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
Comments