Category: 2-Year-Old

Flying Fish

Leave a comment

Flying Fish (3)

Before you recycle whatever magazine you’re currently reading, rip out a page or two and you’ll be able to make a quick batch of fish to delight your toddler!

On the magazine pages, I used a ruler to mark off one inch strips and then cut them out. Next, mark 1 inch in from both the top and the bottom. Cut a slit at this one inch mark from the left at the top and from the right at the bottom. Now, you can fold the strip of paper over itself so the notches slot together, making a fish tail shape.

Flying Fish (2)

I recommend not just one, but a whole school of fish for maximum effect!

Flying Fish (4)

When I had about a dozen “fish”, we let them fly! If these catch the wind just right, they flutter end over end until they hit the ground.

Flying Fish (8)

Cue Veronika’s delighted squeals and eager cries for more!

Flying Fish (6)

Needless to say we launched our fish to “swim” in the air many times before she tired of it. Your toddler can get in some good tossing and throwing practice, too!

Flying Fish (9)

Touch and Feel Shapes Board

Leave a comment

Touch and Feel Shapes (1)

Veronika loves the bumpy feel of hot glue, so when I spotted this fun, tactile way to help a toddler learn shapes, I knew we had to try it!

Ideally I would have liked to make the shape outlines on sturdy poster board, but construction paper worked fine in a pinch. Using hot glue, make the outlines of as many shapes as you can fit on your piece of paper.

Of course the wonder of hot glue is how quickly it sets and cools, so within moments, I set this down in front of Veronika to explore.

Touch and Feel Shapes (2)

She immediately started shouting out the names of the shapes she saw. I showed her how to run her fingers around the bumpy lines of each, and she delighted in the feel. Without knowing it, this can be your toddler’s first introduction to tracing, which itself is the precursor to someday drawing shapes with a pencil!

There was lots more we could do with this little piece of paper. Veronika liked filling in the outlines with dried beans since the bumpy hot glue made little “containers”. If your child is learning to count, you can also count out the beans as you add them!

Touch and Feel Shapes (4)

Next we placed a piece of white paper on top and I showed Veronika how to make shape rubbings.

Touch and Feel Shapes (5)

She wasn’t very interested in that activity, but did like using a marker to color directly in the lines of each shape.

Touch and Feel Shapes (6)

Overall, this was a simple activity that’s easy to set up and extend in multiple ways.

Sorting Blocks by Shape and Color

Leave a comment

Stacking by Color and Shape (6)

Veronika received a set of foam blocks over the holidays that came with picture patterns to follow and fill in. The activity is still advanced for her at age 2, but today we found other ways she can play with the set!

First, we divided the foam pieces into big piles by color.

Stacking by Color and Shape (1)

I started the piles so she would understand what we were up to, and then she was a happy helper.

Stacking by Color and Shape (2)

Sorting these foam pieces by shape was harder because they come in so many different varieties. When I saw that she seemed confused, I winnowed our piles down to a manageable amount, including squares, triangles,  semi-circles, diamonds, and circles.

Stacking by Color and Shape (7)

Now she could help sort by shape!

Stacking by Color and Shape (5)

It was fun to make a big pile of each kind. Your child might even want to make designs or patterns, once the sorting is through.

Stacking by Color and Shape (3)

If you don’t have foam pieces like this, you could easily do this game with blocks that come in a variety of colors and shapes.

Exploding Soap

Leave a comment

Exploding Soap (4)

Veronika was a bit bored as I was cleaning the kitchen this morning, and I wanted an activity that could occupy her quickly. Luckily, a bar of soap and a microwave are all you need for some quick STEM exploration!

I placed a bar of soap on a paper plate and then popped it in the microwave. Veronika helped me set the timer for 2 minutes.

Exploding Soap (2)

Stand back and watch it explode! Monitor closely, because you don’t want a messy microwave, but the soap will begin to bubble up and expand and do all kinds of exciting things. I’ve heard this activity described online using both Ivory Coast and Dial, but I don’t think it matters which brand you use.

