Week 23 Lesson
Language Development:
Messy Books
Read some books about getting messy such as Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, I Really Like Slop (Elephant and Piggie), Mud Puddle, and Harry the Dirty Dog. While you read talk about the characters reacting to getting messy and how they clean themselves up.
Social Emotional Development
Messy Fun
It’s important to stay calm when your toddler is messy and encourage safe, messy play when appropriate. Some children are worried when hands are sticky or dirty but staying calm and cleaning them up happily is a great way to teach your child not to worry – and to reinforce healthy handwashing routines!
Physical
Stomp Painting
Paint your toddler’s feet and let her stomp and hop on a large piece of paper.
Cognitive Development
Finger Paint Shapes
Take finger painting to the next level by encouraging your toddler to draw shapes in the paint. You can also introduce a letter or two as your child is ready and willing.
Creative Activity
Ice Cube Painting
Freeze watercolor paints in an ice cube tray or silicone baby food mold and let your baby get creative, messy and a little chilly!
Week 22 Lesson
Language Development:
Lantern Reading
Change up your reading routine by adding a lantern or flashlight outside in the evening or inside under a blanket tent.
Social Emotional Development
Bubbles!
Blowing bubbles is a fun and engaging way to take a calming breath. Toddlers can exercise this by taking a breath in and then blowing slowly out their mouth to make a bubble.
Physical
Target Practice
Draw or paint a bullseye on a shower curtain liner or tarp and give your toddler a wet sponge to throw! The paint will bleed a bit when it gets hit directly and your toddler will love to aim and fire over and over again until they hit the bullseye.
Cognitive Development
Color Scavenger Hunt
Head outside on a nature walk or inside your home to find objects of every color!
Creative Activity
Campfires
Collect small sticks outside and paste them onto paper, add tissue paper or painted flames.
Week 21 Lesson
Language Development:
Pete the Cat
The books in the Pete the Cat series are fun and easy to follow with a lot of repetition, making them perfect for our young learners. Enjoy an old favorite like Four Groovy Buttons or one of the newer selections like Magic Sunglasses.
Social Emotional Development
“It’s ALL Good”
It’s all good is one of Pete the Cat’s mottos! He has a positive outlook regardless of what is happening around him. When your toddler gets upset about something that happened, be positive and calm and remind him that “it’s all good!”
Physical
I Love My White Shoes
Head out on a walk and see how many colors you can walk through, walking along and singing a song.
Cognitive Development
Four Groovy Buttons
Cut circles from paper of various colors to look like buttons and play a fun matching/sorting game with your toddler this week.
Creative Activity
Magic Sunglasses
Design your own magic sunglasses and start seeing the world in a new way! https://picklebums.com/free-printable-crazy-glasses/
Week 20 Lesson
Language Development:
STEM Language
Introduce basic science and math terminology through your everyday play and interactions. For example: Which one is longer? Is this short or tall? Which one is the largest? Let’s make a hypothesis – take a guess! What might happen? Etc.
Social Emotional Development
Taking Turns
Learning how to take turns and wait are challenging pieces of an older toddler’s development. A good way to practice is through simple games like Memory which develops matching skills. Traditional Memory rules may be too challenging for toddlers so try it with all the cards face up.
Physical
Let’s Roll
Rolling a ball down a slide is not only great exercise, it’s an introduction to ramp engineering and engages toddlers in cause and effect thinking.
Cognitive Development
Cup Building
Stacking cups isn’t just great for hand eye coordination but also for developing cause and effect, problem solving and overall cognitive function.
Creative Activity
Bubble Painting
Bubbles are a great science activity on their own but mixing them with paint adds some creative fun!
Week 19 Lesson
Language Development:
Story Time with Laura Numeroff
Laura Numeroff’s books are predictable, repetitive, and fun! Read the series with your toddler and they’ll be able to test out their prediction skills and might even be able to retell a bit of the story when you’re done. These are pre-reading skills that will benefit your toddler for years to come!
