• Design a simple puzzle for your toddler by gluing an interesting picture to a cardboard and cutting it into five or six pieces. It’s easy and cost-efficient!
• Engage your toddler in playing with dress-up clothes with buttons and zippers.
• Allow him or her to enjoy tearing those scrap papers of yours. Over an empty basin or box, probably. It will make for easier clean-up!
• Make play dough that your toddler can roll, pound, and squeeze. Here’s how: mix together 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water, and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Put food coloring in the water if desired. Add more flour if the dough is sticky. Store in an air-tight plastic bag or container until it is not sticky anymore. Wooden popsicle sticks and cookie cutters may be used instead of real knives that may come out to be unsafe.
• Remember to keep safe all the time! Let an older toddler use safe kitchen tools–a wooden spoon, plastic knives and forks, to use with play dough.

Provide and allow the kids to do simple chores. Toddlers use the muscles in their fingers and hands to do things for themselves.

• Follow a basic schedule and stick to it. Planning your day allows time for your toddler to wash, dress, and feed him- or herself. The child may take longer to put on sneakers than you do, but him saying, “Me do it!” or “Ako na!” are markers of pride.
• Arrange your home in a toddler-friendly manner. A refillable pump soap dispenser is easier for your toddler to use than a bar of soap, and a small plastic cup fits in the toddler’s hand. Keep the child’s toothbrush where he or she can reach it.
• Oftentimes toddlers imitate chores such as sweeping or mopping the floor, mixing up a beverage or simply switching off the electric fan. Allow and not hinder their desire, for as long as it is safe. It will be easy to just say, “You’re too little to do that” or “Marurumihan ka!” But remember that words such as those are discouraging and spirit-dampening. Let them give it a try. Sure, the task will take longer to do but it is confidence-building for him or her.

Toddlers learn most experimentially. They learn about writing by scribbling, watching you write, and seeing words around them.

• Look for inexpensive large pads of paper and large, nontoxic crayons, and washable markers. Save scrap paper and paper bags. Keep a supply of drawing and writing materials where your toddler can reach them.
• Invite your toddler to get some paper and crayons so you can write together. The child will learn about writing by watching you make a list, sign a check, or do a crossword puzzle. The child might even begin to scribble after observing. His or her scribbles are a way of copying what you are writing.
• Point to written words around you and read them out loud to your toddler. “Here comes our bus. It says ‘Baguio‘ on the front. That’s where we’re going.” “The speed limit reads 40 kph. Forty is four-zero.”

The post How to Help Build Your Toddler’s Muscles For Writing appeared first on Wild Edisons.

Monitor your toddler very closely with this activity. Make sure that the bottle is always pointed away from their face and at the object they are supposed to be spraying.

Instruct your toddler to spray in batches of 3 and to count as they spray. That way, they practice their counting while keeping the amount of spray at a reasonable level.

To mix things up a bit, try trading places. Sometimes, they get to spray while you wipe. Sometimes, they get to wipe while you spray.

Your toddler can help you by…

• Spraying the glass cleaner while you wipe down the windows
• Spraying the dust polish while you wipe down the furniture
• Spraying air freshener
• Spraying odor eliminator on couch cushions and pillows

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Get your toddler moving and teach valuable pre-reading skills with this fun activity.

It takes a little time to prepare, but once you are ready to go, you and your toddler can have fun over and over again!

What you need for this activity…
* Popsicle sticks
* A color print-out of the free Stop, Go, and More download printed on thick paper
* An extra piece of thick paper for the backs of the signs

Preparing this activity…
1. Hold the  Stop, Go, and More print-out and the extra piece of paper together and cut out each circle. (This will give you a colored “sign” circle and a blank circle for the back.)
2. Glue each sign circle to a popsicle stick. Then, glue on a back so that the popsicle stick is sandwiched between a sign and a blank back.
3. Allow to dry. (You may want to put the signs under heavy books to keep them flat.

