Tips and Activities for Parents at Home with Toddlers and Preschoolers
When schools close, parents may need to be their child’s teachers and play partners. Finding the right activities to do with your child can be hard. You may have trouble deciding what activities are good for your child's learning. It can also be hard to find activities that are fun and easy to do at home.
The activities you will find here have been picked by the teachers at the University of California, Davis Early Childhood Lab School (ECL). The activities included here were chosen with toddlers and preschoolers in mind. Each activity includes information to help you select the right activities for your own needs. We describe how it works and how it helps children’s learning.
Thank you for visiting! We hope you find lots of fun things to do.
You may also find below a number of articles written by the ECL staff for parents and published in our quarterly newsletter.
Staff Articles
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Supporting Young Writers
Childhood Stress: Toxic or Not?
Growing up as an Orchid or a Dandelion
Storybook Reading with Young Children
Forget the Facts and Remember the Wonder
From the Garden to the Table: Encouraging Young Children's Healthy Eating
Making Sense of Conflict: Seeking Solutions Together
Got Empathy? Planting the Seeds of Perspective-Taking
Digging, Squishing, Wading: Nurturing a Love of Nature in Infancy and Toddlerhood
Home Matters: Setting the Stage for Social Competence
Let's Pretend: Thoughts about Play
Helping Children Cope With Stress
Natural Connections: Children, Nature, and Social-Emotional Development
A School That Knows Me: Reggio Emilia and the Lab School
The Lazy(?) Days of Summer