Fun Toddler

Activities

Ages 12 months to
4 years old

Date: 4/00
Appropriate Age: 12mo+ Some Games I’ve Come up With:

Kitchen Chemistry
Toward the end of their first year, babies develop an understanding
of cause and effect, which enables them to trigger changes on their
own. Here, help your tot make a fun food transformation.
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 2 years
To Prepare
Whipping up a batch of gelatin demonstrates how to dissolve a pow-
der into liquid, then how to cool a liquid into a jiggling but solid mold.
Pour the contents of a package of instant gelatin into a bowl. Let your
child touch and taste the grainy powder. With your child well back
from the bowl, stir in 1 cup of boiling water for about 2 minutes, until
the powder is completely dissolved. Explain that the hot water is dis-
solving the little grains of powder into the liquid.
To Play
Next, mix in 1 cup of cold water, then put the gelatin in the refrigerator until it has
firmed up. Tell your toddler that adding water and cooling the liquid will help it to
become a solid. Scoop out a piece of the solid gelatin and let your child touch and
taste it.

First Photos
Put together an album of everyone's favorite activities.
Appropriate ages: 6 months to 2 years

To Prepare
Take snapshots of your family, then put them in a small
album. Write a descriptive sentence beneath each one.

To Play
Babies love to look at photos, so browse through the book together
and talk about what each person is doing. You can also make up a
short, silly song about each.

PAGE 27
PAGE 2
Appropriate Age: 2+ years

Touchy-Feely Match-ups Here's to Hue!

Challenge your toddler to match pairs of texturized cards, using her Pick a color to honor all day, and help your toddler recognize it.
fingertips as a guide.
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years
Appropriate ages: 2 to 3 years
To observe the day's hue:
Materials • Let your child pick out an outfit or shirt in the chosen shade.
Scissors • Point out all of the objects and toys in her room in the same
6 swatches (each large enough to cover two 3 x 5-inch index color.
cards) of various materials: silk, felt or flannel, sandpaper, tin
foil, plastic wrap, cotton balls or gauze, canvas or denim from old • Hunt for the special color outside, in the supermarket, or
blue jeans, hosiery, velvet, suede while you're traveling around town.
12 index cards (3 x 5 inches) • Collect objects in the chosen hue as you walk around the
Glue block or in a nearby park.
To Make • Serve foods in that color.

Cut two pieces of each type of material to the size of an index card,
and glue each swatch to a card. (Glue cotton balls or material to Goo, Glorious Goo
completely cover one side of each card.) Your child can check out the color, texture, and consistency of food
To Play with these edible finger paints.

Arrange one set of textured cards on a table or the floor in front of Appropriate ages: 6 months to 3 years
your child. Then ask her to place her hands behind her back, and of-
fer her one of the matching materials to feel (no peeking). After she's To Prepare
familiar with the texture, tell her to touch the cards in front of her Wash your hands, strip your child down to his diaper, cover the floor
and guess which material is behind her back. with a plastic tablecloth, and have a bath waiting.

To Play
Shake Your Shadow Let your baby use his fingers to mix foods on his high-chair tray, or
— for older kids — on a piece of wax paper taped to the table. Some
Your child can dance with a shadowy figure. good combinations: whipped cream with gelatin, and yogurt with a
Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years teaspoon of sugar. For kids under 9 months, who aren't yet eating
dairy foods, try applesauce with cinnamon, and mashed bananas with
Remove the shade from a lamp with a strong bulb and set the lamp a little hot-chocolate powder.
in an uncluttered corner of a darkened room. The light will cast long
shadows. Play lively music and invite your child to twirl, bend, sway,
and move to the beat so her shadow dances along with her. Point out
how her shadow changes as she moves quickly or slowly, moves
closer to or further from the wall, and makes little or big movements.

