Social-Emotional Development
Calming Strategy – S.T.A.R. Breathing
Let’s review this popular calming strategy. Repeat a few times.
S—Stop
T—Take a deep breath
A—And
R—Relax
Cognitive Development
Wax Paper Colour Mixing
Here is an engaging activity to explore colours. Provide your child with a large piece of wax paper. Your child will need three containers of coloured water (use red, yellow and blue food colouring) and an eyedropper. If you don’t have an eyedropper, you could use the end of a straw, a cotton swab or even a spoon. You just need something that you can drip water from. Show your child how to drip the coloured water onto the wax paper one drop at a time. The water will bubble up and the droplets can be dragged together using the end of the eyedropper to make bigger drops or new colours.
Language Development
I Spy
Choose an item in the room or outside. Give your child colour clues about the object. “I spy something with my little eye that is red.” Encourage your child to guess what the item is. When your child guesses it, it is their turn to give the clue. Continue playing, taking turns with your child.
Physical Literacy
Toss & Catch
Encourage your child to practice their toss and catch skills. All you need is a bean bag, small stuffed toy or rolled-up socks. Your child tosses the bean bag up into the air and then catches the toss. For variety, use a softball (bigger balls are easier, like a beach ball) or count how many times they can catch the bean bag before missing.
Creative Activity
Make a Rainbow
Children love rainbows. Talk with your child about the colours in the rainbow and invite your child to create a rainbow using any materials from around the house. They could make the rainbow outside with sidewalk chalk, use markers, crayons, paint, coloured paper, beads, Fruit Loops, or whatever colourful items you have on hand. They could even use a variety of different items.
Additional Resources
Try this website for budget-friendly Montessori activities to do with your child. The site includes motor skills, practical life skills, play activities, fine motor skills, language and math activities and arts, craft and music ideas.
https://www.mylittlemoppet.com/fun-easy-and-budget-friendly-montessori-activities-for-kids/
Head to this Active for Life website to find 49 fun physical activities to do with your 2 to 4-year old. You can also find some resources for parents and articles to read. A couple of titles that might be of interest at this time, “42 Easy Activities to Keep Kids Busy While Parents Work at Home” and “School’s Cancelled—What Now? Here Are 200+ Activities You Can Do with Kids at Home”.
https://activeforlife.com/49-fun-physical-activities-to-do-with-kids-aged-2-to-4/