Object inquiry skills
Toddlers participate in a book sharing about big and little.
Invite 3–5 toddlers to join you in reading a book about things that are big and things that are little. Open the session by showing the book cover. Ask toddlers to describe what we see. Point to and name the elephant and the child sitting on the elephant. Ask toddlers to point to and say what is big (elephant) and what is little (child) on the book cover. Point to the book title when you say it.
In addition to reading the book text, use the following strategies to help toddlers strengthen their awareness of the opposites of big and little:
Conclude the session by inviting toddlers to point to and describe things in our room that are big and things that are little.
The concepts of big and small are of growing interest to many toddlers at this age, especially as they become aware of “big kids” and “little kids” in their child development center. Toddlers who are soon to move to preschool-age rooms may be particularly tuned into the idea of bigger and smaller children sharing the same room. The featured book’s colorful and often humorous illustrations provide repetitive yet engaging practice in applying the concepts of big and little to a range of items and people.
Illustrated items that are familiar to toddlers may prompt talk about experiences with the item. Actively support toddlers’ interest in describing an item or event, and offer simple connections to the activity’s focus on big and little. Example: If a toddler tells about an adult using a whistle at a big sibling’s sports practice, ask whether the whistle is a little like the whistle shown in our book. Repeat that the toddler is talking about a big brother/sister.
Extra support
Enrichment
Object inquiry skills
A toddler touches and holds items hidden in a bag and says whether each item is hard or soft.
Be Prepared: Gather small soft items, such as a rolled sock and foam ball, and small hard items, such as a wooden block and a stacking cup. Put one hard item and one soft item in each of the three bags. Close each bag in a way that makes it easy to open. The fourth set of hard and soft items is used for a brief demonstration at the beginning of the activity. Place the three closed bags near you for the activity. See Extra Support tips for modifying the activity for a toddler who is reluctant to put his/her hand in a bag.
[Invite one toddler to play a game with you. Sit on the floor facing the toddler. Place in front of the toddler the two items (one hard, one soft) intended for use at the beginning of the activity. Explain that one of the items is hard and one of the items is soft. Invite the toddler to touch and/or pick up each item and say whether it is hard or soft.]
[Point to the three closed bags.]
There are more hard things and soft things in our bags. It is fun to put our hand in a bag and feel what is inside the bag. There are two things in each bag. One thing is hard and the other is soft.
Our fingers and hands can tell what is hard and what is soft. Try not to peek inside the bag!
[If possible, hold a bag so the toddler can put his/her hand inside without first seeing the item. Some toddlers may have a strong desire to hold the bag and reach in without any assistance. Allow the toddler to lead the game of exploring the items.
Remind the toddler to use his/her hand to feel each of the things inside the bag. Encourage the toddler to then take out the item that is soft (or hard).
Communicate excitement about what the toddler removes from the bag. Affirm the toddler’s selection of a hard or soft item. Say (or invite the toddler to say) the name of the item. Example: “Wow, look at what you found! You are holding something that is soft. What is it?”
Invite the toddler to take the second item from the bag and then feel/ hold each item. Promote comparison of the two items by asking, “Which thing can you squeeze?” or “What happens when you try to squeeze the (name of hard item)?”
Continue the feeling/touching and comparison process with contents of the remaining two bags.]
There was a hard thing and a soft thing in each of our bags. How did you figure out what was soft and what was hard?
Adapt the game to meet the needs of each toddler. Some toddlers may hesitate to reach into the bag without first seeing the items. Some toddlers may dump items onto the floor or table without looking or putting a hand into a bag. A toddler’s selection of a hard (or soft) item can easily move forward with items now fully visible. Some toddlers may prefer to feel the contents of the bag through the cloth bag. See Extra Support if a toddler shows strong resistance to putting a hand in the bag, even if items can be seen in the bag.
Other toddlers may be interested in watching a toddler play the game. This can be informative for toddlers. A toddler participating in or watching the game may tell you about other things that are soft or hard. At the same time, it is important to provide other inviting materials for toddlers to pursue while waiting for a chance to play the game.
There are simple and meaningful ways to extend this activity for toddlers who are interested in hard/soft contrasts. Examples:
Extra support
Enrichment
Object inquiry skills
Toddlers move puppets up and down as part of participation in a nursery rhyme.
Be Prepared: Be familiar with the tune and first verse of the “Jack and Jill” nursery rhyme/song. Place a carpet square on the floor for each toddler. Provide larger finger puppets, if possible, because they will promote bigger movements. Suitable alternatives to finger puppets are small, soft toys or jumbo animal counters that toddlers can easily hold in one hand.
Invite toddlers to join you in pretending some puppets are going up and down a hill. Open the session by saying the first verse of “Jack and Jill” and then singing the first verse. Emphasize up and down verbally and with your arm movements. Repeat the first verse by singing again and inviting toddlers to join you.
Next, encourage toddlers to stand if they sitting. Give each toddler two puppets. Help toddlers get a puppet on each hand. Playfully lead the toddlers in moving the puppets up and down with their hands and arms. Practice a few times. Lead toddlers in moving their puppets up and down at appropriate times as you again sing the first verse of “Jack and Jill.” Move your puppets up over your head and then down to the floor.
Young children are active learners who enjoy movement. Imagining a Jack or a Jill moving up and down a hill is a useful cognitive challenge, especially when combined with physical movement and song. Some toddlers may not sing or may partially sing the song.
Look for ways to promote the motor skill of controlling a puppet. Also look for ways to promote the self-regulation skills of returning a desirable item to an adult at the end of the activity and remaining reasonably calm. Some toddlers may be very excited to move a puppet and need help remaining calm. Allow a minute of puppet dancing or free movement. Move from child to child and speak calmly, as if you are talking to the puppets themselves. Ask the puppets to sit and rest on the child’s lap.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: for an outdoor activity: sand, small pails with handles, scoops; for an indoor activity: small pails with handles and an assortment of small toys
A caregiver-guided activity for promoting two sets of opposites (heavy and light, full and empty) can be offered at an outdoor sand area that has a good amount of sand and is free of other playthings. Provide two pails and one scoop for each toddler. Explain that the pails are empty. Encourage each toddler to sit where there is plenty of space to scoop sand into one of the two pails. Describe each toddler’s actions. After one of a toddler’s pails is full, or nearly full, talk with the toddler about which pail is empty and which pail is full. Remind the toddler that both pails were empty at the beginning of our activity, and now one pail is full. Then encourage the toddler to lift each of the pails, one at a time. Talk about how one pail is heavy and the other pail is light.
The activity described above can be adapted through use of small toys that can be put into one pail but not a second pail.
Materials Needed: colorful cushion for each toddler, paper strips
In addition to offering the activity options for toddlers, promote awareness of on and off by playing a silly game of pretending to be a honeybee. Place a colorful cushion on the floor for each toddler. Encourage toddlers to move around the room (flying) and then land on a pretend flower (cushion). Encourage the toddlers to get some food (nectar) from the flower and fly off the flower. Preschool-age children may enjoy the honeybee game, too.
Preschool-age and older children can strengthen their understanding of under and over by weaving paper strips under and over to create a woven design.
Play an opposites-related movement game with an infant by singing “Up, up, up. Down, down, down.” Sit on the floor facing an infant who laying with his/her back on the floor. Gently move the infant’s feet or hands up and down as you sing. Make up your own tune or use the “Frère Jacques” tune.
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