section 7
2 years
Stimulation
43 meeting
Let’s review:
Once the meeting starts, welcome everyone and ask the participants: • Who can help us remember what we talked about in our last meeting? • Who was able to do the activity at home that we asked you to do at the end of the meeting? How did it go? • Does anyone have questions or concerns after doing the activity?
What are we going to learn? Some simple ways to stimulate two year-old children.
LET’S TALK ABOUT IT: We are going to look at some pictures, so we can talk about what we all know about this topic.
What things have you done to help stimulate the abilities of two-year-old children? Why do you think it is important to develop these abilities in such small children?
What types of crafts have you seen two year-old children do?
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Activity:
“I have new abilities” We are going to learn some simple ways to stimulate two year-old children.
What we’ll need: • • • • • • •
10 one-liter bottles Index cards with the activities Music 2-3 scarves Plastic ball Plastic cups filled with water Mirror
WHAT WE’LL DO: • Start by talking about how important it is for a child’s development that adults spend time playing and learning with them. The games you play should change over time according to the child’s development and growth • Tell the group you are going to play a game called “bowling” with the children. Before the meeting prepare 10 bottles (1 liter soda bottles work best) by taping an index card in the middle of the bottle. On five of the index cards write instructions for activities that can be done with two year-old children (see below). On the other five cards write a “punishment.” • Line up the bottles and then give the children a plastic ball. Have them try to knock the bottles down (with the help of their parents). When they knock down a bottle, the parents should do what the index card on the bottle says. • At the end, explain that this game can be played with their children at home. Ask participants to think of other activities that they can do to develop the physical and mental capacity of children.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE INDEX CARDS: • Dance or jump to a cheerful song while waving a scarf with one hand. • Throw and catch a ball with both hands. • Collect leaves that have fallen into the yard and collect them in a bag. • Turn water faucets on and off and pour water from one plastic container to another. • In front of a mirror make movements with your mouth like opening and closing, sticking out your tongue, fill your cheeks with air and blow it out, point your tongue up and down, right and left.
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Summing up:
What did we learn today? Now, we’ll review what we discussed today. • How do you feel after this meeting? Why? • What are the two most important things you’ve learned today? • What will you do differently based on what you learned during the meeting? • What did you like the most? Are there things you didn’t like? • Do you have any remaining concerns or questions about what we talked about? To finish: what would you recommend to improve today’s meeting when we do it again with another group. (Explain that replying this question will help the meeting be even better in the future for parents with small children.)
To do at home:
• T ell parents to practice at least two activities that they have learned with there two-year-old children. • Tell parents to visit other two-year-old children in other families and do these activities with the whole family.
Basic information for the facilitator: Learning more about stimulation: Activities that stimulate movement and coordination, and others, like scribbling and looking at colors, help the brain develop normally. The child will be able to learn how to read and write, understand math and other topics, easier than without these activities.
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Body movement and expression: At two, a child is much more able, they can use and alternate their two legs and hands to touch and move objects. It is recommended that they begin to stimulate their hearing and bodily expression through song, music, dance, jumping on one foot, and use their balance. Just like during their first year the child should continue to wash themselves alone, eat alone, dress themselves, and above all use their hands to fasten and button things.
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72 Reasoning: At this age a child starts to have more organized thoughts, they start to classify and make differences. For example many activities in the home can be stimulating: separating sheets, lining up shoes, organizing papers, separating things by color or size, etc.
2- Figurative and written expression: Scribbling is more important at this age than in the first
year, it is suggested that the use of both hands should continue to be stimulated. Children should scribble with both hands or alternating and begin to draw their first shapes. For example: lines or circles. Depending on what type of stimulation they are receiving children can begin to use other tools with their hands, like scissors. It is suggested that the children initiate the use of other tools and are not pressured to use them if they are not ready.
3- Oral expression: At two, a child begins to organize words into small sentences and can
begin to give certain orders when they want something. It is suggested that parents stimulate their vocabulary and increase activities that utilize the tongue and emission of sounds.
4- Security and personal confidence: At this age a child feels the most security in themselves,
if during the first year they were given independence and liberty to move. They begin to move away from their parents and start to relate more with other members of the family. It is suggested that they are allowed to move about and act more on their own decisions, than by an adult’s suggestion or order.
Facilitator’s Manual