At RisingOaks Early Learning| St. Nicholas, this September we welcomed new faces. We encourage our new toddlers to explore their environment, and discover what they are interested in and what they aren’t. We observe our new toddlers already making connections with peers, educators and creating a relationship.
In their first week, we observed many children finding an interest in the outdoor water function especially water and paint. On this certain day Brooke, Noemie, Bryson and Hendrix were mixing water with sand and creating a mud kitchen. They would use different shovels to transfer water over and use certain types of buckets. Many would extend their hands out to feel the water run through their fingers and feel the coldness. Noemie shared, “It’s cold,” and Brooke also shared out loud, “Water is in a big puddle.” Another day we stayed inside due to rain, the educators in the toddler room took out a sensory bin that was filled with water, bubbles, and ducks. Another small group was gathered around the bin trying to splash the ducks and their peers; this led everyone at the sensory bin to get extremely wet. Bryson, Leanna and Abigail were smiling throughout this whole activity as they were drenched in water; smiles and laughter were being shown and were filling up the toddler classroom.
On that same day, the toddlers had the opportunity to explore painting. Some would touch the paint and have a curious look on their face, and others would paint on the paper and observe the brushes as well as the texture of the sheet and paint. Looking at the domains and their development, with social development they are taking a social interest as many are engaging in small group activities as well as observing and imitating others. Looking at communication, many of the children use receptive language listening to directions and responding back to long sentences. Lastly, with physical development they are using their fine motor skills; with pincer grasp many of the children would hold items in their hand while engaging in play.
Many of our young toddlers have been seeking sensory and messy play, this allows them to explore their surroundings and partake in different learning. We will continue to provide our toddlers with more activities that allow them to engage in different types of play along with messy play.