Exploding Soap (3)

We removed the bubbly soap from the microwave and then began some careful exploration. Within moments, it will be cool enough to explore safely, but still soft enough that it no longer resembles a hard bar of soap. I placed the soap in a craft tray with a shallow layer of water and Veronika loved stirring around the soap flakes.

Exploding Soap (6)

Or mashing at the remaining cake of soap with craft sticks.

Exploding Soap (5)

She even washed her hands! So you can definitely say this turned out to be good clean fun.

Exploding Soap (7)

Move & Learn Shapes with a Ball + Tape

Leave a comment

Move and Learn Shapes (2)

I’ve combined shape learning with gross motor skills before, but this was a great twist on the activity. Veronika has added a few new shapes to her repertoire, and she’s also been interested in learning all the various ways that she can move a ball lately (kicking, bouncing, rolling). This activity combined both beautifully!

On the floor, I first made giant shapes with masking tape, adding one of each she knows so far (minus the circle, which is tricky to make out of tape!). We ended up with: square, rectangle, triangle, star, pentagon, and hexagon.

Move and Learn Shapes (1)

I handed her a bouncy ball and let the game begin! From here, simply give your toddler instructions for both how to move the ball and which shape to move it to.

Move and Learn Shapes (8)

“Bounce the ball to the triangle!” I told her. Or, “Kick the ball to the star.”

Move and Learn Shapes (7)

Sometimes I let her pick a shape, and simply let her get the ball there anyway she wanted. But she had to tell me the shape each time!

Move and Learn Shapes (5)

This was great for shape review, and I loved that it got her thinking more about kicking and tossing the ball, since her fall-back has usually been bouncing.

Move and Learn Shapes (4)

Block Pick-Up with Tongs

Leave a comment

Block Pick Up Fine Motor (6)

Veronika’s at that beautiful age where she actually enjoys cleaning up; toddlers are easily roped into the task with a familiar song or rhyme. But if that’s not enough, here’s a fun way to add a little fine motor work into the process, too.

After some fun this afternoon building towers with blocks, it was time for clean-up. I decided to give her a novel way to get all those blocks back into their bin.

Block Pick Up Fine Motor (1)

Instead of simply asking her to toss them in, I handed her a pair of tongs and showed her how to pinch a block in between the tongs, carry it over to the bin, and then release it.

Block Pick Up Fine Motor (3)

There was almost endless joy to the repetition of this: pinch with the tongs, carry over, release, repeat!

Block Pick Up Fine Motor (4)

This was such a simple and fun way to clean up the blocks, and arguably occupied her longer than building the towers had. She loved the challenge of it, and I saw her testing out the method several times throughout the afternoon.

Block Pick Up Fine Motor (7)

What’s your family’s favorite clean-up game? Please share in the comments!

Block Pick Up Fine Motor (9)

Shiny Things in the Dark

Leave a comment

Glow in the Dark Bowling (5)

If it’s starting to feel a little dreary that the sun sets so early this time of year, make the dark exciting by deliberately setting things all aglow!

We did this in two ways tonight. First up was a round of Glow in the Dark Bowling. This is so easy to do: simply activate glow sticks and insert one per empty water bottle. The kids loved helping to crack the sticks…

Glow in the Dark Bowling (2)

…and put them in the bottles!

Glow in the Dark Bowling (3)

We set up a formation of the bottles and took aim. A glow-in-the-dark ball would have been ideal, but the bright neon of a tennis ball was the next best thing.

Glow in the Dark Bowling (4)

Or sometimes Veronika just wanted to knock the bottles over by hand. Either way, everyone was delighted by the glow.

Glow in the Dark Bowling (6)

Next, we went on a hunt for Shiny Things in the Dark. As Veronika and I headed up for bedtime, I handed her a flashlight and we found all sorts of things that were shiny and beautiful as the light hit them. Metal is obviously a big winner here, so look for items like foil pans…

Shiny Things in the Dark (1)

…or coffee pots and tea kettles. Appliances like the fridge and oven were neat, too.

