How to be a Toddler Teaching Parent

Are you talking to, reading to, cleaning with and cooking in front of your toddlers? You are the natural teacher and they are the natural learner.

During preschool years children are able to learn volumes through natural experiences. With so little, they create, explore, and discover. Your job is to foster a love of learning, an awareness of the world and put educational items in their path when they show interest and readiness. 

• Just read. Read 3 books or 30, there is no right amount; but for the most part more is better. Read what they want to read. If they only want to read Splat the Cat today and it drives you bonkers, read about the darn cat for a half hour then go scream into a pillow. It's worth it. If your toddler wants to take out 10 library books, just do it! You will have the occasional late fee, you won't regret later. When they are 18 months to 2 years, start pointing out words, asking beginning sounds of common words. "Buddy, Splat is a Cat, right? What sound does cat start with? 'Kuh,' 'Kuh' cat. The C is cat says 'Kuh.'" They are picking it up, I swear. One day they will spell cat with refrigerator magnets, and it will blow your mind. 

•  Invest in products that don't light up or make a ton of noise. Invest in products that your children can create with, make mistakes, use again and use in different ways. We happen to get a monthly curriculum mailed to our house called Mother Goose Time. with Mother Goose Time, I essentially feel like you can replace all the little crafts, small toys and bits that add up over time. This is because the box has a month's worth of crafts, manipulatives that can be used for STEM fun, stories, puzzles, writing and more. Since we don't exclusively homeschool, we have treated this subscription as a fun and educational addition to our routine. This month, we have a received Mother Goose Time in exchange for sharing our experiences with the product.

•  Create a routine. While we all have bedtime routines, our kids often crave and benefit from anticipating certain activities. Have a story time with breakfast one day a week or sticker box experience after lunch. It's fun and gives a sense of order and calm to lots of kids in a very stimulating world.

• The library has free stuff. Story time, music time, weekly crafts. If you decide to use Mother Goose Time, they will even give you a super simple library list of books that work with the theme. Go get your free stuff.

• Let your child make mistakes. As the parent of a child who is strong-willed, and prone to intense emotions; I have learned the importance of encouraging trial and error, letting kids lose a game and being wrong sometimes. This month with Mother Goose Time, we talked about Our Amazing Bodies. We did everything from paint and brush giant teeth to make instruments to tease our senses. During one art project where my son was expected to decorate and lace together a bejeweled crown, I asked him to place two dots of glue and two jewels on each triangle that was in front of him. I told him that I was hoping we could practice counting by twos. As he was working, I pointed out that a couple had three jewels. It's not a big deal I know, and maybe to some, not worth mentioning, but I want my son to practice following directions so that soon, he can complete the things he enjoys independently. He wasn't happy that I pointed it out, he said I "should have said some two, some three!" I told him that it was okay, and next time I will give him a reminder or ask him to help me pick the number. In fact, I get two sets of Mother Goose Time art projects (a small cost difference) so that we can have fun, make mistakes and have more chances to learn.
  

• Find out if a friend or spouse has a free or discounted membership through their job to local museums, gardens etc. Or find out about free community days. We LOVE our local botanic garden. My son rolls down hills and I take home free seeds for my garden. 

• Go on Meetup.com and Facebook and add yourself to home schooling groups, mom or dad groups. There are a ton. Some are lame. Some are awesome. Go to a meet up. Your kid might find you a new friend and that friend might have new ideas for you. If you give a mom a meet up, she will find a mom to drink coffee with and talk about lack of showering with.