# What Things Do You Teach or Do to Educate Your 2.5 Year Old?



## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

Wondering what types of things we should be working on (First Time Mom), and how to do it? Would love some ideas and some stories about what you do to educate your little one at about age 2.5
Thanks!!


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## marybethorama (Jun 9, 2005)

Read, Read, Read

Draw, play-doh, stuff like that

Play outside-let them play with rocks, acorns, etc.

Talk to them, sing


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## JamieCatheryn (Dec 31, 2005)

Show them the world and follow their lead. If they ask, answer. Involve them in household stuff like cooking and cleaning. Mostly, let them figure it out.


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## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

What about counting and other stuff? I do stuff in everyday life like pointing out colors as we go, counting things as we go, but what about sitting down more structured stuff. Is it good or bad?


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## jjawm (Jun 17, 2007)

I don't sit down and do formal stuff. As far as it being bad? I guess if they're screaming or complaining I wouldn't do it. I really believe that she can learn so much through the world around her. We count things, talk about colors and animals.

Now her older brother, 11, talks to her about gravity, multiplication, the solar system and so on. It just cracks me up when she repeats phrases he's taught her. He knows it's above her head but I guess he feels like he can give her a good start in her educational life.


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## liliaceae (May 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BeingMe* 
What about counting and other stuff? I do stuff in everyday life like pointing out colors as we go, counting things as we go, but what about sitting down more structured stuff. Is it good or bad?

I don't think structured lessons are necessary for that age, although it would only be bad if they weren't enjoying it.


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## lolar2 (Nov 8, 2005)

No need. If you think it would be fun there are some Kumon art books for little ones which you could get at a bookstore, but again-- just for fun, not at all necessary.


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## Linzie2 (Sep 14, 2006)

We don't ever do anything structured. I can imagine if I wanted DD to sit through something, she'd just want to get up that much more!

So we sing songs, read books, color, create, cook and bake (alot!), those kinds of things. We talk to her (for real) and answer every question she asks, as many times as she asks (for the most part







). She also has a lot of special people in her life that teach her things, too. Aunt Lee is GREAT at songs and dance and silliness; Uncle Brian tells her about cars; Aunt Mary takes her back to the kitchen of her restaurant; Grandma Bug shows her how to clean up (and helps us clean our house!).

I think all those things are infinitely more important than "lessons". DD doesn't count and I don't sweat it. So maybe numbers aren't her thing







We still count things out like you said, and she'll probably just spit out one through ten one of these days. But for now, I'm not gonna stress about it....I've got plenty of other stress!


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## ecoteat (Mar 3, 2006)

I believe that very young children learn everything they NEED to just by living a life with caring and nurturing people, interesting experiences (and what is interesting to a 2 year old may not seem like much!), and opportunities to explore indoors and out.

In our family, that looks like dd participatng in every day activities--cooking, cleaning, etc. We spend a lot of time outside since we live on 80 acres of forest, wetlands, streams, and gardens and we are less than a mile from ocean inlets. DD is extremely articulate and inquisitive and she asks a million questions. She speaks so well that sometimes you have to remind yourself you are talking to a two year old! We are pretty social and she spends a lot of time visiting friends or having guests. For (only slightly) more formal learning, she goes to a Waldorf preschool 2 afternoons a week.


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## Polliwog (Oct 29, 2006)

I completely agree. I've been a teacher (and teacher-educator) for my whole career and have never "educated" my own kids in a formal way. I wouldn't do that in my classroom, why would I do it with my own children.

Children learn to talk by listening and experiencing. Children learn to count in the same way.


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## earthmama369 (Jul 29, 2005)

We don't do "formal" yet, but we do have a focus for our kiddos around this age, things that we pay a little extra attention to making sure we're modeling and following up on with praise or redirection. Kindness, compassion, two-way conversation, starting table manners, allowing and encouraging little bits of independence like picking out clothes and getting dressed, going potty and remembering to flush and wash up, etc. Life skills and good social habits, basically.

This is a great age for exposure to a lot of different activities, too. It's easier for a child to tell you what they want to learn about later on if they know what their options are, you know? We play with music, nature, letters and numbers, blocks, dolls, trains, dress-up and pretend, craft materials (playdough, clay, sand, mud, paint, ooblek, glue, tape, scissors, etc.), run & jump games, and so on. We go to parades and celebrations, playgroups, the library, restaurants....


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## biochick (Aug 9, 2007)

we don't do anything formal. we just learn by doing, exploring etc.

My son learned counting when we would bake or cook. We'd count the eggs we need, however many teaspoons, etc of whatever ingredient and we'd say it as we put it in the bowl or pan. He's learned a lot from reading but him being to associate is what helped him.