PAGE 26
PAGE 3
Appropriate Age: 12mo+
A Feast for Beasts Shape Shifters
Invite your toddler to celebrate the pretend birthday of a Use modeling clay or Play-Dough to create 3-D circles.
favorite stuffed animal. Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years Sphere
Help your child host a birthday bash: Together, prepare a cake from Place a small lump of clay on a flat surface and put your child's palm on top. Show
play dough or modeling clay. Let him choose a toy to give the guest her how to move her hand in a small circle to roll the dough into a ball. Point out
of honor (he can even scribble on paper and use it to wrap the gift). that no matter how you turn it, it always looks round.
Pick up the guests (dolls, stuffed
animals) in a pretend bus, then sit them on the floor in a circle. Now Cylinder
it's party time! Sing "Happy Birthday," serve cake, and make up
Help her roll the dough with her hands into a short, stocky snake about 2 inches
games to play. long. Show her how the ends of the snake are round, like circles.

Brick Layer Spiral

Have her roll the cylinder into a thin snake about 6 inches long. Loop one end into a
See what your child can construct using oversize homemade building
small ring. Then show her how to wrap the rest of the clay around the ring to form
blocks. larger and larger circles. Continue until there's no more snake left.
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years Explain that a spiral curves around itself, growing larger and larger.
Disk
Materials
Empty oatmeal, salt, shoe, cereal, flour, or gift boxes Have your child press the spiral flat with her palm to create a disk. Ask her to think
Rolls of colored masking tape of some disks in real life: pizza, Frisbees, pennies.

To Play
Wrap each box completely in colored tape. Then let the Follow Your Nose
building begin:
Most kids recognize something by sight - such as green grass - be-
• Help your child construct a wall big enough for her to hide
fore smell. But in this activity, your child will learn to use her sniffer
behind.
to identify items around her, as well as notice odors she might not
• See how many boxes she can stack vertically before they otherwise.
topple.
• Make the perimeter of a mighty fort in a corner. Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years
• Place the bricks in a pyramid shape, or try stacking them
First, clean a small plastic or glass container that's odorless and
in an inverted pyramid.
opaque, like a margarine tub or dark glass jelly jar. Poke 4 or 5 quar-
• Lay the blocks in a row, a foot of space between them, to
ter-inch-wide holes in the top with a scissors point. (For metal tops,
make an obstacle course. use a hammer and nail.)
• Build a wall, then knock it over by tossing or rolling a ball
at it. Collect several samples of fragrant items from your backyard - such
as flowers, grass, bark, leaves, wood chips, or dirt - and fill the con-
• Build a bridge, placing blocks lengthwise on top of upright
tainer with one item at a time. Accompany your child outside with the
ones. aromatic jar and encourage her to match its smell to the real thing.

PAGE 4 PAGE 25
Appropriate Age: 2+ years

Circle Safari Catch Some Rays

Searching for circles around the house is a fun way to identify the Make a sun reflector to show your toddler how sunlight shimmers and
shape. shines.

Appropriate ages: 2 to 6 years Appropriate ages: 12 months to 2 years

For Preschoolers Cover both sides of a piece of cardboard with aluminum foil, shiny
• Find a circle in your toy chest that rolls and bounces. side showing. Outside or near a window, tilt the reflector so that he
can see it light up.
• Find 4 circles on your toy truck.
• Look on the wall for a circle that ticks and has numbers on it. A Day in the Life
Creating a book that illustrates your child's daily routine helps teach
For Older Kids
her that there's a time and a place for everything.
• Name something that you drink out of that's round on top.
When your child guesses a cup, ask her why she thinks the Appropriate ages: 12 months to 4 years
opening is circular. Explain that when you tilt a glass for
Materials
drinking, the liquid comes out in a thin stream. To demon-
Camera
strate, have her try to drink out of the flat side of a square
Film
plastic container.
Small photo album
• Find something round that helps you open the door. Ask her
if it would be harder or easier if the doorknob were a triangle To Make
or square. Take an orange and a Over the course of one day, take a picture of your toddler engag-
• banana and have her pretend they are doorknobs, holding ing in each of her regular routines — waking up, eating
breakfast, getting ready for a walk, and so on.
them in midair. Which one is easier to turn in a circle? Explain
Put the pictures in the album chronologically. Above each, write a
that the round orange best fits the shape of her hand.
brief caption: "Every morning [child's name] sits in her chair
• Name something round that gives off light. A light bulb is and has yogurt and cereal for breakfast."
round, you can explain, because the shape allows the light to When you're done, read your child the story of her day: "This is you
shine equally in all directions. waking up. Every morning, Mommy and Daddy pick you up and give
you a morning kiss." Emphasize the time of day, pointing out clues
such as the sun shining through a window.