Social Emotional Development
Cupcakes for Cat
Read If You Give a Cat a Cupcake and work together to bake cupcakes. Baking is an excellent exercise in math, science, turn taking, and following instructions.
Physical
Pancake Flip!
Read If You Give a Pig a Pancake and work on fine motor skills by giving your child a spatula and some pancake cutouts. Flipping a spatula is great exercise and requires quite a bit of coordination.
Cognitive Development
Cupcake Color Sort
Read If You Give a Cat a Cupcake and then try out this fun learning activity: using a cupcake pan to sort objects by color is a great way to boost your toddlers cognitive development and fine motor skills.
Creative Activity
Paper Plate Donuts
Read If You Give a Dog a Donut and make a cute donut craft using paper plates, paint, and sprinkles – YUM!
Week 18 Lesson
Language Development:
Science Words
Introduce your toddler to science vocabulary in your everyday interactions with the world. Question and be curious, look and observe, try it and experiment, explain what happened.
Social Emotional Development
Germs!
It’s more important than ever that your toddler learns how to properly wash hands independently. It’s also important for them to understand WHY! Try out this experiment to properly illustrate germs and the importance of proper handwashing technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KirHm_sYfI
Physical
Eye Dropper Art
Eye droppers are a good way to boost fine motor muscles. Mix paint with water in a small bowl and let your toddler use one of these tools to drop the mixture onto cardstock. It may take some modeling and practice to get the motion down but it’s good “exercise” and it’s fun!
Cognitive Development
Magnetic Sensory Bottles
Add water and magnetic objects like paper clips or pipe cleaner pieces to empty bottles and seal. Use a magnet wand to move the objects through the water.
Creative Activity
Magic Milk
Explore color mixing and creativity with this fun experiment: https://funlearningforkids.com/magic-milk-science-experiment-kids/
Week 17 Lesson
Language Development:
Hungry Caterpillar
Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and see if your child can read along and practice their counting with you using some play food.
Social Emotional Development
Quiet Crickets
Read The Very Quiet Cricket and talk to your toddler about being quiet and using a quiet voice. It can be a fun game to explore loud and quiet and a good opportunity for learning about opposites and control.
Physical
Busy Spiderwebs
Have some fun building fine motor skills this week by making a spiderweb inspired by The Very Busy Spider. Punch holes around the edge of a paper plate and see if your toddler can lace a shoelace or piece of yarn through the holes in different directions.
Cognitive Development
Little Cloud Symmetry
Read Little Cloud and then make your own while also exploring the concept of symmetry. Fold a blue piece of paper in half, add some white paint in a design and then smoosh it together to create symmetry.
Creative Activity
Mixed Up Chameleon Art
Have some fun with color mixing in a mess free way! Draw a chameleon on a Ziploc bag, pour in some different colors and see what new shades you can create!
Week 16 Lesson
Language Development:
Children Around the World
Read some books that focus on children from all around the world this week. Talk to your child about what makes each of us unique and special! Some favorites are Babies Around the World by Puck and Whoever You Are by Mem Fox.
Social Emotional Development
Many Thanks!
Have some fun learning how to say “thank you” in different languages this week! Reinforce good manners and have some fun with a new language.
Physical
Global Dance Party
Listen to music from around the world and have an in-home dance party to get some energy out!
Cognitive Development
Flag Fun
Use images of flags as a way to review colors! Print or look at pictures of flags, point to colors, find similarities, patterns, or shapes!
Creative Activity
Paper Bag Piñata
Cover a brown paper lunch bag with tissue paper and craft materials. Fill it with treats, staple it shut and attach a string/ribbon. Hang it from a tree branch and hit with a pool noodle or plastic bat!
Week 15 Lesson
Language Development:
Take Time to Read
Mo Willems has many different offerings that are appealing to toddlers and young children. The Elephant and Piggie books tend to be favorites of toddlers because they rely on short dialogue and silly sound effects. Read with expression, varying the tone in your voice to get your child laughing right along with these characters.
