22

GODDARD at home

F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANS

TODDLER

MINI MASTERPIECES WEEK 8 • DAY 4

GODDARD AT HOME: F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANS 23

GODDARD AT HOME:F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANSTODDLER - MINI MASTERPIECES

GATHERING ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY Using a box of crayons or any objects you select, find items in the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white and brown. Lay the objects down where you and your child are sitting. Ask your child to pick one and begin a game of passing it back and forth to each other while singing the following song to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

Pass, pass, pass this color Going to and froe I see this color, you do too Shout it if you know! “it’s RED!”, “It’s BLUE!” etc.

For younger toddlers, feel free to sing the lyrics for them while playing and talk about the color you have as you pass it back and forth.

LEARNING SKILLSColor recognition, vocabulary development, following directions, turn-taking skill development

Materials Box of crayons or other items of different colors, lyrics and tune for reference

Greeting

ACTIVITY Greet your child with a hug and a trip to the window to look outside. Sing the What’s the Weather Like Today? Song:

What’s the weather, what’s the weather, what’s the weather like today? Is it rainy, is it sunny, is it cloudy out today? What’s the weather, what’s the weather, what’s the weather like today?

Talk about what you’re seeing, what you might do today and how the weather might affect you or make you feel.

LEARNING SKILLSPrediction skills, developing awareness of environment, encouraging curiosity

Materials Window, lyrics and tune for reference

GODDARD AT HOME: F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANS 24

GODDARD AT HOME:F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANSTODDLER - MINI MASTERPIECES

ACTIVITY Help your little one release toddler energy by singing and doing the actions of this song to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.”

This is the way I jump up and down, jump up and down, jump up and down, This is the way I jump up and down when I’m at home. This is the way I spin in a circle, spin in a circle, spin in a circle, This is the way I spin in a circle when I’m at home.

Use other movements, such as touch my toes, reach up high, wiggle my elbows, clap my hands, stomp my feet and roll around.

LEARNING SKILLS Gross motor skill development, coordinating movement

Materials Lyrics and tune for reference

TRANSITION

ACTIVITY Sit with your little one and read a quick story that involves colors or art. For a read-aloud experience, you might enjoy White Rabbit's Color Book by Dorothy Baker.

Create your very own colorful masterpieces using finger paint. Explore different canvas options. Try painting on an old magazine or newspaper page, a piece of tin foil or a piece of a cardboard box. Let your little one choose the surface and express himself or herself on it.

Once dry, find a prominent place to hang your child’s mini-masterpieces. Follow Easy DIY Paint Recipe to create finger paint.

LEARNING SKILLS Creative expression, fine motor skill development, sensory development

Materials Book or read-aloud, old magazine, newspaper, aluminum foil or other paint surfaces, and finger paint

PROCESSING ACTIVITY

GODDARD AT HOME: F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANS 25

GODDARD AT HOME:F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANSTODDLER - MINI MASTERPIECES

CONNECTION ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY Using books, a smartphone or a tablet, look at several famous works of art with your little one. Possible pieces might include the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, The Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo, a splatter painting (Convergence) by Jackson Pollock, Campbell’s Soup Cans by Andy Warhol, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat or Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge by Claude Monet.

Talk briefly with your child about what you’re seeing, who or what is in the painting, what is happening and the colors used. Feel free to ask your child which pictures he or she likes or doesn’t like.

Tell your child how much you love looking at pictures with him or her.

LEARNING SKILLS Visual exploration, vocabulary development

Materials Books, phone, tablet, famous artworks

ACTIVITY During diaper changes or potty time, point out simple body parts with your child, “Where’s your nose? There it is!” or “Where’s your belly button? There it is!”

LEARNING SKILLS Vocabulary development, body awareness

Materials N/A

PERSONAL CARE INTERACTIONS

GODDARD AT HOME: F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANS 26

GODDARD AT HOME:F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANSTODDLER - MINI MASTERPIECES

ACTIVITY With your little one, count the steps it takes to walk from where you are to outside. Be sure to count out loud so your toddler can follow along.

For an older toddler, feel free to guess how many steps it might take to get from where you are to outside and see if you’re close. Talk about whether his or her guess was a bigger or smaller number of steps than it actually took.

LEARNING SKILLS Developing awareness of numbers and counting, exploring prediction

Materials N/A

TRANSITION

ACTIVITY During mealtime, talk to your child about the textures of the food. Use words like, crunchy, squishy, sticky and smooth.

LEARNING SKILLS Vocabulary development, sensory exploration

Materials N/A

MEALTIME

GODDARD AT HOME: F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANS 27

GODDARD AT HOME:F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANSTODDLER - MINI MASTERPIECES

ACTIVITY Make a homemade balance beam out of painter’s tape, chalk, or sticks and encourage your toddler to walk across it.

To add a challenge for older toddlers, feel free to make a curvy balance beam or one that turns in multiple directions. Just be sure to keep it low to the ground for safety purposes.

Encourage your child to explore this activity independently. As your child’s interest decreases, feel free to bring the balance beam indoors and use the hallway or other larger space to keep going.

LEARNING SKILLS Gross motor skill development, coordination, sustaining independent play

Materials Painter’s tape, chalk, or sticks, etc.

OUTSIDE TIME

ACTIVITY As you snuggle with your child sing “Frere Jacques” and insert your child’s name.

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping, little _____, little ____? Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing. Ding, dang, dong.

Rub your child’s back or stroke your child’s hair during this calm downtime.

LEARNING SKILLS Developing relationships with adults, developing self-regulation skills

Materials Lyrics and tune for reference

REST TIME

GODDARD AT HOME: F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANS 28

GODDARD AT HOME:F.L.EX.® DAILY ACTIVITY PLANSTODDLER - MINI MASTERPIECES

transition

ACTIVITY After your little one wakes up from naptime, go back to the window that you and your child looked out this morning to check on the weather. Talk about what you’re seeing and if the weather is different now than it was this morning. Talk about any similarities and differences you and your child see.

LEARNING SKILLSDeveloping memory recall, comparing and contrasting, vocabulary development

Materials N/A

ACTIVITY Give your child blocks to play with and have your little one go find another toy to include with the block playing. For example, your little one could bring play people or stuffed animals. Encourage your child to play with the blocks or other open-ended materials (play items that do not have a specified purpose or end product) and the toys that he or she picked out independently.

If you’d like to add music while your child is building, try Music from different cultures or any other music to add to creating a fun experience.

LEARNING SKILLSCommunicating preferences, developing attention, cognitive flexibility, fine motor skill development, sustaining independent play

Materials Blocks, or any open-ended materials, and toys of your child’s choice, music (optional)

CHILD’S CHOICE