Enrolling NOW for our 2020 Summer Camp and the 2020-2021 VPK School Year! Enroll now to ensure your child has a spot in our educational & thrilling Summer Camp and our elite VPK Program!
Whoever said, “all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy” was right. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, playtime should be prescribed to young children ranging from toddlers to adolescents. This is because playtime also boosts the child’s cognitive and spatial skills and stimulates their brains.
Here’re a few fun games you can play with your toddler as a brain-boosting activity.
Building Blocks
Every kid has played with building blocks at some point! Remember when your Legos were your favorite toy, allowing you to build whatever you wanted? Now have your toddler play with them too to unleash their creativity!
Something as simple as building blocks allows the child to develop a sense of scientific thinking and experimentation. As they add another block atop the already tall tower, they’ll learn how to balance their structure, and what happens if they place a larger or heavier block on top of the smaller or lighter one.
Hide-And-Seek
Hide-and-seek is more than just an age-old game. It’s also a great way for you to introduce your toddler to the concept of hiding, and help them enhance their spatial and navigation skills. As your child takes turns to hide and look for you, they’ll be forming a mental map of the area you’re in. This will help them visualize the place better, giving them ideas on what a good hiding spot could be. It’ll also help them navigate their way around the place as they “seek” you.
If your toddler doesn’t quite understand the concept of hiding yet, you can start by first hiding an object in front of them and asking them to look for it. This will help them learn about predictability and location.
Matching Game
This game is ideal for kids who are two or over and can be played in different ways. For instance, you can take toys of various shape and colors and ask your child to match them with a similar looking toy. Similarly, this can be done with toy animals as well where they can make categories of similar animals (for. e.g. birds and cats).
Another way to go about it is through a card game. You can draw different shapes or objects on separate cards, making sure to draw an exact pair for each. Lay half the cards out in front of your toddler, drawing side up. Stack the other half together and draw a card from the set one by one. Your child will have to find the matching pair for each card you draw.
Alternately, this game can also be used for opposite objects. Draw pictures of concepts depicting opposite pairs, for instance big and small, inside and outside, night and day, and so on. Instead of finding the matching card, your child will now look for the opposite one.
Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy offers toddler childcare program to help foster the developmental skills of your child in their early years.
Call us at 407-366-2100 to get in touch with our team and learn more about our toddler care center in Oviedo, Florida!