Activities 18-24 Months

Home made play dough is the best – a great sensory experience and such fun! You can talk about warm and cold, the texture of flour and salt and choosing a colour... Toddlers love the opportunity to play with you as they imitate your actions – you can help them flatten their dough out with a rolling pin and use simple cookie cutters to make some pretend biscuits. They will delight in pretending to pour drinks into cups and drinking them with a play dough biscuit on the side...be sure to carefully supervise and ensure that they are just pretending...this is a skill in itself!

Simple shape sorters are great toys for this age group as you can work on so many different concepts with them. Placing the shapes into the appropriate space requires persistence, good hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity. You can solidify concepts like empty and full, discuss colours and shapes, and incorporate counting. You can also introduce turn taking if each of you takes a turn to place a shape – this may be more realistic as your little one approaches the end of this stage.

It is a great idea to introduce your little one to scribbling and doodling; toddlers love it! Choose chubby short crayons and pencils that are easy to manipulate; some children's first crayons have a bulb shape, which is great for little hands. Holding a pencil grip correctly is a learned skill – at this point your little one will grip with their whole hand wrapped around the crayon or pencil. Remember to focus on the process – not the finished product. Lots of praise and positive comments encourage and build self-esteem. It is appropriate to set boundaries, drawing is for paper, not the kitchen table. If they are struggling with keeping the marks on the paper try placing a large placemat or protective tablecloth down underneath.

Simple musical toys, even a wooden spoon and a pot lid, encourage children to participate, anticipate and listen. You can sing a simple song and keep the beat on a drum, tambourine, a shaker, box or a pot. Encourage your little one to copy you...you can then introduce simple listening games like counting to three and then banging your drum. Try to encourage them to wait until you get all the way to three...sometimes their enthusiasm wins out! You can experiment; play fast and loud or slowly and quietly. Try copying their rhythm. Do you have a piano or keyboard...you can adapt these games for this as well.

Simple story lines around familiar experiences or activities are the best choice. Encouraging discussions by asking questions and pointing out things of interest is a great way to increase vocabulary and understanding. Books or stories that illustrate and identify emotions are great as this is a concept that your toddler will be working on now.