READING BOOKS. She may not be able to talk and she may not understand all your words, but even a young toddler loves to “read books”.
The rhythm of the words engages them and the pictures tells them about the world. Reading is an important tool for learning language. Toddlers learn most of the rules of grammar simply by hearing you and others speak. Recent studies show that the size of a toddlers vocabulary depends on how much speech she hears in a meaningful context. They learn language development, listening skills, visual memory.
ON MIRROR IMAGES:
SENSE OF SELF AS A PERSON IS KEY TO TODDLERS. Mirror play helps them develop this concept of self as separate from others. Toddlers are intrigued by their bodies, labeling parts of their bodies infront of a mirror helps them understand the names of those parts and encourages to further explore their own identity. They learn body awareness, language development, self-concept,social skills and visual discrimination.
ON SAND BOX: SAND IS WONDERFUL for artistic exploration because it allows a toddler to safely wallow in the medium from head to toe. Grasping and releasing the sand and using tools to manipulate it also exercise their fine motor skills and stimulate their sense of touch. They learn creative expression, fine motor skills and tactile stimulation.
MAGNETIC PLAY
Grasping and moving magnets helps build fine motor skills. The ones they will need for drawing, completing puzzles, fastening little buttons, and , eventually writing. Talking about these intriguing magnets helps them learn to distinguish among colors and sizes and contributes to the expansion of his vocabulary, while making a magnet “disappear” exercises thei visual memory. They learn counting concepts, fine motor skills, size and shape discrimination, and visual memory.
THE FLUTTERING FABRIC PIECES OR RIBBONS:
An infant or toddler is biologically driven to practice gross motor movements of all kinds, such as running, kicking, jumping and rolling. This activity gives them new objects with which to practice throwing and catching. They learn eye-foot coordination, eye –hand coordination, and gross motor skills. When we add ribbons to their dance, they become more aware of how they move their arms and body to be able to make their ribbons float in different ways. This helps them develop gross motor skills and coordination, rhythm exploration, body awareness and creativite movement.
WATER PLAY:
Water play is a great way for toddlers to engage their senses. This particular activity provides tactile, visual and auditory stimulation, as the toddler feels, sees, and hears a stream of water turned into “rain” it also introduces the concept of empty and full and helps children learn that water can take many forms and shapes. They learn concept development, language development, sensory exploration, and tactile stimulation.
PLAYING WITH CLAY/ PLAYDOUGH
Allows your child to experience shapes and textures in three dimensions. In addition, manipulating the clay stimulates the senses and builds fine motor skills. It helps to increase the childs
