Discovery at Home – Page 3 – Kansas Children's Discovery Center

Spider Web Game: Discovery at Home Toddler Time

Ways to expand the activity:

Allow for some serious fun individual play as your child discovers the joy of creating their own pretend fun.
After a time, join in the fun and allow your toddler to direct you. What else should be placed in the basket web? Which item is the easiest to take out?

What do they learn?

Your toddler learns how to create their own fun. They create, problem solve, self-soothe and stimulate.
They learn about themselves. They learn that cradling a toy they rescued from the spider can help them feel connected and valued in a relationship. They actively practice the physical movements that their body craves: stretching, reaching, balancing and touching.
Autonomy. They learn what it feels like to be successful. With each discovery, decision, movement and creation, your toddler is learning to trust and value him or herself.

Toddler Kazoo: Discovery at Home Toddler Time

What you need:

Cardboard tubes (long or short)
Wax paper
Rubber bands

Directions:

Cover one end of the tube with wax paper.
Secure the wax paper with a rubber band wrapped tightly.
Show your toddler how to cup the tube with their fingers around the open end so there is space between the tube and their mouth. This will preserve the life of their toy and help with vibration!
Put the tube against their cupped fingers and humm, say do-do-doo or da-ta-daa! Try laughing loudly: HA HA HAA! Try different combinations to make the perfect kazoo sounds! This may take time to get the hang of it, but the process is a great calm breathing technique for exhaling the air out and away before deeply inhaling for another go!
If they are still having a problem with the vibration, check to see that the rubber band is spaced away from the edge of the tube and there is room between the wax paper and the edge of the tube to vibrate.

Ways to expand the activity:

Create kazoos of different lengths!
Poke holes along one side of the tube with a sharp object and adjust the sound when covered with a finger. What do you notice?
When sounds have reached the point of chaos, have your child march to the backyard and have a parade for the neighbors!
Make several kazoos and have a family parade through the living room and into the bedroom to announce bed, bath and book time

What do they learn?

Inspire creativity and problem solving. Have your child decorate their new instrument and then ask them to make one for a friend. Will it look the same? Different?
Explore sound and vibration. To make sound, air needs 3 sources: vibration (us), a source to travel through (tube), and a receiver (ear). The wax paper vibrates from the sound of their voice amplifying it! Can you hear it now?

Laundry Basket Train: Discovery at Home Toddler Time

Ways to expand the activity:

Allow for some serious fun individual play as your child discovers the joy of creating their own pretend fun. Start with small increments of time. You can set a timer and set the stage for independence and creativity. When boredom strikes, challenge your toddlers to slay the boredom monster!
After a time, join in the fun and allow your toddler to direct you. Where are we going? What does it look like outside the train? Will we ever go up or down large hills? Over a bridge?

What do they learn?

Your toddler learns how to create their own fun. They create, problem solve, self-soothe and stimulate.
They actively practice the physical movements that their body craves: stretching, reaching, balancing and touching.
Autonomy. They learn what it feels like to be successful. With each discovery, decision, movement and creation, your toddler is learning to trust and value him or herself.
Opposite words! Push and pull, forwards and backwards, empty and full.

Imitation Game: Discovery at Home Toddler Time

What you need:

You and a toddler!

Directions:

Imitation is the ability to watch what someone else is doing and copy them. It is an important aspect of social interaction: babies learn by imitating their caregiver. Toddlers learn the joy of engaging, and being together! They imitate expressions, gestures, play and life skills, vocalization and sounds.
This repetition game promotes balance and flexibility, listening and observation skills (focus and fun!) and introduces the letters of the alphabet through creative movement. It is a great brain-body booster. Act out your favorite animal poses, A to Z. Try a new one each week!

A is for Alligator, move your body with me! [Chomp, chomp chomp! x2]
B is for bat! [Flap, flap, flap! X2 in a circle]
C is for chicken who goes [cluck, cluck, cluck! (fold arms and tuck under) x2]
D is for dog who chases his tail! Who chases his tail!
E is for elephant who stretches out his trunk! Who stretches out his trunk!
F is for flamingo who balances on one leg! Who balances on one leg!
G is for giraffe who stretches up real tall! Who stretches up real tall! (on tip-toe)
H is for honeybee who buzzes all around! Who buzzes all around!
I is for Iguana who moves reeal sloow, Who moves reaal sloow.
J is for Jaguar who leaps real quick! Who leaps real quick!
K is for kangaroo [who hops up and down! x2]
L is for lion who [roars! (Move your head around in a circle x3)]
M is for mouse who [squeaks, squeaks, squeaks! (tiny voice) x2]
N is for Narwal tusk who [swims, swims, swims! X2]
O is for Oyster who curls up in a ball! curls up in a ball!
P is for penguin who waddles very tall! Who waddles very tall!
Q is for quail [flit, flit flit (dart to and fro) x2]
R is for rabbit [hop, hop, hop x2]
S is for slug who leaves a shiny trail! Who leaves a shiny trail!
T is for tortoise, bigggg and rounnnd, bigggg and rounnnd.
U is for sea urchin who dances on the bottom! Who dances on the bottom! (sit on your bottom, tap your feet and slowly rotate around in a circle)
V is for viper who slithers like a snake! Slithers like a snake!
W is for wolf who howls! (long, slow howl pointing head up at the moon)
X is for x-ray zebra fish who [darts, darts darts! x2]
Y is yellow ground squirrel who [pops up and down! X2]
Z is for zebra who gallops all around! Gallops all around!

