner, there have been some interesting blog posts lately involving creative play and activities. In particular, the highly entertaining blog No Time for Flash Cards features great activities and craft projects for young children to promote play and learning. Along with most activities, there is often a suggested book that offers another way of talking about the activity with your child!
With so many families finding they need to fly during the holidays playing air travel can be a wonderful way to role play expectations for traveling and prepare children for this experience. ”Air travel” requires little as far as supplies – just a couple of chairs, some construction paper and markers. It can really be as simple or as complex as you want to make it!
Another fun activity is Weatherman. This one requires a little more preparation and a few more materials, but is likely to be a huge hit in your home. Out of foam board (or really any material that can stand up to a young child playing with it often) create some simple props, such as clouds, a sun, snow, etc. and attach them to magnets. Grabbing the nearest magnetic surface (anything from a cookie sheet to a good-sized area on your refrigerator will do), you’ll be well on your way to teaching kids about the weather! And what better time of year for engaging indoor activities like this than when winter storms (and potentially snow days!) could start popping up at any moment?
“From Trash to Treasure”
“The Power to Play- From Trash to Treasure” is a traveling toy exhibit featuring toys handcrafted by children in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The Power to Play exhibit recognizes that play is an essential part of a healthy childhood and appreciates the creativity and resourcefulness of children in developing countries.
If you’re unable to visit the exhibition in person I highly recommend browsing the Childfund International* website and reading about the featured children. You’ll experience firsthand how each child made their toy and the pride and joy they felt through their creation. Perhaps your child will be inspired to make their own toy! Or maybe they will have fun learning to make a toy made by a child from across the world!
We would love to hear how your child creates toys. What ways have you noticed your child recycling materials to make a new toy?
The “The Power to Play- From Trash to Treasure” is currently in Los Angeles, California at The Museum of Tolerance through December 31, 2009 and at the Breman Museum in Atlanta, Georgia October 18, 2009-January 10, 2010.
*Childfund International is an organization inspire d by the potential in all children and seeks to support children not only to survive but to thrive.
Creative Play and Outdoor Fun!
Play is a wonderful way for children to develop their creative thinking skills and have fun doing it! Check out some of our past posts by play expert Sandra Russ, PhD who offers advice on how to strengthen creative play skills and posts by graduate student Kelly Christian who offers some playtime activities to help children appreciate nature and beat playtime boredom!
Cujo buy
Helping your child be creative!
Outdoor fun: Pretend to be ants! and find out What’s lurking in the bush?
Tips to help make play fun all year long!
Your Toddler Isn’t Ignoring You
Suitable for Murder video Wired.com’s GeekDad blog shares a study by the University of Colorado @ Boulder:
Every parent of a child two or older knows the frustration inherent in trying to give advice to a toddler—they just don’t seem to be paying attention. A new scientific study provides good news, sort of: It’s not that your kid is ignoring you; rather, he’s saving the advice until he thinks it’s the right time to use it…
So, take heart. Your child is probably listening to you, and, when the situation you’re telling him about occurs, he will probably think of your advice and try to follow it.
Your Toddler Isn’t Ignoring You: He’s Just Saving Your Advice for Later | Geekdad from Wired.com
Divine Caroline on Music, Reading
Journey to the Center of the Earth movie
One of the blogs we follow is DivineCaroline.com. Two recent posts there are themes we’ve blogged about that are important to child development—music and reading.
Against the Dark aka Last Night trailer
The Mozart Effect? is about the research and myths around the impact of certain types of music on young children. Time for Bed, Let’s Read!
has tips on the types of books to read depending on the age of your child.
Rules That Work
Rules create order and discipline in our society. For children, rules help set limits which make learning possible. Effective rules for children must be:
- Definable - specific so the child knows exactly what to do.
- Reasonable - within the child’s physical and mental capabilities.
- Enforceable - have a time limit so you know if it has been accomplished.
When creating rules, it is important to state them positively. An easy way to remember this is by using the words WHEN and THEN.
For Example:
- The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure The Cellar Door ipod
- WHEN you make your bed, THEN you may have breakfast.
- WHEN you brush your teeth, THEN you may select another video to watch.
- WHEN you finish your homework, THEN you may play outside.
A positively stated rule:
- Allows the child to choose whether s/he will receive the positive outcome.
- Is consistent, logical and well thought out.
- Occurs unemotionally.
- Puts the responsibility for carrying out the task with the child.
Conversely, a negatively worded command often sounds like a threat. In phrasing a rule, the word “if” usually implies a warning or the absence of something desired.
For example:
- If you DON’T make your bed, I WON’T prepare your breakfast.
- If you DON’T brush your teeth, you WON’T be able to watch another video.
- If you DON’T do your homework, you WON’T play outside.
A negatively stated rule communicates the following:
- The child experiences someone using power over him/her.
- It can feel arbitrary to the child.
- It can evoke feelings of resentment or anger in the child.
Reading in the digital age
I recently read an article, Kids Play ‘Tag’ To Learn to Read Just Before Dawn dvd
, about a new electronic device being offered to help children learn to read. This news article, however, was more advertisement than research supported work. It made me wonder if companies should be held accountable for their claims that their products are in some way promoting child development. Or, if we should assume that any product encouraging children to read and practice language will in some way benefit children.
For busy families, it’s enticing to have at every child’s fingertips a computer to substitute at times when a parent is unable to read a book aloud. I personally remember popping in my favorite cassette tape of Sleeping Beauty in first grade during indoor recess and following along in the book. However, one of my fondest memories is sitting on the rug and intensely listening to my first grade teacher read A Wrinkle In Time .
Will the claim that these new electronic gadgets are beneficial to child development lead to less time parents and/or teachers spend reading with children? I hope not! While the research is still out about the effectiveness of these electronic toys, I am assuming that as beneficial as they may be, they are no substitute for the direct one on one time children spend with the adults in their lives learning the joys of reading.
What do you think?