The current theme i
n the Toddler Classroom is Tools and Construction. Your kids will be using paint brushes to paint outside, making a hard hat out of a plastic bowl and making tool belts in the big classroom with Susan and Dani. In the pull-out room, Jackie and Erika will be focusing on theme related vocabulary and word combinations during hands-on language activities. We invite you to focus on Tools and Construction in the home environment too! Here are some fun ideas to try with your toddlers at home or around the community:
1. Scoop dirt into a bucket and hide objects in the dirt. Your toddler will love to dig the dirt with a shovel and find the objects. Model vocabulary and simple sentences for your little one during this activity.
2. Find old paint brushes for your toddler to paint with water. Use big paint brushes and little ones... Talk about how they are different sizes and shapes. Your little one will love dipping the paint brush in the water and "painting" the side walk or house with water.
3. Organize your tool box. Take out all of the different tools and line them up on a table out of reach from your child. Be careful of the sharp and pointy tools! Practice say the names of the different tools and talking about what they're used for as you return them to the tool box.
4. When your driving around, point out the construction sites and different construction vehicles that you see. Maybe there is a big tall crane lifting things way up in the sky, maybe there's a bulldozer pushing the dirt, or maybe there's a dump truck dumping the dirt out. Engage your child in the activities and language around him or her by showing your excitement and modeling the words that you use to talk about these things.
Have fun playing and learning with your toddler! We look forward to seeing you soon!
~ The Toddler Team
I think this has been Blake's favorite theme yet. He is so much more interested in his tools and hard hat at home. We drive by a CAT dealership on the way to school and he started pointing out the bulldozers, bobcats, and tractors. He knows they are coming when we are driving and he starts saying "Where are you bulldozer?, where are you bobcat?, where are you tractor?" - so fun to hear him talk spontaneously like that!
ReplyDeleteThank you NV teachers for coming up with great themes every week to keep our kids interested and learning more everyday!
Kelly
So glad to see the blog is back! We love the outside paintbrush activity with water. I learned this from Susan last year. It provides great language opportunities and entertainment for a long period. We paint shapes, faces, names, etc. while discussing what we are painting. Thank you for all the great ideas!
ReplyDelete-Kristin
Glad the kids are liking the tools and construction themed activities! Motivation and interest in an activity really make the difference, in terms of encouraging more talking.
ReplyDeleteWe (the toddler team:) plan to continue blogging for each theme... so make sure to check back for updates!
- Erika
Sam loved this theme (not surprised!). We checked out the book Old MacDonald had a Shop at the library and he loves it. He's also identifying lots of tools. Thanks so much. I love the blog- keep it up so we can reinforce these activities at home.
ReplyDelete