Practical Skills Archives - Wild Edisons

Plan a Meal with your Toddler

Mom-E — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:52:23 +0000

Talk about food with your toddler and then make a meal together.

Part one…
Pick up a cooking magazine and look through the pictures with your toddler. Talk to them about the different foods that you see. Ask them what they like. Have them look for ingredients in the pictures of dishes.

“This stew has carrots. Do you see the orange carrots?”

“Oh! This pizza has peanuts in it. How do you think that would taste?”

Talking about foods with your toddler can peak their curiosity and make them more open to trying new tastes.

Part two…
Pay attention as your toddler gets excited about certain pictures. Help them choose a favorite dish. Then, cut out the picture and the recipe and make it!

Involve them in as much of the process as possible. At the store, reference the picture as you find the ingredients you will need. In the kitchen, let them help you set out the ingredients on the counter. As you cook, make sure they can watch from a safe place and give them little activities to help; stirring, pouring, etc.

When the dish is complete, look at the meal and the picture from the magazine and talk about how you made it together.

“Do you like it? Should we make this dish again?”

“Is that how you thought it would taste?”

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Director of Spray Bottle Technology

Mom-E — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:03:16 +0000

Cleaning can be a challenge with toddlers. Turn it into a joint activity by turning your toddler into your official Director of Spray Bottle Technology.

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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Toy Rotation

Mom-E — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:54:46 +0000

With the attention-span of a fruit fly, toddlers lose interest in toys very quickly. Rather than buying new toys to add to the clutter, try rotating your toddler’s toys every few weeks.

Narrowing down your toddler’s toys will help reduce distractions. Plus, when old toys are reintroduced, your toddler’s experiences will have grown and they may find new ways to enjoy them.

How To Do It…
Have your toddler choose some of their favorite toys and set them aside. Then, work together to put all of the other toys into bins or boxes. (Clear plastic boxes are ideal because you can see what is in them without bothering with labels.)

Your toddler will be able to practice his/her sorting skills by putting all of the Mr. Potato Head pieces in one box, all of the Legos in another, etc.

Put the bins and boxes into a closet or other space so that they are out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Then, in a few weeks, swap out some of the current toys with items from the bins.

Tips…
* This is also a great time to identify toys to give away or sell at a garage sale.
* If your child is upset about putting his/her toys away, you may want to do this activity while they are sleeping.

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Stuffed Animal Dress Up

Mom-E — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:55:01 +0000

Even a toddler that hates to get dressed themselves might enjoy putting his own clothes on a large stuffed animal.

What you Need for this Toddler Activity…
* A large stuffed animal (one that can wear your toddler’s clothes)
* Some of your toddler’s favorite clothes

How you Do It…
Take turns choosing shirts and pants, hats and sunglasses and have fun playing dress-up while helping your toddler practice their dressing skills.

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Fun with Corn on the Cob

Mom-E — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:52:18 +0000

Make dinner and introduce your toddler to cooking with this fun activity.

What you Need for this Toddler Activity…
* Corn on the cob (still in the husk)
* A pan
* A basting brush
* Melted butter

How you Do It…

Start off by visiting this excellent website: How to Boil Corn on the Cob This site has wonderful pictures for each step of the process.
Show your toddler the corn (still in the husk) and then show the picture of the corn on the website.
Have your assist you with husking the corn and, again, show them the picture on the website.
They can help you fill the pot with water, but then have them watch from a safe distance as you bring the water to a boil, pop in the corn, and then pull out the corn with tongs.
As the corn cools, prepare a bowl of melted butter, a basting brush, and a plate to put the buttered corn.
When the corn is cool enough for a toddler to handle, put them to work “painting” on the butter.
Enjoy!

Tips…
* Please use your best judgment with this activity. Don’t let your toddler touch the stove or the hot corn or the boiling water. “Painting” on the butter can get a little messy, so you might want to use an apron on your toddler and use any other measures you wish to contain the mess.

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Teach your Toddler How to Talk on the Phone

Mom-E — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:58:39 +0000

Like many toddlers, my little boy loves phones. Unfortunately, toy phones no longer cut it. He knows they are fake. Obviously, I couldn’t just give him a real phone because he did not know how to use it properly. So, I decided it was high time to teach my toddler the basics of how to talk on a real phone.

The first step was to teach him what to do when the phone rang in a normal situation. (I didn’t want him to just start answering the phone, willy nilly.) I used my cell phone to call the home phone. When it rang, I asked him to bring it to me. No big deal. He felt involved and now my toddler has a “job” when the phone rings.

Then, I called the phone and told him that he could answer it. I guided him through the process. First, you press the “talk” button. Then, you hold it up to your ear and say, “hello”. The big challenge here was keeping him from pressing any other buttons. This was a milestone in itself. I alternated a couple of times between letting him answer it and having him bring it to me.

Finally, I called the phone, told him he could answer it, and stepped into another room so that we could “talk”. It was great! My little boy is not a big talker, but he jabbered up a storm. We had a wonderful conversation. He got his phone fix and worked on his language skills at the same time.

Now, we do this fun activity whenever I want to get my toddler talking.

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Toddler Cooking Activity – Pretend and Real

Mom-E — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:59:35 +0000

For Edison’s 2nd birthday, we went to a used children’s store and bought him a play kitchen and a bag of plastic food. He knew what to do with most of the food. He boiled the peas, put the pizza in the oven, etc.

But, when it came to the fake syrup and waffles, he stuck them in a drawer with the cooking utensils. Aside from a few times when we eased his teething with pieces of frozen waffles, he really didn’t have much experience with them.

So, we gathered up his plastic waffles, pretend syrup, fake pat of butter, and a plate. Then, he helped me get the real versions of each item. As I toasted the frozen waffles, put them on a plate, drizzled them with syrup, and topped them with a pat of butter; he followed along with his plastic food.

It actually ended up being a lot of fun and we were able to make lunch at the same time. Plus, now he knows what to do with those weird square plastic things that Mom keeps referring to as waffles.

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Riding Toy Car Wash

Mom-E — Wed, 25 May 2011 11:52:06 +0000

Enjoy water play and teach your child how to clean with this toddler activity.

What you Need for this Toddler Activity…
* A water-safe riding toy
* A bucket with soapy water
* Sponges, rags, etc.

How you Do It…
Get your toddler started by demonstrating how to wash the riding toy. Point out mud or other spots that need to be cleaned. Then, let your toddler at it!

Tips…
* As always, use your best judgment. Do this activity outside and make sure your toddler is dressed in clothing that can get wet.

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