Young toddler activities and day care lesson plans for toddlers are crucial aspects of a young child daycare setting. Read on to learn about fun activities for kids who fall into the stage between infant and toddler, and why such activities are important.
Young Toddler Activities Facilitate Transitions
A daycare that accepts infants into its program must provide young toddler activities to facilitate the transition a child undergoes as it graduates from the infant program into the program that includes daycare activities for toddlers. These pint-sized tweenies are not yet as familiar with grouped activities and require a gradual increase in structure. Bigger facilities now routinely offer day care lesson plans for toddlers that fall into this category.
Fun Daycare Activities for Younger Toddlers
A host of young toddler activities make it easy for children who just graduated out of an infant program to prepare for participation in activities typically designed for slightly older toddlers. Below are some examples:
Singing Time
Singing is a wonderful activity for a young child, and a daycare that is filled with songs is a happy place to be. Introducing singing in a structured circle setting helps transition the child from the limited participation and cooperation requirements of an infant program to the more typical interactions required during circle time.
Exercise Time
Young toddler activities should be geared toward increasingly more strenuous physical activities. Activities for toddlers who are a bit more mature are usually focused on tiring out the children and thereby help them when it is time to sit down for brief periods. Exercise time is the young child’s daycare version of these activities for toddlers. A game of “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” is a great way to teach young children the names for various body parts while at the same time getting a bit of energy expended.
Free Play
Supervised free play is one of the young toddler activities that allow the child to interact with both their peers and the older toddlers in the group. This continues to facilitate the transition from the infant program to the programs geared toward toddlers and older children in the daycare setting.
For even more ideas for activities to do with young toddlers, see this article . Being conscious of the needs of the young toddlers in your care will ensure a smooth and successful transition for everyone involved!