Animal Exercises
Touching your toes has limited appeal to most toddlers and pre-
schoolers. But acting like an elephant — bending at the waist and
swinging your clenched hands down like a trunk from side to side —
is considerably more exciting.

Appropriate ages: 12 months to 4 years

PAGE 24
PAGE 5
Appropriate Age: 12mo+
See how many standard exercises can be turned into something re- expires, or maybe you're seated at a restaurant, waiting PAGE 23
sembling an animal or inanimate object. As you exercise, get your for dinner to arrive. Tugging on your hand is your two-
children to guess what you are (make appropriate noises as clues) year-old, who thinks that four minutes of staying still has been more
and get them to exercise along with you. Challenge them to see what than enough. She's ready for action. Although there's always I Spy
exercise charades they can come up with. Can they arch their backs and Simon Says, a little imagination can go a long way in making a
like a cat? Roll like a worm? Skitter like a crab? wait more tolerable for your toddler. For instance, you could play:

The Song Box

Obstacle Course Fill a small plastic box, such as an empty baby wipes
Older kids and toddlers alike will enjoy an indoor triathlon, which container, with strips of cardboard on which you've written the names
could last all morning. of different songs. Shake it up, then let your child reach in and make
a selection (no peeking). Together, sing the song she picked. Return
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 4 years it to the box when you're done, snap the lid, let her shake the box,
and start again.
Materials
Pillows Tunnels (or a big cardboard box) High Five, Low Five
Couch cushions Bottomless coffee cans
Ride-on toys Balls Put your hand up in the air and say, “High five!” After your toddler
Slides slaps it, bring it to her knee level and say, “Low five!” Next, with your
palm down, say “Backside!” This time, pull your hand away before it's
To Play hit, saying, “Too slow!” Toddlers unfailingly giggle and want to try
Scatter the pillows and cushions around carpeted areas of the house again and again. Make sure you alternate “Too slow!” with “Oops—
to establish the course route. In between station cars to drive, slides you got me!” periodically. Then give her a turn to try the sequence
to scoot down, balls to roll through bottomless coffee cans turned on herself, with you slapping her hand.
their side, and open cardboard boxes or pre-made tunnels to crawl
through. From the age of 18 months my daughter could spend entire The Grab Bag
mornings running these courses. This always made nap time a breeze
— for both of us, because she insisted that I run the course with her. Take along a bag of inexpensive playthings she's never seen before:
a small board book, a new pad of paper and chunky crayons, a toy
truck, some plastic animals. Let her pick one without looking, then
play with the toys, draw pictures, or read along with you. (Depending
Bowl 'em Over on where you are, she may keep busy on the floor, so choose items
that won't cause either of you heartbreak if stepped on.)
This game shows your child how a round object can be an effective
tool. Funny Sounds
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years
Two-year-olds adore nursery rhymes, so memorize a few with non-
Stack about 10 blocks at least two levels high. (Or line up several sense words such as “Hickory Dickory Dock!” and say them to and
empty plastic bottles.) Place a ball 2 or 3 feet away, and help your with your child. Then play with her expectations: Change a word here
toddler kick it to knock down the blocks. If he's too young to kick, and there, or simply the first letter of some words (“mickory pickory
help him roll or swat the ball. Stack the blocks again and let him have sock”). She'll burst out laughing at the silliness, leaving both of you
another go. to enjoy how time flies when she's having fun.

