March 21, 2010
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Spring Inspiration!
Toddler Ideas is the insightful ezine delivered to your inbox every month from clever-toddler-activities.com
March 2010 Issue 09
Featuring:
- Opening Thoughts – Yay, Springs's here!
- Q&A with Claire - Got activity ideas about Spring?
- Cute Corner – Kids Passwords
- Tip of the Month - Stop and Smell the Roses :-)
- Featured Page – Starting to Think About Easter?
- Wise Words - How Children Learn
Opening Thoughts
Yay, Spring's here!Doesn't it feel like spring's in the air? (If you live in the northern hemisphere, like me, of course!) I'm happy you see the longer daylight hours and the brighter, milder weather here in London, UK. You might even be experiencing heat! :-) I think it helps lighten up moods too, don't you think? What a perfect time to introduce our little ones to this wonderful time of year.
I'm proud to announce our new section of the ezine 'Wise Words from Experts'. Patricia founded this section on the discovery of the interesting book 'How Children Learn' by educational researcher, John Holt this month.
I hope you find the issue of Toddler Ideas useful.
Q&A With Claire
If you have a question about toddlers, we'd love to help! Just use our handy contact form.Got activity ideas about spring?
Question:
I especially love your arts and crafts, seasonal and free games sections! I'm a childminder with three toddlers at the moment. I regularly pop back for inspiration and I've found many of the crafts and games work a treat. Your free and easy style gives toddlers a breath of fresh air and a spark to light their imaginations with!
However, I was disappointed I couldn't find a section on different themes other than celebrations on your site. I'm planning our next set of activities to be around the theme of Spring. I've hardly found any good activities that my little guys could do mostly by themselves. Please could you recommend some activities around that topic?
Thanks, Ann
Answer:
Hi Ann,
Thank you so much for your lovely message and compliments. I'm really glad you found some of the ideas on Clever Toddler Activities useful. I think having a section on themes is a brilliant idea! That is going to be the next section I create and when I do I'll let you know.
Spring is a lovely topic. Hear are a few activities which Patricia and I have found to be perfect with toddlers.
Spring Toddler Activity Ideas
Spring Nature Walk
You could simply take a walk in a park, wood or nature trail with your toddler. Draw your toddler's attention to and talk about the blossom and leaves growing on the trees, flowers, plants, insects (bugs) and any baby animals or birds you or your child spots.
It depends on their character, learning styles and mood but many toddlers learn and remember more from the experience if they walk freely than ride in a buggy (stroller). Movement in the first few years of life plays a big part in building their brains. The tangible freedom seems to spark more interest too and it's a fact that you learn more when you're interested. Just think about how placid a toddler often looks when taking a ride and then how fascinated and alert many toddlers seem while walking out of choice.
A Spring Day Collage
Let your toddler stick cut-out pictures of rabbits, lambs and flowers on green paper or card. Easier still... you could use Easter stickers. This would be a great follow up activity to your walk and spark even more discussions about the topic.
Spring Trees
This craft needs at least two sessions to complete to allow the paint to dry before sticking on the collage pieces.
- To prepare the stencil, draw or find a simple yet realistic outline picture of a tree with bare branches, about 1-2 inches smaller than the A4 (letter side) card. Then cut out the MIDDLE of the tree, leaving the surrounding card intact.
- Collect ampiece of light blue card (or construction paper) for each child, 2 paper clips, brown poster paint in a plastic lid, glue or paste and an a clean old sponge (any shape). Have the items on hand but out of reach.
- Either strip the toddlers down to their nappies (diapers) or pop aprons on them. Encourage each child to place the stencil on their card then paper clip them together (or hold it down).
- Let the toddlers sponge paint their trees all over, then slowly peel off the stencil.
- Once the kids are washed up they might want to help you prepare the collage pieces... maybe after a little play. Simply tear up some pink and white art tissue paper into small pieces. Then scrunch them up to look like blossom.
- Once the paint's dry, prepare the toddlers for mess again. Provide PVA (kids crafts) glue in a pot with spreaders and let them stick the balls of tissue paper on their trees. I like to turn the paper so it looks like it's upside down while explaining that I'm making it easier for them to reach the branches where the blossom grows on trees. Then I don't mind if they miss the branches because it could be falling or blowing in the wind. :-) Now you have wonderful display material too!