Get your Toddler Moving…
Different toddlers will want to play with the signs in different ways. Some like to lead. Some like to follow. Whether you or your toddler chooses the signs and directs the activity, the keys are:

• Read the sign out-loud and repeat it as you do what the sign says to do. (This will help your toddler associate the words with the actions.)
• Hold the sign up as you do what it says so your toddler repeatedly sees the word(s).
• Switch signs frequently to keep your toddler moving and excited.
• After you have gone through the signs a couple of times, encourage your toddler to guess what the sign says.

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From the Toddler App Developer

Welcome to Fish School HD – with letters, numbers, shapes, colors, matching, and more! Brought to you by the creators of Wheels on the Bus, an award-winning, educational iPhone app – featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Gizmodo, Discovery Channel, MSNBC.com, Wired.com, and Daily Candy.

Get Fish School HD Today!

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My 2 year-old is into trains…Today. Tomorrow, he might be into farms or airplanes or who knows? We got him the The Great Toy Story Train Chase from Lego Duplo because when he outgrows trains, he can use the blocks to build something else. Since all of the sets work together, we have fun turning his barn into a train station and making his fire truck into an emergency milk delivery truck.

Duplo’s are great for building fine motor skills and absolutely fantastic for cognitive skills. My son can take apart the train and put it back together faster than I can. And, the sense of fulfillment he gets when he creates something new is great for his self esteem.

Hotwheels Color Shifters are a fantastic way to practice colors with toddlers. Dunk them in water and they change colors depending on the temperature. We keep a small bowl of water with ice in it next to the bath and our toddler is so engaged that he hardly notices when we wash his hair. Incidentally, they also will change color if you hold them in your warm hands. This has kept him occupied out of the tub too.

Along with entertaining our spirited toddler, the cars give us a great opportunity to practice colors. Such a silly toy, but we all love them.

The Classic Doodle Sketch is a modern day twist on the Etch A Sketch. My son happily entertains himself by drawing with the magnetic pen and shape stamps and then erasing his pictures with the little slider. (The slider alone makes this toy great for spirited toddlers.)

Most of the time, we use it together though. He likes to tell me what to draw and I do my best to make a cartoon representation of it. (Without a second’s notice, he wipes it clean and asks for something else.) Sometimes, we practice our letters and reading by writing the names of movies that he can choose from or places we are going or people we are going to see.

I absolutely love the Shapes Magnetic Book (Magnetic Play & Learn). It comes with a bunch of magnetic shapes that you can use to make pictures in the book. We use it during potty time because it is pretty self-contained and entertains him more than just a book. It is also good for long car trips and visiting relatives that believe that children should be seen and not heard.

The best part is that he doesn’t even realize that he is practicing his shapes and colors.

In case you are new to WildEdisons, I love alphabet puzzle mats. There are so many educational toddler activities you can do with them. For some ideas, check out my post Toddler Alphabet Puzzle Mat Activities.

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Wall Walking
In front of the town hall where we live, there is a low retainer wall about 2 feet off the ground and 8 inches thick. When we walk up to pay the water bill, he practices his balance by walking on the wall. I used to hold his hand, but now he cruises so fast that I just walk along side in case he missteps.

Curbs
Down the street, there is a retirement community that has a curb that winds its way around the parking lot and down in between the buildings. Because it is so long and continues with few breaks, it is a great way to practice balance and gross motor skills. Since it is only about 6 inches high, my toddler can run free with little risk.

Home-Made Balance Beam
When the weather is poor, we can still practice balance with a home-made balance beam. We just grab a piece of sturdy wood from out back (a plank from an old fence, a 2×4, or whatever we find.) Then, we make a few piles of books the same height. Obviously, you need a stack at each end, but we generally have to put one in the middle too because wood can bend under his weight. Be careful with your home-made balance beam though. Wood can slip off the books or have splinters. Check for nails too, and make sure that stacks at the ends are right at each end so that it doesn’t turn into a catapult.

Walk the Line
One of the least dangerous ways to practice balance is to use masking tape to make a path on the floor. Encourage your toddler to put one foot in front of the other to stay on the line. If you are really ambitious, you can make the path go through several rooms and put a surprise at the end.

