Social interaction skills
A toddler participates in a book sharing that focuses on how children in the illustrations are different and the same.
All Kinds of People by Shelley Rotner & Sheila M. Kelly
Communication / Language
[Invite a toddler to read a book with you.]
Our book has many pictures of children. The children shown in our book live with their families in many different parts of our world. The world is a very big place.
Some of the children in our book are different than children in our room or other children we know. The children in our book are also the same. One of the ways they are the same is that they are all children. I think you will like this book.
[Show book cover. Point to the child.]
Let’s look at the child in this picture. She is with her family.
The girl on the cover of our book is smiling.
[Continue to look at and talk with the toddler about book illustrations. You may wish to read the text or use your own words to describe pictures.
Emphasize ways in which children are the same or different in physical characteristics and their actions. Examples: “The boys in this picture are doing the same thing. They are smiling at each other! I think both boys in this picture are happy.” “Please look at the girls in this picture. Their hair is different. This girl has brown hair. This girl has black hair. The girls are doing the same thing. They are reading a book together.”
Repeat and expand the toddler’s words. Example: “Yes, these boys are playing in the water. I think they are having fun together.”
Encourage the toddler to connect himself/herself to children shown in the book. Example: “This girl is laughing. You like to laugh, too.”]
Our book had lots of pictures of children who live in different parts of the world. Some of the children looked different than children in our room or other children in the book. Many of the children were doing the same thing, like smiling or looking at a book. We talked about the ways you are the same as the children shown in our book. We enjoyed looking at all the pictures. What was your favorite picture?
Toddlers are beginning to learn about self and others. This is also the age (two years) when children begin to notice gender and physical differences, including skin color. This book encourages toddlers to consider ways in which children are the same and different. Approach the book sharing in relation to the toddler’s interest in looking at the pictures. Some toddlers may notice differences and some may not. Look carefully at what the toddler notices on a page. The one-to-one context of this activity provides strong opportunities for you to tailor the book sharing to a toddler’s interests.
The opening segment suggests some basic information to share with the toddler about the world. Cognitively, toddlers are not able to develop a concrete understanding of the world, although they may have lived in different parts of the world or have family members who visit or stay for lengthy periods of time in another part of the world.
Extra support
Enrichment
Social interaction skills
Toddlers participate in a book sharing with a follow-up opportunity to use a handheld mirror to see ways their face is special.
Be Prepared: Make sure the handheld mirrors are safe for child use.
Invite several toddlers to read the book with you. Talk with toddlers about how specific sets of children shown in the book are the same and different, such as gender, hair color, clothing, smiles.
Explain that each of our faces is special. We can use mirrors to look at our face and think about what is special about our face. Give each toddler a mirror and invite all toddlers to look at their face in the mirror. Offer guidance on what to look at. Examples: “All of us have eyes. Let’s look at our eyes in our mirrors. How are our eyes special? Do we all have the same color of eyes?” Encourage toddlers to use their mirrors to look closely at other ways our faces are different or special, such as our mouth, teeth, and nose. Support toddlers’ comments about what they see.
An important step in developing a positive identity is to appreciate how we are special as well as similar to (or the same as) others. Looking at our facial features can be a useful contribution to this process. Toddlers generally enjoy the experience of holding a mirror and looking at their reflection. Some may look closely at their features, such as eye color. Some may enjoy making silly faces. Encourage toddlers to explore their reflections in their own ways. Example: “Jamar is sticking his tongue out. He is making a silly face! Do you think all of our silly faces are the same, or are they different? How are they the same (or different)?”
Extra support
Enrichment
Social interaction skills
Toddlers participate in a book sharing with a follow-up opportunity to draw a picture of their face for a book featuring children in their room.
Be Prepared: Secure materials for assembling pages of children’s drawings into a book. You may wish to prepare part of the cover in advance of the session and display it to toddlers when you invite them to draw a picture of their face. Tailor the book title to your room, such as Awesome Children in the Green Room, or The Smiling Faces of the Green Room.
Invite several toddlers to join you in looking at pictures in the All Kinds of People book. Talk with toddlers about how children shown in the book are different from one another and also the same. See Option 2 plan for suggestions.
After the book sharing, explain that we can make a book of children in our room. Invite toddlers to create a self-portrait. Give each toddler a piece of drawing paper and provide drawing tools. Encourage toddlers to draw a picture of their face when they are smiling or excited about something. You may wish to provide reminders of characteristics of a face—eyes, nose, mouth—but avoid telling children what to draw.
Encourage self-expression in the drawing segment of the activity. Invite toddlers to talk about what they are drawing. Example: “You are making circles on your paper. What are you drawing?”
After interested toddlers have drawn a picture of self, create a book that can be placed in the book area for toddlers and families to enjoy.
Toddlers may make marks on their paper that represent their ideas of a self-portrait, or they may simply enjoy the experience of drawing without an obvious plan for making a picture of self. At this age, some toddlers are beginning to make marks that represent people or things, whereas others are learning how to make different types of marks on paper. Toddlers are not expected to draw recognizable faces, although in their view a set of markings may represent a face or features of a face. Compiling the drawings into a book helps to create a sense of belonging and community in your room.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: small handheld mirrors—1 per toddler, several books with pictures of children, drawing paper, crayons
Arrange the items on a low table. Invite toddlers to explore the books and their reflection in the mirror. Encourage toddlers to draw a picture of what their face (or a part of their face, such as eyes) looks like in the mirror or a picture of a friend.
Materials Needed: drawing paper, crayons or markers, book-making supplies
Children of all ages love to look at photos of themselves and each other. Adapt Option 3 for each age group in your setting. Older children may wish to write their own name on their paper. You may wish to laminate or use contact paper to protect photos of babies ahead of time so they may look at and hold their pictures during the activity. Children will enjoy looking independently or with peers at the book of drawings of children in your setting.
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