Hand-Print Tulips
Ideally show your little ones real tulips in a clear vase or a photo of tulips and talk about the different parts. Provide blue paper and strips of green paper (about 3" by 1/2 an inch), then encourage them to stick the strips like the stems. Paint (or let them paint) their hand and explain we're pretending their hands are the petals while printing them at the tops of the 'stems'. Encourage them to close their fingers like the petals.
Good Old Spring Favourite
I think the best time to visit a farm is Spring! Even some farms which aren't always open to the public hold special 'open days' to show off their baby animals. Many encourage a hands on experience too.
I hope you find these ideas useful!
Warmest Regards, Claire
Cute Corner
Kids PasswordsMy kids love going on the Web, and they keep track of their passwords by writing them on Post-it notes. I noticed their Disney password was "MickeyMinnieGoofyPluto," and so I asked why it was so long. "Because," my son explained, "they say it has to have at least four characters."
Received via The Good, Clean Funnies List
Tip of the Month
Stop and Smell the Roses :-)In this fast-paced world we live I regularly find myself hurrying the twins though breakfast, getting dressed then often rushing out the door to attend music classes or playgroups on time. It wasn't pleasant for any of us, to say the least. Then one day a few weeks ago I realized the struggle wasn't worth it and I decided to relax a little and go with the flow more. Well, it does mean we're late sometimes and now and again we change plans at the last minute. Then it struck me that the only person who minded was me, so I joined the crowd and accepted it too. After all, what's more important? Organisation or the children's happiness?
The toddlers and I found the experience so joyful and freeing! I also enjoy getting to know their characters deeply as I give them more freedom to just be.
The girls are also much more engaged with activities which naturally unfold out of their interest. For example the maximum amount of time they've played with the 'kitchen band' (bashing on pots and pans) which I display on a mat was about 2-5 minutes. The other day they helped themselves to pots and pans and I handed them both a wooden spoon. Those little tots were fascinated by experimenting with sound for about 15-20 minutes!
Another day one of the girls refused to go to playgroup and lay on the sofa looking exhausted. I decided to give playgroup a miss that day. After watching a little TV she started putting on her shoes while saying "train". The one-year-old was delighted that I asked if she wanted to go and see the trains. That turned out to be the perfect outing that morning because that tired little girl could have an early nap and her sister enjoyed the activity too.
I think toddlers are often smarter than we think. :-)
Featured Page
Starting to Think About Easter?As Easter's just around the corner, it's a good time to think about cards and activities to involve your toddler in this special time of year. Would you like some inspiration? Take a look at these cute and simple Easter Toddler Activities!
Wise Words
How Children LearnThis is a new series of quotes from related experts. I see advice as opportunity for inspiration. Please take what you feel is true to you because of course, you know more about your son or daughter than any stranger! And it's also true for the children we care for regularly too. :-)
We'll start off with sharing an observational extract from the fascinating book, 'How Children Learn' by educational researcher John Holt. It was originally published in 1967 and updated in 1983. You will probably recognize your toddler in these passages even though the real children may now be grandparents. How toddlers learn does not change essentially (but the props they use might). Here Holt is observing Lisa who's sixteen months old.
"She likes to touch and handle things, and is surprisingly dexterous; she can fit screws and similar small objects into the holes meant for them. Can it be that little children are less clumsy than we have always supposed?
One of Lisa's favorite games is to take my ball point pen out of my pocket, take the top off, and then put it on again. This takes some skill. She never tires of the game; if she sees me with a pen in my pocket, she lets me know right away that she wants it. There is no putting her off. She is stubborn, and if I pretend - which is a lie - not to know what she wants, she makes a scene. The trick, when I know I will need to use my pen, is to have an extra one hidden in a pocket.
...Every child, without exception, has an innate and unquenchable drive to understand the world in which he lives and to gain freedom and competence in it. Whatever truly adds to his understanding, his capacity for growth and pleasure, his powers, his sense of his own freedom, dignity, and worth may be said to be true education."
Want to learn more? 'How Children Learn' is available at
Amazon.co.uk
What do you think?
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