Let’s dive into a full and complete review of How Wee Learn’s Playful Days Toddler Program! In this review, I am going to break down exactly what Playful Days includes, the learning skills covered, any pre-requisite skills your little one will need, and how you will know if your child is ready. I will also share with you any additional materials you will need.
Ready to dive in? Here we go!
What is Playful Days?
Playful Days is a 7-month program with daily crafts and activities for you to enjoy with your toddler. It provides a gentle structure to your days and ensures your little one receives a beautiful foundation through play.
How is Playful Days structured?
Playful Days is organized into seven months (or 28 weeks). Each month, you will explore a new theme with your toddler:
- Colors and Shapes
- Animals
- The Five Senses
- Insects
- The Seasons
- Food
- The Ocean
Within each theme, you will find daily crafts and activities, poems and songs, book suggestions, and more. I will tell you all about these next!
What kinds of activities are included?
In Playful Days, the activities are all playful and engaging for your toddler and low to no-prep for you.
Each week follows the same pattern, providing a lovely rhythm to your days and weeks:
Monday: Sensory Bins
Sensory bins for toddlers?! Yes! But never fear, I provide all the tips and tried-and-true ways to make sure this is a stress-free experience for you and a learning-filled experience for your toddler.
Tuesday: Craft or Fine Motor Activity
We can begin to develop fine motor skills even during the toddler years. Fine motor skills involve the small movements of the hands that will be used much later when children are learning to write, do up buttons, zip zippers, and much more. Once a week, we will play with activities that build this important skill.
Wednesday: Gross Motor Activity
Gross motor skills involve using the big muscles of the body. Interestingly, these muscles are also important for later writing! Children need to have strong core muscles to do many things, including those academic skills they will be doing at a tabletop or desk when they are older. In addition to this, we will be playing with the skill of “crossing the midline.” This skill involves crossing one side of the body over the other (such as touching your right hand to your left foot.) Playing with this skill is building an important part of the brain in our toddlers called the corpus callosum.
Thursday: Language Development Activity
Each week, we will find a new, fun way to build your toddler’s language skills. Language development is a wonderful area of focus for our developing toddlers’ brains. They are little sponges and take in so much information so easily during toddlerhood. By building vocabulary through games and activities, our toddlers will be set for everything that lies ahead!
Friday: Scavenger Hunt or Imaginative World Play
We finish off each week with either a scavenger hunt or an imaginative play setup. Not only is this a fun way to end the week, but both are important areas of learning for toddlers. Scavenger hunts help build problem-solving skills, increase focus and attention, and build language skills. Toddlerhood is full of magic and wonder, so imaginative play happens naturally. The imaginative play invitations in this program are set up to spark some wonderful pretend play, which will build all sorts of learning skills.
Saturday and Sunday: Family Time
On the weekends, you can enjoy a special outing together, rest and recharge at home, or do whatever you like to do most. Perhaps you take a trip to the library to take out some books for your next theme! Which brings me to…
What else is included with Playful Days?
In addition to the daily activities, each theme also includes:
Book Suggestions
Reading to your little one is an essential part of his or her literacy development. Each month has a book list with six suggestions for you to take out from your local library—but any books at all on that month’s theme are wonderful! The idea is to simply expose our children to a variety of books. The suggested books are a combination of fiction and non-fiction, including classics like The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle and new favorites like Stir Crack Whisk Bake by Maddie Frost.
Songs and Poems
Each theme includes a poem or song for you to enjoy with your toddler, as well as a printable with the poem or song lyrics to display. Reciting these songs and poems frequently is a wonderful way to build vocabulary, strengthen word awareness, and practice rhyming, as well as the rest of the phonological awareness skills.
Extra Activity Ideas
Some months, you might find that you simply want more to play and do in a day with your toddler! I always feel that way during the cold weather months. For this reason, I have included a blog post related to each theme for you with extra activities. These are completely optional bonus activities.
Vocabulary Cards
Each theme has eight beautiful vocabulary cards that you can print out to display in your home. Not only will these cards beautify your learning space, but they will also help your child build their vocabulary as you chat about the animal or item on each card. As you talk with your child about these cards, try to expand on their current understanding by adding in additional descriptors. For example, you might talk about the ‘enormous elephant with the long grey nose!’ Have fun with these sweet cards, and the learning will come naturally.
Are there any pre-requisite skills required?
Playful Days is recommended for children ages 18 months to 3 years. It is the very first step in your child’s learning journey, so there are no pre-requisite skills required. Just open and go, watching your child’s development soar!
What kinds of materials are required?
The crafts and activities in Playful Days all use common crafting supplies (like pipe cleaners, pompoms, crayons, etc.) as well as regular household materials (like spoons, bowls, measuring cups, etc.).
One trip to the dollar store and you will be able to easily gather any supplies you may not already have on hand.
Can I see a sample of Playful Days?
Absolutely! You can download a Free Sample of Playful Days below to get a better feel for how the program is organized and the types of activities included. You will also receive the animal puppets and poem featured in the image (both are from the Animals theme in Playful Days).
If you have any questions about Playful Days, don’t hesitate to reach out—I’m here to help! Leave a comment on this post, or send me a message through the shop chat, and I will be happy to answer your questions.
And if you are ready for daily crafts and activities that are effortless to set up, engage your toddler’s natural curiosity, and provide YOU with peace of mind…You want Playful Days!
Get Playful Days in the How Wee Learn Shop Today!
https://shop.howweelearn.com/products/playful-days-toddler-program
Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend!
xo
Sarah
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