Teaching Toddlers the Easy Way

Teaching toddlers the easy way means doing it naturally. Toddlers are naturally curious. This curiosity propels them to observe, investigate, delve and experiment.

By harnessing this curiosity and grabbing their attention through interactive conversation, activities and play you can teach them colors, shapes, numbers and letters naturally.

Every home is full of examples of different shapes and sizes. Round plates, rectangular and square table tops, tall vases, short and long trousers, large melons, small apples and oval eggs.

By emphasizing the shapes and sizes of things as they occur and being repetitive your toddler absorbs and learns naturally.

Colors are everywhere. Red, green and orange traffic lights, blue sky, white clouds, green grass, yellow sun, black tyres and black dog noses.

Numbers of things are everywhere. One mouth, two eyes, three traffic lights, four car wheels, five toes, six eggs, eight fingers, ten toes, eleven soccer players and twelve hours on a clock.

For letters you can emphasise the start letter of common objects. A for apple, B for bread, C for car, D for dog, E for ear, F for foot, G for grape, H for head and so on.

The key is to be repetitive and to emphasize the particular color, shape, size, number or letter as the situation arises.

This could be when you are reading, playing, bathing, feeding or travelling with your toddler. Also sing a few songs about the alphabet and numbers during the day as a fun way to encourage your toddler's learning.

As your toddler matures, use your imagination and creativity to formulate new activities. Introduce various arts and crafts to reinforce the basics and stimulate further learning. Draw up a few learning lesson plans and fit them in when time allows.

Time spent with toddlers encouraging them to learn and develop is one of the most satisfying things we can do. Make it fun, enjoyable and interesting, and you'll give your toddler a great start in life and yourself a great sense of achievement.

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