Young Toddler Ideas

Queria compartir unas ideas de inspiracion para  las maestras de los pequenos toddlers que pueden implementar!!  I am using my twin daughters as an example this week!!  

STREAMER FUN:

Toddlers of all ages love sensory experiences.  Try putting out streamer paper in different colors all over your classroom to encourage all sorts of skills for their fine and gross motor development.  I tried it out with my twin daughters who are almost 15 months and they had a blast!!

I started by putting small strips on the floor.

The girls quickly started putting it all over their arms and legs.  Super fun!  They also practiced ripping the paper into little pieces.

Then I tied a couple of long pieces across the room to encourage them to REACH for it!

I used to do this with my 12 - 18 month old group that I worked with years ago and it was always a big success!!  We would talk about colors and sometimes even filled up a plastic pool with streamers too.  The ideas are endless!!

At the end, we made balls of the streamers as we cleaned them up into the basket.

So much fun!!

HOMEMADE BUBBLE MACHINE

We often blow bubbles at home, but I wanted to try something different with the girls for another sensory experience.  So we made a homemade bubble machine.

I added some bubble mixture to a bowl, and grabbed a straw.  The girls were immediately interested.

As I blew into the mixture, the bubbles just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger!

BIG BUBBLES!!!

Acadia excitedly grabbed the bubbles and played with them in her hands.  

Sedona grabbed the bubbles and took a taste...it's true with toddlers that they put everything in their mouths first!!  :-)   It was such a relaxing activity and the girls loved it!

MAGIC CARPET RIDES

The cold days are fast approaching, so here is a fun indoor activity to do with those tiny toddlers to keep then entertained, while practicing their gross motor skills of balance!!

Grab a big blanket and talk to the children about going on a magic carpet ride.  You can even pretend to collect some "money" for the "trip."

Once everyone is aboard, make a long "rr" sound as you pull the children around the hallway, gym or classroom!!

The children will surely start to emulate the sounds and will also practice their balance as you make your way around the room.

It will bring such joy and delight to all of the children as they take turns on the magic carpet!!

Portfolios

Portfolios!!

Can you believe that we've finished the first month of school already???  WOW!!  I wanted to share some of the portfolio samples that I have seen in some of the schools so you can get inspired too!  Parent Conferences are right around the corner!!  I will be in the schools this month to review where you are and to offer any support that I can!!  

CONFERENCES:  I will be sending you some samples of the paragraphs that we require to go along with the checklist evaluations.  Stay tuned!!  REMEMBER:  DO NOT SEND HOME THE ORIGINALS WITH THE PARENTS.  We must maintain a copy in the children's files.

Please note:  The packets that were handed out to you this week with information about the different areas of development are designed to go at the BEGINNING of the portfolios as an INTRO to the parents about each area.  We ARE NOT dividing the samples by area this year.  We are dividing them by month.  

MONTHLY SAMPLES:

The idea is to have a sample in each area every month.  The packets are provided so you can easily collect the samples from each child.  Every child is going to do their samples in their own way.  Use your creativity to divide out the sections by month.  Here is one way of doing it (Thank you Marlene in Newton!)  The colored pieces of paper are provided to you to be able to create the sections any way you want!!   You can either print it out, write it in or have kids decorate it. It's up to you!

Here are a couple of self-portraits!  We always put the name and DATE.

This is how I write my name samples:

There are many ways to take a collection of this sample...they can write it directly on the paper (like the sample on the left for Dante), or you can have them write it on another paper , and then cut it out and paste it on the sheet provided (like the sample on the right for Neve.)  Some children aren't writing their names yet (sample below) and that's okay too!!  

Cutting Samples:  The idea is to get a base line of how the children cut.  Young toddlers can do some RIPPING of the paper which can be stored in a baggy and taped to the paper, or pasted on the paper as a collage!!  Older toddlers can start using scissors when they are developmentally ready.

Anecdotes:  You can either type up the anecdote or hand write it directly onto the piece of paper!!  You could even use post-it notes and stick them in the boxes as an option!  

