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Having Fun With Two Year Olds
In a calm environment a  two-year-old child can take time  for quiet play. 

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It is important for a child to have time to work on skills, experiment to discover the properties of things in their world, enjoy examining things, and investigation - either together, or while you get to enjoy a break.

 
We  can give them some input to help them get started, but then let them be undisturbed. 
(Most of these activities are great for doing together, just remember to not do too much of the work yourself.)

 
Skills:
 
·       
Zipping, snapping, buttoning, using Velcro
 ·        
Turning pages, opening and closing things
 ·        
Eating a snack with a spoon or fork
 ·        
Building with blocks, or other stacking toys
 ·        
Dressing themselves, or their toy animals or dolls
 ·        
Coloring, drawing, painting, paper tearing, play dough, mud pies
 ·        
Balance and movement skills like hopping, jumping, climbing, dancing,      
Throwing, rolling, bouncing balls
 
These are the kind of skills that, after a simple demonstration, the child can work on by himself  
- the kind of skills that a person just has to  get the feel for. 
Encourage and praise their hard work, and help them learn to enjoy the good feeling you get from a job well done.

For skill where there is a complex procedure to follow, the two of you need to work together.
       

Experiment and Discovery:

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 These experiments are ideal for solitary play and don’t  require much direction, though they generally require some supervision - for safety.  You provide the opportunity - all they  have to do is play. 
·        
Pouring water from  container to container ·  
      
Making musical sounds  – instruments for kids like xylophone, flute, harmonica, drum, guitar, tuning  forks ·    
    
A pan, sink, or tub  of water and: floating items, funnel, sponge, soap . . . ·        

Sand, mulch, pebbles, gravel, snow, dirt, mud (You may draw the line where you  wish) ·     
   
Playing with shadows, prism, flashlight
 
Your little scientist is very good at finding his own experiments too -  if it is safe and harmless be sure to let him enjoy his research project. 

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  Examining and investigation:        
- Books, albums, catalogs        
- Plants,  flowers,  weeds,  trees, rocks,       
- Watching ants, ladybugs, roly-poly bugs,  caterpillars

Expanding their
  collection of ideas for play



It’s great for you to do things together that will open
the child’s mind to new games, new ways to play, new areas to investigate or
skills to work on.  Make believe
play can be based on real things they know about, like playing house, or store,
restaurant, veterinarian or zoo with stuffed animals. Show how to pretend with
trucks and cars: going on a trip, delivering things, or create a little city
(using blocks, boxes, sand, etc). 
They already know how to race and crash.  Play with dolls or stuffed animals
pretending they are doing all the things the child does each day – you can go
through the whole day from waking up to getting tucked in.   Or make believe by roll playing with  dress-up costumes made from scarves, towels, fabric, your clothes, or have a  costume box.  You can become royalty, pirates, explorers, animals, firefighters, astronauts, rock stars, dancers . . .  Roll playing is a  great way to teach children how to act in different situations like a  restaurant, a kids party, a formal tea party, and if you want to show them a video, you can take tickets, make popcorn, darken the room, and then watch it.



Taking a  walk together should be a  special time to share. In my work I get to
do a lot of   people  watching, and more than once I’ve seen a little girl
trying to show  some delightful discovery to her mother who is talking on a cell
phone, ignoring her completely.  It breaks my  heart.  So, when you are 
there  – be  there. 

Talk about what you see, or  what you did yesterday.

Search together for leaves one day, then notice every flower the next. 

Of  course your  child will want to have input,
and  you may end up spending  weeks collecting  leaves every time you step 
outside together – but that’s  okay.

Benefits of out  doors

Have you ever  heard or said “use  your indoor voice,” or
“don’t run in the house?”   There is great freedom in outdoor play.  Many of the things they may not be allowed to do inside like  jump, yell, blow bubbles, or throw a ball are things that  kids need to do. 
In addition, they need to be in a variety of
environments for their  proper  development.  They need to  run around on sloping and uneven ground, not
just perfectly flat floors. They need to be in open areas where they can see things that are a mile away, all the interesting shapes, surfaces, and sizes for them to see and touch.  
Teach them to wonder at clouds, sunsets,  tall trees,
flying birds, the  wind, and the moon.
 
Once when my daughters  were children I pointed out a rainbow when a friend was with them. She was about ten years old and she said it was the first rainbow she had ever seen. 
I was shocked – how sad. Imagine all the rainbows she 
missed just because  she wasn’t looking for  them.
 
The  most immediate blessing of  little ones playing
outside is getting movement and exercise in an  appropriate time and place so they will be  calmer indoors and they will  sleep so much better at night.  The weather  doesn’t have to be perfect  for  outdoor play, of course lightning and  high winds are a safety issue, and extreme heat and cold, or wet (when  it’s cold), might be a health issue. 
But I  never let just the fact that  
“it’s nicer in the air conditioning” be a  reason to not take them out  for at  least a little while. 

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When a child is calm, and it's just the two of you try reading, singing, taking a  walk, cuddling, talking together,  . . .

With one child you can just calmly say, “Let’s go look at my books. You can tell  me which one  to read.”  Generally  this sounds like exploring and making choices to a two-year-old: activities  they are usually ready for anytime. 

Tips for Grandparents
Before a two-year-old visits your home, get down and take a look at your place from their perspective. 
Crawl  around and see if there are dangers or  temptations that  you need to  remove, hide, watch the child around, or limit access to that  area. Think of some ways to entertain your little guest.
You may not have toys, but if  necessary you could get out plastic bowls and ups, maybe you  have some sturdy and harmless things made of  wood, and if you can take the noise let them play with your  pots  and pans.
When the  little one  arrives, get down on the floor, and enjoy the adventure.
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Table of Contents
  
   Forward

1 Twoness

 2  What Motivates Two Year Olds?

3  How They Think 

4 How To Communicate with a Two Year Old 

5 Helping Them to Be Good 

6 Two Year Olds Watch Us, Then Copy Us 

7 Twos Find Everyday Chores Exciting, If They Get to Help 

8 Eating, Sleeping & Potty 

9 What to Do About Tantrums   

10 Having Fun with Two Year Olds 

11 Enjoying Two Year Olds 

Resources and References