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Ways for Toddlers to Indulge in Hands-On Activities for Motor and Mental Development

Ways for Toddlers to Indulge in Hands-On Activities for Motor and Mental Development

Toddlers are little bundles of energy; they are always running around, looking for ways to entertain their fertile imagination. Most toddlers also love physical activities like playing in the park. Here are some ways in which toddlers can indulge in hands-on activities for both motor and mental development.

Building blocks
Blocks can possibly claim to be the oldest toys in the world. They are useful for developing experimentation, the ability to form a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis and drawing conclusions from an experiment. This is what scientists call the basic form of scientific thinking, Blocks are also instrumental for kids learning words like over, under, up, down, beside, in, out and others. To keep your little one interested, go for differently colored blocks with various shapes and weights.

Sand and water
Simple ingredients like a basin full of sand, a bucket of water and some cups and scoops have the potential to keep your child glued for hours on end. And all throughout the exercise, he will be receiving hands on experience in textures, weight, volume and concepts of solids and liquids. You could try to pose open ended questions to him, and let him come up with imaginative answers; they do not have to be correct answers always, as long as he can think on his own.

Reverse follow the leader
In this activity, your child is in charge. You just need to follow her lead. If she wants to gambol in the playground, fine. If she decides to play at cooking, so be it.a lot of research points to the fact that toddlers learn more words when they do an activity f their choice rather than being dictated to. On top of this, concentrated attention ensures that your child is making optimum use of time and resources.

Pretend Cooking
This activity is good for developing both mental faculties as well as motor skills. Young girls will be especially drawn to this activity. Using toy spoons, cups, dishes, cookers and what not, they can cook up a virtual storm. Ask them questions as they are “cooking”, like what they are making and how they are making a particular dish.

Hide and Seek

Any list would be incomplete without this timeless classic. It is one of the best ways to develop navigation, spatial skills and mapping. It is best done with other children in tow, and the seeker has to construct a layout of the area, and check possible hiding places. Imagination also gets a good work out with this game.

SIS PREP Preschool in Gurgaon is famous for its wide array of activities that are suitable for infants, toddlers and even children up to 4 years of age. The presence of highly trained teachers ensures that all activities go as planned.

 

March 13, 2023