For good sleep at night
and joy with the day
my soul thanks you God,
at rest and at play.
What Our Toddlers Can be Learning and Doing:
· Color recognition
· Sorting: shapes, sizes, colors
· Letter familiarization or usage
· Gross motor tasks: Running, kicking, jumping, etc.
· Fine motor tasks: Pouring, “spooning”, sorting, using various tools (shovels, silverware, chopsticks, etc.)
· Playing freely and in an unhurried environment
· Exploring indoors and outdoors
· Matching
· Examining pictures of friends, family, nature, geography with a curious eye and lots of questions!
· Discussing and examining human emotions (happy, sad, angry, scared, etc.)
· Hearing, seeing, touching, and talking about the Word of God
· Being taught how to help around the house
· Preparing a table for dinner
· Helping prepare, cook, and bake food with the supervision of an adult who is okay with messes!
· Being immersed in literature: you can never have too many books!
· Being introduced slowly and with loving supervision to the world – “Field Trips” to parks, the library, grocery store, the home of friends, school, church, and the like
· Prayer
· Picking up
· Making choices without having too many choices available
· Rest: “Without a doubt, as the family’s architects we can add a little more space and grace, a little less speed and clutter to our children’s daily lives.” Payne in “Simplicity Parenting”
“Pajama Preschool”
· Casual
· Rotate toys or swap toys with friends
· Make a space that is kid-friendly
· Make a space where messes are allowed
· Make a space that isn’t too overwhelming with too many choices
· Make time that is unhurried
· Make time that is unscheduled
· Allow for “flow”
· Pick up together
and joy with the day
my soul thanks you God,
at rest and at play.
What Our Toddlers Can be Learning and Doing:
· Color recognition
· Sorting: shapes, sizes, colors
· Letter familiarization or usage
· Gross motor tasks: Running, kicking, jumping, etc.
· Fine motor tasks: Pouring, “spooning”, sorting, using various tools (shovels, silverware, chopsticks, etc.)
· Playing freely and in an unhurried environment
· Exploring indoors and outdoors
· Matching
· Examining pictures of friends, family, nature, geography with a curious eye and lots of questions!
· Discussing and examining human emotions (happy, sad, angry, scared, etc.)
· Hearing, seeing, touching, and talking about the Word of God
· Being taught how to help around the house
· Preparing a table for dinner
· Helping prepare, cook, and bake food with the supervision of an adult who is okay with messes!
· Being immersed in literature: you can never have too many books!
· Being introduced slowly and with loving supervision to the world – “Field Trips” to parks, the library, grocery store, the home of friends, school, church, and the like
· Prayer
· Picking up
· Making choices without having too many choices available
· Rest: “Without a doubt, as the family’s architects we can add a little more space and grace, a little less speed and clutter to our children’s daily lives.” Payne in “Simplicity Parenting”
“Pajama Preschool”
· Casual
· Rotate toys or swap toys with friends
· Make a space that is kid-friendly
· Make a space where messes are allowed
· Make a space that isn’t too overwhelming with too many choices
· Make time that is unhurried
· Make time that is unscheduled
· Allow for “flow”
· Pick up together
Getting Started:
Basic Supplies:
· Glue and glue sticks
· Child Safety scissors
· Assorted colors of Play-Doh, homemade play dough, or clay
· Watercolor paints and brushes
· Tempra or poster paints and brushes
· Stickers
· Puff balls, glitter, buttons, googly eyes, etc.
· Pipe cleaners
· Assorted colors of felt
· Craft sticks (popsicle sticks or similar)
· Washable markers, crayons, colored pencils
· Chalk
· Construction paper
· White paper or paper that can be reused for art projects
· Colored tissue paper
Basic Activities:
· Spooning: Bowls with dry rice, beans, or oatmeal are spooned into bowls
· Chopsticks: Child size chopsticks are used to pick up objects
· Pouring: Child size pitcher and cups
· Color sorting: Various options, one is the “Color Box”
· Spreading: Child size SAFE “knife” for spreading butter on bread
· Ziploc Book: Sew large bags together to make a book for displaying art
· Displaying work: Cover every surface of your house in your child’s art
· Movement: Child appropriate music for dance and play
· Walks: Explore nature together
· Story Time at your local library
Organizing Time:
· This is more challenging the more additional kids you have around!
· Empower your child to complete the task on their own using trial and error if needed – show them how to do something, practice it together, and then allow them to continue without hovering
· Try to create a space where the child won’t be interrupted by a sibling (yeah, right!)
· Aim for this time to be UNHURRIED
Suggested Resources:
Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne
Parents magazine
First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by MaryAnn F. Kohl
· Glue and glue sticks
· Child Safety scissors
· Assorted colors of Play-Doh, homemade play dough, or clay
· Watercolor paints and brushes
· Tempra or poster paints and brushes
· Stickers
· Puff balls, glitter, buttons, googly eyes, etc.
· Pipe cleaners
· Assorted colors of felt
· Craft sticks (popsicle sticks or similar)
· Washable markers, crayons, colored pencils
· Chalk
· Construction paper
· White paper or paper that can be reused for art projects
· Colored tissue paper
Basic Activities:
· Spooning: Bowls with dry rice, beans, or oatmeal are spooned into bowls
· Chopsticks: Child size chopsticks are used to pick up objects
· Pouring: Child size pitcher and cups
· Color sorting: Various options, one is the “Color Box”
· Spreading: Child size SAFE “knife” for spreading butter on bread
· Ziploc Book: Sew large bags together to make a book for displaying art
· Displaying work: Cover every surface of your house in your child’s art
· Movement: Child appropriate music for dance and play
· Walks: Explore nature together
· Story Time at your local library
Organizing Time:
· This is more challenging the more additional kids you have around!
· Empower your child to complete the task on their own using trial and error if needed – show them how to do something, practice it together, and then allow them to continue without hovering
· Try to create a space where the child won’t be interrupted by a sibling (yeah, right!)
· Aim for this time to be UNHURRIED
Suggested Resources:
Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne
Parents magazine
First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by MaryAnn F. Kohl
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