keep toddler busyEvery child must possess certain basic skills before they enter the preschool phase. Such introductory learning is critical, as it allows children to understand themselves, take care of themselves, and adjust to tasks which might otherwise be challenging. Self-care and adaptive skills are essential and may include everything from focusing on health and personal hygiene to getting dressed and helping parents, along with developing eating habits. Such adaptive skills combined make a toddler prepared for the preschool phase.

Certain activities reinforce these fundamental skills in toddlers, and should be introduced in the nursery and at home. Oakfield Early Learning Centre concentrates on these activities to help toddlers build their self-confidence needed for the future, coupled with independence, so they gain confidence and become responsible for little tasks like getting dressed and eating meals, by themselves.

Role Play

Role Play can be much more entertaining than just playing because it is based on a child’s imagination. It can also effectively build self-care skills. If you collect various types of clothing materials, with large buttons or zippers, and display them in front of your toddler they will want to dress up in them and in so doing will learn to fasten and button or unbutton each garment.

Let your children dress up for outdoor playtime by themselves. This will help them develop skills independently. Provide them with jackets, hats and other items they might enjoy putting on, while they take a step towards mastering both their gross and fine motor skills.

Clean up every day

Health is extremely important, which is why focusing on personal hygiene along with toilet training becomes necessary in the case of children. Toddlers must develop these skills before they are ready to attend preschool. Parents can help them just as much, at home, by introducing proper toilet habits, to teaching children how to brush their teeth regularly and bathing, leading through example. This can either be done through example or by playing pretend, which may also be effective as it involves grooming skills. You can provide children with toys or dolls they can practice brushing teeth or hair on.

At Oakfield Early Learning Centre, we have a handful of caregivers that are responsible for reinforcing hygiene-related tasks that include certain hand washing techniques, both before and after eating food, and after using the toilet or getting generally messy or dirty. These caregivers make good use of music and specific songs related to clean up or hand wash that pose visual instructions and make the task helpful yet equally entertaining for the toddlers.