Have you ever wondered how to make learning feel like play for your toddler? Or how to keep them engaged when they’re so curious about the world around them?
During the Christmas holiday, we took a break from our regular homeschooling activities. Instead of structured lessons, I let learning happen naturally with whatever was available. However, this month, I decided to bring back a bit of our more intentional homeschooling routine.
Introducing New Toddler Homeschooling Content to the Blog
Although my daughter goes to school during the day, I love creating my own curriculum and activities. I originally shared this on TikTok, but I’ve since decided to focus more on blog posts, printables, and YouTube videos to give you more detailed and helpful resources. I’m really excited about this transition, and I hope it helps parents like you create unique, hands-on learning opportunities for your toddlers.
Sensory Bins, Tinker Trays, and Exploration
At home, I’ve created sensory bins and tinker trays aligned with various books and built a wooden kitchen that I swap out monthly to keep it fresh and engaging. What started as a kitchen has now transformed into a Montessori nature station and, most recently, a pretty fun and colorful ice cream shop.
I also enjoy getting out and exploring, visiting children’s museums, local zoos, libraries, nature centers, and local events—many of which are either free or very budget-friendly. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend subscribing to your local events calendar. Weekly emails often provide a sneak peek into the events happening in your area, so you can plan ahead.
National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day Toddler Fun
As an example, this February, I noticed that the first Saturday was National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. A local event was offering kids the chance to make their own ice cream. Of course, we went, and it was such a fun and memorable experience for my daughter, but also for me as her mother watching her enjoy her time with other children creating something that she could eat.
This experience brought back fond memories of making ice cream in a bag at home with my son and then heading to the park to enjoy it. You can read more about that in my 2014 Summer Bucket List.
To keep the fun going, I created an ice cream shop at home with the wooden kitchen, added ice cream-themed accessories from the different dollar stores a STEM colorful toy cash register with wooden money, a Hadley Designs color money poster framed in purple and an ice cream shop poster that I was able to download from Crafting Chicks.
We also read the book Ice Cream Face by Heidi Woodward Sheffield which arrived from the Dolly Pardon Imagination Station, watched a YouTube read-aloud, and enjoyed more ice cream.
This has turned into a week-long series of events that naturally unfold after work hours. For those who are interested, I’m in the process of creating a free printable for you to enjoy. I’ll upload it soon on both my blog and Etsy.
Final Thoughts
In the meantime, I wanted to give you a peek into our week. If you’re looking for simple ways to engage your toddler in learning while having fun, I hope this inspires you to create your own themed weeks at home.
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