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## woodchick (Jan 5, 2007)

Our 2.5 year old has learned so much that we've never 'taught' her! She gleans it out of our everyday life. She knows all the ingreedients we need to make bread and helps count the cups and such while we make it.

We talk to and with her a lot and do rhyming and counting games as we go about our life.

I love being surprised when she spouts off some bit of information that I had no idea she had learned







Att 2.5 I think it is fine to let go of the 'formal educating' and just enjoy life together.


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

For us being a child is about playing. Sure we count things, sing songs like the ABCs and all but I'm not pushing learning academic stuff. We like to do alot of sensory experiences like playing in water, moon sand, etc.


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## Shera971 (Nov 26, 2008)

We do both. I really didn't think about doing any "formal" stuff until DS (3) came home from daycare (where there are older kids) wanting to do his "homework" LOL So I picked up some pre-K books at the dollar store and whenever he feels like it, we pull out the books and do counting, colours etc. I leave it up to him.

Most of the time though, he learns through playing. Like when we go for a walk when there is snow, we might talk about animals who like snow... stuff like that.


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## earthgirl (Feb 6, 2006)

We're also follow-her-lead type of educators. We get out in the world, show her things, let her explore, read, play, do art, etc. And I'm also a former preschool teacher, fwiw. I really think it's a myth that kids need formal structure in order to learn. I also don't understand why, as a culture, we seem to be completely obsessed with cognitive development. Oh, that's not a slam on you, BeingMe, I just really am curious about why we focus so much on it.


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## sewaneecook (Nov 1, 2005)

I follow DS's lead. We have lots of toys that encourage learning and when he shows interest in shapes, I teach him shapes. Same with puzzles that have colors or letters of the alphabet. I don't do anything formal, just try to follow his interests.


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## kiwiva (Apr 17, 2006)

I think we should be working on playing! That is how they learn at this age. Also lots of reading to them, especially if you can read beautifully written books. I mean that rather than Elmo Loves Me, for ex. We read all those books too but it is great when you can read well written things. Anything they are interested in is good.

I'm reading a book right now about early academics and so far it seems like that's not the best idea for most (obviously different things work for different kids!). I think it's Denmark where they don't start school until 7. Waldorf doesn't teach reading until 7. Not to say those are what every child should do, just that those kids are not ending up behind as a result of delayed academics. Pushing structured learning earlier and earlier doesn't necessarily lead to being ahead later from what I have read.

I point out everything to DD. We count things, like when we are going down stairs, for ex and I will name colors when we are doing something. We sing the abc song and read ABC books sometimes. She can count to 12 but really has no idea what it means at this point. Really I have found that the Einstein books that teach about shapes or colors or whatever are pretty boring to her so although we have some (hand me downs) it is much more interesting to ask her about pics in more interesting books. "what animals are here?" "what else do you see?"

I think it's important to expose kids to lots of things at this age. Music is great, beautiful pics are great, outdoor play is great, toys that are open ended are excellent too. They really are big sponges at this age and they learn by experiencing.


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## Mama Shifra (May 3, 2006)

Sing nursery rhymes. They help children learn about how language is structured, rhymes (which helps with phonics) and rhythm (good for future music lessons). They also help children learn about American and English speaking culture, which will help them understand various cultural references when they get to school. I particularly like _The Usborne nursery rhyme songbook_ by Caroline Hooper ; illustrated by Radhi Parekh, which is out of print, but you probably could find in your local library. It came with a tape also so you will know how the songs are supposed to sound like, if you cannot read music. _Lavender's Blue Dilly Dilly_ by Mary Thienes-Schunemann is also good and in print, but expensive.

The book _Toddlerobics_ by Zita Newcome, while also out of print, is like having a toddler gym class in your own home!

_Earthways: Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children_ by Carol Petrash has some great craft ideas as does _Creative Play for Your Toddler: Steiner Waldorf Expertise and Toy Projects for 2 - 4s_ by Christopher Clouder and Janni Nicol. Another good book is _The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections_ by Amanda Blake Soule.

If you want to do "real" schoolwork (although I wouldn't, as I would rather encourage my child to live in an imaginative world, and working on academic skills tends to kill imagination in very young children), then the board books by Jo Moon look nice. They are called _Making Letters_, _Making Numbers: A Very First Counting Book_, and _Making Shapes: A Very First Math Book_. Each letter, shape or number is indented, so that the child can feel the letter, shape or number identified.

And of course, like everybody else said, read to your child. Reading stories will give your child something to act out while your child plays.


