Infant and Toddler Activities

Sometimes it's difficult to come up with activities for your infants and toddlers. While playing and sensory exploration of their surroundings is key, many teachers feel that they should be providing at least a few structured activities each day to help stimulate their young students and enhance the learning process. Emily Barrow, Child Care Answers contributor, has compiled a list of several activities that are appropriate for these age groups. From birth to one year, Barrow suggests making each child a 'memory block'. Collect small boxes from home and ask parents to bring in a few pictures of their child with siblings, grandparents, parents, etc. If parents do not feel comfortable bringing in family photographs, spend some time going through magazines and finding pictures of other babies, families, different expressions, animals, etc. Also, as a supplement to images, find fun textures that can be glued to the sides of the boxes. These may include, but are not limited to, aluminum foil, bumpy chenille stems, velour paper, foam with magnetic backing to stick blocks together, etc. Make certain to spend time with each child explaining the different pictures and textures. The great thing is, block pictures and textures can be changed periodically to keep them interesting to your students!

For other ideas, including age groups 12 to 24 months and 24 to 36 months, be sure to read Barrow's full article!

Child Care Answers - Blog: Activities for your little one