How I Started

How I Started Teaching my Toddler...

Well, how does a mother (father, aunt, nanny) start teaching a toddler?

We all must remember that since our children were born, we were already teaching them so do not worry what to teach, be careful what you teach though.

I had no idea what to do with my daughter until I attended my major subjects in my master’s degree. So I will save you the time and money by sharing with you how I started teaching my daughter.

I started investing on materials that I can use during activity time. I call this time our ‘study time’. This is to familiarize Z with what one does and use during school time.

The following are some of the materials that I bought for our “study time”:

-          Poster color paint (this is for me to use when making materials)

-          Tempera paint toxic-free

-          Watercolors

-          Paper cups

-          Second-hand books for preschoolers

-          Clothespins

-          Macaroni shells  

-          Empty boxes

-          Chunky crayons/first crayons

-          Soft balls

-          Different hats

-     3-piece puzzles

BOOKS: You can purchase some good story books at Book Sale. You can buy story books at a cheaper price but you have to be patient to look for a good copy. It is like going through ukay-ukay shops to find a good blouse!  But if you prefer a brand new one, I would go buy from Amazon…check out other preschool websites for good books to use with your kiddos before purchasing one in Amazon. And, if you have relatives in the US, well…it is good to ask them for these books as gifts! J  

PAINT: Make sure that the paint you will buy is toxic-free. You can also make homemade paints so it is safer. There are tons of recipes online. I will make one pretty soon and will share it to you on this site.

PLAYDOUGH/CLAY: Again, look for toxic-free products but to be safer, make it yourself. It is also a fun activity to do with your kid/s. My first attempt failed. Hahaha! It turned into goo and Z did not like it! Hahaha!

OTHER MATERIALS:

-           I don’t feel comfortable using food as materials as a lot of people in the world and even in our own country who are hungry. I just have problems looking for other alternatives that have the same texture, like macaroni, mung beans, corn, etc.

-          For clothespins, look for the wooden ones, it is easier for the kids to use unlike the plastic ones especially the big clothespins. The plastic ones will be OK especially if they are a bit worn out already as it is easier for them to press the ends.

-          I invested on different kinds of hat for make-believe. Thanks to a very close friend of mine, we were able to buy some at Divisoria. These hats are the ones used in photobooths, the cowboy hat, jester hat, pirate hat, etc.

Next, go online to download some nursery rhymes and other children videos. I prefer the Hoopla Kidz. You can subscribe on YouTube to watch their videos. I love “Rain, Rain Go Away”, “The Phonics Songs”, and others…Z likes them too!  

What we did on our first week was mostly familiarizing ourselves to the schedule, making it a habit. I chose the best time during the day for our study time, at 10 am this is because we are done with breakfast and bath time. We started exploring the paint and brushes, letting her do art work, using different materials as paint brush and even finger painting. There will be days where we would read some of our books.

And this is the most important thing that you need to have….tons of PATIENCE. They say teaching your own child is a major challenge. It is true.  Unfortunately, my daughter is a witness to my impatience even after everything I have been learning at school. But I think the good thing here is that I am aware of my impatience and I always do my best to stay calm. When I am about to lose it, I calmly try to end the activity and wait for me to cool down before I start the activity again. But hey, I’m not supermom, so I mostly lose it.

When you are ready to teach your kid, always tell yourself that anything can happen, messy room, bits and pieces of toys scattered everywhere, and the like. Do not worry, this will be a good opportunity to teach your kid to pick up the mess and clean up the room before ending the “study time”.

And always remember, it is the process that you want them to enjoy. Do not give so much importance to the output of what they are doing. Unless your kid is artistically gifted, don’t expect them to paint like Picasso or mold their clay like a sculptor. Let them enjoy exploring these materials.

REMEMBER:

1. Invest on art supplies and other materials like books, play dough (homemade), story books.
2. Download children nursery rhymes and songs like “Rain, Rain Go Away”, “Farmer in the Dell”, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “The Phonics Song”, etc.
3. Plan on the best time to have a “study time” or activity time with your kid.
4. Have your child explore the different materials that you have prepared for the activity. You can choose which materials to put out so that you will not overwhelm your child.
5. HAVE FUN! Always remember, the process of how children do things is important. Don’t pressure your children or even yourself in having them create an artwork to your standards. You don’t want them to look at you all teary-eyed because you are forcing your child to paint the right way – believe me, they won’t be having fun.  

Once, Z got the hang of our “study time”, I incorporated some themes to our activities.

And these themes will be posted…soon! For now, enjoy the activity time you will be doing. Z and I did this for about two weeks. It gave me enough time to plan for the themed activities.