Social interaction skills
Toddlers help a caregiver with a cleaning task.
Be Prepared: Put one inch of warm water in the tub with several drops of baby shampoo to create soapy bubbles for washing a table. Alternatively, you may wish to use a spray bottle to lightly spray the table and invite toddlers to use dry sponges to wipe up the water.
[Invite several toddlers to join you at a low table.]
I am looking for some helpers to wash our table. I have a sponge for each of you. We can wet the sponges and then use them to clean.
Who would like to help clean our table? It is great to have helpers!
[Pause for the toddlers to respond. Give each interested toddler a damp sponge.]
Let’s use our sponges to clean our table! We can push your sponge down and move it back and forth, like this. We use our hands and arms to move our sponge on the table.
[Demonstrate how to move the sponge side to side. Acknowledge each toddler’s efforts. Example: “Isaiah is moving his sponge back and forth. Isaiah is helping to clean our table!”]
Would you like to wet your sponges in the water? You can put your sponge in the water and then squeeze it with your hand, like this.
[Demonstrate the squeezing motion and invite each toddler to take a turn wetting their sponge.
Continue to encourage the toddlers to wash the table, acknowledging each of their efforts. Example: “Jordan is using her sponge to make the table clean!”
As the activity wraps up, thank the toddlers for being good helpers. Ask them to put the sponges into the tub. Dry any wet spots on the floor.]
You were helpers today! You helped me wash our table. We worked hard with our hands and arms. The table is really clean now! We all take care of our room.
This activity is a simple and enjoyable way for toddlers to experience being a helper in a classroom community. Learning to help others is an important step in the development of prosocial behaviors. Look for ways to point out the use of hands and arms, as suggested in the activity description, to strengthen awareness of how we use parts of our body.
Toddlers may wish to come and go from this activity. Acknowledge their contributions. Example: “Jordan helped us wash the table. Now she is going to find another activity. Thank you, Jordan, for being a helper!” Emphasize each toddler’s efforts to help, rather than the amount of participation.
Extra support
Enrichment
Social interaction skills
A toddler helps water a plant in your room.
Invite a toddler to help you water a plant(s) in your room. Explain that plants need water in order to stay healthy and to grow. Invite the toddler to visit each of the plants with you to determine if they need water. Describe how you are feeling the dirt to see if it is dry. Encourage the toddler to help hold the watering can as you fill it with water. Use smaller amounts of water to make the watering can easier for the toddler to carry and to discourage overwatering. Encourage the toddler to carry the watering can to the first plant. Provide hand-over-hand support to help the toddler slowly pour a small amount of water into the pot. Affirm the toddler’s efforts to help the plant(s) stay healthy and grow. Example: “You had a special job today, Justice. You gave our plants water and helped them to grow! You are a good helper.”
Some toddlers will be able to carry the watering can to a plant independently, whereas others may need support. The activity description suggests hand-on-hand support for tipping the watering can, but some toddlers may not need this level of assistance. It is important to encourage a toddler to do as much as he/she can on his/her own. Spills can be easily cleaned up and overwatering can be avoided if there is a small amount of water in the can. Emphasize and acknowledge the toddler’s efforts to help the plants rather than their success in completing the job correctly. If a toddler is not interested in helping to care for a plant, offer a different meaningful contribution to your room, such as using a small brush and dustpan to sweep under the sensory table.
Extra support
Enrichment
Social interaction skills
Toddlers work together to organize materials in the room.
Be Prepared: Put the blocks in the basket and prepare an empty shelf for the blocks to be stacked on. Place the basket of blocks nearby, but far enough away for toddlers to have the opportunity to carry the blocks to the shelf.
Invite several toddlers to help with an important job. Explain that the blocks in the basket need to be moved to the empty shelf. Demonstrate picking up a block with both hands and carrying it to the shelf. Encourage toddlers to work together to place all the blocks on the shelf. Provide support and guidance as the toddlers move the blocks together. This may include the following strategies:
Affirm the toddlers’ efforts, including cooperation. Example: “You all worked together to move the blocks to the shelf! Look at all the blocks stacked on our shelf! We all take care of our room. You are good helpers.”
This activity provides an opportunity for toddlers to work together to help care for some materials in the room. It is an informal introduction to some of the cleanup routines in preschool-age rooms. In addition to looking for ways to acknowledge and promote cooperation, pay attention to whether guidance is needed for the logistics of sharing space at the container of blocks, walking from box to shelf, and at the shelf. Toddlers may be eager to do their job and not notice that another toddler is trying to pick up blocks from the same section of the box or put blocks on the same part of the shelf. High levels of eagerness or excitement about the task may also prompt some toddlers to bump into each other while carrying a block.
You may wish to offer an expectation about the number of blocks a toddler is to carry. A toddler can benefit from figuring out how many blocks he/she can reasonably carry. On the other hand, setting a limit can help prevent toddlers from dropping blocks that others may stumble over. Encourage toddlers to persist in completing the task of moving the blocks to the shelf. See the Extra Support tip idea of making up a chant to say or sing as toddlers carry the blocks.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: sensory table with water, baby shampoo, several sponges, towel or paper towels, toy kitchen items (such as dishes, pots and pans, eating utensils)
Place the toy kitchen items in an inch of warm water in the sensory table with a small amount of baby shampoo. Explain that our toys need to be cleaned. Invite toddlers to use sponges to wash the items. Talk with toddlers about their actions with the materials. If water spills out, ask toddlers to help by using the towel/paper towels to wipe it up.
Materials Needed: none
Options 1 and 3 emphasize cooperating with a peer. If there is a limited number of toddlers in your setting for implementing these activity options, consider pairing a toddler with an older toddler or preschool-age child. Another possibility is to emphasize jointly working with you as part of these activities. Doing the tasks independently does not support the foundation skill promoted in the activities.
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