ART
Toddler Painting Crew
1. Place and old sheet on the floor near a wall that
the toddlers can "paint".
2. Empty buckets, paint trays, short-handled paint
brushes and small rollers on the sheet.
3. Show the toddlers how to "paint" the wall by taking
"long strokes up and down".
4. Tell the toddlers the sheet is on the floor so the
"paint" does not get on the floor or carpet. Encourage
them to put on a cap so they don't get "paint" in
their hair.
5. Let the toddlers "paint" other walls or toy shelves
around the room.
On a warm day outside, fill the buckets with water and let the children
paint the walls, fence, etc. outside with the wet paint brushes.
6. Encourage your toddlers to experiment with the vivid colors of felt tip markers. Provide each child with a thin white paper plate and a few markers with caps removed. Let the children scribble on the plates - they may wish to make lines or dots, or simply watch the plate absorb the color. Then set out spray bottles filled with water. Help the children spray a fine mist of water on their plates and watch as the colors fade and blend.
7.
Use felt tip markers to draw simple figures (hearts, animals, cars, etc.) on paper plates or paper towels. Let your children spray or brush water on the drawings to blur the lines.
TIP:
To keep small marker caps out of children's hands (and mouths) make a marker cap holder. Mix plaster of Paris with cold water in a plastic container (a whipped topping tub works well). Set the marker tops in the wet plaster, open ends up, making sure not to cover the holes. When the plaster dries, the children can stand the markers upright in the appropriate tops.
MUSIC AND RHYMES
We Wiggle
We wiggle our fingers.
I'm Hiding
I'm hiding, I'm hiding
Apple Dance
1. Show the children an apple. Talk with them about
the stem, skins, shape, color, etc.
2. Encourage the children to pretend to be apples with
a few verses of the following:
To the tune of "Here we go'round the Mulberry Bush"
This is the way the apples hang,
This is the way the apples drop,
This is the way the apples spin,
This is the way apples rick,
This is the way the apples are stirred,
3. Provide applesauce for the toddlers to taste.
Sing with your toddler and record some of your favorite songs on a tape for
him to play when you are not available. Record his favorite books on tape too.
TOUCH RHYME
As you name each body part, touch it with your hands.
I touch my head,
GAMES AND ACTIVITIES
Doll Bed:
large cardboard box, towels or old receiving
blankets, old baby blanket, small pillow.
Use materials to show your child
how to make a bed for his/her doll or stuffed animal. Your toddler will
enjoy putting her baby or animal to bed and waking them up again.
Tape City
Test tape on a small area to make sure it can be easily removed before you
do the whole thing. You need masking tape and small cars. Use the tape on
your floor to create an indoor roadway for small cars. You can add parking
lots, shops, and schools and accessories from dollhouses, little people
sets, and plastic animals.
Chair Maze:
Place chairs in a maze around the room. Let your toddler crawl
along them or walk over them, or use them as a train for her/his stuffed
animals.
Mail Box:
Shoe box with lid, scissors, unopened junk mail, old cards mailed
from birthdays, holidays, etc
Cut slit on top of box and have child decorate or cover with contact paper
or construction paper. Have your toddler deliever mail. My son likes using
his little back pack to carry the mail in too.
Other Ideas
Toddlers love to throw things- roll up some socks, maybe worn out or
outgrown infant socks, and let your toddler pitch them in a clean
wastebasket or a box or a special target.
Make a beanbag and stuff it with cotton balls. Very lightweight. Sew
securely around all edges.
Toddlers love to hide - drape a blanket over a table and let your toddler
hide there. Ask where is Jr.? every so often so he will peek out.
MATH
Color cards:
construction paper, black marker, scissors, clear contact paper
Make up two sets of cards from paper. Start with a few colors, working your
way up to the nine basic ones. If you wish, write the names of the colors
on the cards. Cover with contact paper to keep sturdy. Spread cards out and
pick one up.. Say to your toddler I have the blue card can you find the
other blue card. After practice your child will enjoy matching the cards
all by themeselves.
