In this post, I share some personal experiences that relate to my daughter’s growth and development, but they are just that; experiences! Please don’t compare your children to anyone else. All children learn and grow at their own unique pace. If you have any concerns with your children’s development, please consult your child’s pediatrician.
In February, my daughter Mae and I focused on learning about our identities. All About Me is an excellent theme for toddlers beginning to develop their self-concept. It may seem challenging to curate a curriculum around young children and their identity because, let’s be honest, they are still developing their own unique personalities! However, young toddlers still have much to benefit from focusing on a curriculum that aids them in learning about themselves. Mae was only 16 months old when we covered this theme, and by the end of the month, I could see how much she had learned from this curriculum.
8 Activity Ideas for All About Me Theme for Young Toddlers
1. Describe Your Child in the Mirror
There are lots of ways to do this activity. Count your child’s fingers, eyes, mouth, and nose. For example, you could say, “You have two eyes. One, two.” You could also describe your child’s body. For instance, you could say, “You have brown eyes” or “You have black hair.” Feel free to describe yourself as well. This will help children understand that sometimes our bodies look similar, and sometimes they look different, and both are ok! You could practice naming and expressing happy, sad, and angry emotions. Mae learned the word mad this month and now uses it to express herself when we do things she doesn’t like. I feel that this activity helped her to learn to express herself better. You could also invite your child to point at their body parts while looking into the mirror. This would also be a great time to start doing positive affirmations with your child. Tell your child how brave, strong, and creative they are. Tell them that they can do hard things and that they can make good choices. Honestly, as simple as it is, Mae loved this activity. She could easily spend 15 minutes staring at her reflections while we talk and learn about our bodies together. Mae and I would do this activity multiple times so, feel free to do it as often as you wish.
2. Where is Your Nose Where Could It Be?
This idea was inspired by watching Ms. Rachel with my child. She has this song where she sings, “Where is your nose? Where could it be? Where is your nose? Point to it with me!” My daughter loves it! I decided to include it in our curriculum. I often played this game with her and replaced the nose with any body part (hands, chin, hair, etc.). Mae’s vocabulary grew so much during this time, and this song is responsible for much of it. I almost did it every day this month, and she learned the words eyes, ears, mouth, nose, knees, and toes.
3. Learning Body Parts with a Baby Doll
For this activity, I grabbed our most realistic baby doll and made some flashcards of common body parts with pictures I found online. Some of the body parts I included were eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, feet, and tummy. After gathering everything we needed, I would show Mae the card and read the word aloud. Afterward, I would show her where the body part was by pointing at my body. Then, I would invite her to show me where the body part is on her baby doll. For example, I would say, “Where are baby’s hands?” If she didn’t seem to understand, I would gently guide her hands to her baby doll’s hands.
4. Head, Sholders, Knees, and Toes
This may seem pretty simple. Almost everyone knows this song. However, children benefit from the simplest things. I often sing this to Mae while pointing to the parts of her body we were singing about. She loved it when we would go fast!
5. Feed the Baby Rice
This DIY activity is easy to make; your child will love it. First, I printed a picture of a little girl online and then glued it to an empty cereal box. Lastly, I cut a hole where the mouth would be, and this activity was ready to go! You can have your child scoop anything from dried pasta to pompom balls. Mae scooped rice that I dyed rainbow colors using food coloring. There are so many benefits to sensory activities like this. It’s terrific for helping young children practice using utensils and build on the skills they use for independent eating during mealtime. Some vocabulary you can help them learn while they play are the words eat, hungry, mouth, and food. Mae loved this activity, and we still bring it out sometimes.
6. Play Dough with People Cookie Cutters.
This month, Mae had her first experience with playdough. I kept it simple because of this. I only brought out one playdough color, one small rolling pin, and some people-shaped cookie cutters. Mae mostly enjoyed squishing the playdough in her hands. Older toddlers may enjoy using the playdough to make a sculpted self-portrait. I would love to share my favorite playdough recipe. It stays good for a long time, and even though it’s taste-safe, it definitely doesn’t taste very good. So, children won’t eat much of it even if they decide to give it a try. The Easiest Homemade Playdough Recipe {Lasts for Months!} (livingwellmom.com)
7. Magic Appearing Name
This activity requires you to write your child’s name with a white crayon, then hand them some watercolors and watch their amazement as their name appears on the paper. Mae and I froze our watercolors and did this activity outside on a warm day. Mae enjoyed watching her watercolor ice cubes melt on the paper, but she enjoyed melting the ice on the concrete outside even more.
8. Talking About Daily Routines
This DIY activity aims to help children understand routine events and what to expect from our day-to-day activities. To create it, I took pictures of Mae doing regular daily activities. Some ideas include sleeping, eating, bath time, outside play, coloring, brushing teeth, and playing. I then made some flashcards with them and laminated them. I paired these cards with her doll house so that we could talk about daily routine things as we played together.
Thank you so much for reading! What did you think about these activities? Do you have any ideas for activities for your toddlers to help them learn more about their identity? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!