A to Z Toddler Activities-Part 1

Keeping it light for the Christmas season, here are some activities for teachers to try out with toddlers. These are activity ideas for toddlers from A to Z. Remember, toddlers learns through play. Play is a way to explore the environment and gain some kind of knowledge, whether it is social, physical, emotional, or intellectual. PLAY is good! Many of the activities provided can be simplified for use with toddlers. Gross and motor skills will be strengthened and social skills will provide a better means of communication. Tons of goals will be met with these “We Learn By Doing” activities. Follow through and be consistent day by day.

A
Ants Go Marching – The teacher paces a slow poetry poem for marching.
The ants came marching two by two. Hurrah! Hurrah! (Children walk in pairs – side by side in a circle.) The ants come marching two by two. The toddlers stopped to tie their shoes. They all go marching down around the town. Boom, boom, boom. (Use coffee cans to make the boom sound.)

Other verses:
The ants came marching three by three …
The little ones stopped to climb a tree.
The ants came marching four by four …
The little ones stopped to shut the door …
The ants came marching five by five …
The little ones stopped to duck the beehive,
The ants came marching six by six …
The little ones stopped to pick up sticks.
The ants came marching seven by seven …
The little ones stopped to look towards heaven.
The ants came marching eight by eight …
The little ones stopped to shut the gate.
The ants came marching nine by nine …
The little ones stopped to pick up the dime.
The ants came marching ten by ten …
The little ones stopped to shout “THE END!”

B
Balloon Jump – Blow up balloons and tie them with long strings. Then hang the balloons from the ceiling at a height that will tempt the children to stretch, jump, and bat the balloons around.

C
Copycat – Stand in front of the group and demonstrate a movement like shaking an arm or making a funny face. Challenge the children to copy you. After several turns, invite the children to take turns being the leader.

D
Ducks – Have the children pretend to be ducks out for a walk. As they waddle, ask them to make the sound of D.

E
Egg Roll Exercise – Doing egg rolls on mats begins in a sitting position with knees up. Then the child rolls sideways down the mat holding their knees tightly with their arms.

F
Fish Tale – Using the fish from the Fish game, have the children make up some stories about the ones they caught or got away.

G
Go Hopping – Make foot shapes and place them along a play area. Let the children hop along the trail making the sound of H, as they go.

H
Hunt H- Have the children hunt for words that begin with H in the room. See how many words can be found in the room in a 5-minute span. Teacher writes the words found and shows those words on the blackboard.

I
Icicles – Show and describe an icicle. Choose someone to be the sun. When the sun touches an icicle, the child must melt and lay down very still.

More next week!