September
Toddlers
Welcome to Our "Fabulous Food Fun" Month" Month!
Welcome to September! This month, our theme is “Fabulous Food Fun,” and we are so excited to take your toddlers on a delightful, hands-on journey into the world of food. We’ll be using all our senses to explore yummy fruits and vegetables, learn where our food comes from, and discover the joy of preparing simple snacks.
Our activities are designed to be playful and sensory-rich, perfect for curious toddlers. We will focus on building vocabulary, developing fine motor skills through mixing and scooping, practicing gentle social interactions, and establishing simple healthy habits, like washing our hands.
Here’s a glimpse of what your toddler will be experiencing:
Week 1: September 1st - 5th (Focus: Exploring Fruits & Vegetables)
- Sensory Exploration: Your toddler will investigate the colors, shapes, and textures of various foods by playing with large, soft fruit and vegetable toys in our sensory bins.
- Fine Motor Fun: We’ll practice reaching high to “pick” pretend fruit and enjoy finger painting with fruit and vegetable-themed colors (red apples, yellow bananas!).
- Early Sorting: Toddlers will begin to understand categories by helping sort large toy fruits and vegetables into different baskets.
Week 2: September 8th - 12th (Focus: Where Does Our Food Come From?)
- Farm Discoveries: We will play with farm animal toys, make their sounds, and learn that cows give us milk and chickens give us eggs.
- Garden Play: Your toddler will have fun with a “dirt” sensory bin (using safe, edible materials), small pots, and plastic vegetables, pretending to be little gardeners.
- Grain Exploration: A sensory bin filled with different types of dry pasta will be perfect for scooping, pouring, and exploring different shapes and textures.
Week 3: September 15th - 19th (Focus: Let's "Cook"!)
- Kitchen Tool Play: We will explore safe, toy kitchen tools like whisks, spoons, and bowls. Toddlers will love “mixing” and “stirring” in our play kitchen.
- Simple Food Prep: With close supervision, your toddler will practice simple food preparation skills, like mashing a soft banana with a fork or helping to spread jam on a cracker.
- Creative Cooking: Playdough is a fantastic tool for pretend cooking! We will roll, pat, and shape our own “creations” while building hand strength.
Week 4: September 22nd - 26th (Focus: Food Shopping & Trying New Things)
- Grocery Store Fun: Toddlers will have a blast pushing small shopping carts and baskets around our classroom “grocery store,” putting in and taking out familiar food items.
- Exploring Packages: We’ll stack and handle empty, clean food boxes, pointing to the colors and pictures and turning them into fun building blocks.
- Sensory Investigation: We will gently encourage toddlers to explore a new fruit or vegetable using their senses of sight, touch, and smell, fostering curiosity about new foods.
Week 5: September 29th - 30th (Focus: Theme Celebration!)
- Favorite Foods Review: We will revisit our favorite food-themed songs, games, and centers from the month.
- Food Art: Your toddler will get to draw, paint, or make a playdough model of their favorite food we learned about.
- Collaborative Mural: We will all work together on a large “Fabulous Food Fun” mural, where each child can add their own colorful mark to celebrate a month of learning.
Important Notes for Parents:
- Allergies & Safety: Your child’s safety is our top priority. We are extremely mindful of all allergies, especially during any activities involving food. All experiences are carefully supervised.
- Show & Tell: Show & Tell will focus on items and activities explored during our morning sessions. This helps reinforce learning and encourages toddlers to use new words to talk about what they did, such as “mix,” “apple,” or “soft.”
- Talk with Your Toddler: Ask your child about their day! Questions like, “Did you play with yummy food today?” or “Show me how you stir the soup!” can open up fun conversations.
We are looking forward to a delicious month of discovery 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!
