Children Activities and Child Development from Fisher-Price

Enjoy these activities with your 2 to 2�-year-old:

�	Go Together	�	Hide the Music	�	Storyteller	�	Toddler Bowling

�	Wash 'em Up	�	Dance 'til You Drop	�	Scribble Scrabble	�	Dress-Up Parade

�	Flannel Tale	�	Glad, Sad, and Mad	�	Sticker Magic	�	What's Wrong?

Go Together *

This advanced version of the matching game will suit your toddler's higher-level cognitive thinking skills. Make the game fun by providing lots of interesting things that Go Together!

Materials:
�	Pairs of items that go together, such as spoon and bowl, pencil and paper, soap and washcloth, cheese and cracker, sock and shoe, and so on
�	Table


	�	Classification and sorting
	�	Eye/hand coordination
	�	Fine motor development
	�	Thinking skills

What to do:
1. Collect a number of items that go together, as suggested above. Keep them simple. If you like, provide one or two more complex pairs, to challenge your toddler.
2. Arrange all the items on the table, but do not place any of the matching pairs together.
3. Bring your toddler to the table and show her the items.
4. Choose one item and ask her to find which of the remaining items goes with the selected item. Give her hints if she needs them.
5. When she finds the match, praise her, set the pair aside, and choose another item.
6. Continue playing until all items have been paired.

Safety: Make sure all the items are safe for your toddler's play.

Hide the Music *

Your toddler uses his senses to learn about his world. His perception causes a motor response, which leads to higher levels of thinking. This game will enhance your child's two most important senses�hearing and sight.

Materials:
�	Musical wind-up toy or a battery-operated cassette player
�	Playroom


	�	Gross motor development
	�	Problem solving
	�	Sense of hearing
	�	Sense of sight

What to do:
1. Wind-up or turn on a musical toy and hide it somewhere in the playroom.
2. Have your toddler come into the room and try to find the toy, just by listening.
3. When your toddler finds the toy, praise him, have him step out of the room, then hide the toy again.

Safety: Don't hide the toy too well�your toddler should be able to find it relatively easily, and without having to climb on or overturn things.

Storyteller *

When your toddler likes something, she tends to want it repeated�over and over and over again! Here's a fun way to accommodate her, while enhancing her cognitive skills.

Materials:
�	Cassette tape recorder
�	Blank tape
�	Picture book
�	Comfortable area for listening


	�	Language and vocabulary development
	�	Listening skills
	�	Self-help skills�reading

What to do:
1. Hold your toddler in your lap, along with a picture book.
2. Turn on the tape recorder to record your voice.
3. Read the storybook to your toddler, making sure you speak clearly enough for the recorder.
4. When the book is finished, turn off the recorder and rewind the tape.
5. Place your toddler in a comfortable area and give her the book.
6. Set the tape recorder nearby and teach her how to turn it on, or turn it on yourself.
7. Have her look at the book and turn the pages as the story plays on the tape recorder.

Safety: Use a portable cassette recorder made for kids so your toddler can operate it safely.

Toddler Bowling *

Instead of having your toddler just roll a ball back and forth, give her an extra challenge by setting up some objects to knock over. Then play a game of Toddler Bowling!

Materials:
�	6 to 10 items to serve as bowling pins, such as empty milk cartons, empty plastic drink bottles, upside-down paper cups, and so on
�	Large cleared area
�	Tape
�	Volleyball, soccer ball, or basketball


	�	Cause and effect
	�	Eye/hand coordination
	�	Gross motor development

What to do:
1. Set up the "bowling pins" in a triangle pattern, like pins in a bowling alley.
2. Take several steps back and mark a line with tape.
3. Have your toddler stand behind the line.
4. Give her the ball and tell her to try to knock down all the objects by rolling the ball.
5. Let her keep rolling until she knocks them all down.
6. Set them up again and play another round.

Safety: Don't use a real bowling ball�it's too heavy for your toddler to handle. Do not use breakable objects as your bowling pins.

Wash 'em Up *

Unlike Tom Sawyer and his reluctance to paint the fence, most toddlers love to do "real work"�even if it's just pretend. Give your toddler a brush and a bucket of water and watch her clean her world!