Social Emotional Development
Bath Time
Read The Pigeon Needs a Bath and have your toddler try out this fun cleaning activity to build independence. https://thepinterestedparent.com/2016/10/dry-erase-activity-inspired-by-the-pigeon-needs-a-bath/
Physical
Ice Cream Toss
Read Elephant and Piggie Should I Share My Ice Cream? and then set up a fun toss game. Stand six ice cream cones on a cookie tray, give your toddler a bowl of jumbo pompoms or ping pong balls and see if he can toss them in!
Cognitive Development
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Read this fun and familiar book and see if your toddler can create a bus with shape cutouts.
Creative Activity
Piggie Craft
Exercise those fine motor muscles by ripping up pink paper and gluing it onto a paper plate to make a fun Piggie craft.
Week 14 Lesson
Language Development:
Ice Cream Shop
Setup a pretend ice cream shop at your house and engage your toddler in a rich language experience. See if he can ask what kind of ice cream you’d like and serve you. This is a great time to model good manners too!
Social Emotional Development
Copy Me
Follow the Leader and Copy Me allow toddlers to practice listening and watching carefully, following instructions, and modifying behavior in line with expectations all while having fun in the summer sun.
Physical
Ball Round Up
Scatter a variety of balls throughout your backyard. Place a hula hoop on the ground and challenge your toddler to collect all the balls and fit them inside the hula hoop.
Cognitive Development
Summer Sink or Float
Bring the sink or float experiment outside using an “under the bed” plastic tote. Collect natural objects and outside toys to see if they sink or float in the water.
Creative Activity
Torn Paper Watermelon
Rip pink and green paper into small pieces and glue onto a halved paper plate. Add torn black paper or fingerprint seeds using black paint.
Week 13 Lesson
Language Development:
Opposites
Water play is a perfect opportunity to explore opposite pairs with your child! Empty and full, big and small, wet and dry are all examples of language opportunities that can boost learning during water play.
Social Emotional Development
Pouring
Pouring is an important self-help skill that toddlers can work on at home. Pouring water between plastic cups, stacking cups, or measuring cups is great practice for when they are a bit older and want to pour milk and juice for themselves. Try it outside in an “under the bed” storage container and it’ll be mess free.
Physical
Car Wash
Set up a car wash outside for your toddler’s riding toys! A bucket, sponge and some soap will give your toddler a chance to stretch and move their body in a productive way. Squeezing out the sponge is also good exercise for their fine motor muscles.
Cognitive Development
Water Tracing
While most toddlers aren’t able to write letters or draw shapes on their own, they will have fun using a paint brush and water to draw over something you write with chalk. It’s a good exercise for fine motor control and coordination and can be a fun way to review shapes and colors.
Creative Activity
Spray Art
Add some watercolor and water to a spray bottle and head outside for some toddler safe spray painting! Toddlers will exercise their fine motor skills with the bottle and engage their creativity.
Week 12 Lesson
Language Development:
Lantern Reading
Change up your reading routine by adding a lantern or flashlight outside in the evening or inside under a blanket tent.
Social Emotional Development
Bubbles!
Blowing bubbles is a fun and engaging way to take a calming breath. Toddlers can exercise this by taking a breath in and then blowing slowly out their mouth to make a bubble.
Physical
Target Practice
Draw or paint a bullseye on a shower curtain liner or tarp and give your toddler a wet sponge to throw! The paint will bleed a bit when it gets hit directly and your toddler will love to aim and fire over and over again until they hit the bullseye.
Cognitive Development
Color Scavenger Hunt
Head outside on a nature walk or inside your home to find objects of every color!
Creative Activity
Campfires
Collect small sticks outside and paste them onto paper, add tissue paper or painted flames.
