Activity stations are a daily occurrence at TLC. Stations are mainly used in the toddler and preschool classrooms to give the children the freedom to make choices and try multiple fun activities. Our teacher take great care planning these activities to target motor skills and get the children thinking about colors, shapes, problem solving and more.
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Look below to see what Ms. Kendra worked on with the Toddler class today. It is important to give children the tools to discover new ways to play with their toys as it encourages creativity, discovery, and problem solving. You might notice that your child is getting bored of their toys, but as we know, having too many toys can be overwhelming and actually discourage productive play. Helping your child find new ways to play with the toys they already have is a great solution. If you are wondering about ways to engage your child in learning through play, any of our teachers would be happy to share some of their strategies.  The strategy Ms. Kendra uses here encourages the children to experiment with the different toys in the room that can be used for building. Here we see magnet tiles, wooden blocks, Legos and toys from the loose parts bin. This not only encourages creativity but it also allows the children to learn cause and effect and practice problem solving. For example, they can figure out which parts are going to stand on their own to be the foundation, which loose parts will stick to the magnets, how tall a tower can be built before it falls down, and more.
Our teachers have so much fun coming up with creative ways to decorate for the seasons. Take a look at how Ms. Alyssa decorated the Toddler 1 door for fall with pictures of the children and a craft they did as a class.  Below you can see action shots of the Toddler 1 class painting leaves they collected together outside. After they dried, Ms. Alyssa laminated them to preserve the art and hung them on the door, as you can see above.  A closer look at the painted leaves.
Here at TLC, we make sure that when a child moves up to a different classroom, the transition is as comfortable and as seamless as possible. Here you will see Sutton during her first week moving from Young Explorers to a Toddler classroom. During the transition week, we slowly introduce the child to their new classroom. We start off with short visits in the beginning of the week and lengthen those visits each day. By Friday they spend their first full day in their new room! It may seem like a big step to most, but we find that through continued routine and structure, it is very easy for a child to pick up on their new expectations. It is a huge benefit for the child to be able to see their peers following routine, engaging in activities, and using effective communication. Very soon after a child is brought into a Toddler room, their communication skills blossom as they pick up on how their peers deal with issues, play with each other, and communicate with their teachers. As you can see below, Sutton saw her peers decorating the potted branches and eagerly engaged in the activity with minimal teacher instruction. Need an activity to try out with your little one? Why not try out what Ms. Kendra's Toddler 1 class came up with. Ms. Kendra set up plastic ramps with a long strip of paper at the end. She had the children dip their toy cars in paint and watch them fly down the ramp. The paint leaves stripes on the paper that creates a really cool, abstract looking painting. A helpful tip: water down the paint so the wheels can turn easier and the paint spread farther. Look below to see how Ms. Kendra displayed their art.  After the kids covered the paper in paint, Ms. Kendra cut out square pieces and framed them on the wall. This is such a fun way to create wall art with your child that they can be proud of and brings back great memories!
 All of our classrooms love to do art projects and proudly hang them in the room or in our hallways. The kids love seeing their hard work displayed, proudly pointing it out to teachers and parents.  Here is what our Lead Toddler Teacher has to say about this project, "One of our biggest goals in our toddler room is teaching and encouraging positive ways to express ourselves. That is hard when you’re a toddler but expanding our vocabulary and tuning into our body’s 5 senses is a good place to start. Today we finished our textured flower! During this project we used oats, sand, corn meal, paint, watercolor, contact paper, wax paper, string, foil, shaving cream, cinnamon, and fabric. Exploring different textures with toddlers creates so much opportunity for them to organically express their senses and expand their vocabulary. " -Ms. Kendra
Welcome to the new TLC blog! Here we will post about our day-to-day activities, our special events, as well as give any parents of young children ideas of how to entertain their children at home in a way that promotes development. If you are considering TLC for your child, look though this blog to see if we provide the type of care you want for your child. If it is, reach out to us in the office and we would be happy to answer all questions and give you a tour!  Our Toddler 1 class enjoying a walk around our walk path!
Staying Engaged: We love giving our kids the opportunity to explore nature, searching for plants, bugs, or whatever they are interested in. At TLC, we take notice of what each kid is finding interest in and then find a way to implement those interests into our lesson plans. We believe that teaching through their interests promotes engagement and provides a more valuable learning experience. |
Welcome to TLC blog!Welcome to the TLC blog! Here you will discover all the different activities we do at TLC with our wonderfully curious children. ArchivesCategories
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