5 Easy Ways to Create a Learning Environment for your Toddler.

This year my son graduated from 8th grade. He is headed to high school with a strong educational foundation and a genuine love of reading. I began to reminisce about his toddler years and the things that we would do together. It’s true that parents are the first teachers. Back then, I had no knowledge of child psychology, developmental theory, or popular teaching strategies.  All I had was a deep love for my child and a strong belief that he could do anything. In hindsight, I did some things that set him up for academic success. You can do it too! Here are 5 ways to create a learning environment for your own toddler:

1. Become a narrator. When you are walking around the house, verbalize your actions. Ex. “Let’s get ready to go see Granny! The first thing we need to do is put on our shoes. Now where are those shoes?” This is a natural way to expose your child to wide variety of vocabulary words and sentence structure.

2. Invest in food coloring. During bath time, place a few drops of food coloring into the bath water. Act excited about the color by saying, “Wow, look at that beautiful GREEN water!” Your toddler will recognize all of the colors in no time. Plus its a fun bath time surprise that your toddler will grow to love.

3. Choose a letter of the week. Buy letters and systematically introduce the alphabet to your child. I had foam letters for the bath and large wooden letters for the high chair tray. I began with the first letter of my son’s name and jumped around the alphabet from there. During bath time, stick a foam letter to the wall and every now and then point to it and say something like, “Look at the letter I!”, then trace it with your fingers (using the same motion you would if you were to write the letter).  At dinner time, use the wooden letters. Place the same letter on the high chair tray or table. Again, mention the letter a few times during the meal. By the time my son was 3, he knew all of the letters in the alphabet.

4. Visit the library OFTEN. Make your local library the first place you look for free reading material and free entertainment. They offer special programming for toddlers and during the summer there are a ton of shows, craft opportunities, and presentations. My son still has fond memories of carting a milk crate to the library and coming home with 20-30 books for me to read to him during the week. Make sure to get board books so your child can explore them alone, and choose a few of your own favorites to share. The reading bug is easy to catch. Make sure your child catches it early.

5. Limit or Eliminate Television. Hold off from allowing your child to watch television for as long as possible. You want the strongest influence in their life to be you, not the cartoon character on TV. You want them to emulate the way you speak, not the way SpongeBob speaks. If you do allow your toddler to watch television, choose educational programming produced on the PBS channel, the Discovery Network, or even better, rent educational videos from your local library.

Keisa Williams (aka Ms. K) is a mother & a K-5 School Librarian at Monarch Academy, a public charter school in Oakland, CA. She is certified in secondary and elementary education (MLIS and MEd) and loves collaborating with teachers and integrating technology into her library lessons. She considers herself a “Technology Diva” and “Gadget Junkie”.

4 Comments

• Deborah Estell says:

  June 26, 2010 at 5:00 pm

  Ms. Keisa, This is wonderful. I am going to forward this to my daughter who has a 6month old baby boy. Currently she is a stay-at-home mom and she already has him on a learning cycle. This information will greatly enhance what she is doing. Congratulations to both Ian and you and Keep up the Phenomenal work. That is the most adorable picture! Blessings, Ms. Estell
• Claudette Colbert says:

  July 1, 2010 at 10:45 am

  So cool you decided to do this and let other parents know the tricks and rewards to being a responsible and educating parent. I remember the few moments I had with Ian as a babysitter, with your instructions to not watch t.v. Lord knows i didn’t understand that at all, but I followed your request and he and I planted flowers, washed the dog, read books and just enjoyed every question he had for me. You should know that was a true lesson for me, and seeing the success you had with him is the reward. Girlfriend, you have to remember and laugh about the day he and I got all wet from working in our garden. He insisted on picking out my “Hello T—ie” t-shirt, believing it was a “Hello Kitty” t-shirt. The look on your face when you came to pick him up and he was proudly wearing it.

  Love and Big Hugs.
  Your friend and babysitter,
  Claudette
• Lorraine Dennis says:

  July 2, 2010 at 5:16 pm

  You have always been a good mother. I wish more parents were like you. I am so proud of you and Ian.
• @iwantwealth says:

  July 3, 2010 at 7:33 pm

  I love it! I have a two year old! I will add your post to my blog! Congratulations on your son!