Wednesday August 26th / Prism
Toddler

You need:
prisms
sunny day or flashlight

1. Hang a prism in the window where you have direct sunlight and watch the rainbows.

2. Direct rainbows on other objects and talk about it. "Look, there is a rainbow on your pillow."

3. Give the prism to your toddler (with supervision!!!) and let them direct rainbows on objects from sunlight.

4. You can also use a flashlight to make rainbows in any of these ways.
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Tuesday August 25th / Family and Friends Photo Album

Toddler

Buy a small 99cent photo album.
Take pictures of everyone in your family, friends, and pets.
Print and label each picture with the person's name.
Put the pictures in the album.

Sit down with your toddler and read the book.
Talk about each person and tell your toddler stories about each person or animal.

Next time you read the book have your toddler name the people and tell you about them.

Do they sit and read the book to themselves?
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Wednesday August 12th / My Shoes At Night

This is a rhyme to say before bed with your child. Make sure to do the actions.
Highlight this section and print it our for yourself to remember.


Before I jump into bed at night   Jump
Before I dim the light                  switch off the light
I put my shoes together              put shoes together or move hands together

So they can talk at night               make hands or shoes talk
I'm sure they'd get lonesome        shake head like yes
If I left them here and there          toss hands or shoes

So I put them close together          put shoes or hands together
For they're a friendly pair   
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Tuesday August 11th/ That's My Voice!

Toddlers love to see themselves in the mirror. (Some adults too)

Now let them HEAR themselves.

Your cellphone has a recording option, a cassette player, your computer, or the best option is the video camera.

Try to get lots of different sounds that your toddler makes: crying, laughing, singing, talking, babbling, kissing noise, and clapping.

Let them listen to themselves right away. Are they excited?

Ask them what they are doing or how they are feeling. Tell them laughing means you are happy and crying means you are sad. Repeat what words they say and have a conversation about their noises.
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Tuesday July 28th/ Toddlers and Music

Toddlers love banging things to make music!

Hang a bunch of spoons on different strings around inside one room or outside. We hung them from shelves around our play room. Then we took spoons and banged the hanging spoons. It makes a sort of bell like sound. At first we hung the spoons close together but they kept getting tangled up, so we moved them apart. They liked this because they could run around the room and make music all over the place.

Warning: Noisy, do not do this on a day you have a headache! :-)

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Tuesday July 21st/ Ribbon Ball

Toddlers love to experiment with cause and effect.

In the winter we hung a beach ball on a string from the ceiling. They hit it over and over again to watch it spin and fly around.

During the summer we hung the ball from a tree. Same excitement level, just different location.

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Tuesday July 14th/ Toddlers and Maracas

Toddlers love shaking things and rhythm. Try making your own maracas and shaking them to a song or twelve!

You can use:
empty bottles
empty spice containers
any container will do...
beans
rice

Start with only three sizes. Small, medium and large of the object. Show your toddler how they fit inside each other and come apart again. See how long it takes them to try it on their own. Let your toddler play with this idea for awhile and master it before introducing more sizes. Once they have it add a few more of the measuring cups, spoons, or what ever object you are working with.

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Tuesday July 7th/ Toddlers and Nesting Activities

Toddlers love nesting activities. This means putting things inside each other. Try things that require a particular order.

You can use:
measuring cups
measuring spoons
cardboard boxes of different sizes
pots and pans of different sizes
nesting cups you buy for toddlers
anything will work!

Start with only three sizes. Small, medium and large of the object. Show your toddler how they fit inside each other and come apart again. See how long it takes them to try it on their own. Let your toddler play with this idea for awhile and master it before introducing more sizes. Once they have it add a few more of the measuring cups, spoons, or what ever object you are working with.

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Thursday June 25th / Ordinary Item / Kleenex Box

Toddler or Preschooler

You need:
Empty Kleenex Box
Small Toys

Toddler:
Give your toddler the box and put toys in. They will take the objects out and put them back in. Show them two objects such as; rubber duck and small car. Tell your toddler which object you want them to get out. See if they can do it without looking!

Preschooler:
Gather a few items that your preschooler plays with and don't show them. Put in one object and have them try to guess just by feeling it (no looking). What it is. Tell your preschooler to put something in the box for you. Close your eyes. When they give you the box back put your hand in and describe the object as you feel it to your child. Use all your descriptive words: smooth, rough, small, has wheels, bumpy, feels like hair, has tiny shoes, etc. Take turns putting objects in the kleenex box and see how long it takes your preschooler to start to describe the objects to you!

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Wednesday June 24th / Don't Throw Out Those Scratched CD's

Do you have a bunch of old CD's laying around? How about a spindle? Try giving them to your toddler.

You need:
CD's
Spindle

Your toddler will enjoy the challenge of trying to get them back on the spindle. It is like stacking to them. My toddler spent a LONG time putting them on, taking them off, putting them on, and repeat over and over!

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