Social interaction skills
A toddler participates with a caregiver in openended pretend play with a dollhouse and furnishings and toy zoo animals.
Pretend
Be Prepared: Place items in a quiet area. Organize the dollhouse furnishings and animal figures in separate groupings outside of the house.
[Invite a toddler to join you. Position yourself on the floor next to the toddler.]
Would you like to see what is in the little house today?
We could play together!
[Provide brief silence while the toddler looks in the house and at the materials. Wait for the toddler to begin playing. Allow the theme of the play to come from the toddler.]
These are zoo animals. Zoo animals do not live in people houses. But it is fun to pretend. Maybe you would like to put the zoo animals in the people house. Or maybe you would like to put the zoo animals in these little boxes.
[Describe the toddler’s actions and items that seem to be of interest. Example: “You are putting two tigers in one room of the house.” Pause so the toddler has an opportunity to respond.
Ask what you might do to contribute to the play. Examples: “I see you are putting the baby animals in the boxes. Would you like me to have an animal? Which animal would you like me to play with?” The toddler may or may not have a plan.
Invite the toddler to tell what he/she is doing. Example: “What are the baby animals doing in the boxes?” Repeat and expand upon the toddler’s comments.
Use questions to engage the toddler in conversation related to the play. Examples: “Do you think these animals can talk to each other?” “Have you been to a zoo? What was it like?”]
[Describe some highlights of the activity, including details from the toddler’s interaction with you. Example: “We had some special time to play and talk. You pretended the animals lived in the people house and told me where each one lived in the house.”]
The play items offer several different opportunities for a toddler’s focus. Some toddlers may be interested primarily in the house, whereas other toddlers may want to use the boxes to create a house for the animal figures. Toddlers may also focus on both the house and boxes, perhaps using them in a coordinated manner. Some toddlers may play with the figures as a family, others may use the dollhouse as a zoo.
Interactions between you and the toddler matter more than the sophistication of the toddler’s play with the materials. A toddler who uses few words during the activity may have many ideas about the play materials. By staying close and focused on the toddler, you communicate strong interest in the toddler even if a small number of words are exchanged. Over time, a toddler may express more ideas as he/she experiences your attention and acceptance of his/her interests and ideas.
Extra support
Enrichment
Social interaction skills
A toddler participates with a caregiver in open-ended pretend play that includes opportunities to use various felt pieces in creative ways with animal figures and blocks.
Pretend
Be Prepared: Create felt pieces in various sizes and shapes in natural colors, such as green for grass, brown for dirt, gray for stone.
Place the blocks, felt pieces, and animal figures on the floor. Invite a toddler to play with the materials. Example: “We have different animals and blocks. We also have some felt. What would you like to do with these things?”
Encourage the toddler to touch the materials, including the felt pieces. Pause for the toddler to look at and think about what is available. Offer some ideas if the toddler seems unclear about how to proceed. Examples: “Maybe you want to build a house or a zoo for the animals.”
Draw attention to the felt pieces if the toddler does not incorporate one or more into his/her play. Example: “You are building a fence for your animals. I see green and brown felt. Would you like to use a piece for your animals to walk on inside your fence?”
Ask the toddler how he/she would like you to participate. Example: “I have two lions. What would you like me to do with the lions?”
The felt pieces offer a novel play material that can be used in a number of creative ways. A toddler might use the felt as a blanket or clothing or as a rug or piece of grass for a toy animal to stand on. Whether and how the toddler uses the felt may reflect important differences across toddlers in whether the materials are used together or separately. Some toddlers may generate a play theme that incorporates all, or nearly all materials, whereas others may prefer to play with the animals or blocks separately. The felt pieces may be ignored.
Monitoring the toddler’s communications during the play period is important for determining how you might promote language during the play. The activity plan suggests that you encourage the toddler to communicate about his play activities as descriptions of what he/she intends to do or is actually doing. Example: “I see you are stacking the blocks on top of each other. Tell me about what you are building!” There are other suggestions in the activity plan and in the scaffolding tips for how to do this.
Asking the toddler what he/she wants you to do as part of the play (suggested in the plan) is a way to support the toddler’s communications. You may receive (a) no response or (b) a suggestion that you engage in an independent (parallel) play effort or (c) an invitation to join the toddler in building or doing something together. Accept the toddler’s response as an indication of his/her current approach to play and avoid joining the toddler’s actions (response “c”) if you are not invited or given a role. The “rule” here is to follow the child’s lead of his/her preferred play.
Extra support
Enrichment
Social interaction skills
Toddlers participate together in play that includes toy zoo animals, blocks, and felt pieces, and emphasizes sharing materials and noticing what others are doing.
Be Prepared: Create felt pieces in various sizes and shapes in natural colors, such as green for grass, brown for dirt, gray for stone.
Place the materials on the floor and invite 3–4 toddlers to explore and talk about the items. Invite toddlers to play together with the items, encouraging them to consider ways to build homes for the animals. Examples: “We have many zoo animals. The zoo animals need a place to live. Would you like to build something for the animals?” “How can we use these materials to build a home for the lion?” Draw attention to the felt pieces (see Option 2). Allow toddlers to take the lead in how they want to play with the materials.
Encourage toddlers to notice one another’s actions during their play. Example: “Dimitri is putting all the small blocks in a row.” “Maria put a blanket on the baby tiger. I think the baby tiger is going to sleep!”
Encourage and recognize toddlers’ interactions with each other. Example: “Maria, you gave a small block to Dimitri so he can finish his row!” Describe positive social interactions. Examples: “We are playing together with the animals!” “We are sharing the blocks.” “We are building a zoo together.”
The activity plan suggests that you promote a home-building theme for the play because a common goal in the play is likely to foster interactions among children. Toddlers may or may not follow your home-building suggestion, however. They also may or may not make use of the felt pieces, a novel item among the materials (see Option 2). What is most important is for toddlers to determine what they wish to do, either together or separately. Anticipate differences across toddlers. In a group of four toddlers, for example, 2–3 may work together and 1–2 others may do something different.
Social skills (the foundation skill promoted in this activity) can be supported in different ways. Some toddlers will enjoy interacting with their peers as part of playing with the materials. Others may prefer to play next to their peers. Pointing out what specific toddlers are doing in the activity can help foster interest in others.
Pay attention to what each toddler is doing and direct your communications to specific toddlers, tailored to what he/she is doing. Recognize both verbal (asking for an item) and nonverbal (giving an animal to each peer) interactions. Enthusiastically acknowledge toddlers’ group and individual efforts. Examples: “We worked together to make a home for the zebras! Dimitri built a fence with the small blocks and Maria put all the zebras inside.” “Sammy built a fence and then put all of the animals inside the fence.”
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: small toy zoo animal figures, blocks in different sizes, felt pieces in natural colors in a variety of sizes and shapes (such as green for grass, brown for dirt, gray for stone), several books about zoo animals
Arrange the materials on the floor or low table. Place several books with rich illustrations or photos of zoo animals near the play area. Encourage toddlers to explore the books and to interact with the related materials. Talk with toddlers about their ideas and actions.
Materials Needed: block area, small toy zoo animal figures, people figures, felt pieces in natural colors in a variety of sizes and shapes (such as green for grass, brown for dirt, gray for stone), several books about zoo animals
Children of all ages will enjoy interacting with different materials in the block area. Select a book about zoo animals and their habitats to read with the group. Place the books and materials in the block area and invite children to explore and play. Encourage older children to interact with toddlers as they play together. Babies may enjoy playing with soft blocks and chunky age-appropriate animals.
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