Toddler Tuesday

 The  children in the pictures are all two years old. They work hard on being able to have materials just like the ones I introduce to the older groups. It is easier to present to them and then have them decide if this is an activity that they want to continue to work with. If it dosen't match their skill level it usually dosen't get touched.. If its messy well they all walk around with a broom anyway, because they feel important that they are helping. Sandpaper numbers have not been introduced on a one on one with this child. As a group we do a counting song every morning using the sandpaper numbers. So he is singing the song as we do every morning. All the children here love the predictability of our morning circle time,  and often carry materials to where we meet that they know we will be using. This child repeats this work at least over twenty times a day. She gets the material off the tray, takes it to her seat, pours the sand once through the funnel, returns it back to the shelf, Then she starts this cycle all over again. It is amazing to see , she never misses one step. Wet pouring is a job that I usually try to switch out the types of materials for pouring, if I don't the work loses it point of interest. Surprisingly he did O.K pouring while he stood up. I then showed him how much easier it would be to pour if he was sitting down. Puzzles are a must to have availiable around here. He worked on these copied puzzles all week, and mastered all three. The puzzles were two piece puzzles, and six piece puzzles. Also he worked very hard on the hammering activity in fact he eventually had to take a break his fingers were tired from working on his pincer grasp to place the nails in the small holes. He has returned to this work just as excited as the first time he did it. The wonderful part about all this is the toddlers have no idea how all these activities are helping them to concentrate, count , read, hold a pencil, etc. They just know they feel happy because their having fun!! Go see how other toddlers are having a great time at OneHookWonder.