PAGE 6
Appropriate Age: 2+ years
Be Pushy Kitchen Chemistry
Help your child exercise fine-motor skills and her imagination. Toward the end of their first year, babies develop an understanding
Appropriate ages: 2 to 3 years of cause and effect, which enables them to trigger changes on their
own. Here, help your tot make a fun food transformation.
Materials
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 2 years
Two blocks of floral foam: one whole, one cut into squares
Sticks, drinking straws, pipe cleaners, crayons, or long pasta Whipping up a batch of gelatin demonstrates how to dissolve a pow-
der into liquid, then how to cool a liquid into a jiggling but solid mold.
To Play Pour the contents of a package of instant gelatin into a bowl. Let your
Show your child how to push a stick, straw, or other object into child touch and taste the grainy powder. With your child well back
the big block of floral foam. from the bowl, stir in 1 cup of boiling water for about 2 minutes, until
Once she gets the hang of it, let her add the smaller squares of the powder is completely dissolved. Explain that the hot water is dis-
foam to the ends of the items. solving the little grains of powder into the liquid.
Talk about balance and gravity: Too many items on one side tips Next, mix in 1 cup of cold water, then put the gelatin in the refrigera-
the whole creation over. tor until it has firmed up. Tell your toddler that adding water and
(Note: These materials are not edible, so supervise a young toddler closely.) cooling the liquid will help it to become a solid. Scoop out a piece of
the solid gelatin and let your child touch and taste it.
Journal Keeping
Diaries don't have to be top secret.
10 Little Fingers
Your baby's growing awareness of her body will help her get a feel for
Appropriate ages: 2 to 6 years
numbers.
This exercise isn't just recreational — it can teach your child the con-
Appropriate ages: 3 months to 2 years
nection between words and writing as well as give you the record you
want of your child's firsts. Start by asking, "How many fingers do you have?" Then count them,
My daughter and I started her journal during the dark days of Janu- touching each one in turn. Repeat with her elbows, cheeks, ears,
ary when she was two. I'd ask about her day, and she'd tell me bits chin, eyes, lips, belly button, knees, feet, and toes. As your baby gets
and pieces, watching carefully as I wrote down the fragments, sen- older, let her "count" with you. Say, "Show me how many ears you
tences and disconnected words. Soon we were taping Polaroid pho- have today." Guide her hand to touch one ear, then the other, as you
tos, as well as cutout scraps of artwork, into the journal or drawing count together. Repeat with her nose, head, eyes, tummy, and legs.
the outlines of our hands and feet on the pages. These days Anna Wrap things up with this poem, touching each part of the body:
"writes" in her journal herself, and lets me write down what she tells
me she has inscribed below it. Ten little fingers Two little cheeks and
Ten little toes One little chin and
Two little eyes and One little mouth
Waiting Games One little nose. Where the food goes in!
Helping your children learn the fine art of patience

Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years

You're standing on line at the Department of Motor Vehicles on the

last day you can renew your driver's license before it PAGE 22 PAGE 7
Appropriate Age: 12mo+
ready to move on to one of her next developmental frontiers
Know Noise Zone — socializing — her castle will be the perfect setting for co- PAGE 21

When your child begins to crawl, demonstrate how an object's sound operative pretend play.
can vary, depending on its container. This will encourage him to lis-
ten closely -- a skill that may aid language
development.
Toe to Toe
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 2 years
Turn toes into talkers and chat away.
Collect an array of household items and place several different con-
tainers - a paper bag, a glass jar, plastic ware, and a cardboard milk Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years
carton - on the floor. Prompt your child to choose a container and a
noisemaker, and put the two together. As he shakes his creation, To Play
describe the sound he's hearing - soft brushing, loud jingling, shuf-
fling. Then help him transfer the item into a container made of some Draw different faces on the bottoms of your toes and your child's.
other material, so he can hear the difference.
Sit on the floor together and put your toes "face-to-face." (Or let her
sit in front of a mirror.)
Earth: A Kit
Make up imaginary conversations, encouraging all the toes to chat
What better way for a toddler to explore nature's goods than to dig with each other.
right in — with his fingers, that is.

Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years

Give your child an empty egg carton, a sectioned box (like the kind Bring in the Noise
that holds holiday ornaments) or a muffin tin to sort the rocks, wood
chips, fallen leaves, pieces of grass, clumps of dirt and twigs he finds Take the next scientific steps by experimenting and recording your discoveries.
while playing in the backyard. (Be sure he doesn't put anything into
his mouth.) Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years
If he's old enough to talk, have him tell you what he has found. Say
the name of any item he's not sure about and point out details he Use a stick to demonstrate how tapping on the ground, the porch, a
may have missed — pebbles in the dirt, for example. A few days tree, or a fence produces different sounds. Give your toddler his own
later, spread newspapers on the kitchen floor and let him pull out his stick, and join him in seeing how many noises the two of you can
outdoor collection and play with it. You might point out any changes make around the yard, on the porch, or through a playground.
that have occurred. For example, if the moist dirt he collected has
become crumbly, or the fresh blades of grass have turned brittle, ex- Then grab a video camera or tape recorder and encourage your tod-
plain that the water in dirt or living grass has dried out since he took dler to do a solo performance by making his favorite sounds. Replay
them out of their natural environment. Then show him what adding the recording, asking him to describe the sounds. Point out how dif-
rain (a few drops of water) does to the dirt. ferent each one is.

