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Looking for interesting but educational activities for 2 year olds at home? This article will help
We all know this: the best way for a kid to learn at the age of around 2 years is through play.
That being so, below are some educational activities for 2-year-olds at home (you can always explore outdoor games like bug identification but this article is mainly about indoors)
Educational activities for 2 year olds at home
Don’t stress too much about formally learning letters, numbers, colors, and more at this age- just try these immensely educational games/activities:
Modeling counting
You might not know this but modeling counting prepares your little one to count objects and may be labeling them later as he/she is growing up.
Reading with him/her
Reading is also very important for your boy/girl….obviously, at 2 years, you don’t expect him/her to either read or understand.
For that reason, you must read it to him/her while he/she follows along..
Here are some Pleasure to read and easy enough books for 2 year olds including a couple of brilliant Julia Donaldson’s toddler books
- Room on the Broom(Julia Donaldson)
- Teeth Are Not for Biting(Elizabeth Verdick)
- Hands Are Not for Hitting(Martine Agassi Ph.D.)
- Whale and the snail(Julia Donaldson)
- The Gruffalo(Julia Donaldson)
- The-Rock-from-the Sky (Jon Klassen)
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom– a Children’s classic for learning letters
- My Very First Mother Goose– one of the Shakespeares of Kindergarten.
You can also just buy an age-appropriate storybook and read it aloud to your son/daughter as you explain to make he/she understand.
If that’s what you have in mind, here are some interesting bedtime story books for 2YOs
And if you prefer to read to them at bedtime, here are some of my favorite bedtime story books for a 2YO (they teach different things):
- Richard scary anthology(Stephen King)
- Are you my mother?(D. Eastman)
- The little red hen(P. Miller)
- Gossie and Gertie(Olivier Dunrea)
- Elmer series -by David McKee
- Goodnight Train(June Sobel)
- Goodnight Moon(Margaret Wise Brown)
I should mention that reading majorly helps your son/daughter learn sounds, words, and language.
In addition, reading also helps your boy/girl to start developing other crucial skills including empathy, problem-solving, and morality- depending on the book you’re reading to them.
Storytelling
Telling your own story is a nice alternative to reading a storybook (storytelling helps in developing their language).
Examples
Example 1
You can tell him the story of his day-Talk about the things that happened when he got up, his breakfast, what he did in the early morning, etc.
Be sure to add fictional elements. Say “he ate his eggs and he occasionally slipped a piece to his friend-the spotted snorklewhacker hiding under the table.”
Example 2
Get a Rory’s Story Cubes set – They are dice with various pictures. You simply roll them and come up with a story that is incorporating the objects/or actions.
One last tip:
Take advantage of any old family stories your parents told you.
I can remember my mother telling me family stories about the pranks my uncles and aunties would play on one another.
Here is the thing: Don’t worry a lot about proper structure- If you are both having fun, then you’re doing it the right way!
Singing songs
Singing is not only fun but also highly educative.
To start with, do ABC songs – this will prepare your boy/girl for alphabets hence he/she could later find saying the letters and writing them easier.
Quick Tip: As you sing or listen to the songs you choose, point at the things the song is mentioning, for example, body parts.
It will again help your toddler learn sounds, words, and the meaning of some words.
Drawing board
Now that you want to engage your boy/girl in educational activities, don’t leave out the drawing board.
When it comes to the drawing board for a 2-year-old, you can start with a magnetic education drawing board– you can draw something, for example, a cup or spoon and ask him/her what it is then tell them.
Besides, you can draw numbers, letters, and pictures of things outside the house so it not just learning 123’s and ABC’s – it will help in bringing out creativity.
Coloring
Colorings for your 2-year-old will be more effective if you use different colors because your aim is to educate your toddler about myriad colors.
The point is to have your son/daughter start differentiating colors even though he/she may not yet be able to name the colors.
Sorting items by colors
Still in learning colors, why not try sorting items by colors your boy/girl?
You just need to get some colored puff balls, if possible, the craft kind or pipe cleaners, and practice sorting by color.
It is a good activity because it will teach your son/daughter how to sort things and also different colors as he/she is growing.
Playdough
I know you might not like the idea of play dough for your toddler because he/she might eat it.
Fortunately, you can use edible doh or thick oatmeal.
Now, you want to have your boy or girl play with the playdough because it is not only fun but could also help your kid in math, science, language skills, and more
More Educational activities for 2 year olds at home
Continue reading if you’re searching for more to-do educational activities for 2 year olds at home…
Labeling
Labeling stuff is one way you can help your girl/boy learn to identify things..
You can, for example, go to the store with your toddler and make sure you mention everything that you’re buying to him or her.
Quick Tip: Label whatever you’re buying with him/her in a way you will make him/her understand they’re different things.
In addition, count the things you’re buying as you pack each in the shopping basket- it’s good for learning maths.
Pointing and touching
Still in the store, you can teach your toddler so many things by pointing and letting him/her touch.
Example:
When you buy a cup, point at the cup then ask the boy/girl to touch it. Once he/she touches it, tell him/her what exactly it is and ask him/her to say after you.
Arts and crafts
Find some crafts ideas you can work on with your baby together and create time to do them.
A good way of starting is by making huts, chairs, tables, shapes, and numbers from sheets of paper.
Dressing and undressing
Your boy /girl is still young but that doesn’t mean that the child should not be learning how to dress and undress.
So start teaching him/her or encouraging the toddler to dress and undress himself/herself.
To begin with, slowly reduce the amount of help you offer to your son/daughter when dressing and undressing.
Example: If yesterday you helped her put on his/her socks, don’t help today but instead tell him/her to try on their own.
Cleaning and collecting items
The early you teach your child to be responsible, the better for everyone and you can start by asking him or her to collect his/her toys after playing.
Furthermore, you can give your little boy or girl a tablecloth and ask him/her to clean the table after eating.
Pretend tea party
Here, pretend that you’re having a tea party and your son/daughter wants you to pour tea.
You offer a blue cup and a green cup then you ask him/her which cup they want: “Do you want the blue one or the pink one?”
Maybe he/she will point at the green cup.
Now, you need to confirm if he/she said the green cup by asking “You said you want the green one. Right?”
If they say yes, you hand over the green cup and pour some tea and go on asking them if they want some more and the pretend tea party continues.
This will teach your child/children to know what they want, to differentiate colors, and how to express himself/herself.
Educational activities for 2 year olds at home -Wrapping up
At 2 years of age, your child is still a toddler but learning is very important for him or her.
Just to add, learning through activities is easier because young children love playing.
That’s where the above educational activities for 2 year olds come in- and I’m sure your boy/girl will probably learn so many things by doing them.
Enjoy your learning time both of you as your explore the listed educational activities for 2 year olds at home!
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