toddler girl - need help with early development activity

[Guest navik_pathak]

Hi,

 

I am newbie here and not yet caught up on the all the lingo and all good advise. But i am here to ask question about my 2 yr 5 month old daughter.

 

My daughter can sing lots of rhymes, identify lots of objects/animal/shape. She can speak whole ABCs, 123s,Mon-Sun and Jan-Dec. She can converse with adult for 4-5 sentences. We read a lot to her at Nap time and Bed time. She was raised by us (Mom/Dad) till she was 2 yr 4 months and recently started montessori. I need this community's help in following matter.

 

1) She can't/won't identify color correctly. She is not colorblind but she just won't learn it. We are not too stressed but wanted some advise

2) I am reading about early development program/teacher for toddler. So i am looking at the resources or website where we can hire teacher for kids once or twice a week in-home activity for kids

3) Any advise on planning/activity sheet for toddler after montessori in-home/at-park play/kraft/puzzle activities.

 

 

Thanks in advance. i would really love your responses.

 

Thanks

Navik

[Ausmumof3]

How do you know she isn't colourblind? Fwiw my 2.5 yo isn't identifying colours correctly each time but he's getting better at it. Just use it in everyday speech. Eg. Hey darling here's your yellow spoon and your yellow plate. What a cool green truck etc.

 

My toddler loves making biscuits or squishing play dough, cleaning with a cloth, opening difficult lids on different kinds of boxes, emptying bags, drawing, plying with duplo. You don't need to do anything special unless you want to just include in whatever you are doing. Talk and explain what you are doing. Spend time outside. Reflect what they are saying. Repeat, clarify, respond.

[boscopup]

None of my kids figured out colors until sometime during age 3. I really wouldn't worry about it now.

 

Your DD sounds like she's doing great. I don't think a toddler needs a teacher or worksheets and such. Just have her help you (or whoever is caring for her outside of school) with things around the house.. cooking, cleaning, etc.

 

My most academically advanced children didn't do any academics prior to age 4 or 5. They just lived life with me, and I read to them. I talked to my kids a lot and explained what we were doing. That often led to "why" and "how" questions from kid, which then led to more learning through discussion.

 

Enjoy your little one. They grow up too fast! :)

[73349]

Let her try finger-painting. Use the color names in context rather than trying to drill. If she doesn't know them by the time she turns 4, ask her teacher.

 

If she's interested in scissors, she might like the Kumon books. I think DS was 3 before he could manage even children's scissors, though; his hands weren't big enough yet.

 

Don't overlook sensory experiences, which are great for development even though they don't look like anything educational. Toddlers who have time to play in/with water and even mud regularly are calmer and happier. If you use Pinterest, a search for "toddler sensory" will give you more ideas.

 

Are you looking for music at all? The

series of CDs is a fun way to introduce classical music.

[Guest navik_pathak]

Thanks all for reply. I am just exhausted after reading various threads on this board. It is just beautiful at the same time mind enriching what people are facing and doing. At the same token whatever i am trying to get clarification on is nothing compared to other folks. I feel much better now and want to learn more. All i needed to know that she is ok and not behind. i always read that some kids learn some things early and other things bit late so i was just looking for ideas.

 

We go to our local library a lot and participate in toddler story time or whatever is going in the library if not library we in Park. As she is almost 2.5 years i wanted ideas on planning activities for future not academically but playful/kraft/sport stuff.

 

I will definately try all of your ideas and update this thread of how is she doing in color department.

 

Thanks

Navik

[Rachel]

It sounds like your child is doing very well for her age. My third child just turned 2, I wouldn't stress about a 2 year old not knowing her colors correctly. Just like children roll over and walk at different times, they learn their colors when they are ready and don't need to be drilled. Bring up the colors in natural conversation and she will learn them. My daughter used to call things the wrong color as her way of joking, at age 4 she knows them all well.

 

I would suggest since your child is already attending a formal school program that you allow them lots of free play and spend lots of time reading to them. At the park, let them play with the equipment, dig in the dirt, or pick up sticks and use their imagination.

 

At home play dough, blocks, dolls, costumes, and Legos are all good things. Let your child explore on their own. Kids don't need a ton of toys or activities to be entertained. A sink of water, a cup, and a ladle can provide hours of fun.

[Rachel]

......:

All i needed to know that she is ok and not behind. i always read that some kids learn some things early and other things bit late so i was just looking for ideas.

.....

 

Your daughter is doing great and is probably a bit advanced in her knowledge. :) Most children younger than three do not yet know their days of the week or their months. Keep up the good work, you are doing fine.

[Guest navik_pathak]

Thanks Rach.

 

After reading on doing sorting. i gave her Big cookie pan and in it we gave her red kidney bean and white beans i was glad to see that she did separate them and of course some casualties occurred to kidney beans thrown in all direction but she enjoyed it a lot 

[MotherGoose]

Please do not worry about learning colors. Mine were oblivious until somewhere around 2.5 and then they chose a color name and then everything was "blue." Then at some point towards 3 or so it all clicked and they knew their colors. She'll figure it out. It's very rare for girls to be colorblind.

[Momling]

Since you mention you feel exhausted reading about all the activities you could be doing, it might be helpful to step back and remember that your child will continue to grow and thrive and develop regardless of whether you do any special activities with her. Short of severe neglect, there's surprisingly little you could do or not do that would change much at all. Her brain is programmed to develop and learn without any intervention or teaching. So if ever you feel stressed to read about parents attempting to teach their three yr olds to read or enrolling them in expensive classes, just remember that humanity has survived and thrived for an awfully long time without needing "special developmental activities".

[Barbara H]

Learning colors is very much a task of developmental readiness and it can't be rushed. With normal exposure in daily life I've seen equally smart and motivated kids some learn it at two and some at four. Don't worry about it, it will happen.

 

Play is the way young children learn. As long as there is conversation and interaction they will learn. 

I suggest:

imaginary play with puppets and dolls

ball games - roll back and forth

cars and trucks

music activities - dance to music, wave scarves in rhythm, have a parade around the house, march with loud feet, tip toe with quiet feet, stretch up to the sky, etc.

simple crafts - magazine gluestick and you've got an activity

helping in the kitchen - carry the napkins to the table, help spread jam on bread, help wash fruit.

helping in the house- get their own clothes out of the laundry basket, find the socks, etc. this is a meaningful sorting activity

nature walks - observe birds and squirrels, search for treasures like acorns, leaves, etc.

[Jackie]

I found a really good development checklist to be very helpful. This is the one I liked: http://ecdc.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Developmental_checklists_Updated2012.pdf

 

I could see where my daughter was in different areas compared to the average. When I found where she was in each area, I would look at the other items at that same developmental stage and come up with ways to play that would encourage the other skills as well.

[Guest navik_pathak]

Thanks Jackie that is one amazing PDF document.