Toddler Learning Games: 33 Creative Toddler Learning Games That Your Child Will Love

By Judi Willis

All parents want the best for their children and most are aware of the value of the 'early learning' years, but aren't sure where to begin when it comes to helping their own children develop as a toddler. This book aims to act as a simple guide for parents that will introduce you to some simple and creative ways to incorporate learning into your child's play schedule. From motor skills to language ability and from social skills to numeracy, there are no end to the ways in which play can be used as a learning tool for children aged eighteen months to three years old. In this book you will discover thirty-three creative toddler learning games that your child will love, including full instructions on how to prepare these games and an insight into the skills that your child will develop through these activities. Each chapter of this book details a separate game or activity to introduce to your toddler in order to help him or her to develop cognitive, physical, social and memory skills. Simple and cost-effective, these games offer a fun way for you to bond with your child while making sure that they are prepared for the next stage of learning in the classroom. So, read on to discover thirty-three wonderful games to help your child make the most of his or her 'early learning' years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JVzon Studio
• Release date: Feb 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386653479

Book preview

Introduction

The infamous toddler stage is where babies transition from crawling on the ground to walking on their feet and beginning to interact more with the world around them.  While many new parents have heard dreadful stories surrounding the ‘terrible twos’ and toddler tantrums, parents actually have an excellent opportunity to instill firm skills and knowledge in their children at this age and your child's toddler years should not be feared, but embraced as a time for learning and development.

The toddler years are a crucial stage in the life of a child, as this is when your child really begins to become aware of the world around them and to develop critical thinking and motor skills.  A toddler is just beginning to learn to be self-sufficient and is discovering new autonomy in being able to move around the house at will and in being able to begin to communicate more effectively with those around them. At this age - between eighteen months and three - a child is a sponge, and, over the next couple of years, you will see vast leaps in your child's ability to engage with you and with the world around them.

Your child's new found independence can be viewed as a challenge by many first time parents, as your child's natural curiosity and need to be constantly entertained and stimulated can be demanding and exhausting. This may result in difficulty for parents, who can become frustrated with their toddler’s mood swings and inability to follow directions.  Subsequently, these parents may abandon teaching their toddlers at this age and simply wait until they reach preschool or kindergarten age to begin the learning process.  This is a major mistake for several reasons. 

First of all, providing your toddlers engaging activities that challenge them and stimulate their imaginations is one of the best ways to reduce your child's mood swings and tantrums as you will be tackling their boredom and helping them to stretch their minds. Secondly, it is typically believed that the younger the child, the faster they will learn.  This means that breaking new ground with your child at this age through learning games and developmental activities can teach them skills that will not only occupy them in the short-term, but help them to develop ways of thinking and behaving that will be beneficial to them for life. Finally, playing with your child is a bonding experience that will not only help your child to enjoy and retain the skills learned in this time, but also establish you - the parent - as an important mentor throughout your child's education.

You can help your toddler to learn by being involved with their learning process at every stage and this starts early. Many people think that learning begins in the classroom, but it actually begins much earlier than this, when a child very first begins to recognize systems such as cause and effect, basic physics, phonics and other foundational knowledge that is crucial to our lives.  As a parent, establishing a love for learning in your child is a great responsibility, but it is a process that you can begin with your child very early on, through embracing the countless ‘Why?’ questions that children of this age are prone to asking, by reading and engaging with your child in dialogue and through providing your child with a steady stream of age-appropriate learning games and materials that will help them associate learning with fun.

Some parents may be concerned that these type of activities must be costly or time consuming, but this is not at all the case. The learning games and activities that we will present in this book are affordable and simple to prepare. You will find them to be a great help in finding ways to entertain your child and you will also notice the advancement in your child's verbal, motor and reasoning skills as they engage with the activities.

Education is not always about retaining vast numbers of facts or being able to solve complex puzzles that require great amounts of time and a high IQ.