This is the second month that I am creating these Learn and Play Activity Packets, A 2-3 Year old standards based guide, and it has been my greatest pleasure! Knowing that I am creating activities for my own daughter to learn and play together with and then having other families and educators use them with their toddlers has been fantastic. I am going to continue to create a Learn and Play Guide and Companion Activity packet for each month of the year so you and your little ones can learn and play together all year long! I wanted to take some time to explain the Learn and Play Guide and Companion Activity Pack and how we will be using it throughout the month of February. So, if you’re new here let me explain what this resource is, why I created it, and how to use it!
What is the Resource Guide and Activity Pack?
As my daughter (2 1/2) has continued to grow and mature I have been scrambling all over Pinterest each day trying to find worthwhile activities for her to do with me at home. I want her to be encouraged to play independently but I also want to lay the groundwork for academic success. As a mom and also someone with a masters in elementary education, it was bothering me that I couldn’t find activities that I knew would be aligned with early childhood standards for her age. After too much time combing Pinterest and Google, I decided to do the work myself! I was so excited to find Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards for 2 Year Olds since that is our home state. I started reading through their standards and categories of early learning and started to compile lists of standards that I wanted to focus on each month. I have compiled the standards that I am hoping to work on with my own daughter in the FREE February Learn and Play Resource Guide that will go out each month to my newsletter community and is also included in my Activity Packet. These standards guide me in creating and choosing activities for my own little toddler at home.
What Kinds of Activities Are Included?
In my February Learn and Play Resource Guide that is sent out each month to my newsletter community, I include all of the sensory, art, gross motor, early math, early literacy, science, and social studies crafts and activities that are created for free by myself or other friends online. I basically act as your own Pinterest search for 2-3 year olds! The activities that are included in the guide are all easy set ups and downloads to recreate at home with your little ones to learn and play together. They have pictures and links to all instructions that you would need online. I have also included book recommendations for the month as well as comprehension questions to use with your little ones before you read together, while you’re reading together, and after you’re done reading together. The Companion Activity Packet then has 10 more activities that I have created based on the 2-3 year old Early Learning Standards. These activities also fit the categories listed above.
What Standards Are Included For February?
The standards I have chosen to use for activities I have found online or created myself include:
•Demonstrates
use of large muscles to move in the environment
•Shows
increased eagerness and curiosity
– -Demonstrates
appropriate affect (emotional response) between
behavior and facial expression
appropriate affect (emotional response) between
behavior and facial expression
•Shows
motivation for and appreciation of reading
motivation for and appreciation of reading
•Begins
to show motivation to engage in written expression
and appropriate knowledge of forms and
to show motivation to engage in written expression
and appropriate knowledge of forms and
functions
of written composition
of written composition
•Begins
to count groups of one to five objects
to count groups of one to five objects
•Manipulates
objects by flipping, sliding and rotating to making them fit
objects by flipping, sliding and rotating to making them fit
•Demonstrates
knowledge related to the dynamic properties of earth and sky
knowledge related to the dynamic properties of earth and sky
•Recognizes
basic physical characteristics (landmarks, land features)
basic physical characteristics (landmarks, land features)
•Uses
imagination and creativity to express through open-ended, diverse and process-oriented art
imagination and creativity to express through open-ended, diverse and process-oriented art
The activities included in the February Learn and Play Companion Packet can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers store separately here or you can purchase the Growing Bundle which includes both January and February and then you will receive an instant update when each new month of the year is added for no additional charge! The bundle for activities packets can be found here! I would love for you to be able to play and learn with us all year long! If you are not a member of our email community in order to receive your FREE Resource Guide before the beginning of each month, I would love for you to sign up here:
I hope you love these suggestions and activities as much as we do! I can’t wait to see how you and your little ones are learning through play together all month long!
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