Allow your toddler to help you get his snack ready. Have his plates and utensils in a cabinet that he can reach. Then, choose a snack that he can help you to prepare. For instance, tell him he can have three strawberries and allow him to count the strawberries and put them on his plate.
This activity will help your toddler to show increasing self-awareness by allowing him to prepare his own snack. It will also help him to use coping skills, understand simple directions, count and use numbers, develop his eye-hand coordination, and do things for himself.
Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with your toddler for lunch. Allow him to take the pieces of bread out of the bag and count how many he needs. Then, ask him what he needs next. Once he responds, encourage him by saying, “That’s right, you need peanut butter.” Help him make the sandwich.
This activity will help your child use coping skills with a task and show increasing self-awareness. It will also help him follow simple directions and ask questions. He will learn about quantity and number relationships, and it will also allow him to enjoy doing things for himself, and develop his eye-hand coordination.
Eat meals with your toddler at the same time every day. Allow him to eat at the table with you. Encourage him to feed himself and include him in your meal time conversation. Ask him questions about what he is eating. For instance, “What does that taste like? Is it yummy?”
This activity will help your toddler show increasing self-awareness by allowing her to try to feed herself. It will also help her to understand questions, learn to enter into a conversation, and use words. This activity will also help her to seek information through exploration, have a beginning understanding of routines, and learn to enjoy doing things for herself.