How to Promote Learning in Toddlers

*Remember: YOU write anything that is RED!

Toddlers: Social & Emotional Review• How might parents

promote sharing on the playground?– By engaging children

in activities that require them to take turns

– EX:• Going down a slide• Playing on a see-saw• Throwing/rolling a ball• Going up a ladder

What will we learn today?

• Standard:– ET-ECE-7: Explore the growth, development, and

care of the toddler.• EQ:– How might a caregiver promote learning in a child

1-3 years of age?

Methods of Learning:• Incidental Learning:

– Unplanned learning– EX: Jen squeezes her new

toy dog and it barks. She quickly learns to squeeze the dog in order to hear the noise.

• Directed Learning:– Results from being taught

by parents, caregivers, teachers, or older siblings

– EX: A preschool teacher helps children learn letters by showing them flash cards with the letters printed on them.

• Trail-and-Error Learning:– When a child tries

several solutions before finding one that works

• Imitation:– Learning by watching

and copying others– Young children use their

older siblings as a model for behavior of all kinds.

10 Ways to Guide Learning in Toddlers:

1. Pay attention and encourage

2. Give time to examine choices/make decisions

3. Don't immediately take over when they struggle with a task

4. Help find things that interest them on their own

5. Demonstrate how to do a particular task and then let them do it

6. Provide simple explanations on their level

7. Provide opportunities to explore their environment

8. Take them on everyday errands

9. Allow time for unstructured play

10.

Toys are important for learning because they…

• Help children explore and imagine

• Help develop motor skills

• Help children learn to share

• Make learning easy and fun

Children ONLY learn new skills when they are physically and intellectually ready!

• Would it be a waste of time to try to teach a six-month old baby to read?

• Why?– Too young– Not intellectually mature

enough– Memory hasn’t

developed yet– Just started developing

speech

Reading Readiness:

• Depends on the environment caregivers create• Enjoying books is important when learning to read• Interact with young children while reading• The more enthusiastic the reader is, the more

enthusiastic children will become

Math Readiness:• Depends on an interest

in learning basic math concepts

• Explore: sizes, shapes, amounts, and portions

• To teach numbers: – “Talk” numbers with

them– Make a game out of

finding numbers

• Blocks and puzzles teach:– Shape recognition

(learning shape names)– Sorting (GREAT

mathematical skill)

A Guide to Learning: Toddler EditionWhat you will do:

• You will work with a partner (or alone) to create a book about toddlers

• Your book can be handmade OR made using PowerPoint

• Your book MUST include: – A Title Page

• Author/Illustrator– A Table of Contents

• page numbers– A Glossary

• page numbers– Pictures

• drawn, cut from magazines, or found on internet

Information you MUST include:

• (At Least) 2 ways parents can guide children’s learning

• (At Least) 2 roles toys play in learning AND (At Least) 2 examples of age appropriate toys

• (At Least) 2 examples of an environment that promotes intellectual development

• (At Least) 2 hazards caregivers should remove from a toddler’s reach to make a home as safe as possible

• (At Least) 2 safety concerns for toddlers

• Vocabulary: Incidental Learning, Directed learning, Developmentally Appropriate, Parallel Play, Self-Centered

DUE: February 26/27, 2014!