Ways to expand the activity:

Regular imitation opportunities like finger play songs, hand puppets, or games like follow the leader and Simone Says reinforce play skills, peer play and engaging with others.

What do they learn?

Social emotional connection. The imitation of facial expressions and vocalizations like cooing and smiling facilitate bonding and can express social interest rather than a physical need.
Sharing knowledge and learning new concepts: blowing a kiss (I love you), waving (hello or goodbye), expressing size (so big, or so small), rubbing a tummy (hungry or full) or banging on a drum (I can make music!).
Language and taking turns. Back and forth imitation is early conversation without words.

Fisher-tots: Discovery at Home Toddler Time

What you need:

Laundry Basket(s) and/or boxes
Towels, paper or sheets to visualize water
Kitchen utensils
Magnet (always carefully supervise toddlers with magnets and other choking hazards)
Paper clips, binder clips, other metal items
Rope or string

Directions:

Create a fishing pole using a kitchen utensil, string and magnet!
Lay out the towels, place the basket on top, and set out the magnetic items around the basket.
Place your toddler in the basket and let them fish! You could use spoons or other items for oars. You could use tongs to fish as well!

Ways to extend play:

Allow for some serious fun individual play as your child discovers the joy of creating their own pretend fun.
After a time, join in the fun and allow your toddler to direct you. What have you caught? How does that fishing pole work? Are there any other things we could use to go fishing?

What do they learn?

Your toddler learns how to create their own fun. They create, problem solve, self-soothe and stimulate.
They learn about themselves. They learn that cradling a toy they rescued from the spider can help them feel connected and valued in a relationship. They actively practice the physical movements that their body craves: stretching, reaching, balancing and touching.
Autonomy. They learn what it feels like to be successful. With each discovery, decision, movement and creation, your toddler is learning to trust and value him or herself.

Ask a Pediatric Dentist with Dr. Laura Vaughn

It's Ask a Pediatric Dentist LIVE with Dr. Laura Vaughn from Vaughn Pediatric Dentistry! The free session is hosted by the Kansas Children's Discovery Center on Facebook as part of the Discovery Baby program. Dr. Vaughn will share her tips for keeping kid's teeth healthy, share a few bad jokes, and take your questions live! Dr. Laura Vaughn is a Board Certified Pediatric Dentist who combines knowledge and expertise with a passion for working with children. She practiced general dentistry in multiple settings before realizing that children make the best patients! She is committed to using her extensive training and knowledge to serve local children and educate caregivers about dental health. When she’s not at the office, Dr. Vaughn enjoys reading, training for fitness events, and traveling with her two young children and husband, Matt. Learn more about Dr. Vaughn at www.biglittlesmiles.com/

Use two different sticks. What happens when you pair a tongue depressor with a dowel rod? Is that easier or more difficult?
Add some distance between you and the bucket. Can you still carry the ball easily with your stick tools?

What Kids Learn:

Hand eye coordination. Young children can use activities like this to help improve communication between their minds and bodies.
Interactions between materials. What happens when you try to pick up a ball that has a smoother surface?
Experimentation! When kids experiment, they're learning how to learn. Failure is an important part of experimenting, so let kids try things that won’t work. It’s how they figure things out!
Spatial or visual thinking. Being able to imagine the positions of objects and how they interact is an important skill for learning math.

Pool Noodle Stacking Challenge: Discovery at Home

What you need:

Pool noodle discs with hole down the center.
Dowel rod.
Cardboard box.
Timer.

Directions:

Create the stand for the game.
Poke a hole in the bottom of the box.
Thread the dowel rod through the hole so the cardboard box acts as a stand for the dowel rod. This is where you will slide the pool noodle discs for the challenge.
Cut out several pool noodle discs that you can thread onto the dowel rod.
Decide on how long you will have to stack the discs and set the timer. (Try to start with 15 seconds).
Discuss any additional rules you want to add.
Start the timer and begin stacking! How many can you stack?
Try it again!

Ways to Expand the Activity:

Change it up. Identify a certain amount of discs and then time yourself to see how long it takes to stack all of the discs.
Add a constraint. Identify a pattern (colors, sizes, etc.) in which the discs must be stacked in order for the tower to be correct.

What Kids Learn:

Basic engineering skills. Engineers solve problems with constraints. They learn to solve problems by using the engineering design process: asking questions, coming up with solutions, building, testing and improving.
Spatial or visual thinking. Being able to imagine the positions of objects and how they interact is an important skill for learning math.
Fine motor skills. Kids practice using the small muscles in their hands later used for writing.
Experimentation! When kids experiment, they're learning how to learn. Failure is an important part of experimenting, so let kids try things that won’t work. It’s how they figure things out!
Hand eye coordination. Young children can use activities like this to help improve communication between their minds and bodies.

More Discovery at Home Projects

More Discovery at Home Projects