Make the most of your time together with a range of activities that are fun and helpful. Here are five quick, creative activities to help support your toddler’s speech development, gross motor skills, and creative expression.
Counting
Put two containers in front of your toddler and introduce them to the concept of counting. Place one object in the first container and count, “One.” Set two objects in the second container and count, "One, two." Repeat this activity adding more objects as you go.
Blowing bubbles
Kids learn through their sense of touch. Blowing bubbles is a great way to teach this. Especially on a nice day. Take your child outside and blow bubbles they can touch, pop and run through. Try blowing bubbles above your child's head and see if they can reach up to burst them.
Making a cardboard car
Since kids love to pretend, making a make-believe car is a great way to help them flex their imagination muscles while developing motor skills. Remove the top and bottom of a cardboard box. Leave the sides. Work together to decorate the box like a car. Cut holes in the sides large enough for little hands. Let them step in the box, put their hands in the holes, and pretend to drive.
Creating sidewalk art
Drawing on the sidewalk, driveway, or basement floor is a fun way to develop fine motor skills. Show your child how to hold the chalk. After they draw, show them how to scrub the sidewalk with a scrub brush so that they also learn to tidy up after themselves—always a helpful skill for them to learn early on.
Finding shapes
Kids can learn language through touch. Help your toddler identify different shapes according to how they feel by hiding the shapes in a container filled with dry beans. Encourage your child to put two hands in and pull out a shape. Name the shape when they pull it out. The second time around, ask your child to reach in and find the object you just named figuring out what it is by touch alone.
With these five creative language and motor development activities, every day can be an exploration. For additional information on your toddler’s speech development and more, chat with your child’s pediatrician.
