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Activity for 2 year olds
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Have you ever lost sight of what is really important and felt overwhelmed by the amount of things you think you must give your kids? Well, I know I have. I have had to remind myself that not much is needed in order to help our kids grow and develop, being stimulated in the right ways.
As we know, free play or setting up some objects to invite children to play in whatever way they want is very important, but this doesn't mean you can teach them a few more structured games.
For this activity, you will need an egg carton and pompoms. You may also want to have smallish toys in different colors so you can switch things up with the same activity. Such simple materials can be used to help your children develop important concepts such as colors, patterns, one-to-one correspondence, numbers, counting, problem solving, etc.
To begin, set the materials up in an inviting way, so your toddler will feel curious and want to explore the material. You can let them play freely for a little bit -remember play is the most important job for children this age!- and then you can propose the formal invitation to interact with it in a particular way, while pursuing more in depth goals.
For example, allow them to touch the carton, use it as a hat, put it with other toys, touch the pompoms, hide them, etc... After a while (maybe 1-2 minutes) you can request that a single pompom be placed in each slot. This needs to be done, slowly.
The best way to teach our kids to do things is through example; assisted practice; and finally, independent practice. You would start by saying something like "Look, mommy will put one pompom in each slot" and do it while they watch. Then request help: "Can you help me put one pompom in each slot, please?" This will make your toddler feel empowered and more open to the activity. Remember to praise their efforts and instead of telling them if they do something wrong, just narrate what you see. For example, "I see you put two pompoms in here. A blue one and an orange one." You can either help them correct their mistake or don't do anything at all, specially if it is the first time they are being exposed to this activity.
Once you have practiced together, you can leave them to play and interact with the material on their own and see what they do. They may not follow everything perfectly, and they may not even follow your instructions at all, but that is ok. It is important to be patient and let them practice and explore at their own pace.
There will come a time when your child will do this almost automatically and will probably want a bigger challenge. This is when you can introduce certain variations. Here are some ideas you can do. Remember to introduce them slowly and by example.
- Count pom-poms when putting them in each slot.
- Count how many pom-poms fit in each slot.
- Count how many pom-poms fit in the egg carton (and play with different sizes: 6, 10, 12, 18, 36, etc).
- Name the colors.
- Find pairs.
- Create patterns.
Counting while putting pompoms in each slot will develop one-on-one correspondence (an early math concept); it will expose your toddler to number names; number sequence; expand vocabulary; improve fine motor skills... and provide quality interaction between you all.
For added difficulty in early years, or more fun in older children, provide some tweezers for them to manipulate the material. There are also some different types of instruments your kids may want to explore aside tweezers: spoon, tongs, scoops, etc.
Another way to play is to place a specific colored pompom in one slot, and ask your children to go around the house or outdoors for a scavenger hunt featuring the color you chose for them.
Red: shapes, erasers, m&ms, crayons, marker caps, strawberries...
Blue: easter egg, toothbrush, doggy bags, m&ms, plastic container, elephant baby toy, marker cap, blocks, etc.
Do you have any other ideas on how to play with this? Comment your methods so we can all learn and help our children develop.
I hope you liked this activity. The basic part I learnt from Parents as Teachers curriculum. I really recommend it if you have access to it.
Thank you for reading and God bless!
Maria Ignacia