Toddlers & the present moment

A toddler adds paint to a turtle cutout. The class is studying frogs, turtles, snakes and lizards.

Time with toddlers always seems to fly.

They make such leaps and bounds in all areas of their development all the time, and they even seem to grow taller before your eyes. I love all of the conversations we’re having every day and the emerging speech of the youngest ones.

Toddlers require us to keep coming back to the present moment, where they reside. Their needs are usually immediate, and we are pulled from what we are doing in order to respond to their requests, comments, questions and needs.

Ms. Johanna’s class has art activities, such as this pin-punch the turtle, about frogs, turtles, snakes and lizards.

Monthly themes

This month’s themes are about frogs, turtles, snakes and lizards.

We also explore land, air and water, which are represented through transportation puzzles, teacher-made backgrounds, felt boards and small-object sorting that matches different backgrounds.

In the meantime, children can now choose to bake muffins as a daily activity. With all the ingredients measured out and “mise en place,” as the French would say, a child can mix all the ingredients together, and scoop the batter into pre-oiled muffin tins. We have been enjoying mini muffins at the end of group time.

Other activities your children have been exploring: seasonal art, puzzles, posting, baby washing, color sorting of objects, washing dishes, helping to spray and wipe tables after snack or lunch, opening and closing containers, and lacing wooden beads with insects and garden creatures painted on them.

Songs

Songs we’ve been singing:

There was a little turtle
That lived in a box. (put hands together to make a box)
He swam in a puddle, (make swimming movements)
And he climbed on the rocks.
He snapped at a mosquito, (snap your fingers)
He snapped at a flea, (snap your fingers)
He snapped at a minnow, (snap your fingers)
And he snapped at me. (snap your fingers)
He caught the mosquito, (clap)
He caught the flea, (clap)
He caught the minnow, (clap)
But he didn’t catch me! (make a proud face)

One green and speckled frog,
Sat on a hollow log,
Eating the most delicious lunch, yum yum.
He hopped into the pool, where it was nice and cool,
Then there were no more speckled frogs.

I am a baby bird, hatching from my shell,
Out come my legs, then comes my tail.
Now my legs I stretch, my wings I give a flap,
I fly and fly and fly, now what do you think of that?
Down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.

I saw a little bunny go hop, hop, hop.
I saw his little ears go flop, flop, flop.
I saw his little nose go twink, twink, twink.
I saw his little eyes go blink, blink, blink.
I said little bunny, won’t you stay?
Then he looked at me, and he hopped away.