SCIENCE
Pokey Fun
1. For younger toddlers, use egg cartons from
half-dozen eggs and six craft clothespin. For older
toddlers, use a regular dozen carton and twelve
non-clipping clothespin.
2. Turn the egg carton upside down and cut or punch
small holes in the bottom of each cup-section. The
clothespin should just fit in the holes.
3. Place the clothespin in the holes and let the
toddler experiment with taking the clothespin out and
putting them back in.
A great book I have stuffed with toddler ideas is "The Toddler's Busy Book"
by Trish Kuffner. It has 390 pages..Meadowbrook Press 1999. I high
recommend it! Only $9.95
Here are some recipes from the book:
Flour based Poster paint:
1/4 cup flour, 1 cup water, small
jars or plastic containers (yogurt containers work great), 3 tablespoons
powdered tempera paint per container, 2 tablespoons water per container,
1/2 teaspoon liquid starch or liquid detergent per container (optional)
Measure flour into saucepan. Slowly add 1 cup water while stirring to make
a smooth paste. Heat, stirring constantly, until paste begins to thicken.
Cool. Measure 1/4 cup paste into each small container. Add 3 tbsps powdered
tempera paint and 2 tbsps water to each container. For a matte finish, add
liquid starch. For glossy finish, add liquid detergent. Store covered.
Uncooked playdough
bowl, cup of cold water, cup of salt, 2 teasps vegtable oil,
tempera paint or food coloring, 3 cups flour, 2 tbsps cornstarch
In bowl, mix first three ingredients along with enough tempera paint or
food coloring to make a bright color. After, gradually add flour and
cornstarch until the mixture reaches the consistency of bread dough. Store
covered.
No Bake Craft Clay
1 cup cornstarch, 1 1/4 cups cold water, 2 cups baking soda, sauce pan,
food coloring, plate, damp cloth, tempera or arcylic paints (optional),
clear shellac, acrylic spray, or nail polish
Combine first three ingredients in saucepan; stir over med. heat for 4
minutes until mixture thickent to a moist mashed potato consistency. For
color, add a few drops of food coloring to the water before it is mixed
with baking soda and cornstarch. Remove from heat, turn onto plate, and
cover with a damp cloth until cool. Knead until smooth. Shape as desired or
store in an airtight container or ziploc bag. Dry sculptures overnight,
then paint with tempera or acrylic. Seal with shellac, acrylic spray, or
nail polish.
In the water table, put empty milk cartons of different sizes include
containers to fill the milk cartons with they will have a blast filling and
pouring.
Setup a table with playdough and things that they can push in and cut with:
toddler sissors, toothpicks, stamps, popsicle sticks
Spotlight
Turn off or dim the overhead lights. Shine a flashlight around the room.
Stop it on an object. Have the children name it. You can say silly chants
like, "Around and around and around it goes. Where's it going to stop?
Nobody knows!" or give clues about an object and then stop on it.
To teach colors to toddlers have beads of all the primary colors and string
them on a pipcleaner as they learn them and the pipecleaner will be worn as
a bracelet. Also color bottles are helpful. Empty single serving size of
cola product (clear of course) or water bottle and fill with as many items
of one color that you can find.(suggestions are toothbrush, eraser,
balloon, feather, rubber vehicle, marble, ect.) Glue top on bottle and wrap
in matching masking tape if desired.
*****
Teaching Toddlers The Colors
I teach 2 year olds, and for my book and listening center I made shape pillows. yellow triangle, green square, blue rectangle, and red circle. we use them a lot all year, but especially during color and shape themes. we will put them in the floor, make a circle around them and play musical shapes. when the music stops I call out who is sitting on a yellow triangle, etc.
I thought this idea was cute for one or two year olds. Pick an animal like a duck, bears etc. Glue each to a different colored piece of construction paper then laminate . Make a box to match each color and let the children play with them any way they choose. Soon you will realize that they are actually matching colors with the box!
