I am a nanny and take my 2 year old boy, C, to work. we go to work and he wants to watch PJ mask until i take kids to school then we color, lunch, nap, pick the kids up from school, play imagination games the older kids make up (C doesn't understand just runs around with them) go home, sometimes go to the park, then make dinner, bed time routine but i feel there's more i could be doing just not sure what's the best activities for teaching or what he should be learning? Started listening to the ABC song but what about shapes, colors, numbers? What's the best way to teach him? what is your everyday routine with your little one? How much tv time do you allow? If tv time, what should he watch? Sorry this is so long but I'm so clueless and overwhelmed!!! Thanks so much!
thanks for the tips
Play, sing, build pillow forts, read stories - lots of giggling.
It's the best educational plan there is for any 2 yr old (or 3/4/5 yr old for that matter).
At age 2 I didn't really do much TV at all. I'd say an hour or less a day. These are the things I did when my kids were age 2:
1. Read to him every day. My son didn't like to sit still for this. So I'd carry him while I read sometimes and walk around. Boardbooks. Point to the pictures. Ask questions. What color is this? What does the cat say? As he got a little older he LOVED it and I could read and read and he really enjoyed the stories.
2. Outside play, nature time, go on little hikes. Notice whatever he notices. Talk about what you see. Point out signs, trucks, birds, etc. Collect leaves, rocks, etc. Whatever he seems interested in.
3. Large motor play - riding a tricycle, pulling a wagon, trying to throw a ball, etc. We had a very stable 3 wheeled scooter our kids liked at age 2 and a tricycle. They both liked me kicking a ball to them to kick back, building with large blocks, climbing up a tiny plastic slide we had and sliding down, climbing anything really...they were both climbers
4. Small motor skills - trying to put together a toddler age puzzle (big pieces), put the right sized block into the correct slot, one of those BIG sewing projects with a carboard cutout and the large non-sharp needle and yarn where they can "sew" and go in and out of the holes, etc.
5. Tactile play...make your own sand table with a large tupperware, play in the sand with hot-wheels cars, little cups, sand toys. Do the same thing with water - make a water table out of an old kiddie pool and let him scoop water, pour it, etc. Sit him at a specific spot at the table where he can make a mess and let him paint all over with shaving cream! You can make homemade edible play doh and finger paint too. Both my kids loved play doh (easy to make) and using cookie cutters with it....or just smooshing it up or rolling it or touching it. You can also do this kind of tactile play in the bathtub if it's too messy for you!
6. Make an obstacle course in the living room. Have him follow you. Make it a fun game.
7. Make music with him. Sing. Play on a toy piano or with a toy flute. My son was obsessed with musical instruments when he was 2 and so we had a few toy ones that he loved...a toy guitar, a toy violin, and a toy saxophone.
8. Put on music and dance. Most 2 year olds LOVE to dance.
9. Read nursery rhymes. Teach him "head shoulders knees and toes" (touch each body part), and other little games like this. Patty cake. This Little Piggy. Repetitive language is really good for 2 year olds learning things.
10. Remember to always talk to him, point things out, point out his name. Point out letters. Tell him colors. Ask him to repeat it back. Point out the word stop on stop signs. Tell him what he is seeing. All these things soak in! Before you know it he will be a big preschooler and if you do things like this every day he will already know so many letters, his colors, animals, etc. :) Have fun! I love 2 year olds. My kids are so big now.
Little kids learn through playing. I would not to anything you consider "teaching" at all. Read read read! Read a variety of books - you can get him to point to the object in the story ("'The cat played with the ball.' Do you see the ball in the picture, C? Oh, yes, there it is. What a nice red ball." Just mention the color - don't quiz him on it. Listen to CDs in the car but not for the purpose of teaching - just for the fun of music. He'll learn by doing and by having fun. Do you have puzzles or shape sorters? That tactile stuff is really important for fine motor skills - and it's fun! Blocks (like Duplos) are great for a variety of skills.
