The Everything Toddler Activities Book (14 page)

1. Use the scissors to gouge a hole in the bottom of the Styrofoam ball. The hole should be wide enough to fit your child’s finger and deep enough for her finger to fit in the ball to the first knuckle.
   
2. Let your child use the markers to decorate a face and other features.
   
3. Help her glue on the yarn pieces for hair.
   
4. When your child is ready to operate the puppet, have her drape the fabric over her index finger before attaching the head. The fabric becomes the puppet’s body, and the middle finger and thumb become its arms.
   

This is a traditional puppet craft. Frog puppets are especially cute to make.

1. Show your child how to insert her hand into the bag. Her thumb goes below the fold and her fingers go above it.
   
2. Encourage her to open and close her hand to make the puppet talk.
   
3. Let her decorate the puppet with crayons.
   

CHAPTER 9

Games

Playing games is a universal pursuit. Games help children burn off energy, develop social skills, and practice a variety of academic skills. When you teach your child a new game, you are also helping him learn how to follow directions. The games in this chapter are very simple; feel free to adapt them and add more rules and details as your child’s skills develop.

Many games have remained virtually unchanged as they have passed from generation to generation. You will also find similar variations in other cultures. Here are just a few classic games that your toddler may enjoy.

Here is another game that is easy to adapt. You can change this game into, “Cupid, Cupid, Where’s Your Heart?” or “Baker, Baker, Where’s Your Cake?” or “Robin, Robin, Where’s Your Worm?” Remember that young children may be uncomfortable closing their eyes, so don’t worry about enforcing this.

1. Have children sit cross-legged in a small circle on the floor. Be sure that there is plenty of room around them.
   
2. Choose one child to be “It.” That child crouches in the center of the circle with a toy or dog bone.
   
3. Tell the child who is “It” that he is the doggie and that he should pretend to nap by closing or hiding his eyes.
   
4. While “It” is pretending to nap, the rest of the players chant this rhyme:
   

   “Doggie, Doggie, Where’s your bone?
   Somebody took it and ran away home
   Wake up Doggie!”
   

5. While the children are chanting, remove the bone and give it to one of the children to hide behind his back. All the children should pretend that they are also hiding the bone.
   
6. When the children say, “Wake up doggie,” the child who is “It” rises and tries to guess who is hiding the bone.
   
7. The child with the bone becomes the new doggie.
   

Help your child develop his listening skills and problem-solving abilities with this game.

1. When your child is out of the room, hide a small toy somewhere out of sight.
   
2. Have your child return to the room to look for the object. Guide him with verbal cues. When he is approaching the object, tell him, “You are getting hot.” If he moves away from the object, tell him, “You are getting cold.”
   
3. This game is most successful if you are expressive and emphatic in your responses. For example, as your child moves closer and closer to the hiding spot, you might say, “Ooh, you are getting warm. Okay, now you are hot. Wow! When you go by the couch, you are even hotter. Now you are burning up!”
   

The beauty of this traditional party game is that you can adapt it for any theme or occasion.
Is it Easter? You can have the children play Bunny, Bunny, Chick. If they’re learning about colors,
the game can become Green, Green, Yellow.

1. Have children sit cross-legged in a small circle on the floor. Be sure that there is plenty of room around them.
   
2. Choose one child to be “It.” That child walks around the outside of the circle, gently tapping each child on the shoulder.
   
3. When “It” taps a child, he also calls out, “Duck.” At a random point, “It” selects a child and calls out, “Goose!”
   
4. The goose must stand up and chase “It” around the circle.
   
5. “It” tries to run and sit in the vacant spot before the goose tags him. The goose then becomes the next person to be “It.”
   

Many games that are played in elementary schools, playgrounds, and birthday parties encourage competition. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, young toddlers have very diverse abilities, and they become easily frustrated when
measured up against someone else. These games have the added benefit of helping young children learn positive social skills.

You can adapt this activity according to the number of participants by simply adding more balls.
You can also use balloons for this activity, but be vigilant with popped balloon pieces
because they can be a choking hazard.

1. To start the game, have participants stand in a circle.
   
2. Toss a few beach balls into the air.
   
3. The object is to bat, kick, or tip the balls to keep them from touching the ground.
   
4. When a ball hits the ground, it is removed from play. The game continues until all the balls are grounded.
   

This game can be played with children of all ages.
It is best for outdoors as it requires a lot of space.