Materials:
�	Large, clean paintbrush
�	Child-safe cleaning items, such as sponges, towels, squeegees, squirt bottles, scrubbers, dust cloths, cobweb cleaners, and so on
�	2 small buckets
�	Water


	�	Cause and effect
	�	Enhanced self-esteem
	�	Eye/hand coordination
	�	Gross motor development

What to do:
1. Collect child-safe cleaning items in a bucket, so your toddler can carry them from place to place.
2. Fill the other bucket with water.
3. Take your toddler outside and teach her how to "paint" the house with the brush and water.
4. Then let her explore the other cleaning items and use them the way she's seen you use them.
5. Praise your toddler on the great job she's done cleaning the house!

Safety: Make sure all cleaning items are safe to be handled by your toddler. This is a good time to teach your toddler about the danger of poisonous items�in this case, various cleaning fluids.

Dance 'til You Drop *

Most toddlers love to express themselves through music and dance. Provide your toddler with an opportunity for creative body expression, with a fun twist.

Materials:
�	Variety of music, such as rumba, waltz, polka, rock and roll, square dance, and so on
�	Cassette player
�	Large area for dancing


	�	Balance and rhythm
	�	Body awareness
	�	Creativity
	�	Listening skills

What to do:
1. Tape-record a few minutes of each type of music, allowing enough time to enjoy the tune and do a little dance. Tape one song right after another, so the music plays continuously.
2. Turn on the music and stand in the middle of the room.
3. When the first song comes on, dance to the music, and encourage your toddler to dance with you.
4. When the music changes, change your dance to match, and encourage your toddler to change with you.
5. Dance until you drop.

Safety: Be sure the room is cleared so you don�t crash into anything while you�re dancing! Take breaks if you get tired.

Scribble Scrabble *

Your toddler will soon be writing his name, but the first step toward that fine motor control begins with scotbling. Scotbling turns to design, design turns to pictures, and before you know it, he�s writing!

Materials:
�	Large washable felt-tip pens
�	Large sheets of white paper
�	Kid-sized table


	�	Emotional expression
	�	Fine motor development
	�	Language development

What to do:
1. Place washable felt-tip pens and paper on the table.
2. Seat toddler at the table.
3. Sit with your toddler and scotble on the paper together. Encourage him to make a variety of marks, such as dots, lines, curves, and circles.
4. Instead of asking, �What is it?� ask your toddler to tell you about his artwork.
5. Try not to make designs for him to copy. Instead, just let him scotble whatever he wants. As he gains control over the pens, his work will probably become more recognizable.

Safety: Use nontoxic felt-tip pens, and tell your toddler not to put them in his mouth.

Dress-Up Parade *

It seems your toddler can�t wait to grow up and be just like mum or Dad. Give your toddler a chance to practice being a grown-up�or at least dress like one�then have a Dress-Up Parade!

Materials:
�	Variety of dress-up clothes, such as hats, jackets, gloves, wigs, shoes, pants, tops, dresses, scarves, jewelry, and so on.
�	Large mirror


	�	Gender identification
	�	Self-awareness
	�	Self-help skills�dressing
	�	Sequencing

What to do:
1. Rummage a thrift store for a variety of clothes that are easy to put on, comfortable to wear, and, most of all, fun to model.
2. Place the clothes in a box and set it in the middle of the room.
3. Let your toddler explore the box of clothes with you.
4. Try on some of the clothes together, then look at yourselves in the mirror.
5. After you�re all dressed up, have a Dress-Up Parade and walk around the neighborhood (or inside your home) in your new clothes.

Safety: Be careful that your toddler doesn�t get tangled up in the clothes and trip or choke. And be sure he doesn�t mix a plaid with a print�just kidding!

Flannel Tale *

Your toddler�s language and vocabulary are growing by leaps and bounds, but sometimes her words can�t keep up with her need for expression. Provide your child with a simple flannel board and let her tell her tale!