Week 11 Lesson
Language Development:
Dinosaur, Dinosaur
Get your body and brain moving with this poem! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAyn_uqChBg
Social Emotional Development
Taking Turns
Learning how to take turns and wait are challenging pieces of an older toddler’s development. A good way to practice is through simple games like Memory or similar matching games. Make your own dinosaur themed Memory game and praise your child when you notice him waiting his turn patiently.
Physical
Move like a Dinosaur
Flap like a pterodactyl, stretch like an Apatosaurus, chomp like a T-Rex, stomp like a stegosaurus, and charge like a triceratops.
Cognitive Development
Volcanos
Create a volcano shape in playdough or clay around a small water bottle or glass. Add baking soda to a hole in the middle and use an eye dropper or small measuring cup to add vinegar. See if your dinosaur toys can outrun the exploding hot lava!
Creative Activity
Dinosaur Tracks
Stick your dinosaur toys feet in paint and walk them across the paper to create dinosaur tracks.
Week 10 Lesson
Language Development:
Construction Vehicles
Show your child pictures of construction trucks, name them and talk about what they each do at a construction site.
Social Emotional Development
Take a Deep Breath
A good way to teach your child to take a deep, calming breath is to have them smell a flower and then blow out the candle or blow a bubble.
Physical
Play Dough Blocks
Add blocks to your child’s play dough fun. The play dough will help blocks stick together when they are stacked so they can create taller and more intricate buildings without knocking them over.
Cognitive Development
Recycled Building
Use cardboard boxes, egg cartons, plastic milk jugs or cartons, and paper towel tubes instead of Legos and wooden blocks. Reusing ordinary materials in extraordinary ways will provide a new and exciting building experience for your little one.
Creative Activity
Construction Vehicle Painting
Drive small construction vehicle toys through paint and onto paper.
Week 9 Lesson
Language Development:
Sing a Song!
Songs are a fantastic way to boost language learning. Some fun ocean themed songs you can listen to and sing are Baby Shark, All the Little Fishies, A Sailor Went to Sea, Blippi’s Ocean Animal Song, Five Little Fish, and A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea.
Social Emotional Development
Calm Down Bottles
Toddlers have big emotions but are easily distracted. Make a calm down bottle with water, food coloring, glitter and corn syrup or baby oil. When tipped upside down, the glitter will float slowly and (hopefully) calm down your little one as it settles into the bottom of your bottle or jar.
Physical
Feed the Shark
Work on those motor skills this week by creating a shark from a wipes container or tissue box. Cutout fish and have your child feed the shark all the fish. You can turn this into a color recognition activity by asking your child to give the shark all the red fish, then all the blue, etc.
Cognitive Development
Ocean Animal Match
A matching game with sea creatures is a great way to teach your child all about the plants and animals that live in the ocean. Make your own or print the one found here: https://www.simpleeverydaymom.com/free-ocean-animal-printable-matching-game/
Creative Activity
Ocean Foil Painting
Is your child tired of just painting on paper? Have your toddler finger paint an ocean on aluminum foil for a new sensory experience. Add Goldfish crackers or ocean animal cutouts to the ocean to complete the masterpiece.
Week 8 Lesson
Language Development:
Parts of a Flower
Introduce your child to the parts of a flower this week – stem, leaves, roots, petals
Social Emotional Development
Model Emotions
Learning about emotions is a large part of your child’s development. One of the best ways to learn is by watching you! If you are experiencing different emotions in front of your child, take a moment to name the emotion and explain why you are happy, sad, angry, etc. and demonstrate how you cope in a healthy way.
Physical
Flower Yoga
Lift your bent legs, balancing on sit bones. Weave arms under legs, palms up. Pretend to be a flower in bloom.
Cognitive Development
Flower Match
This color matching activity builds language and math skills while reinforcing color recognition. Print the materials for free here https://www.nurturedneurons.com/flower-color-matching-game-free-printable/ or create your own!
Creative Activity
Sponge Paint Flowers
Cut a sponge into a flower shape and stamp into paint. Add stems using a marker when dry.