I made color kits for my kids. We just asked for some clear deli containers from the grocery store deli and filled them with things of the same color. We glued things of that color on top and they have fun feeling the different textures and sorting them by color. Nothing too small of course!
Take a piece of bread and put food coloring on it. Make as many shapes as you want. When you are done, toast the bread, butter it. Makes for a very colorful, and nutritious snack!!!
For yellow day we made homemade lemonade. The Kids love squeezing the lemons!
This idea ties into both sensory and color themes. We introduce a new color to our toddlers every week. The first week would be red and we would have red snacks for that week, such as strawberries, cherries (pits removed) etc. For art time, we would make an apple shaker, a cherry tree, etc. This is a great learning experience for the one and two year olds.
I do this with my two year old. Each child gets a piece of bread. Using clean Q-tips they paint the toast with colored milk (use food coloring). Place toast in toaster. The areas that were not painted will be brown. Spread with strawberry jelly and let the kids eat away
The ones and twos at our center love to sing about themselves. We sing to "Mary Had A Red Dress On", but we put the children's names and the color they are wearing
This song is suitable for circle time. It is very easy to be taught. Simple tings that are of the color mentioned can be provided. This is to make the color alive to the children.
Red, red, red Red, red, red Touch your head
Freeze Popsicle sticks in ice cube trays filled with water. Add food coloring to each ice cube compartment to color the ice cube. Have the children paint with the frozen ice cubes on white construction paper.
Put finger paint onto a table top and get the children to draw pictures into it with their fingers. When they are happy with the result press paper onto it and hey presto an original design by your little one. Of course they enjoy it because they are getting in a mess so have washing materials nearby
Use gallon size Ziploc bags and place white paper inside. Squirt different colors of paint onto the enclosed paper, seal the bag, and give to the child to squish and spread the paint all around the paper. When they are finished, remove paper and allow to dry. No mess painting.
Put shaving cream in Ziploc bags. Add a different color of food coloring to each one. Zip them, & let the kids squish them & watch it all turn from white to the color added. Then grab paintbrushes & paint with the colored shaving cream!
The toddlers in my program love using colored tissue paper to paint! We cut the tissue paper into strips, or squares and put a very small amount of water into shallow bowls. The toddlers then scrunch up the tissue and dip into the water to create a water color effect! They LOVE doing this!
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{move fingers}
We wiggle our toes.
{Move toes}
We wiggle our shoulders.
[ Move shoulders.}
We wiggle our nose.
{Move nose}
{curl up and cover head with hands.}
And no-one knows where,
For all you see
Is my toes and my hair.
{Pause}
Surprise!
{Jump up.}
The apples hang, the apples hang,
This is the way the apples hang,
Up high in the tree.
(sit or stand up straight with
arms stretched high over head, hand forming fists)
The apples drop, the apples drop,
This is the way the apples drop,
Down to the ground
(jump down an hit the floor with
fists)
the apples spin, the apples spin,
This is the way the apples spin
Around on their stem.
(roll hand or spin entire body)
the apples rock, the apples rock,
This is the way the apples rock,
Back and forth in the basket.
(rock from side to side
while sitting or standing)
the apples are stirred, the apples stirred,
this is the way the apples are stirred,
when making applesauce.
(make stirring motion with
hands)
I touch my nose,
I touch my ears,
And I touch my toes.
I touch my eyes,
They are open wide,
I touch my mouth,
With teeth inside.
I touch my ankle,
I touch my knee,
I touch my tummy for all to see.
I touch my head,
I touch my cheek,
I touch my nose,
Every day of the week.
Blue, blue, blue, blue Touch your shoe
Brown, brown, brown, brown Touch the ground
White, white, white, white Give a bite
Black, black, black Touch your back
Purple, purple Draw a circle
Pink, pink, pink, pink Give a wink
Red, red, red, red Shout hurray........
the PnF Main Theme and Curriculum Pages
