Favorite Books for Under-Two-Year-Olds

By the time M turned two we had spent a lot of time at the library and had accumulated a lot of books from garage sales and as gifts. This is our list of favorites- the ones that got read over and over and stayed enjoyable to both Mom and Baby. They are listed roughly in order of age-appropriateness.
Babies: Great for it's small size and pictures that capture even a 6 month-old's interest.
Animal Sounds: Any animal sounds book is good, but we especially like this one.
Pat the Bunny: So interactive and sweet!
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?: Great rhythm and fun sounds. I prefer the board book version; the full version goes on too long for a young toddler's attention span, I think.
Goodnight, Moon: Soothing bedtime classic.
The Foot Book: Again, for young toddlers, I prefer the board book, shortened version.I'm as Quick as a Cricket: Capitalizes on a child's enjoyment of comparing him or herself to different animals. I prefer the full-size version of this one (not the board book which is missing one of our favorite pages)
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb: Great rhythm!
Where's Spot?: Simple pictures and easy to open flaps. Kids seem to like books about hiding!

Going to Sleep on the Farm: Beautiful pictures, especially showing the interaction between a father and his son; simple, lulling words.

Does a Cow Say Boo?: Wonderfully fun book for kids who know their animal sounds and are ready to enjoy a spot of mischief.
How Do Dinasaurs Say Good-night?: The other books in this series are fun too.


Green Hat, Blue Hat: Capitalizes on kids' enjoyment of wearing clothes on the wrong body parts.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt: Wonderful, suspenseful classic written for older kids, but also enjoyable for young toddlers
So...those are our favorites. I'd love to discover other good books for this age range by hearing your recommendations!

One Trick for Toddler Educational Activities

I don't know about you, but when I'm working with my toddler on learning games I occasionally run into one of two problems:

1. Sometimes she will be afraid to answer because she is apprehensive that she will get the answer wrong (not that I ever punish her or try to make her feel badly- just seems to happen sometimes)

2. Other times she is feeling silly and gets a kick out of purposefully giving the wrong answer.

I don't want to push the learning games too much when she's really not in the mood for them, but occasionally I persevere using a trick I've found to work amazingly well. Instead of playing the game with M, I will ask her to bring her doll over to me and I will play the game with the doll while M holds her and moves her hand to point to the correct answers.

This trick seems to completely eliminate any fear-inducing pressure to get the answer right when the game is difficult (after all, it's the dolly getting the wrong answer-- so nothing personal :-) If I suspect that the game is maybe a little too easy, I'll ask M to teach the dolly the information (or her baby sister if she's awake and nearby) which usually sobers her up and eliminates silliness.

So far, this approach has been almost entirely successful. I'm sure that the novelty will wear off sometime though; do any of you have any other tricks to suggest for helping toddlers with learning games?

Stickable Googly Eyes- Making our House "Come Alive"

Great Daddy-Toddler Toy: Measuring Tape

I was really surprised this past Saturday morning to see how much enjoyment my husband and M got out of exploring a measuring tape together- well over a half of an hour! M had fun pulling it across the room and watching it as it zipped closed.

Fun with Newspaper Inserts

A couple of weeks ago I bought three Sunday newspapers because I knew that the coupons that week were going to be worthwhile. Here are some things M and I did with all those extra glossy ads we had around the house as a result.

Swimming: we spread them all over the playroom floor and pretended we were in a swimming pool of newspapers.Crumpled paper war: we grabbed hand fulls of papers and tossed them at eachother."Falling Leaves:" Using a chair I piled as many papers on top of the ceiling fan as I could and then turned on the fan. M had so much fun standing under the papers that were billowing down that she wanted her little sister to get in on the fun too. At her suggestion, we moved G's bouncy chair under the fan, and we all enjoyed the shower!


It's Playtime!

Upper/ lower case letters card game

Lately, M and I have been working on matching lower and upper case letters. To help her practice, I've made a set of cards that have upper case on one side and lower on the other. This is how our little game goes:

I spread four or five lower case letters in front of her.

Me: Can you find the baby (B)?
M: (points)
Me: Let's see if you're right
M: (turns over the card)
Me: Is that a (B)?

