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Fun activities to promote a toddler's social and emotional development
Healthy social and emotional development for toddlers can lead to them becoming well-rounded and happy adults. To promote this vital development in your classroom, here are a few fun and engaging activities:
- Let's play ball: To teach your students the value of sharing, go outside on a day with great weather and have them take turns kicking a soft ball to each other. Have them call out each others' names or point first to stress the importance of intentionality. This can help them get to know their peers even more.
- Collaborative art projects: While having your students create their own artwork is beneficial to their creative growth, it is also helpful for them to join in on collaborative art projects with fellow students. Team up two, three or more students and tell them to draw, paint and make a picture that depicts a certain subject, such as their favorite snack or what they like to do for fun.
- Name that emotion: Understanding complex emotions as a toddler can be overwhelming. This is why it is helpful to create emotion cards, such as a smiley face to represent happiness or frowny face to demonstrate being upset. Encourage your students to choose and hold up one of these pictures when they are particularly emotional, so that they can begin to understand what they are feeling.
At ProSolutions Training, we offer a variety of helpful online child care courses for early childhood education professionals. Some of these innovative courses include "Activities that Promote Social and Emotional Development in Toddlers" which provides learners with major social and emotional milestones for toddlers and activities that will address these various stages of development. Contact us today to learn more!