1. You will need to define the boundaries of the island. You can use an old picnic blanket or sheet. Alternatively, you can set the boundaries with lengths of rope. Be sure that the area is large enough for all the players to comfortably stand.
   
2. Have participants circle around the island without stepping inside. You may wish to play music. Tell the players that they are swimming in the sea and have them imitate swimming motions as they circle around the island.
   
3. At the signal (music stops or verbal cue), the players must get out of the sea and go onto the dry land. Once everyone is safe, players can go back in the water.
   
4. After each round, the island becomes smaller and smaller. To make it shrink, fold the edges of the sheet under, or move the ropes closer together. The goal is for players to work together to make sure that everyone can fit on the island.
   

Also called hug tag, this is a less competitive version of regular tag.

1. Like traditional tag, one person starts out being “It” and tries to tag other players.
   
2. When a player is caught, he joins arms with “It.”
   
3. This ever-growing mass of children must stay connected and try to move as one to capture the next child.
   

Group games are a great way to help your child develop social skills, as they call for the players to interact with each other. These games are good for times when you have a group of children together. Older children and even adults may also enjoy playing.

This game will help your child with eye/hand coordination and will also build her cooperation skills. Engage your child’s imagination and add to the fun by assigning characters to the balls. Perhaps you can have the dog chase the cat or the bird chase the worm.

1. Have children sit cross-legged in a small circle on the floor.
   
2. Provide 2 balls for the children to pass. Like the game of Hot Potato, children pass objects around a circle. Remind the children to pass objects gently without throwing.
   
3. Tell the children this is a chasing game.
   
4. Each ball is a separate character in the chase. Start the balls at different places in the circle. Have children pass the balls until the one “catches” the other.
   

This is a variation of the traditional game Red Rover.
This version is less boisterous and does not encourage aggression.

1. Have participants split into two equal groups. Each group holds hands to form a line. Stand the lines so they face each other.
   
2. Alternate turns for each side. One side picks on a child from the other side and calls, “Red Rover, Red Rover, will you tell (child’s name) to come over?”
   
3. The child that is called runs over.
   
4. Rather than trying to break through the line, the child stops when he arrives. The line gathers around and gives him a group hug.
   

This is a variation of Hide-and-Seek. This game usually results in lots of giggles. If a lot of children are playing or the hiding places are small, you can have more than one child hide.

1. Designate one child to hide. Have the remaining children hide their eyes and wait. (You can have them count or you can use a kitchen timer.)
   
2. Once the waiting is over and the designated child is hiding, the hunt can begin.
   
3. When a seeker finds the hiding child, he quietly joins her in the hiding spot.
   
4. Each child who finds the hiders joins them. The children may have to squeeze together for all to fit (thus, the name of the game).
   
5. The last child to find the group becomes the next hider.
   

Here are some versatile activities that require very little setup and just two players. You can play these games with your child any time you have a few minutes or want to spend a little quality time with your toddler.

This game can be played with more than two, but it tends to get too chaotic.
The game must be played outdoors in the morning or late afternoon when the shadows are long.

This game is based upon the traditional game of tag. The difference is that the person who is “It” tries to tag the other person by stepping on his shadow. The other person dodges to protect his shadow. Remind players that this not a contact sport.

This lively game will help your child develop motor skills and balance. It is recommended that one of the players be an older child or adult who can help keep some restraint on the activity.

1. Both players remove their shoes and socks.
   
2. Hold hands and stand facing your child. Place your feet so that your toes are just touching your child’s.
   
3. The object is to gently pin the other person’s toes under your own. Only toes may be used. Try to keep the sole of the foot on the floor. Kicking or stomping is not allowed.
   

All you need is some creativity to make some cute activities for your toddler to enjoy. Your older child can also play more sophisticated paper games such as Tic-Tac-Toe or Hangman.

This is a cooperative activity. Older children may wish to try creating animals and other creatures, too. You can adapt this activity for three or four players by simply folding the paper into that many sections.

1. Fold the sheet of paper in half.
   
2. Each player draws half of a person on half of the paper, without seeing the other half.
   
3. One player draws a head, neck, and arms. Lines must extend a tiny bit below the fold so that the second player can see where to pick up.
   
4. The second player turns the paper over and draws the torso, legs, and feet.
   
5. Unfold the paper to reveal your work!
   

This is a simple game that you can create that will help your child with
following directions and motor development.