by S J

Created on: February 09, 2007   Last Updated: March 29, 2007

The Mama's Lap is the Best School for Toddler

School for toddlers? Honestly, what is the rush? When did academics become more important than childhood? When did schedules and calendars replace picnics and rocking chairs? There is something so pure and so precious about the toddler years. These early years are the ones that initiate a child into the world. So many of their "firsts" will happen between birth and age 4. Why would any parent, that has a choice, want to miss any of those moments?

Some parents might feel inadequate to provide the appropriate environment for a developing child. They might suggest that since they are not a teacher, then they are not qualified to give their child the tools for future success in elementary school and beyond. To that argument, as a mom and a teacher, I would remind parents that the best head-start you can give your child is your time. Instead of packing your toddler up and joining the carpool, include some of the following components into your day at home with your child:

*Give your child the gift a schedule that works for them. Most toddlers need a routine to function at their best. Be sure to build a nap into the middle of the day (after a noon lunch works well). Your child will be happier and you will have the needed time to yourself as well. Try to follow a regular mealtime as well. Children use such activities to gage their day. It helps them understand the concept of time far before they can read a clock. Also, get them to bed on a schedule as well. Some of the worst times of the day happen late in the afternoon when is a child is overly tired. Everyone is their best when well rested.

*Know ahead of time how you want to spend your day with your child. Children like routines and boundaries and you will too, once you understand how they work to your advantage. An example of a planned day might look like this:
1)Breakfast
2)Toddler plays with bubbles in sink while mom cleans up dishes
3)Take a walk outside
4)Story time
5)Independent play time. Child plays with some special toys while mom makes lunch
6)Lunch
7)Nap time or quiet time in room. Mom, this is your time to make phone calls, do that laundry or take a nap yourself!
8)Visit the library, the park or the post office. I found that my children liked "field trips" on a regular basis. Even the grocery store can be a field trip when you give a child their own list and let them push a cart.
9)Dance time. Put on some fun music and work out all the wiggles with some boogie time.
10)Yard time. Pull the wagon around the back yard collecting favorite rocks and sticks. Play in the sand box or on the swings.
11)Supper Prep. Give your child some bread to butter or batter to stir while you prepare dinner.
12)Dinner.
13)Bath time! Take advantage of this preferred activity to teach about shapes and colors and wet and dry etc....by having a variety of fun, educational bath toys.

You did it! You just provided your child with an amazing day of learning and loving! Any toddler school would have had to simulate those activities in a far less conducive environment. You child would not have gotten nearly as much individual attention and might not have even been able to be an active participant in many of the activities. Plus, you got to do it together. No school will ever replace that.

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