Toddler Tuesday: 13 Ways to Play with Pool Noodles

We don’t have a swimming pool in our classroom, but pool noodles are a big part of our play and learning! I bought 3 different colors from the Dollar Tree and cut them up, and even I was surprised how much fun we got out of them! Some of these were my ideas, but the toddlers contributed some ideas of their own too. 

Here were the stages of our play with pool noodles! Odd numbers were toddler ideas; even numbers were my ideas.

Toddler Tuesday: Sensory Balloons

How would you like a simple activity that will captivate your toddler, calm them down, teach them about different textures, and exercise the muscles in their fingers at the same time?! Well, you’ve come to the right place! Introducing the sensory balloon for toddlers!

Toddler Name Paintings

The beginning of the school year is a time of getting to know one another’s names, and this is a fun way for toddlers to be introduced to the look of their own names!

Class Friendship Quilt

The beginning of another school year is upon us, and so far my little ones have enjoyed lots of painting projects! This was one of their favorites – a way for us to introduce colors, make a fun collaborative work of art, and get messy with some paint!

Fireworks for Toddlers

Happy Fourth of July! I’ve been hearing the fireworks all day and look forward to more tonight. Until then, here are some fireworks crafts that our toddlers painted last week! These projects are both great ways to practice fine motor skills, talk about colors, and get in some sensory play.

Patriotic Star Garlands

It’s almost the 4th of July, Independence Day in the United States! We have been having a lot of fun with red, white, and blue to celebrate! 

Toddler Color Bottles

Toddlerhood is so exciting – everything they do is a learning experience. The explosion of vocabulary manifests itself all throughout the day, so they are able to verbalize the things they are discovering. (Of course, it helps to have attentive adults who can assist in labeling experiences and objects for their ever-growing minds.) With all this comes the beginning of learning the “things they need to know,” such as animal sounds, body parts, numbers, letters, shapes, and… COLORS!!!

Pom-Pom Color Fun for Toddlers

All year we’ve been having fun with colors, but these past few weeks we had a fun pom pom center! This included a pompom drop and a place to sort the pompoms by color.

I came across some great ideas for pompom drops on Pinterest, but this was just a quick throw-together. I would love to attach these to wood instead of just paper!