Social interaction skills
Toddlers take turns pretending to be an animal of their choice walking across a pretend bridge.
Balance beam
[Invite two or three toddlers to join you at the balance beam placed in an open space on a mat or rug. Welcome the toddlers and ask them to sit with you.]
Today we are going to play on our balance beam.
I think our balance beam looks like a small bridge. What do you think?
[Wait for toddlers to respond. Encourage toddlers to describe how the balance beam looks like a bridge.]
We use a bridge to get from one side to the other side of something. Bridges can go over different things. A bridge can go over a river or a railroad track or a road. People can walk on a bridge. Cars and trucks can drive on a bridge. Some bridges are for animals to walk on.
Today we are going to pretend to be animals walking across a bridge that goes over water!
Let’s think about what kind of animals we would like to pretend to be when we walk on our bridge.
[Pause for toddlers to think about what animal they would like to be. Give each toddler a turn to share their idea. Repeat and extend each toddler’s response. Example: “Gina will pretend she is a dinosaur going over our bridge!”]
We will take turns walking on our bridge. Taking turns with our balance beam means only one person can be on the bridge. We will take our turn when the bridge is empty.
I will help you take turns on the bridge. Each of you will have a turn to be your pretend animal on the bridge! We will have fun taking turns!
[Select a toddler to go first. Remind the other toddlers that they will have a turn soon. Examples: “Gina is going to be a dinosaur on our bridge first. You are going to sit on the carpet and I will tell you when the bridge is empty and it’s your turn. Let’s all watch Gina be a dinosaur!” “Jamal, your turn is next. You will be a dog on the bridge after Gina.”
Kneel next to one end of the balance beam. If toddlers need help with balance, walk along with them offering your finger or hand to hold.
Make the activity fun for the toddlers as you announce each toddler’s turn. Examples: “Next is Doggy Jamal!” “Jordan, now it is your turn!”
Celebrate good turn taking. Example: “Jamal, you waited patiently for your turn.” Give little attention to errors.
Put the balance beam away when the activity is over.]
We pretended our balance beam was a bridge. You pretended to be an animal and took turns going from one end to the other. Taking turns helped each of us be the only animal on the bridge!
Toddlers are learning about many aspects of social interactions. Learning to take turns requires intentional behavior with adult guidance and repeated experiences. This activity will be most successful when presented to two or three toddlers at a time. You are likely to see differences in abilities to control behavior while waiting, and maybe in navigating the balance beam. (See Extra Support tips.)
Toddlers understand directions better when there is guidance on what to do, rather than what not to do. Waiting for one or two friends to cross the bridge is manageable for a toddler when a caring adult provides guidance. Some toddlers will benefit from your verbalizing the order of turn taking. Example: “Now it is Rian’s turn. Next it will be Katy’s turn.”
Extra support
Enrichment
Social interaction skills
Toddlers practice taking turns with a peer(s) using a desired item (marker of a chosen color) while creating art.
Be Prepared: Select marker colors of strong interest to toddlers in your room. Limit the number of markers you provide, especially favorite colors, to facilitate the activity’s focus on sharing desired items.
Invite several toddlers to create pictures with dot markers. Encourage each toddler to select a marker to make dots or other markings on his/her paper. Describe the actions of the toddlers as they create with the markers. Example: “Cora is making blue dots in a row on her paper.”
As toddlers use the dot markers to create their pictures, encourage turn taking with the different colors of markers. Examples: “Cole, you are taking a turn with the purple dot marker. Brook said she wants purple dots, too. When you finish making purple dots, please give Brook a turn with the purple marker.” “Cora, you said you want yellow dots. You can use your words to ask Jaime to share the yellow dot marker with you when he is finished.”
Act as a coach for a child who is learning to ask for a turn. Example: “I see you are watching Nicholas using the green dot marker. Do you want to make green dots on your paper? You can say to Nicholas, ‘I want the green marker, please.’” Recognize and affirm each type of positive communication and cooperation during the activity.
Toddlers enjoy creating their own art, and this activity provides opportunities to practice taking turns with desired materials. Some toddlers may enjoy making dots on their paper and have ideas for what they wish to create. Others may prefer to make just a few dots and move on to other activities. Acknowledge each level of participation while encouraging toddlers to take turns with the provided materials.
Extra support
Some toddlers have less interest in creating art than other toddlers. You may be able to gently sustain activity with the art work by inviting a toddler to choose a second color to add to his/her picture before moving on to another activity. Example: “You made some red dots on your paper, Avery. What color dots would you like to make next?”
Enrichment
Encourage toddlers to think about what they would like to create with the dot markers. Ask what colors a toddler wants to use to create his/her picture and, if appropriate, suggest words the toddler can use to secure and share the desired colors.
Social interaction skills
Toddlers participate in a shared book reading and puppet-led description of how to share a desired item with a peer.
Be Prepared: Notice this activity involves your making up and offering a brief interactive story told by puppets and focused on sharing a farm-related toy.
Invite several toddlers to join you in a space where each toddler has a carpet square or spot to sit on. Read the book, talking with toddlers about what the boy and girl on each page are thinking and feeling. Example: “They both want to play with the robot. Their faces look frustrated and angry.” Emphasize how the two friends work it out together and share smiles at the end. Talk about the three “solutions” provided in the story:
Explain that you invited two puppet friends to tell a story. Ask the toddlers to stay on the carpet squares, watch with their eyes, and listen with their ears. Put the puppets on your hands and use your normal voice to introduce them to the toddlers. The puppets can say “hello” to the toddlers. Use the puppets to tell a short farm-based story you make up about how to find a solution to a situation where both puppets want to play with the same toy. The small farm-related toys and barn are visual props for the story. Emphasize the following in the story:
Each puppet wants to play with the barn and farm toys. The puppets cannot agree on who gets to play with the barn.
Puppets say “We have a problem.”
Puppets ask toddlers for ideas to help them solve their problem. Repeat and extend each response. Emphasize sharing and playing together with the barn or taking turns with the barn. Example: “Rhianna says we should play together with the barn. That’s a good idea! [to other puppet:] Do you want to play with me?”
Together, puppets agree to share or to take turns.
Toddlers will be delighted to hear a story by the puppets and may not be aware you are talking for each of the characters. In your own voice, thank the puppets for coming to tell the story about sharing and taking turns. If toddlers seem interested, take the puppets around to each toddler to say “hello.”
This two-part activity reinforces the use of shared problem-solving to address conflicts over wanting to use the same toy. Toddlers are likely to identify with the characters in the story who have a conflict over a toy. Some toddlers will readily understand the connection between the puppets and their own play. In your discussion of the puppet story, emphasize cooperation, such as playing together or taking turns.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: blocks, toy animal and people figures
Display several animal and people figures near small bridges you make with blocks. Invite toddlers to play with the blocks and figures. Talk with toddlers about how they can help the animals and people take turns walking across the bridges.
Materials Needed: Sharing Time by Elizabeth Verdick, two hand puppets
Children of all ages enjoy puppets. After reading the book, invite two older children to use the puppets to act out a story about sharing or taking turns. Toddlers may enjoy having a turn to act out a story with the puppets also. Talk with the children about their ideas for solving the problem of two or more children wanting to play with the same toy. Acknowledge and repeat each idea shared.
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