Week 7 Lesson
Language Development:
Bug Songs
Boost language learning at home with the power of music! Try out some of these bug themed songs with your toddler https://www.prekinders.com/kids-songs-bugs-insects/
Social Emotional Development
Butterfly Breathing
A nice way for toddlers to calm down is to sit in a butterfly position and take some deep breaths. Belly breathing can be taught to even our youngest learners. Sit, breathe deep, and flap your “wings.”
Physical
Bug Movement
Can you and your child buzz around like a bee? Flutter like a butterfly? Wiggle like a worm? Hop like a grasshopper?
Cognitive Development
Butterfly Match
Print or draw butterflies with different patterns/coloring and see if your toddler can match them up. This is a great pre-math exercise for children and a good way to review colors.
Creative Activity
Egg Carton Caterpillars
Recycle that egg carton and let your child paint and decorate to look like a caterpillar https://teaching2and3yearolds.com/egg-carton-caterpillar-craft-for-toddlers-and-preschoolers/
Week 6 Lesson
Language Development:
Read in a New Way
Try out listening to audiobooks with your toddler. Audible is typically a pay service but it is free while schools are closed. Check out the “Littlest Listeners” section for some great choices for your toddler.
Social Emotional Development
Growing Herbs
Developing independence and responsibility is as simple as giving your toddler something to care for like a plant. Grow herbs in plastic cups at home and they will not only smell amazing, but also provide your toddler with something small to care for.
Physical Literacy
Scented Playdough
Scent a batch of homemade playdough with spices or essential oils this week. Lavender, lemon, or pumpkin spice are good choices! For some added fun and smell, try out Kool-Aid scented playdough https://www.food.com/recipe/kool-aid-scented-play-dough-56797
Cognitive Development
Mystery Bags
Choose toys and objects from around your house and place in a bag. See if your toddler can name the objects using only their sense of touch.
Creative Activity
Bubble Painting
Mix a couple of drops of food color into liquid bubble solution. Let your child blow bubbles onto paper and make a colorful masterpiece for all to see!
Week 5 Lesson
Language Development:
Brown Bear
Read your toddler a familiar book like Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? Provide printouts of the animals from the story like those found here https://www.dltk-teach.com/books/brownbear/index.htm
and encourage your child to retell you the story. The repetitive nature of the book makes it a great candidate for successful retelling.
Social Emotional Development
I Love to Help
Toddlers love to role play and model what they see trusted adults doing. This includes cleaning, cooking, and taking care of plants or pets. Let your toddler help by providing a towel to wipe off the counter, a small cup of water to water the plants, placing plastic dishes into the sink or dishwasher, etc. Toddlers will take pride in being your best helper and it’s great practical life skill-building.
Physical Literacy
Unstick
Place strips of masking tape onto a table or the floor and see if your toddler can unstick them one by one. This is excellent for developing the fine motor skills required for writing in the future.
Cognitive Development
Sensory Bags
Put shaving cream or hair gel into a Ziploc bag and add hard objects like buttons, small erasers, or foam stickers. Challenge your toddler to find the objects, move them with their fingers, and count them.
Creative Activity
Ice Cube Painting
Mix paint into water in an ice cube tray and freeze with popsicle sticks. Once they’re frozen, your toddler can use them like paint brushes.
Week 4 Lesson
Bath time is the perfect time for exploring math concepts with toddler children. Try out some of these activities next time your little one takes a bath:
- Sink or float experiment to see which of their toys float on the water or sink beneath the bubbles.
- Count each body part as you wash your little one – one arm, two arms; one toe, two toes, three toes, etc. The more they hear this sequence repeated, the more likely they are to internalize it and recall it when needed
- Provide different sized cups and bowls and let your child explore volume! “The big red cup can hold a lot of water. The small yellow one holds less.” Pouring water between vessels is also great for strengthening the muscles your child will use to hold a pencil and write!