If she is right then we leave it upturned. Once all of the baby letters are capitals M gets the fun of smearing them all around while we say, "Yay! You did it!" (seems to work as a motivator :-)

Baby's First Laugh Party

I read recently that the Navajo traditionally throw a party to celebrate a baby's first laugh. Doesn't that sound like a fun idea?

Homemade Granola Bars

Are you like me in thinking that most store bought granola bars are much sweeter than they need to be? I found a recipe for homemade granola bars that came out tasting terrific when I made it the other day. I only added 2/3 of the amount of sugar that it called for, and I think next time I'm going to reduce the amount even more.

This is the recipe as I made it:

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teasp ground cinnamon
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 teasp salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teasp vanilla extract.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9X13 pan.

2. In a large bowl, pour in the ingredients and mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 17-18 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while they are still warm.

M and I packaged them up into ziploc bags afterward for easy grabbing when we are on our way out the door for a morning full of errands.

Chocolate Pudding Finger Painting

We had an especially fun snack the other morning- we finger- painted with chocolate pudding!
M enjoyed shaking the instant pudding in a tupperware container.She kept repeating (in amazement) "I'm brown, Mama! I'm brown!"And of course, the best part...

Ways a Two Year Old Can Help around the House

M is always eager to help me in my chores and so proud when she is able to do something. Occasionally, she is able to do things that genuinely save me time and effort, but mostly, I'm happy to let her help because I figure it is an investment in the future. She is learning skills, and she is learning to have a helpful spirit.

And of course, she has a lot of fun feeling involved!

Here is a list of things I have been able to find for her to do so far:

1. Fetching things: diapers, my cell phone when it is ringing, shoes, etc.

2. Throwing things in the trash can: little pieces of paper on the ground, diapers, scraps of paper from my cutting out coupons, etc.

3. Transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer: I put the wet clothes on the door of the dryer and she pushes them in.
4. Vacuuming: We have a little cordless sweeper that is light enough for her to push.

5. Dusting: I give her a baby wipe and set her loose in the living room with it.

6. Putting away her toys and books.

7. Snapping asparagus ends.

8. Baby spit-up catching: M watches our 6 week old baby like a hawk. If G has any little spit up or drool, or something in her nose, M is ready with a spit up cloth in an instant to clean it up.

9. Stirring food that is being prepared: I remember being fascinated with the whole cooking process when I was little- so many colors, sounds, textures, and smells. M seems to feel the same way, and likes standing on a chair to watch even when she can't help out.

10. Setting the table: I give her spoons, napkins, salt and pepper, etc to set on the table for me to arrange later. If we happen to be using paper plates, she is especially tickled to be able to place the plates at each person's chair.

11. Shucking corn: especially taking off the silkies.

I know that there must be lots of other ideas out there for ways that a 2 year old can help around the house. I'd love to learn about them!

Stripping Wallpaper

Do you have any old wallpaper to strip off of your walls? I promise that your toddler would have a ball helping you!

Draw a Line to Match Activity

When my mom was here recently she did this activity with M, and we have been doing it since then a bit too. On one side of a paper I draw three or four items, and the same items on the other side (in a different order). M's job is to draw a line to connect the items that match.

Today we did it with shapes, pictures, and letters.

Then, as an added twist, we did the activity with upper and lower case letters (match the capital to its corresponding lower case)

I like how this activity is flexible enough to be changed according to whatever M happens to be learning at the time.

In, On, Under

I'm always on the look-out for concepts that are just at/ just beyond M's comprehension level. When I find them, I try to make a game out of them.

Lately, I'd noticed that she tends to mix up the meanings of the prepositions "in" and "on," and I've never heard her say that something is "under" something else. So... I took a medium sized wooden box and we had fun practicing.

First, I gave her a small book and asked her to put it "in" the box. No problem... I asked her to put it on the box. After a little thought, she turned the box and set the book on it. When I asked her to put the book "under" the box, at first she just turned the box a couple more times and put it on the box. I told her "No, you put the book on the box again. Can you put it under the box?" and this time she did!
Once she had the concept, further practice was no pressure- just fun. We tried it with different objects (stuffed animals, etc). Then we changed the box to baby G's bathtub which made it possible to use bigger stuffed animals....AND... M herself. That was the most fun of all! She really got a kick out of getting "under" the tub!