Materials:
�	1 yard of black or dark-coloured felt or flannel
�	Approximately 3-by-3-foot chalkboard, bulletin board, or sheet of sanded wood
�	Glue
�	Felt scraps in a variety of colours
�	favourite picture books, such as The Three Little Pigs, Peter Pan, Snow White, or Green Eggs and Ham


	�	Emotional expression
	�	Fine motor development
	�	Language and vocabulary development
	�	Social interaction

What to do:
1. Cover a chalkboard, bulletin board, or sheet of wood with a yard of dark felt or flannel. Secure with glue and let dry.
2. Look through a favourite picture book to choose characters to create. Then, cut out shapes for the characters from felt. For example, if you choose The Three Little Pigs as your inspiration, cut out three pigs from pink felt, a wolf from black felt, and a sheep from white felt.
3. Add detail to characters using felt-tip pens.
4. Prop the board up against a wall.
5. Sit with your toddler facing the board, and place the felt characters on the board.
6. Tell the story that goes with the characters, moving the felt characters as you go.

Safety: Be sure the board is secure so it doesn�t fall over on your toddler.

Glad, Sad, and Mad *

Your toddler began experiencing emotions the mument he was born�if not before. Some of the emotions he experienced first are distress, surprise, even anger. This game will help your toddler explore all his feelings.

Materials:
�	Paper plates
�	Felt-tip pens
�	Tape
�	Picture book


	�	Cognitive skills
	�	Emotional expression
	�	Language and vocabulary development

What to do:
1. Draw a variety of faces on paper plates. Each face should express a different feeling, such as glad, sad, mad, happy, sleepy, scared, and so on.
2. Hold your toddler in your lap and read him a story that expresses some emotions.
3. When an emotion arises in the book, pull out the appropriate paper plate face and hold it up to your face.
4. Explain to your toddler what vocabulary words go with the emotion and let your toddler make a similar face.
5. Continue reading the story, holding up faces at appropriate times.

Sticker Magic *

Combine getting clean with having fun by playing Sticker Magic in the bathtub. Your child will love to see how small characters and shapes magically stick to the side of the tub!

Materials:
�	Inexpensive picture book that you don�t mind cutting up
�	Clear one-sided sticky paper
�	Scissors
�	Bathtub and water


	�	Cause and effect
	�	Creativity and imagination
	�	Fine motor development

What to do:
1. Buy an inexpensive picture book that your toddler loves, such as a book about a favourite movie or television character, or a comic book.
2. Cut out the characters in the book, and some of the props, if you like. You can cut out several views of the same character, such as sitting, standing, and running. For props you might include furniture, toys, a house, or a car.
3. Peel the backing off of the sticky paper and lay a length of it on the table, sticky side up.
4. Place the figures on the paper, faceup, leaving an inch between each figure.
5. Lay another piece of sticky paper on top of the first, sticky side down, so the figures are encased in the plastic paper. The figures will then be waterproof.
6. Carefully cut around the figures, leaving a one-eighth-inch margin. If you cut too close to the edge of the figure, the sticky paper will not stick together.
7. Fill the bathtub with warm water.
8. Place your toddler in the tub, along with the plastic-covered figures.
9. Press one of the wet cut-out figures to the side of the bathtub and watch it stick!

Safety: Be sure you stay with your toddler while he�s in the water.

What's Wrong? *

Your toddler is still figuring out how the world works when you introduce a game of What�s Wrong? See if she can figure out what�s so silly about this game�and how to fix it!

Materials:
�	Picture book
�	Sock and shoe
�	Toothbrush and toothpaste
�	Bowl and water
�	Cracker and peanut butter


	�	Fine motor development
	�	Problem solving
	�	Social interaction

What to do:
1. Collect the items above, or other items that can be turned around, upside down, or made to look different than usual in any other way.
2. Hold your toddler in your lap. Hold a picture book upside down and begin to read. See if your toddler can figure out that the book is wrong and fix it.
3. Put a shoe on your toddler�s foot, then put on the sock. See if your toddler notices what�s wrong and tries to fix it.
4. Put toothpaste on the back of the toothbrush instead of on the bristles. See if your toddler can figure out what�s wrong and what to do about it.
5. Pour some water into a bowl and tell your toddler you brought her a drink. See if she notices the silly container and asks for a glass.
6. Spread peanut butter on a cracker and set it upside down on a plate. See if your toddler turns it right-side up!

Safety: Be sure your toddler can�t get hurt doing these silly tasks.

* Play & Learn activities reprinted from "Baby Play & Learn" with permission of its author, Penny Warner, and its publisher, Meadowbrook Press (1999.)

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