Learning happens best when the senses are engaged. This stands true for everyone, but especially for toddlers who are still discovering and experiencing the world around them for the first time. Babies are born with basic sensory systems that grow amazingly complex within the first few months as new stimulus is processed and millions of…
Author: Todden Blogger
Understanding 21st Century Teaching
Linda Darling Hammond in her book, Preparing Teachers for a Changing World writes: To a music lover watching a concert from the audience, it would be easy to believe that a conductor has one of the easiest jobs in the world. There he stands, waving his arms in time with the music, and the orchestra…
Experiments in the “Animal Makerspace”
There’s no denying that play is of vital importance in a child’s life. It becomes all the more valuable when it is structured to provide children with meaningful opportunities that pique their curiosity, spark connections and encourage them to explore their imagination and creativity. Keeping this in mind, I recently experimented with an animal themed…
A Day in the Life of G-Y-M
Hello, my name is The Cove, also known as the Indoor Gym at Toddler’s Den, but you can call me Gym; spelt: G-Y-M, in case you confuse it with “Jim.” I don’t think I need to introduce myself to you. I’m every child’s go-to place! And the parent body is all too familiar with me…
Why the Arts Play an Important Role in Early Childhood
While the arts are conventionally seen as a fun way for children to explore and express their innate creativity, they also have far-reaching developmental benefits. The first 1000 days of life lay down the architecture of the brain, and exposing children to the arts during this time sparks a curiosity about the world as children…
Why Mud Play is More Than Just Fun
On June 29th, we celebrated International Mud Day, an initiative of the World Forum Foundation that encourages reconnecting with nature and the great outdoors. We seized the opportunity to design several different kinds of mud play activities for our children, and the outcome was even more delightful than we had expected! Our youngest learners of…
Your Guide to a Happy & Healthy Monsoon
The rainy season is a welcome respite from the harsh summer but brings along with it an onslaught of illness and a generally unhygienic environment. Germs and bacteria thrive in the warm, damp conditions of this season, which makes it all the more necessary to take certain precautions, particularly for young children who are more…
How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activity for your Child
Extracurricular engagements are a great way of enriching your child’s educational experience. According to one study, involvement in extracurricular activities directly correlates to improved academic, psychological, and behavioral function. Moreover, it helps children pick up valuable skills such as time management and organisation, accountability, and teamwork from a young age. Extracurricular activities can also allow children…
Five Picture Books Your Child Will Love
Picture books are multi-sensory tools that stimulate the imagination and help build language skills of early learners. The entire process of reading or hearing a story aloud, looking at the accompanying art work and turning each page allows for a unique kind of interactive communication between the parent and child. Talking about the story helps…
Six Meaningful Summer Activities for Children
The summer break is here and things can get quite boring once the initial excitement wears off. While our Summer@Todden program offers some great options to channelise children’s bubbling energy, here are some at-home activities to keep children all the more engaged: Scrapbooking Creating a scrapbook is a wonderful creative outlet that builds several different…