April

Toddlers

Welcome to Our "Marvelous Me & My Senses" Month!

Dear Parents,

April is going to be an exciting month of discovery for our toddlers as we explore the theme “Marvelous Me & My Senses”! Throughout the month, your little ones will engage their senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. They will also learn about body parts, develop self-awareness, recognize their names, understand simple feelings, and build our classroom community.

This month is all about sensory exploration! We will begin by discovering the world through our sense of touch, feeling different textures. Then, we’ll use our sense of sight to learn about colors and body parts. Our journey will continue with the sense of hearing as we explore sounds and our own names. Finally, we’ll investigate the senses of smell and taste, and connect them to understanding our feelings. Each week builds on the last, creating a rich, multi-sensory learning experience.

Here’s a glimpse of what your toddler will be experiencing:

Week 1: April 1st - April 4th (Focus: Introduction & Sense of Touch)

  • Circle Time: Daily circle time will introduce our “Marvelous Me” theme and begin our exploration of the sense of touch.
  • Exploring Textures: Your toddler will investigate various materials, such as soft fabrics, hard blocks, and bumpy balls in a sensory bin. They will also explore the tactile qualities of playdough, learning to differentiate textures.
  • Body & Touch Awareness: Toddlers will experience and discuss different tactile sensations on their skin, such as ‘smooth’, enhancing their understanding of touch.
  • Gentle Social Interactions: Sharing tactile experiences with soft toys or textured balls will foster careful interaction among peers.
  • Outdoor Texture Hunt: Park time will include opportunities for noticing and feeling different natural textures like rough tree bark, smooth slides, soft grass, and gritty sand.
  • Show & Tell (Speaking Practice): Toddlers will talk about the different textures they explored earlier in the day, practicing new descriptive words like ‘soft,’ ‘hard,’ or ‘bumpy.’
Week 2: April 7th - April 11th (Focus: Sense of Sight & Body Parts)
  • Circle Time: Circle time will introduce the sense of sight, focusing on identifying our eyes and their function.
  • Visual Observation Skills: Toddlers will look out the window and practice naming simple objects they see, such as cars, trees, or birds, thereby enhancing their visual identification abilities.
  • Identifying Body Parts: Toddlers will learn to identify and point to various body parts (like head, nose, eyes) on themselves, dolls, or pictures.
  • Color Recognition & Sorting: Sorting colorful blocks or rings will help toddlers recognize and categorize different colors.
  • Exploring Light & Shadow: Toddlers will explore the concepts of light and shadow in a playful, supervised environment.
  • Developing Self-Recognition: Mirror exploration and pointing to their own body parts will further develop toddlers’ body awareness and self-recognition.
  • Show & Tell (Speaking Practice): Toddlers will recall and talk about the colors and objects they observed earlier, or name the body parts they learned, reinforcing their vocabulary and memory.
Week 3: April 14th - April 18th (Focus: Sense of Hearing & Names/Self-Awareness)
  • Circle Time: Circle time will introduce the Sense of Hearing, with a focus on listening for sounds and recognizing their own names.
  • Exploring Sounds: Toddlers will investigate simple sound-making objects and instruments, learning to distinguish between different sounds, such as loud, soft, or the sounds made by different materials.
  • Strengthening Name Recognition: Toddlers will learn to respond when their name is called and begin to recognize the names of their classmates.
  • Reinforcing Self-Awareness: Mirror exploration, identifying their features, and viewing diverse images of children will help toddlers continue to build their sense of self.
  • Show & Tell (Speaking Practice): Toddlers will have a chance to further explore sound-makers from the morning, describe the sounds they produce, or participate in activities that reinforce their name recognition.
Week 4: April 21st - April 25th (Focus: Senses of Smell & Taste & Feelings)
  • Circle Time: Circle time will introduce the sense of smell through the exploration of pleasant scents, and the introduction of simple feelings like ‘happy’ and ‘sad’, later expanding to other emotions.
  • Exploring Scents: Toddlers will have the chance to smell safe, distinct items (like a flower or piece of fruit) and explore doughs scented with familiar, safe smells, helping them identify and describe different odors.
  • Taste & Texture Awareness: Exploration of familiar foods through pictures will encourage toddlers to express preferences (e.g., ‘yummy’/’yucky’ faces). Snack times will provide opportunities to discuss food textures (e.g., soft banana vs. crunchy cracker), promoting taste and texture vocabulary. (Please note: All taste-related discussions and activities prioritize safety and allergy awareness. Direct tasting focuses on familiar, safe foods or is primarily discussion-based.)
  • Recognizing Basic Emotions: Picture cards of facial expressions will support toddlers in recognizing and mimicking emotions in a mirror. Empathy will be fostered through interactions with dolls or puppets showing different feelings.
  • Show & Tell (Speaking Practice): Toddlers will talk about the items they smelled or practice making and naming the feeling faces (happy, sad) they learned about, reinforcing their understanding and vocabulary.
Week 5: April 28th - April 30th (Focus: Classroom Community & Review)
  • Circle Time: Circle time will promote friendship, include a brief review of all five senses, and encourage toddlers to share their favorite activities from the month, fostering a sense of community.
  • Cooperative Play: Participation in group activities will encourage toddlers to work together and share experiences.
  • Sensory Review: A special sensory bin with items representing all five senses (e.g., a soft toy, a colorful block, a shaker, a safely scented item) will allow toddlers to revisit and integrate their sensory learning.
  • Developing Responsibility: Helping to put toys away in designated bins will foster a sense of responsibility and contribution to our classroom.
  • Positive Social Interactions: Recognizing peers through photos and engaging in gentle social gestures like high-fives will promote positive social interactions.
  • Reinforcing Learning Through Choice: Children will have the opportunity to choose and revisit a favorite sensory activity from the month, reinforcing their learning through repetition and engagement.
  • Show & Tell (Review Focus & Speaking Practice): Toddlers will talk about their favorite sense they reviewed during the morning’s activities or an item from the multi-sensory bin, practicing words related to what they see, touch, or hear.

We are looking forward to a marvelous month of learning and growing with your toddlers!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to speak with our Japanese-speaking teacher. She is always happy to chat with you!

May