Toddlers will eat when they are hungry, and sometimes they will eat and eat and eat! Encourage them to use their words and their sign language to ask for more. Give them a choice of what they want. “Would you like more applesauce or carrots?” When they are finished eating, allow them to help you in cleaning up their areas.
Being able to communicate with you about what the children want and need will develop their communication and early literacy skills. They will become more aware of themselves and their surroundings as they learn to better coordinate their bodies.
Allow a different child to pick the read aloud book every day. Prompt them to tell you why they chose the book. Create a special place on the carpet for the Book Picker to sit. After reading the book, thank the child for helping you choose a book to read.
Giving this very special job to one of the children will help improve his communication skills, build his confidence level, and help him to express his feelings. The daily reading time will build on the children’s early literacy skills.
Create routines for the children by having different songs the children can sing with you at different times of the day. You can sing a song while washing your hands, before you eat, or when it is time to wake up after naptime. The more you sing these songs, the more familiar the children will get with them.
Listening and singing songs help the children build their oral language and communication skills. The repetition helps them understand routines and schedules.