Educational games for children from 1 to 2 years: recommendations for parents

The second year of the baby's life is a time of active development of motor skills, knowledge of the surrounding world and expansion of interests. The kid can easily be carried away by a fairy tale, drawing, outdoor games. Moreover, this is no longer just an observer, but a full-fledged participant in the gameplay. 

In our article you will find tips on how to develop the basic skills of children from one to two years old — creativity, fine motor skills, imagination, etc.Also read: How to survive the crisis of the first year of a child with benefit

What does a child know and know how to do in 1-2 yearsThe baby develops very quickly.

Parents celebrate progress almost monthly. By the age of two, this is not the same child that was at the age of a year old. He is improving such skills:

1. Behavioral. The kid is aware of his gender identity, can distinguish a boy from a girl, but does not yet understand the essence of the differences. He imitates adults, copies the sounds of the animal world. Gradually separates from the mother, can independently abandon the breast or use it not for its intended purpose (as a means of calming, not satisfying hunger). 
2. Communicative. Despite the fact that the skill of signaling their needs by crying is still preserved, the child understands that there are other ways of communicating with parents. He can point with his finger at an object of interest to him, come up, take it and turn his gaze to his mother: "Can I?". Also, the kid understands well who is his own and who is someone else's, expresses his affection for the adults or older children he likes, even if they are not from a close circle of communication.
3. Emotional. Children under 2 years old are still closely tied to their parents, but they are already showing the first signs of disobedience. And with full awareness of their actions. From this moment on, parents need to start the educational process in order to prevent the formation of the habit of ignoring the requests and prohibitions of adults. During this period, there is increased emotionality — it is easy to scare the baby with a loud sound, a scary toy or excessively active games. 
4. Speech. The first words have been said for a long time, which means it's time to improve your vocabulary. The easiest way is to get acquainted with the animal world, at least in pictures. Toddlers at the age of one year already distinguish animal species — a dog from a cat, an elephant from a giraffe. Imitate their sounds: woof-woof, meow, muuu, etc. They understand the speech well, fulfill simple requests (come, give me a pen, bring a ball). By the end of the second year, their vocabulary consists of about 300 simple words. 
5. Motor skills. The baby is already walking well without assistance, which allows you to significantly expand the geography of movement. Explores the living space, climbs on accessible surfaces. This stimulates his curiosity — the desire to touch, feel, reach out to any object he likes.

Also read: Harari's Tips: 5 things to Teach your children. And it's not about programming

What toys will be interesting for a 1-2 year old kidIf up to a year the child was mainly interested in rattles and simple toys like cubes, pyramids and stuffed animals, now is the time to replenish his collection.

What is suitable for this age:

1. Toys for the development of motor activity: all kinds of rocking chairs, sleds, a Swedish wall, a ball, a bike race. Molds for playing in the sand, shovels, rakes, sieves.
2. Interactive toys with songs, fairy tales.  
3. Matryoshka, tumbler, bundle. 
4. Musical toys — accordion, drum, bells, maracas.
5.  Everything for creativity:
6. plasticine, pencils, finger paints.Toys for role—playing games - dolls together with all the attributes (cars, horses, houses, furniture), dolls with care products for them, equipment (trucks, dump trucks, fire trucks, etc.). 
7. You can start introducing the baby to the book.

Buy well-illustrated editions, with curly cutting, dense textured pages. There are also books made of fabric, felt. Children at this age like toys-lacing, mazes, sorters, liners. Show them how to play with them, and you can safely go about your business — the next half hour the baby will be passionate about a new occupation.

Educational gamesOf course, you can't do with toys alone.

If you want the baby to develop comprehensively and in a timely manner, you will have to spend time and effort on developing classes. If possible, involve other children in the game. Watching the elders, the child will act according to their example, which means that he will cope with the game tasks much faster and better.

1. Development of fine motor skills.It is proved that games with small objects, where fingers are involved, have a positive effect on the development of speech, cognitive function, attention.

Take 5-10 empty jars (from creams, tablets, food products, "Kinders") and ask each to pick up its own lid. Or mix beans, large pasta, nuts in one container and ask them to sort the contents into piles — beans separately, pasta separately, and so on. Just make sure that the baby does not pull anything into his mouth.

Teach me how to draw with your fingers. To do this, you need special paints, a watman and an oilcloth to cover the table.

2. Musical development.Lead round dances, sing baby songs and lullabies to the baby, turn on high-quality music (for example, classics).

Learn a simple song with movements. For example, "The Dance of Little Ducklings". Teach the concepts of "loud", "quiet", "slow", "fast", "cheerful melody", "sad melody". To do this, turn on the appropriate tracks one by one, adjust the volume and clearly pronounce what and how it sounds now.

3. Development of attention.Put together simple puzzles with your child, encouraging him for each correctly selected segment.

Play with pictures — post images of animals and ask them to find a dog, a cat, a lion, a monkey. Put buttons of different colors and sizes in the box and invite the baby to find all the white, red, round, square ones. Put socks or mittens in front of the child, show how to sort them into pairs, and then give him the opportunity to do it himself. Hide a yummy in the room and ask her to find it.

4. Creative development.Sculpt simple figures from colored dough or plasticine.

For example, balls of different colors. Lay out flowers and beads from them. If the weather permits, give the baby a large brush in his hands and offer to paint an object on the street - a box, a bucket, a stone (approx. — paints should be safe for children's health). Make an application or herbarium: stick bright pictures or dried herbs, flowers, leaves on a large sheet with PVA glue.

5. Physical development. Teach your baby to do exercises.

These should be simple movements, best of all to the music: raise the handles up, stretch on your toes, take steps to the right and left, bend over, stomp, clap your hands. Do them together, voicing each exercise and counting the number of repetitions. Play outdoor games — catch-up, football, with a balloon. If there is a Swedish wall, teach to climb the ladder up and down, put the horizontal bar lower so that the baby can grab hold of it with handles and hang. At such a wall there should be a special mat or a bag chair to soften the blow in case of a fall, but it is better not to leave the crumb alone with this activity. 

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Any play activity contributes to the development of the baby. With its help, he realizes the limits of his capabilities and gets motivated to improve his skills. During classes, voice your every action. This will help the child to understand you better and enrich his vocabulary. Do not insist on any occupation if it does not work out due to age or unwillingness of the crumbs. It is better to do what brings him pleasure and causes pleasant emotions.