Confession time: I struggle sometimes with how to entertain my two-and-a-half-year-old son. He's generally an awesome independent player, but he's getting to the age where he needs different types of stimulation. I got the music and movement thing down, and I accidentally discovered toddler yoga with my PreK kids at school so we do that a lot, too. But I know there are many other - totally simple - things I could be doing with him that either I'm being lazy about getting the materials for or not thinking of because they're So. Stinking. Simple.
Shout out to my sister, first-year-teacher-extraordinaire, for coming up with the best ideas to keep my son engaged! She approached me one day with some different things I can do for him from sensory bins to matching games, and I'll share them all with you in upcoming posts.
The activity I'd like to focus on in this post is a matching game, aptly titled (by me) "Matching Socks." I'm sure I've seen this on Pinterest or on other blog posts and thought, "That's such an easy thing! I should do it" and then promptly forgot about it until my sister brought it up again.
How It Works:
You can use any socks, really. My sister got a multipack from the dollar store, but you can use socks you already own. The key would be to use socks of varying colors and patterns to make it easier for your toddler to find the match.
For ease of use, we have socks just for this game and store it in a sliding ziplock bag which is easy for my son to open and dump all over the floor as pictured. Since he's still on the younger side and just starting to understand about pairs and matching, I first let him pick out one sock. Then, I'll hold up two options and ask him which one matches the one in his hand. You can feel out your child on this one. If he needs a bit of extra help, you can pick two very different looking socks so it will make it more obvious to your child which is the match. You can even hold both up next to his choice. If she is a matching genius, then let her find the match from the pile on the floor. When we begin the game, I usually hold the options up first, and after a few rounds, I'll let him pick on his own.
The next step involves the clothespins you see pictured. After the match has been made, I work with my son on his fine motor skills by having him clip the two socks together with a clothespin.
Being only two-and-a-half, he does struggle with this so I'll usually hold the socks together for him while he tries to work the clothespin. Sometimes, I even have to help him do that part, too, which can cause much frustration with my independent boy. Out of this frustration, we discovered a different option for step two: putting the matched socks on our feet!
So, instead of a fine motor skill, we're working on a gross motor skill, but independent dressing is an important development for toddlers so it all works out. The key to making this part of the game less frustrating would be to use socks that are a few sizes bigger than what your child actually wears because they're easier for a child to put on by themselves. Since doing this, I've noticed my son has gotten better at putting his own, appropriately-sized socks on so I'd say this accidental discovery is a winner!
There really are no hard and fast rules for this game. You can do clothespins sometimes or let them put the socks on sometimes - whatever is more fun for your child. The matching and the fine/gross motor skills are milestones your toddler should be working on, but it should never seem like a chore. Kids learn through play! So if something gets frustrating, encourage them and offer your help, but walk away if you need to and come back to it another time. Also, for those of you like me who are determined to finish what you've started, let your child dictate when the game is over even if that means there are still unmatched socks in a pile on the floor. Part of keeping it fun is not forcing them to complete the task until the bitter end. (Side note: this game can be an easy clean-up if you have designated game socks and a container to keep it in as I mentioned above.)
My son has grown to love this game and has no idea that he's actually learning and working on important skills. It's a huge thrill for me to see him get so excited when he finds a match or puts the socks on by himself. This game is definitely a favorite and one we have worked into our play routine.
Have any of you tried this game with your child? Is there something different you've incorporated that he or she absolutely loves? Comment below to share your thoughts!
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