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## isaoma (Dec 6, 2006)

I could be wrong, but I didn't get the sense the the OP wanted information on formalized coursework for her LO. I think the OP was just wondering about interesting, creative projects she and her daughter can do together









When were home, we love crafts (no suprise). It's one of my dd favorite things to do. We have "First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos". It's process oriented and it's been a great resource for color and tactile discovery through mix mediums: http://www.amazon.com/First-Art-Expe...2859717&sr=8-1

Below is a blog from a mom who uses Montessori methods to homeschool her 2.5 year old. She has lots of fun and creative projects that she does with her lo.

http://chasingcheerios.blogspot.com/


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## Miss 1928 (Nov 12, 2007)

:

subbing


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## RollerCoasterMama (Jul 22, 2008)

Mine just turned two a few weeks ago...but we mostly follow his lead. When he started learning to walk, we counted going downstairs. Just something I've always done with little kids! He learned the sounds and over the past year, figured out the concept. Now he's really fascinated by letters, so we just got an ABC puzzle. I'm not going to drill it at all...but he memorized every animal and most instruments just because he has picture books and looks at them all the time! So I figure we'll gradually learn the names of the letters and eventually he'll make the connection with the ABC song he sings.

We like to color and dance and SING (there's always singing!!!). We tried water color painting a couple weeks ago and that was fun. We like to bake, he likes to help clean up (wish I did!!)...any time he can have a task that is really helping, he loves it! He's been into books and music since he was old enough to know what either are, so those have always been a big part of our lives.

If you haven't already, try showing your toddler a few ASL signs. Just two or three. You could learn some animals or feeling words if you want some more fun. My son's whole daycare (6 kids total age 1-4) is learning since my son has always signed. They're just soaking it all up---even the four year olds! Just providing extra ways to communicate is great for toddlers and pre-schoolers. (We borrowed Signing Time from the library since neither of us knew ASL and it's a bit intimidating.)

Otherwise, your kiddo will just show you what she's interested in! Provide new experiences and answer questions and go with the flow!! I don't think there's a checklist of Things You Must Know by Three. That's something I have to remind myself of every so often. We have some extremely bright toddler girls in our lives and I know they're ahead of the curve. Plus I was a really young reader (reading well by 3, VERY well by 5). I need to consciously remind myself that DS is only just barely two years old and let him be a baby while he's still a baby! Two year olds are naturally curious and bright and learn so much! If it's not fun for your child, she won't participate.


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## tankgirl73 (Jun 10, 2007)

We do Montessori-inspired stuff with DD (25mo) and love it. I really like the philosophy. Children learn through their own exploration, and are naturally drawn towards the kinds of experiences that will 'teach' them what they developmentally need to 'learn' at any particular time.

The Montessori materials and activities are based on observing kids and seeing what sorts of activities they crave at various stages, and are built to facilitate that for them. So it gives you some structure and organization, and some confidence that they're getting the "educational" stuff they need... but it's still COMPLETELY on their own terms. They are never forced to do an activity they don't want to do. They choose what to do.

It's kind of more a philosophy about how children learn (from the inside out) and how we should assist them (by providing materials then standing back and not over-interfering, by allowing them to do things themselves) then about any PARTICULAR activities or materials.

However, some of them are just sooooooo great we use them anyway lol.

I'd send a link to some blog posts I've written about it but my blog is dead right now. Argh. We use puzzles, lacing and beading activities, shape-matching activities, and of course 'practical life' like pouring, scooping, spooning, tonging, and cooking. She looooooooooves to help me cook!

One mantra of Montessori education is "teach me to do it myself". There's a book by that title, in fact. There are several good books on preschool Montessori in the home. I confess I haven't read any yet - I read Dr Montessori's own book the Secret of Childhood, and the rest I've just learned online.

Oh, my blog may be down I can link to some pictures though... http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovecat...7612128641347/

Anyway. I'm an 'unschooler' at heart, we homeschool my older son (he's never been to school) and plan to do the same with DD. I find the Montessori ideas fit really well with our philosophies... providing a rich learning environment for them, which they then can explore at their will.

EDIT: Yay! My blog is back up! I still don't have the pictures re-uploaded so if you just see some blank areas that's all it is. But here's an article I wrote about Montessori 'play' and 'work': http://motherbynature.ca/2009/01/kid...ntessori-toys/


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## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

WOW, thank you everyone for the wonderful responses. I'm so excited to try some of these ideas with her. Especially the ones that appear really simple, but I know she will love, like transferring water from one cup to another with a sponge. You mama's are the best, thanks so much!!







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