Teaching Our Toddlers

Much of what is learnt by the toddlers in our home is incidental. This means that we do not sit them down and do stuff like flash cards and formal school with the child.

The toddlers in our home have the benefit of observing the many older siblings around her do school and they pick up a lot of stuff that way! But I will bear in mind that most people donot have a houseful of older children to teach the younger ones. So I shall share what I did when I had 1 and 2 children.

Keep Talking! One of the best way to “teach” your toddler is to keep talking to him! Yep! Keep talking and showing him things and before long he will have picked up many things without much effort on your part! Babies and toddlers are really like sponges, absorbing things very quickly and without any hang ups the way an older child may have.

Playing and learning allows you to teach effortlessly. As your toddler plays with his toy, talk to him about the colours or shapes. Point out to him the different colours on the toy. Shape sorters are a good buy.

Jigsaw puzzles are another type of “educational toy” that is helpful. Buy those that require very little effort – just 4 to 5pcs to make 1 picture and then slowly progress to more difficult ones. You can even teach maths, colours and the alphabet with jigsaw puzzles!

Counting with them is one very easy way to teach numbers. You can count anything and everything. Count their fingers and toes. Count when folding clothes, when going up and down stairs, packing up toys, etc…Soon they will learn the sequence of the numbers. Another fun way is to point out numbers when you go out with them and they will surprise you one day when they can call out the number they see on the lift or walls!

Our current toddler learnt her numbers watching her older siblings play UNO! Lol! She also has a set of sandpaper numbers to play with when I do school with the pre-schoolers. Our current home has stairs so every day I will count with her when we go up and down the stairs so much so that she knows how to count 1 to 10 buy herself with no prompting.

Reading to them is a wonderful way to bond and get them interested in books. BUT do not read to them like a pre-schooler and do not expect them to sit still and listen to you read the entire book to them!

Many moms worry and wonder why their child does not have the attention span sit listen to them read the whole book. This is perfectly normal. It is an unusual toddler who can sit for a long stretch and actually listen to the story. I have had one of those and also have had one that sits still just for me to read ONE page to him. And I also have had one who would sit still and seemingly listen but was actually spacing out on me!

What’s my point? Do not expect to be able to read every single line and finish the entire story with your toddler!

This is what we do which you may wish to try. Obviously get a book that has lovely, colorful and interesting pictures. The book should have more pictures than words. Then “read” by pointing out the pictures in the book. Talk about the pictures of the book. Do not bother about the words on the page. If you make talking about the pictures (colours/shapes/action of character…) interesting enough, the child will keep on picking up the book for you to “read”. Soon, he would be able to “read” back to you, telling you the story in his own words.

He may now be ready for you to start reading to him a few pages at a time. It doesn’t matter if he can’t sit through the entire story. He will in time!

What books do we read? We have rhyming books, bible stories, counting books, alphabet books, animal books. Anything we can lay our hands on! We are a book-loving family! Surround your child/ren with books and they will naturally pick them up when they are wandering around the house.

Colouring with crayons is another activity that toddlers like to do. You can either buy colouring books from places like Popular or google free downloadable colouring pages from places like :

http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html
http://www.dltk-kids.com/coloring.htm
http://www.christiananswers.net/kids/clr-indx.html
http://www.coloringbookfun.com

Just google “colouring pages” and lots of stuff will come out. Please, however, use your own discretion. Many sites are not Christian and some, even though they are Christian may not have the same standards as you and your family.

If you are brave , you can give them a white board and markers to draw and colour. Just make sure they are washable markers!

Singing and reciting Nursery Rhymes and Sunday School songs are also fun things to do. If you can’t remember your nursery rhymes or Sunday School songs, there are lots of CDs and books out there. You have no excuse to not know them! Use the free resources in the library if you are not willing to spend the money.

But personally, I find these are basic staples in any home that has children! Sing the Alphabet Song to them and they will learn their letters before you know it! But some believe that a child should not learn the names of the alphabet but the letters’ phonetic sounds. Do your reading and research and decide how you want to proceed.

I always taught the names first and then teach the sounds they make later on. It worked for us since that was how 4 out of 5 of them learnt to read But you have to do your own research and make your own decision.

Life skills should also be taught now! There are actually many things a toddler can do. Do not underestimate their capability!

Some examples – teach them to sort laundry : whites go into the whites pile and coloured clothing go into the coloured clothing pile, fold face cloths/dish cloths or even their own clothing, pack up toys after they are done playing, set the table and even clear their own plates and cups.

Yes, these are not impossible tasks for your toddler! And don’t worry, you are not “ill treating” them by “making” them do chores. Look at their faces when they do it – see the sense of accomplishment written all over it!

But after a while, it will become a discipline issue when the novelty wears off. Then we would want to instill the discipline of obeying mama even when it is no longer fun! Another learning opportunity!

Use the TV ?! Yes, we do! We choose mostly educational TV programmes or CDs. I would very much prefer not to use it but we are also mostly cooped up in a flat with just 2 playgrounds for outdoor play, both 2 blocks away.

Maybe if we had a garden or backyard that I could safely send the kids out to play, I wouldn’t have to resort to using the TV. But we don’t do Pokemon or Power Rangers or the Winx Club

Different families have different ways of doing things. This is what we do. I hope I have given you some ideas to start you off.

What I would like to leave you with is this :

• Make learning part of their lives!
• Stop worrying about what your toddler doesn’t yet know.
• Enjoy them and let them enjoy their toddlerhood!
  

Click here for Teaching Our Pre-schoolers.