Gross motor development, Fine motor development, Self-control
Toddlers engage in specific playful fine and gross motor movements guided by a song, and practice stopping the movement when they hear “stop” paired with a hand signal.
Be Prepared: Learn the song “Stop and Go,” available on the internet and also in the Play Your Instruments and Make a Pretty Sound CD by Ella Jenkins.
Invite toddlers to an informal gathering. Sit on the floor facing toddlers and welcome each child by name.
Explain that today we have a fun song that tells us to move and stop. Our song will surprise us with the word “stop!” Display and describe a signal for “stop” by holding your arm straight out with palm facing outward. Encourage toddlers to imitate the stop hand signal. Example: “Let’s all make the stop signal with one hand.” Repeat: “Stop.” Explain to toddlers “Now we know one part of our new song is stop.”
Point to your ears and explain that we will move our bodies and listen with our ears.
Explain that we will begin while we are sitting down. Let’s wiggle our fingers and listen with our ears! Explain that you will sing one part of our song while we wiggle our fingers. Our fingers will stop moving when we hear the word stop. Demonstrate wiggling all your fingers so all toddlers can clearly see.
Sing one verse of the song
We wiggle,
And we wiggle
And we wiggle
And we stop.
[Emphasize stop and make the stop signal with one hand.]
Ask “Did you hear the word stop? Point to your ears. Pause for toddlers to react. Respond to their verbal and nonverbal responses.
Invite toddlers to stand up and listen for the word stop in our song!
This time we can clap our hands while I sing. Demonstrate clapping your hands.
Encourage toddlers to practice clapping their hands.
Sing the next verse of the song:
We clap,
And we clap
And we clap and clap.
We clap
And we clap
And we clap
And stop.
[Exaggerate the stop signal and word.]
Add a verse about walking. Example: “Let’s walk around the rug and listen to the song. We stop when the song says stop.” Lead toddlers in walking to an area where there is adequate space for moving around.
Ask toddlers if they know how to stomp. Some toddlers may wish to demonstrate stomping steps. Acknowledge and describe the demonstrations. Example: “Big steps are like stomping.” Encourage toddlers to try stomping. Example: “Let’s all take big steps around our rug. Let’s stomp, stomp our feet.”
Ask toddlers whether our ears can hear the word stop if we are stomping. In your comments about their responses, emphasize that they will need to listen carefully. Point to your ears.
Lead toddlers in two verses with stomp as the action.
Conclude the activity by inviting toddlers to calm their bodies. Sing or quietly say “tap, tap, tap” as you lead toddlers in gently tapping their chest. Sing or talk slightly slower than usual.
Toddlers will likely differ in stopping a movement when the stop signal is provided. Approach the “stop” part of the activity as enjoyable practice in controlling the actions of our bodies. Repeating one sequence several times may help toddlers learn to anticipate the word stop and understand the pattern of the singing game. Offering both the spoken word and hand signal for stop is valuable because a toddler cannot always look for a hand signal while doing a movement.
Using your singing voice and not a recorded song offers many advantages, including opportunities to tailor the song and your volume to the needs of toddlers. See the ELM Curriculum User Guide: Birth–36 Months for more information on the benefits of your singing.
Extra support
Enrichment
Gross motor development, Self-control
Toddlers practice responding to requests for moving a streamer by swinging their arm to the front and to the back, including swinging slowly and coming to a stop.
Be Prepared: Make a rainbow streamer with mixed colors for every toddler. Cut 100 12‑inch lengths of crepe paper and bind 10 streamers together at one end with tape. Place carpet squares in a circle for toddlers to stand on. Provide sufficient distance between squares so toddlers can swing their arms. Select an activity to start the informal gathering from suggestions offered in the ELM Curriculum User Guide: Birth–36 Months. The activity will work best with 4–5 toddlers at a time.
Encourage toddlers to stand on their carpet square as they join the gathering. Explain that we will move our arms like a swing. Demonstrate and describe swinging your arms to the front and to the back, using a moderate rate of movement. Encourage toddlers to practice with you as you swing your arms and say “Our arms swing to the front, our arms swing to the back.”
Give a streamer to each toddler. Explain that we can have fun swinging our rainbow streamers to the front and to the back. Demonstrate and describe moving your streamer and lead toddlers in moving their streamers in a swinging motion. Offer guidance with a singing voice, such as “Front and back” and “Swing, swing. Front and back.”
After a few moments, say “swing and stop.” Congratulate toddlers for hearing the word “stop.” If appropriate, repeat the practice of toddlers swinging their streamers and stopping when you offer the signal.
Ask toddlers for ideas of other ways we can move our streamers. Encourage exploration and offer a minute for toddlers to move their streamers in the gathering area with you.
Offer a stop request and explain that we can learn a way to slow down our streamers. Demonstrate moving your streamer in slow motion and then hold it with two hands.
Next encourage toddlers to gently swing their streamers to the front and to the back as you lead toddlers in a song about who is with us today. Demonstrate swinging the streamer gently. Example: “Let’s swing our streamers to the front and to the back, and sing about who is here today! You may help me sing if you like. Please swing your streamer as I sing the name of every friend. I will start our song with Nakita. Please join me in singing, if you like.”