The post Help your Toddler Practice their Balance appeared first on Wild Edisons.

Letters in Hiding
Sometimes, I take individual letters from the puzzle mat and hide them strategically around the house. For example, I might hide the letter B in the bed, the P under a pillow, the O in his toy oven. I don’t tell him that I have hidden them. I just let him find the letters on his own and then make a big deal about it. “You found a B in the bed! Bed starts with the letter B. B..B..Bed. B…B…Boy… You get the idea.

Alphabet Road
Often, we make a road out of the letters that winds around corners, through doors, or around furniture. Of course, you have to sing the alphabet song as you walk the alphabet road.

Letter Puzzle
I put a few of the puzzle frames on the floor without the letters in them. Then, I hold up a letter and ask him to find where it goes. As he searches for the correct frame, I talk about the letter and things that start with it. Once he has filled in a few holes, I put out more empty frames. I love this game because instead of looking for the letter, he is looking for a hole the SHAPE of the letter. Plus, it is a healthy challenge for him to fit the letter into the frame.

Alphabet Letter Tracing
My toddler and I work on his fine motor skills by tracing the individual alphabet letters. He still needs help, but it is a fun activity that keeps him entertained.

Bag-O-Alphabet Letters
Sometimes, we put some of the alphabet letters in a pillowcase. (I generally don’t include letters like X, Z, etc.) He reaches in and picks one out. Then, we run around the house looking for things that start with that letter. He gets a nice workout while learning his alphabet.

Letter of the Day
We do this activity a lot. I usually pick a letter based on his latest interest. For example, when he was all about the dog we had D day. I go around the house and find a bunch of small things that start with that letter and put them in a box. Then, I grab the letter from the alphabet puzzle mat, hold it behind my back, and present it to him with the box of items. He spends the next hour playing with the items in the box while I make a big deal about the letter.

Run and Jump!
This one is good for wearing out your spirited toddler while they work on their gross motor skills. I choose about five letters and put them on the floor. Then, I have my energetic little boy run a lap around the downstairs. As he rounds the bend to where I am, I shout out a letter. He has to think quick, find it, and jump on it. I swap out a letter or two and we do it again. It sounds kind of silly, but he will do it a dozen times before he gets bored.

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I quickly discovered a few things. First, I am not really into sugar cookies. Second, there is a reason why folks only make cookies on holidays. The mess, the time, the hassle. Did I mention the mess? After just a few cookie baking binges, the beautiful box of cookie cutters was relegated to a dusty shelf where it was forgotten until I had a toddler. Now, we use them a few times a week for all sorts of activities.

Play Doh
Play Doh is just great with cookie cutters. It does not require a lot of ingredients, mixing bowls, measuring cups, and spoons. It does not have to be carefully cut on a floured surface. It does not have to be baked and it does not have to be iced.

Give your cookie cutters new life by letting your toddler use them with Play Doh. Talk about the shapes and letters. Ask your toddler which color Play Doh would make a good star.

Sandwich or Pancake Fun
Turn meal time into learning time by cutting your toddlers sandwich, pancakes, etc. into letters or shapes.

Tracing Activity
Trace around some cookie cutters of trees, stars, etc. Then, let your toddler decorate the shapes.

Sand Shapes
Press cookie cutters into wet sand. Stamp out the alphabet or a scene and then erase it and start again.

Sponge Painting
Trace the cookie cutter shapes on to sponges. Cut out the shapes and let your toddler use the sponges to stamp out fun pictures.

Felt Scenes
Find some shapes that go together and trace them on to appropriately colored felt. Use a piece of felt as a background and let your toddler create scenes with the shapes.

Lacing Cards
Trace larger shapes on to cardboard. Then, use a hole punch to make holes along the edges. Give your toddler a shoe lace and let them practice their lacing.

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments
Do a quick internet search for a cinnamon dough ornament recipe and make crafty ornaments that smell good enough to eat.

Greeting Cards
Trace cookie cutters on to construction paper and use the shapes to decorate cards for any occasion.

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