How Do We Adjust To Where We Live?

Toddlers are just beginning to understand the world in which they live. Parents often try to get them to understand what they need to do to adapt to their surroundings, like wear a jacket when it is cold, or take off their socks when it is hot outside.

Activities Ages 2-3

  • Toddlers think of themselves as the center of the world. The daily routines of dressing, eating, and playing are the basis for learning how the Earth affects them, and how they adapt to their environment.

  • Daily routines help toddlers make sense of their world. With routines they learn that morning is followed by afternoon, and night follows day. As stable as their routines are, changes will occur. These changes occur because of rain, wind, storms, or other weather conditions. Point this out to them. "We can't go out today because of the ice and someone could slip, fall, and get hurt" or "The weather is so nice today, let's take our lunch to the park and have a picnic."

  • Add a squirt bottle of water to the sand pile so children can become aware that they have some control over the Earth. Within limits they can adapt things to their needs. Show them how to make sand pies by packing containers with wet sand and dumping out a sand pie or cake. They can create mountains and then count them. Remember, they are developing an awareness of how to control their environment.

 
 
 
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