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The Adventurer Stage: Toddler Play & Learning

Writer's picture: Mrs Devoted TeacherMrs Devoted Teacher

Once baby starts to babble, talk, move about, get into things and grow, they start to become very curious adventurers who start to take risks and wonder more deeply about their world. They are like sponges during this stage, absorbing everything and trying to use what they know to discover and play. This is a wonderful age where pretend play begins, personalities develop and shine, and baby is no longer a baby anymore but transforms into this little person. Along with this transformation comes big feelings and emotions as your little person deals with problem solving, understanding boundaries, takes risks and learns more about the world they live in. From the age of 18 months to 2 years old, toddler will learn and grow significantly, reaching more milestones and achieving more than you could ever imagine.


In my previous post, The Enchanting Stage... I explored ideas for newborn play and learning. Growth and development occurs slowly in this stage and it will sometimes appear to the adult that baby isn't really learning much at all, when in fact this is the foundation for everything that follows. In the following post, The Explorer Stage... I shared ideas for infant play and learning. This stage is very different to the previous, whereby growth and development happens rapidly and you see your baby go from being immobile and "just present" to a little person running about and getting into everything. Learning and progress is more evident in the infant stage and in my experience I had to up-the-anti so to speak as my baby became for active, curious and engaged in play, otherwise she would become bored easily and the big emotions would escalate. This occurred even more so in this early toddler stage, where my little one became The Curious-Adventurer. She constantly holds things up to me to ask what it is and is constantly watching how to do things or how things work so she can try herself. This is the stage where toddlers pick up things easily and can test boundaries as they adventure outside the confines of all that they've known so far. This is a wonderful stage of playing with your little one, bonding as they start to express their personality or ideas and use their own language to communicate. Their little brains are amazing and this is the start of gaining insight into what they are thinking.


Once baby turned into toddler, I found the learning baskets were not enough and changed to a learning table. She has two tables; one to focus on sensory play and learning, while the other to focus on arts and fine motor skills. Her shelf always has a selection of puzzles and activities that involve practising fine motor skills, practical life skills, language skills, building and construction or are related to a particular learning concept. Sometimes, her shelf contains baskets based on her interests if they are different to the ones on her sensory table. At this point, you will know your little person very well and in my case, she does not like messy play, so I avoid anything messy while still trying to incorporate sensory play.


Here are my ideas and experiences ideal for a toddler between the ages of 18 months and 2 years. Each of these contain a range of oral language, fine motor, gross motor and problem solving skills:


Practical Life Experiences:

  • adding ingredients to a bowl or pan

  • wiping spills

  • picking herbs, fruits and vegetables from the garden

  • spreading condiments

  • mixing

  • cutting soft foods

  • watering the garden

  • putting rubbish in the bin

  • picking up toys

  • cleaning face

  • brushing teeth

  • brushing hair

  • feeding themselves

  • helping to dress themselves

  • passing or holding items

  • taking clothes out of front loader

  • folding tea towels

  • pushing a broom to sweep or mini vaccum

  • giving food to a pet eg: scooping kibble into a dog bowl

  • helping to wash a pet



Sensory Experiences:

  • animals in coloured rice

  • trucks or cars in coloured sand

  • chickpea foam

  • animals in mud made from cocoa powder and water

  • water beads

  • animals or toys in water

  • gardening

  • swimming

  • nature walk or picnic

  • playing outdoors eg: in the mulch at the park or on the grass

  • play dough

  • arts and crafts



Learning & Social Experiences:

  • reading books

  • singing songs and nursery rhymes

  • playing an instrument

  • pretend play eg: feeding a doll, driving a car, having a tea party

  • small world play eg: creating an ocean with fabric and sea creatures or a city with blocks and cars

  • sorting and matching

  • scribbling

  • painting

  • puzzles including peg puzzles, shape sorters, chunky puzzles and jigsaw puzzles up to 4-6 pieces

  • building with range of blocks and materials

  • beginning to use tools or other utensils eg: small screw driver, spanner or whisk

  • counting

  • play group

  • music, art, physical activity lessons

  • going to shops

  • going to restaurants

  • going to the aquarium

  • going to the park

  • going to the zoo or a farm

  • going to the library

  • going to a play centre

  • going to a children's museum



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