The month of September brought about some new changes and faces to our toddler room. We said goodbye to some friends that have moved on to the preschool room and welcomed new friends as well. With these new faces came about lots of fun experiences that were filled with sensory play, creative and social development as well as a sense of well being and engagement to help welcome our new friends into the Tod squad. We participated in some puddle play on a rainy morning, dressed in their muddy buddies, the toddlers ventured outside onto the playground and participated in some fun rainy-day activities. There were puddles for stomping, jumping and splashing in. To work our fine motor skills, we had lots of shovels and pots for scooping up the rain water and then transferring and dumping our contents into large buckets. For a sensory foamy play experience the toddlers eagerly approached our sensory bin while we filled it with foamy soapy water. This activity sparked curiosity and exploration, as the toddlers started to move their hands, into the foaming bubbles and squeal in delight. Some of our friends were so excited that they may have associated the bubbles with that of a bubble bath, just like at home, that they began to lather their arms with the soft bubbles, on their face and their noses too! Then the educators brought out some rubber ducks and baby dolls adding them into the water as well which the toddlers loved! This brought about the conversation of bath time at home as the educators asked if any of the children had rubber ducks in their baths at home too. Most of the toddlers replied with excitement “yes!”. While participating in this large group activity this morning the toddlers were encouraged to use their fine motor skills and eye hand coordination to explore with the soapy warm water and colourful water toys. They also participated in pretend play, also known as imaginative play or symbolic play. The toddlers took on the role as a caregiver, mommy or daddy and imitated a real-life daily task. Another way into every toddler’s heart is through music and what a better way to further get to know one another then by exploring with our musical instruments! The Tod squad had fun as they engaged in a sensory, music and movement activity that had them using their fine motor and eye hand coordination to manipulate a variety of different musical instruments. As they explored with them, the educators would identify them by their names. There were cymbals, drums, Morocco’s, bells, a rain stick, and tambourines. We then sang some of our favourite songs as the Tod squad band played along with their instruments. Moving, jumping and swaying their bodies as they went to the beat and sounds of the music. Music and movement activities engage young children in the learning process and help develop things like motor skills, coordination, and balance. They also improve children's language and social-emotional development and promote creative expression, and of course, it’s just plain fun! September was a busy month full of fun experiences as we got to learn more about our new peers and latest members of the Tod Squad. We are Looking forward to making more memories as we learn through play, and build on our four foundations of play, Belonging, Engagement, Expression, Well-being.