Sing a simple song, such as “Singing and Swinging,” that includes the name of each toddler who is participating in the gathering. Swing your streamer to the front and back as you sing. (Tune: “ABC Song”)
Let’s look around our group today
See what friends have come to play
Nakita and Joshua,
Diego and Marika,
Angel and Robert
Katy Jo, too.
[Continue naming all children in the gathering.]
We sing about friends who came to play.
To close the activity, suggest the streamers are tired and need a rest! Sit down facing toddlers. You may wish to sing a little song (see suggestion below) and demonstrate putting the streamer on your lap.
(Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”)
The streamers take a nap,
The streamers take a nap,
Hi ho the Derry oh, hold your streamer on your lap.
Collect the streamers.
This activity should be uncomplicated for toddlers who are accustomed to movement games. For toddlers who find it challenging to imitate your actions with streamers, it may be helpful to offer separate experiences in following hand and arm movements as part of listening to a request and watching your demonstration. Example: finger actions with “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
Repeatedly saying or singing the requested movements is intended to help toddlers become familiar with position words (front, back) and an action word (swing).
Some toddlers may have difficulty slowing down and stopping streamer movements. You may wish to repeat practice with this valuable self-control skill (Self-Regulation).
Extra support
Enrichment
Gross motor development, Self-control
Toddlers practice requested up and down arm movements as part of moving one or two scarves.
Be Prepared: Listen to the CD to choose two songs to share with toddlers, with one of the two songs to be used if there is time and toddler interest for a second round of moving scarves to music. Set up the CD or other music source in advance of the activity to avoid toddlers waiting.
[Invite a group of toddlers to join you in moving scarves to music.
Display one scarf and move it up and down with one arm.]
Today we will move scarves to music! Each of us will have two scarves. We can use our arms to move our scarves. Let’s all point to one of our arms.
[Lead toddlers in pointing to one of their arms.]
We will move our scarves up and down. Let’s all move our arms up. Now let’s all move our arms down.
[Lead toddlers in moving their arms up and then down. Say up and down with each movement.]
We need to stand on both of our feet so we do not tip or fall down when we move our arms.
[Demonstrate and describe standing firmly on both feet.]
We will want to stop moving our arms and flags when our music stops.
Please watch me carefully so you know how to move your scarves.
[Lead toddlers by demonstrating how to move their scarves. Try to follow the tempo of the music with your own scarf. Offer gradual challenge, using the movements suggested below. Repeat movements with a different pace (slowly at first, faster the second time, following the music tempo). Repeat movements that seem challenging and do not use suggested movements that may be too challenging. In movements with one arm only, it does not matter which arm toddlers use.
Stop movement requests when the music stops. Offer a second round (with different music) if time and toddler interest permit.
Offer a brief activity that helps toddlers calm down. Examples: lay on the floor with both hands on tummy, alternate sides, use one hand to pat the opposite arm, use a deep breathing technique (Block 5, Self-Regulation).]
Collect the scarves. Describe and demonstrate briefly how toddlers moved the scarves. Emphasize how toddlers looked at and followed your actions with the scarves. Talk with toddlers about what movement they liked best and why.
Some toddlers may participate by observing and holding the scarves. Provide assurances that they may move their scarves anytime they wish. When you request a different arm movement, offer a focused invitation to a toddler who is observing.
Right- and left-hand is not meaningful to teach to toddlers at this age. Avoid requesting movement of a specific arm. If necessary, refer to an opposite arm as “your other arm.”
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: building blocks, pop beads, star builders, Duck and Goose: Let’s Dance by Tad Hills; Baby Dance by Ann Taylor; Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush by Child’s Play, scarves, mirror, exercise stepper, basket, sock balls
Provide play materials that foster fine motor skills, such as small building blocks and toys that go together and come apart. Examples: pop beads or star builders. Update play materials in dramatic play centers. Add interest to the sensory tubs with different materials. Arrange appealing displays of books about movement or dance plus books that connect to a toddler’s special interest, such as birds or construction. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush by Child’s Play shows children moving in various settings familiar to toddlers.
Create a space for toddlers to continue exploring up and down movements with scarves near a mirror. Add an exercise stepper for toddlers to use in pretend play and practice stepping up and down. Another day, place a basket of sock balls in an area for toddlers to throw. Mark a space on a wall as a target to guide the direction of toddler’s throwing.
Structured moving activities can be presented to children of all ages. Mobile infants may enjoy participating by being present and interpreting the activity in their own way. It is not necessary for all children to be at the same developmental level. Some will understand and enjoy the stop and start signals and the specific directions, whereas other children may have a more free form way of moving.
Preschool-age and older children may enjoy games of Simon Says with a focus on large motor skills, such as reaching, bending, balancing, and hopping. Another game, Sound and Movement, is a group game in which each person has a turn to make a movement with an accompanying sound. Other players imitate the sound and action.
Infants in your care will enjoy your focused attention when they are moving their bodies. Describe the actions to the infant, even though he/she does not yet understand the words.
Books depicting children moving in different ways can be shared with one child or a small informal gathering to support communication and language skills.
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