You can look for some interactive videos that involve sing and dancing/movement - but again, not to teach specific steps but to get him up and moving.
You can casually (not in an academic way) count out the Cheerios or the crackers or the grapes you put out for snack. You can say, "Which do you want? The green grapes or the orange clementines?" But don't quiz him. Sometimes you can joke around about the "orange grapes" and see if he catches you, but don't say "Mommy is wrong" or "Mommy is tricking you" but rather "Mommy is silly."
After you drop the older kids off, try going to the public library. Most children's rooms have places to play, puppets, dress up clothes, blocks and puzzles, as well as books on display. Put out a few of the books and let him choose. It does NOT matter what the subject is, so don't veto his choice because you don't think something is educational enough.
While you're there, get some books on fun activities at home - how to make leaf stencils or seasonal decorations, simple games. Get a kids' cookbook - nothing teaches math in a fun and practical way as a recipe that needs 2 teaspoons of this and 1 cup of that. Do simple things like cornbread and muffins. You can also do this with the kids you nanny for.
The surest way to stifle learning is to make it too structured, all the negative parts of "school." He's 2. He's not ready for that. In your own mind, you can have a art/craft time and a reading time, but mix it up - for example, arts & crafts can mean coloring but also finger painting or sticking foam shapes on a base or on a picture frame, or painting wooden shapes, or painting a bird house. You can find unfinished items at craft stores. That's art.
Go outside and collect rocks to wash and paint when dry (and yes, everyone gets paperweights on their birthday this year!). Collect pine cones and put peanut butter and bird seed in them, then hang outside. Plant seeds in small peat pots and watch them grow. Spritz with a spray bottle to let a little one water without dumping a pitcher-full on the floor. Herbs are fun, and soon you can start flower and vegetable seeds to plant outdoors either in the ground or in patio pots. That's science. See, it's all teaching and learning, but it's having fun too.
And don't dismiss gross motor skills like pushing a kiddie ride-on vehicle or playing hopscotch or tossing a nerf ball.
No offense, but I find this confusing. Clueless and overwhelmed and yet, you're a nanny of small preschool children. What are you doing with the children you care for during the day? Would it not be the same? I was a nanny as a teen, and I found I was the same as a mom (read, made play dough, just interacted with the kiddos, etc.)
2kidmamma has good ideas below :)
Unless I am reading this wrong, for most of this question you are describing a situation in which your primary focus is supposed to be **someone else's children**. That does not seem like the appropriate setting to delve into complex techniques with your own child!
While you are at work, you should consider yourself lucky that you have an employer who allows you to bring your 2-year-old to work (there are many women on this site who would love to not have to worry about childcare too). If that means your son watches cartoons for a few hours each day, so be it.
In your free time, outside of work, explore the outdoors with your son, read to your son, build with blocks, take your son to museums...have fun!
No need for formal sit-down teaching at this age. I found that the best thing to do was go for walks. And talk about everything you see during the walk.
Look over there - I see three birds, do you see them? One, two, three. Now let's run until we get to the red house. Do you see the red house? It's the one right there. Let's go! How many mailboxes are between us and our house? Let's count them as we walk by. Look at the pretty yellow flowers in front of that blue house. Oooh, look, that house has square windows downstairs and a round window upstairs. Do you see the round window up there? Isn't that cool?
Kids can learn a LOT on a daily walk.
No tv time if possible. If you need to put on the TV for a few minutes so that you can pull lunch together, I'd go with whatever is on PBS kids. My favorite for my kids at that age was Super Why. Similar kids-as-heros as PJ Masks, but it's all about learning letters and early reading skills, while PJ Masks doesn't have much educational content at all, IMO.
Read. Listen to adult and children's music. Sing. Dance. Talk. Walk. Mess with fun stuff. The local library will have a gazillion wonderful children's books to encourage growth and adventure.