Photos:  Here is one way of doing it!!  This is what one of the mini-prints looks like on the paper.  We encourage you to put your physical/gross motor and/or social studies samples in the photos page. The idea is to have a minimum of 2 pictures a month. You can opt to do more if you'd like, but it's not a requirement.

Here's how you can incorporate a picture of each child on the front cover of your portfolios too!

You can also use photographs to document the different areas of development if you'd like!!  It doesn't have to just be an art sample!!  Look at how Marlene in Newton documented her Science and Arts sample for September!

Story Dictation:  Have them draw and just simply write what they say they drew in their picture!  

Organizing yourself for Portfolios:

I have already shared how the pre-K teachers in Newton are organizing their portfolio packets using the mailbox system....

...here's another way of doing it!!  Place the packets in the back sleeve of the binder and then as the children finish each piece of art, THEN place it in the 3 holes of the binder.  

Dividing up the work with your co-teacher!!  Here's how Madelyn and Emily in Needham are dividing up the work for their classroom of preschoolers.  Each teacher is in charge of collecting the samples, pictures and anecdotes for half of the class, and then they will SWITCH STUDENTS for the next month so they have a complete understanding of every child in their class.  

Collecting Samples:   Maru in Brighton told me that she is hanging the samples she is collecting on the bulletin board, and then at the end of the month, will be putting in her portfolio!  Madelyn in Needham told me that she already picked the samples that she will be collecting and puts it on her calendar in advance so she knows what to collect!!  Great ideas of inspiration!!  

More Teacher Made Materials

The ideas are endless of materials that you can make to supplement the materials you have in your classroom!!  Here are a few of the teacher made materials that I have seen and wanted to share!!  More to come!!

CLOTHESPIN GAME

Claudia in the South End made this wonderful clothespin game to do with her toddlers!  It's excellent to practice fine motor skills, math skills with matching and language skills by saying it in Spanish!

MAGNETIC LETTERS

The children in Joanna's Pre-K class in the South End have a wonderful time with the magnetic letters and pans from the Dollar Store!!  

It's fun to add name card and word cards for the children to practice spelling out!!

MATH JARS

Preschool teacher, Lidiani, in the South End was inspired to make her own MATH JARS based on a previous post made here in the Ideas de Inspiracion Blog!!  

She gathered a collection of baby food jars in different sizes.

Then added a variety of items that the children can count and sort.

It's a great start to the collection!!!  Lots of estimation, counting, graphing and sorting in the future!

Sensory Bags of Gel

Jenns in the South End created these sensory bags using hair gel!!  They are double bags and taped closed for the children can explore with all of their senses.  This looks like something AWESOME to put on a light table!!

DOUBLE SIDED CHALK BOARD AND FELT BOARD

Preschool teacher Karina in the South End took a chalk board and turned it into a double sided activity board!

She then hot glued a large piece of felt to the other side, to creatd a felt board!

This is just one of the games that she uses on the felt board.  A letter matching train game!!

LETTER MATCHING GAME

Here's another matching letters game in SPANISH that Lidiani in the South End created for her preschoolers.

She laminated all of the letters and got some velcro on the back so they can play around with the beginning sounds of the words in Spanish!

VISUAL AIDS

The teachers in the South End have these adorable visual aids that they made in Spanish and put on sticks to help remind the children what to do.  I have color copies of these if anyone wants them!!  Let me know and I can make copies on cardstock paper for you.  

The hand says "Levanta tu mano, por favor"

The flag says, "A la fila, por favor"

The mouse says, "Silencio, por favor"

The owl says, "Ojos a la maestra, por favor."

The clock says "Tiempo de limpiar"

The chair says, "Sientate por favor."  

LACING CIRCLES

Fiorella in JP Revere created this excellent fine motor lacing card for her young preschoolers.

She took a lid of a butter container, cleaned it out, and punched holes in it so the children can use the lacing strings!!  I love that we are re-using materials!!