PAGE 8
Appropriate Age: 2+ years

Sketch a Self-portrait Homemade Play Dough

Help your child make a life-size portrait. It's never too early for a child to play games. For babies, playing is
learning. And vice versa.
Appropriate ages: 2 to 5 years
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years
To make a life-size body poster, first cut off the rectangular bottoms How to play: Spread a plastic tablecloth or a clean tarp on the floor.
from several paper shopping bags, then slit open one side of each Then, using a bowl and a spatula, try this play-dough recipe
bag. Next, paste or tape them together to make one sheet that's long (compliments of Jean McCartin, director of Bright Horizons Childcare
enough to accommodate your child. Have her lie still on the paper Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts) with your toddler: Mix two
while you use a marker to draw an outline of her body. Then, she can parts creamy peanut butter with one part powdered milk. Once
paint or draw on a clever face and clothes. you've got a malleable mass, sit back and watch your child mold his
own free-form blobs. Later, you can show him how to roll balls or
twirl snakelike shapes between his hands.
String Along What it teaches: Small motor skills and creativity. Manipulating play
dough shows a toddler that his hands can be used to make some-
All you need is some string or twine for this rainy-day game. thing, not just touch it. "It's also a great example of open-ended art,
where children are not locked into making just one thing," says
Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years McCartin. "This kind of dough also invites a child to use most of the
five senses."
Wind a long piece of string or twine in a trail through the bedroom or
kitchen to parts unknown. Your child will get a kick out of marching Block Therapy
on the string, following it wherever it takes her, and trying not to
step off. (For a special treat, pack a lunch bag and put it at the Toddlers can learn a lot from a simple set of blocks.
string's end.)
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years

To Play
Welcome to My Hideaway Offer your toddler a set of large wooden, plastic, or cardboard blocks
and ask her to build a house or a tall tower. If you have rectangular
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years blocks, help her build a simple three-piece bridge.

What It Teaches
How to play: Set up a big box for your toddler or create a tented Balancing techniques, measuring, a sense of symmetry, and the con-
shelter by covering a table with a sheet or a blanket. Consider this cept of part/whole relationships, such as fractions. All this from a
the child's own private domain, a place to hoard toys, hatch fanta- humble set of blocks? That's right, says David Kuschner, an associate
sies, and someday invite a few select guests. professor of early childhood education at the University of Cincinnati
College of Education. Unit blocks — which are rectangular and come
What it teaches: Autonomy and self-reliance. Like teenagers, tod- in different lengths — are especially instructive, he says. "When tod-
dlers have a pressing need to assert themselves as individuals. What dlers play with these blocks, they soon learn to use them like a ruler
else would account for the tendency to say no as often and reflexively or a standard distance of space," he says. "And because everyone
as they do? Support your little one's bid for independence by giving has a natural affinity for symmetry, children can also learn that the
her plenty of time to play in her own little hideaway. Once she's two sides of an equation must be in balance," he adds.
PAGE 20 PAGE 9
Appropriate Age: 12mo+