Seriously, everything you do, even chatting while making dinner, is an education in vocabulary, comprehension, listening and responding. The only thing I would encourage you not to do, is to ask him to repeat things after you, for example colors, letters, etc. Rather just keep talking and labelling as you go through your day.
i'm a little taken aback that you don't have a more fleshed-out parenting and structure in place considering your profession.
i don't mean that to sound pejorative. i too was worried that i wasn't doing enough with my first 2 year old. but it's your business, your profession.
it sounds to me as if your routine is great for a toddler. a little tv isn't a bad thing, and the bulk of your day is taken up with coloring, imagination games (the best!) and going to the park.
you don't want to formally teach a toddler. that's the quickest way to make learning dull. yes, you can and should weave learning into the day organically, singing the ABC song and playing color games as you drive to work and naming the animals you see and making their noises and reading reading reading. but if you force *education* into every interaction you're going to drag the sparkle right out of it.
a 2 year old's job is to learn about the world through interacting with it, with his mom showing, not lecturing, how interesting and fun it all is.
khairete
S.
How old are the children you nanny?
What are your qualifications of a nanny if you not know basics for a child from infancy and beyond?
I was worried that I wasn't doing enough for my daughter when she was little and my focus was on her. I was reading and listening to music when I was pregnant. Even as an infant reading to them is good. It is important to instill a love of reading.
A 2 yr old does not need a full on school structure daily but you can easily incorporate educational activities that are fun... such as grocery shopping.. pick out 3 lemons, etc., reading.. where is the boy with blue shirt? etc.
The children you nanny should have limited exposure to electronics in my opinion. Kids need to play outside, build things, get dirty.
play outside, play inside, play with kitchen stuff, play with food, play in the bathtub with washable finger paints then give the kid a bath, make lunch with them, eat meals with them. play some more, find a library story time that is geared for their age group and sit in on that. read books. read books. play and read some more
Please google "What do children learn while they play" or "Children learn by playing".
Kids don't need to sit down at a table and do school type work to learn. They need to play and learn their premath and prewriting and prereading skills.
B.
Welcome to mamapedia. How lucky you are to take your son to work with you. What I see is that you are focusing on YOUR son instead of your charges.
What are the ages of your charges?
When your charges are in school, what does your employer expect you to do?
If you are clueless, why are you nannying? Sorry - not to be rude, but really?
Your son is 2 years old. He should KNOW his A, B, Cs. He should know his numbers and shapes. Hell, my kids were infants and I was talking to them and showing them colors and letters.
When you are with your charges? You need to have a structure and routine. If that includes your son, so be it.
When they get home from school?
Snack
Homework
Play time
Your son can do 'homework' with them. Get a pre-K book from the store - anything like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Preschool-Kindergarten-Education-N...
https://www.amazon.com/Numbers-Tracing-Workbook-Practice-...
I believe places like Office Depot have books too
https://www.officedepot.com/catalog/search.do?Ntt=Pre-K+w...
While you are at work? My opinion is that you focus on your charges. You are VERY fortunate to be able to bring your child to work. Work with them improving their grades and learning. Give them structure and fit your son into that. Not the other way around.
ETA: post from OP should she decide to erase it
I am a nanny and take my 2 year old boy, C, to work with me. The family i work for encourage electronics, not something i agree with but I am falling in to that pattern.. we go to work and he wants to watch PJ mask until i take kids to school then we color, lunch, nap, pick the kids up from school, play imagination games the older kids make up (C doesn't understand just runs around with them) go home, sometimes go to the park, then make dinner, bed time routine but i feel there's more i could be doing just not sure what's the best activities for teaching or what he should be learning? Started listening to the ABC song but what about shapes, colors, numbers? What's the best way to teach him? what is your everyday routine with your little one? How much tv time do you allow? If tv time, what should he watch? Sorry this is so long but I'm so clueless and overwhelmed!!! Thanks so much!