Shiny Things in the Dark (2)

Upstairs in her room, she wandered all over with such careful footsteps and found items like toy cars and her music box.

Shiny Things in the Dark (6)

One thing is for sure: we made the night shine!

Shiny Things in the Dark (4)

Magic Letter Learning

Leave a comment

Magic Letter Learning (5)

This game can be tailored for toddlers who are just starting to recognize letters, preschoolers who know them well, or even big kids who are reading early sight words!

To start, write out the alphabet (or the above-mentioned sight words) with white crayon on a white piece of paper.

Magic Letter Learning (1)

Now to reveal the letters magically, I gave Veronika a cup of water and we stirred in a little red food coloring. She curiously brushed this magical mixture over the paper. At first she thought we were just painting, but she gave a little squeal of delight when she realized the white crayon showed up like a secret code.

Magic Letter Learning (4)

As her “paint” revealed each letter, I told her the name of it. Once the full alphabet was uncovered, we sang through the Alphabet Song together! That made this a great lesson for a toddler just starting to realize that each letter shape has a name attached to it. As mentioned, though, you can make this more like a hunt for preschoolers who know their letter names and have them shout out each one as they paint over it.

Magic Letter Learning (6)

In sum, this was quick and simple letter learning for a rainy morning.

Potty Pals

Leave a comment

Potty Pals (3)

Veronika has shown an early interest in the potty, but although she knows all the potty steps (sit, wipe, flush, wash!), she has yet to actually go on the potty. Given that we have even more hours to fill indoors this COVID winter than a normal one, it seems the ideal time to potty train.

To make the potty exciting, try this simple trick: I cut smiles and eyes from construction paper, then adhered these to larger pieces of contact paper which could stick to the underside of a toilet lid. I also attached a set to her training potty!

Potty Pals (2)

When I brought her into the bathroom, she was delighted! “It has a smile!” she exclaimed. “The potty has eyes!”

Potty Pals (6)

Of course she immediately wanted to sit.

Potty Pals (5)

If you want to get more graphic with the method, tell your toddler that the potty is thirsty and he or she can help fill its belly each time he or she goes!

Potty Pals (4)

This likely won’t be enough in and of itself to potty train her, but she’s young and we’re in no rush. Right now, the goal is to ease any anxiety about the toilet and make it seem friendly and fun.

Learning Letters Lineup to Squirt

Leave a comment

Learning Letter Squirt (11)

I’ve noticed Veronika singing the alphabet to herself a lot lately, and she’s starting to identify a few of the letters correctly by name. This little game seemed like a fun next step to test her letter knowledge. After all, what toddler doesn’t love to squirt things with water?

Ideally, I would have done this activity on a chalkboard so it could be repeated, but I don’t own one large enough. Instead, I wrote out the alphabet in white crayon on a thick piece of black poster board. I then set out a tray with the magnet letters from our fridge and handed her the first one as a test.

Learning Letter Squirt (3)

“What letter is it?” I asked her. She correctly identified V, and then I asked if she could find the corresponding V on the poster board.

Learning Letter Squirt (2)

Once she matched each magnet letter to crayon letter, I told her she could spritz her target. Whoa, permission to spritz! She immediately loved this game.

Learning Letter Squirt (10)

It was eye opening to see which letters she knows (m, v, and i are early ones), and which ones she wasn’t sure (s, r).

Learning Letter Squirt (4)

Either way, she could always pair a magnet to its corresponding crayon shape even if she didn’t know the letter’s name, simply by matching them, and much more quickly than I would have guessed!

Learning Letter Squirt (6)

And then came the fun chance to squirt.

Learning Letter Squirt (9)

This was a great set-up to leave out for her all afternoon, as she happily mixed and matched the magnets or scribbled some more on the “chalkboard”.

Learning Letter Squirt (5)