| Your Toddler... | You Can... |
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| Loves to explore textures. | Help your child to notice different textures. Outside, collect stones, leaves, grass and twigs and let him feel, sort and explore them. Inside, put about a half-inch layer of sand, lentils or rice in a long cake pan or tray with sides. Let your child play and "finger-paint" in the tray. Talk about what he is feeling and noticing, using new words like smooth, soft, rough, prickly, or sharp. |
| Is beginning to understand the concept of quantity. | Provide cups, tubs and measuring spoons in a variety of sizes for playing in water, rice or sand. Let your child pour, dump and compare how much each container holds. Talk about concepts like more than, less than, full and empty.
Bake with your child, talking as you do about measuring the flour, sugar and other ingredients. Read the recipe aloud, and allow the child to count out items and add to the mix when it's safe to do so. |
| Is starting to notice the differences between objects (textures, sizes, and sounds), and can begin to classify them into groups. | Encourage your child to notice the differences and talk about what makes things the same or different.
When it's time to clean up after play time, ask your child to put all the trucks and cars into one tub; all blocks into another. Change it once in a while just for fun. "Can you find all the soft toys and put them away first?...Good, now how about the hard toys?" Encourage your child to collect items he enjoys: buttons, rocks, string, etc. (Most toddlers do this on their own, anyway.) Help him to sort these favorites by size, color, feel or other feature. |
| Likes to invent make-believe situations, especially those that copy things they see their parents do. Imaginative play helps your child cope with the world and prepare for the future. | Provide small brooms, mops, dust pans scaled down to 2-year-old size. Provide a corner of the playroom for playing "house" or other imaginative play.
Encourage your child to add cars, trains, animals or people to play with blocks or play dough. These will allow him to create imaginary "worlds" that copy real life. Save or buy at rummage sales clothing, hats, and purses for a "dress-up" box. Favorite items include aprons, ties, silky scarves, lab coats, hospital "scrubs," and "feather boas." Don't forget the badges, hats, whistles and hoses that can turn ordinary toddlers into heroic police officers or fire fighters. |