Bubble Dance Star Search

Make raisins jump with gas. Little ones will enjoy the peek-a-boo fun of this celestial concentration-style game.
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 12 years
Appropriate ages: 2 to 3 years
To Play
Pour club soda into a clear cup. Can your child see and feel the bub- Materials
bles popping in the air? Now drop in raisins. Scissors
What You Discover Manila file folder
When enough carbon dioxide bubbles collect under each raisin, they Black construction paper
rise. Air trapped inside the dried fruit also fizzes as it's released. As Metallic markers
the gas disappears, the raisins settle on the Cut ten flaps (about two square inches each) at random on the cover
bottom. of the folder. Then glue a sheet of black construction paper to the
inside of the folder's opposite flap.
Stringing Beads
Glue the edges of the folder closed.
It's never too early for a child to play games. For babies, playing is
Open two flaps at random. Using metallic markers, draw identical
learning. And vice versa.
stars on the black paper under each flap.
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years Repeat with other pairs of flaps, drawing two crescent moons, a pair
How to play: Tie one really large knot at one end of a two-foot piece of ringed planets, two identical clusters of stars - such as the Big Dip-
of sturdy, thick string. Glue the other end and let it dry; this will per - and two suns.
make it rigid. Then place an assortment of large, colorful, differently Show your child how to lift the flaps to find each picture's match.
shaped wooden or plastic beads in front of your child and ask him to
string them onto the cord. Have your child pick beads in random or-
der for the first necklace. Then encourage him to think about the dif-
ferent colors and shapes of the beads. Ask, for instance, "How is this Stage a Switch Day
bead different from that one?" Later, show him how to alternate two Turning the day upside down will provide your preschooler with an opportunity for
or more types of beads in a row. crazy creativity.
What it teaches: Manual dexterity, classifying, and patterning.
Stringing beads gives toddlers a chance to practice their newfound Appropriate ages: 2 to 5 years
small motor skills; learning about patterns helps pave the way for
understanding math. It will also help them exercise their ability to Declare the day utterly different, and go about ordinary routines in
reason. the most extraordinary fashion: Your child can start off the morning
by telling you a bedtime story, then feast on dinner for breakfast.
Wear your shoes on the wrong feet, or trade hats. Any mixed-up idea
Sand Pies 101 will do.
It's never too early for a child to play games. For babies,
playing is learning. And vice versa.

Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years

PAGE 19
PAGE 10
Appropriate Age: 2+ years
Old magazines How to play: Outdoor sand activities require the least cleanup: Sim-
Glue ply pack a container of water and an assortment of safe kitchen uten-
Magnetic stick-on tape sils and cookware, such as muffin tins and spatulas, and take your
Clear contact paper child to a sandbox or the beach. Or if there's no sand near your
home, place a plastic dishpan and a small plastic bottle of water on
Draw several different-size shapes (at least 2 square inches each) on
top of a few beach towels. Then offer the same kitchen supplies and
the colored cards. Cut out magazine pictures of animals and plants
pour about five pounds of cornmeal, grits, or cream of wheat into the
and paste them to the cards.
dishpan to substitute for sand. Add water occasionally so that your
For each shape or picture, cut a strip of magnetic tape half its length child can experiment with consistency and shape. The outcome may
and affix it to the back in the center. be messy, but mess is instructive, too.

Cover the front and back of each card with contact paper. It'll be What it teaches: Physical properties and experimentation. Sand
lumpy over the tape. Then cut out the shapes. play isn't exactly high science, but science it is: Children see
firsthand how a grainy substance can become soupier or more
crumbly. Many a scientific mind gets its first nudge during such
To Play
hands-on exercises.
Toddlers will usually take it from here, sticking the magnets on the
refrigerator door and pulling them off again and again. But you can
also try this game: Place all the magnets on the refrigerator and ask I Spy
your child to pull off the small yellow star, the brown puppy, and so
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years
on. Ask preschoolers to make up a story, using the picture magnets
to tell it. How to play: First, single out certain objects pictured in a book and
say: "I spy, with my little eye, something red." After your child
guesses correctly a few times, expand the field to include objects in
Moon Walk the room. Later, you can make the clues more specific and challeng-
ing. ("I spy something red, in a bowl," or "I spy a ball that's bigger
Show what it's like to be an astronaut walking on the moon. than that pink one.") Eventually, your toddler may want to initiate
the game and challenge you with some clever clues.
Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years
What it teaches: Perception of similarities and differences. This
Hold your child tightly under the armpits and tell him to start walk- classic game is a good way to help toddlers start to distinguish colors,
ing. Each time he takes a step, lift and carry him two steps forward shapes, and different objects.
before gently setting him down.
Bucking Bronco
Explain that gravity is an invisible force that keeps people and houses
and toys from floating up to the sky. And that astronauts are buoyant Believe it or not, this rowdy game can teach your toddler
on the moon because of the lower levels of gravity there. compassion.

Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years

To Play
In an uncluttered, carpeted area, kneel on all fours, and
encourage your intrepid toddler to clamber up on your back. Neigh,
snort, trot, munch imaginary grass from time to time, and even rear
PAGE 18
PAGE 11
Appropriate Age: 12mo+
up a bit, but once you've been "tamed," step out of character long
enough to remind your child to reward you with a pretend carrot or
Reel Fun
some gentle back-patting. In this game, kids catch fish using a magnetized rod.
What It Teaches
Gross motor skills and compassion. Small children spend a good part Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years
of their daily lives being told what to do, so it's a good idea to hand Materials
them the reins once in a while. Arms and legs will get a real workout
2 sheets each of red and blue construction paper (9x12 inches)
trying to hang on to a sometimes fractious mount. And if the com-
Black marker
passion part of the lesson takes hold at all, it will be quite a triumph
2 boxes of small paper clips
for you both:
8 pieces of contact paper (9x12 inches), available at most art supply
Empathy, after all, is not high on the typical toddler's roster of emo-
stores
tions.
Scissors
Pencil or a small stick
Scribble, Scrawl String
Magnetic wand or a bar magnet
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years
To Make
How to play: Tape several long pieces of wax paper to the top of Draw 4 fish about 6 inches long on each sheet of construction paper.
your coffee table (to protect the finish), and tape a large piece of With marker, mouth to both sides of each fish.
white paper on top. Give your toddler some oversize crayons and Place 10 to 12 paper clips on each red fish.
start doodling with one yourself so she can see how to use them.
Cover each piece of construction paper with contact paper, sticky-
What it teaches: Hand-eye coordination and creativity. Toddlers side down. Turn them over and laminate the other sides. Then cut
may be a long way from drawing anything remotely representational, out all 16 fish.
but that doesn't mean they can't scribble. "Don't even ask what the
child what she just drew," advises Elaine Martin, a former preschool To Play
teacher in Toronto and the author of Baby Games. "What matters is Tie the string to one end of the stick for a fishing pole; tie the mag-
her sense of accomplishment in mastering the process." net to the other end as a hook. Scatter the fish on the floor and show
your child how to reel them in.

A Fantasy World
Fridge Sticks
Appropriate ages: 12 months to 3 years To help kids learn what sticks to a magnet, initiate a hunt around the
house.
How to Play
Collect an assortment of household odds and ends (a colander, for Appropriate ages: 2 to 4 years
instance, could make a fun crown, and a turkey baster can easily be-
come an impressive magic wand). To this, add a makeshift dress-up Materials
box full of old clothes. Then just stand back and observe, resisting Pencil
the urge to guide or question. In this production, your toddler be- Index cards (3 x 5 inches) in various colors
comes the director, producer, and star all rolled into one. Scissors
PAGE 17
PAGE 12
Appropriate Age: 2+ years
What it Teaches
Sock It to Me Dealing with emotions. Children need this kind of open-ended
outlet to handle the vast amounts of new knowledge and powerful
In this game, toddlers get an idea of how a detective might use his senses of touch feelings they deal with every day. "Fantasy play is the ultimate
and sight when important evidence is under wraps. self-teaching tool," says Vivian Gussin Paley, a kindergarten
teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools who has
Appropriate ages: 2 to 3 years studied this activity for more than three decades. "By acting out
different roles, children learn to examine their
Using a marker, draw a smiley face on an old sock near the toe, just emotions and express them as well."
for fun. Collect small objects with simple, distinctive shapes - a ball, a
block, a spoon - and slip one into the sock. Sound Off!
Knot or tie the open end and let your little sleuth poke and prod the sock to figure
out what's inside. Then try a different item. For very young private eyes, place famil- Long before your little one can sing her ABC's, she's learning lan-
iar objects in the sock as he looks on, then talk him through the investigation: "Do guage structure through rhythm, rhyme, and repetition.
you feel a spoon? Or a cup? A spoon is long and straight; a cup is round."
Appropriate ages: 6 months to 3 years

Encourage your baby's initial vocal explorations with:

1, 2, 3 ... What Do You See? Vowel Chant
Solving this mystery helps strengthen a tot's ability to remember what he's just seen Face your child and slowly chant these vowels, which are among the
- a skill every budding detective or eye-witness must master. first sounds a baby can make. Exaggerate the shape of your mouth;
hold each sound for three seconds.
Appropriate ages: 2 to 3 years • Ahhhh (drop your jaw and open wide)
• Ehhhh (like the a in ate)
To begin, place three small toys or knickknacks on a table or the
floor. After pointing out and naming the goods, cover them with a • Eeeee (like the e in bee)
towel or cloth napkin. Then ask your child to close his eyes and • Ooooo (like the o in boat)
slowly count to three as you surreptitiously (and quietly) remove one • Ewwww (like the u in cue)
of the objects and place it behind your back. As her vocal skills develop, explore other letters:
To begin sleuthing, say "1,2, 3... What do you see?" As you lift the
cover, feign astonishment that one of the objects has disappeared.
Your youngster will likely wonder too. Ask him if he can tell you what Letter Rhyme
the missing item is - give clues if necessary - and suggest he look for
P, P,
it.
One, two, three.
While he's distracted, slip the missing item back under the cover. Re- This is how you make a
move the cloth again and show your little one that the object has re- [pause for dramatic effect] P!
appeared. For 3-year-olds, play the game with more objects. The
challenge for them is to name the item that has vanished based on On the last note of this jingle, trace the letter on your child's tummy
those that are left behind. with your finger. If she's old enough, have her "alphabetize" your
stomach too. Repeat, using B, C, D, E, G,T,V, and Z. You can also
tailor the rhyme to other sounds: U, U, one and two. This is how you
PAGE 16 make a U!
PAGE 13
Appropriate Age: 2+ years

Shifty Appearances Dog and Bone

Toddlers are still trying to figure out the differences between them- When we roll a die, we know without counting that the two sets of three dots repre-
selves and others. Playing dress-up in front of a mirror is an amusing sent the number 6. With this game, your child will learn to quickly recognize these
way to show them that changing their appearance doesn't change common depictions of numbers too. Appropriate ages: 2 to 5 years
who they are.
Materials
Appropriate ages: 2 to 3 years
12 index cards
Gather some old accessories, clothing, shoes, and scraps of material, Black felt-tip marker
and place them next to a full-length mirror. Help your child put on a Die (for your reference)
pair of Dad's shoes, an old shirt, a towel for a turban — whatever he
wishes. Describe what you're doing as you help him dress: "Sam, this To Set Up
is Daddy's baseball hat you're putting on. Now you're putting on
Mommy's raincoat." Then let him try on other items. Some popular Six cards will be "bone" cards. Draw a small bone, about 1¡ inches
ones: long, in the center of the first card. Draw two bones on the next card,
positioning them like the dots on a die. Continue, drawing bones on
• Anything belonging to Mom or Dad cards three, four, five, and six.

• Scraps of see-through material (so toddlers can cover up but On the other six cards, draw simple pictures of dogs instead of bones,
still see themselves) again positioning them like the dots on a die.
• Hats
To Play
• Scarves or towels
Shuffle the dog cards and place them facedown in a pile. Shuffle the
• Sunglasses or glasses frames with the lenses taken out (to
bone cards and lay them face up in a row. (Start with cards depicting
remove, heat the lenses with a hair dryer and pop out)
one, two, and three for younger kids. Use all six for older ones.) Ex-
• Plastic bowls (to wear as hats) plain that your child is going to make sure the dogs find just the right
• Paper cups (stick a looped piece of tape inside the rim of the number of bones for lunch. Take turns picking up a dog card and
cup, then rest the cup on your child's nose to make a snout) looking for its match in the face up row of bone cards.
• Aluminum-foil crown, sword, or antennae When your child selects a bone card, ask her, "Are there enough
• Halloween masks bones on that card for your dogs? How do you know?" If a player
makes a match, she keeps both cards. If she doesn't find the match
card, she keeps the card and tries again on the next turn. Continue
until all cards have been matched.

Challenge
To sharpen your child's recognition of patterns, place the bone cards
facedown in a row. Your child draws a dog card, turns over a bone
card, and checks to see if there are enough bones for every dog on
the card. If she makes a match, she keeps the cards. If not, she re-
places the bone card facedown in the same spot on the row.

PAGE 14
PAGE 15