Teaching Guide The Not-So-Terrible Twos 2005 Learning Seed Voice 800.634.4941 Fax 800.998.0854 E-mail info@learningseed.com www.learningseed.com
Using this guide Program owners may reproduce the pages in this guide for classroom use. No permission is given to distribute or re-sell this material in any way. Summary Two-year-olds are explorers at heart. They grab, examine and drop everything in sight. Their unending curiosity and obstinacy lead to the description terrible two s. Yet their behavior serves a purpose. They re learning an astonishing amount about how their bodies, minds, emotions and world work. Watch how a lot of questions combined with an unending wonder make the two-year-old one of the best learners in the universe. 2
Objectives When viewing The Not So Terrible Twos viewers will: Watch how increasing confidence in their physical abilities leads the two-year-old into bounding down the sidewalk at full speed, joining in playful dances, tumbling, and jumping. See how two-year-olds fine-tune their muscles through constant imitation, experimentation and repetition. Meet two-year-old Tea, whose adoptive parents rescued her from serious delays in development. Observe as two-year-olds learn to make the complex mental connections that lead to true understanding. Hear how their growing language abilities lead twoyear-olds to speak with others, to ask why, and proclaim their independence by saying no. Watch 32-month-old C.J. struggle with the difference between fact and fantasy. See how two-year-olds deal with the conflicting emotions of wanting to possess and demand one moment, and share and hug the next. Watch their first interactions with others, and see how it s still difficult for them to see a situation from another s viewpoint. Learn from a Pediatrician what body awareness, language skills, and motor skills have to do with toilet training. Watch as two-year-olds discover how much they can act on the world, and how the world acts on them. Learn how rituals and routines provide a sense of security and comfort. 3
Questions for Discussion 1. What are some of the physical changes that accompany this third year of life? Two-year-old has an almost full set of teeth and can enjoy a greater variety of foods. Their body becomes longer, and their walk changes from an awkward wobbling, to a more confident adult step that moves from heel to toe. 2. What abilities are now available to two-year-olds as they learn to coordinate and control large muscle movement? Their newfound strength and control allow them to stay balanced and run by swinging their arms. They explore the movement of their body through space and hop, jump, tumble and climb, using principles of physics learned by trial and error. They can kick a ball, and dance on their toes. These are exciting new abilities for someone who just spent their first years mostly sitting and lying down. They will develop even more balance, coordination and strength which lead to ever-new and more complicated skills. 3. Name some activities that help the two-year-old develop and use the small muscles in the arms, wrists, hands and fingers with precision. Buttoning, cutting, using eating utensil, opening door knobs, tying shoelaces and drawing.. 4. Two-year-old Tea spends10 minutes standing at the door, opening and closing the door over and over again. Why does she do this? 4
Tea learns through constant imitation, experimentation and repetition what works and what doesn t. Coordinating wrist and arm muscles to open a door knob for the first time takes some practice. A simple task for an adult is exciting uncharted territory for a two-year-old. 5. What complex mental connections does C.J. make when he is able to see and name the colors of an apple, and relate the meaning of those colors to a stoplight, and to the words, stop go and slow down? C.J. not only can name the colors of the apples that are right in front of him, he can also transfer the meaning of those colors to an object (the stoplight) that is not right in front of him. He is accessing his memory. At age one, C.J. could only relate to objects immediately in view. Jean Piaget calls this the sensorimotor stage of learning. At two C.J. has moved into the preoperational phase. He can relate to memories in his mind. C.J. is also able to understand that the color red doesn t just apply to apples. It can also symbolically represent an action, such as stop. 6. What are some cognitive concepts that have now become possible for the two-year-old to understand? They begin to understand the concept of time, later soon and in just a minute. They begin to realize that things have dimensions. They have an inside and outside an up and a down. They also notice more than one aspect of an object or situation at a time. Tea understands that her toy bunny is pink, soft, and is named Fluffy. 5
7. Two-year-old C.J. picks up a Santa decoration and tries to blow into Santa s horn, and open the present in Santa s hand. He is upset when the horn doesn t make any sound, and the present doesn t unwrap. Why? He is still learning the difference between real and pretend. He thinks Santa s trumpet and present are real. 8. Discuss some of the language abilities that begin to emerge at age two. Two- year-olds can mimic adult inflections and phrases, and starts to use pronouns such as I and mine. They enjoy naming objects and people. A growing understanding of verbs and adjectives allows them to speak in four and five word sentences. Around 32 months, they begin to understand, rather than just say, the words they are speaking. Two-year-olds begin to understand that words can make things happen, and like to use their newfound language skills to ask why. They may use words to express affection, or to boss others around. 9. The two-year-old begins the learning to relate to other people and to consider their feelings. Why does the twoyear-old struggle with the concept of sharing and relating? Two-year-olds are focused primarily on the development of their own growing mind and body. They are just beginning to expand their focus to include other people. The 24-26 month olds point of view is still mostly selfcentered. They don t yet have an awareness that other people s viewpoint may differ from their own. They explore sharing by taking turns and exchanging toys. Two-year-olds may shift back and forth between wanting to possess objects by themselves and desiring to share with others. 10. The two-year-old is learning how to manage powerful emotions. It s not unusual for the 28-30 month old to 6
display Jekyll and Hyde behavior, content one minute and cranky the next. What are some of the ways a two-year-old releases these emotions? They can become destructive to objects around them when frustrated and angry. They may insist on doing tasks without help. They will run for help in one moment and run away in an act of independence the next. It s all a natural part of growing into new emotions and experiences. 11. Toilet training is a natural function that happens around two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half years of age. Discuss the three developmental milestones a child needs to be potty trained. Body Awareness. They have to have the muscle control to be able to hold it, and an ability to relate what is happening to them. Language Skills. They need the ability to tell an adult they need to go to the bathroom. Motor Skills. They need the ability to take off their clothes, climb onto the toilet and assist in wiping. 12. What else needs to be present in order for a child to show a willingness to use the potty? They need to have the desire. Either they don t like to feel dirty, or they want to please their parents. They have to want to slow down long enough from playing to take care of themselves. 13. Why might rituals and routines such as brushing teeth, set meals times, naps and games be important to the two-year-old? They make the scary discovery that they are separate people. While their world remains uncertain, routines and rituals provide a sense of security and comfort. 7
Quiz on The Not So Terrible Twos Circle the best response 1. The first clear, organized form to emerge out of scribbles is usually: A)a circle, B) a square, C) a triangle, D) it depends on the child. 2. The stage of development in which a child learns mostly from directly interacting with objects is what Jean Piaget calls: A) the object permanence stage, B)the productive stage, C) the receptive stage, D) the sensorimotor stage. 3. The phase of development called the preoperational phase is when a child learns: (A) how to control the small muscles of the hands and fingers, B) how to make more complex mental connections, C) how to interact and share with others, D) all of the above. 4. The two-year-old begins to learn that things don t just happen. You or someone else makes them happen. This concept that people can affect each other and the world is called: A) personal agency, B) behaviorism, C) social interaction D) sympathetic understanding. 8
5. The 24 month-old may understand up to two thousand words, but probably can use between: A) one and two thousand words, B) one hundred and two hundred words, C) between 200 and eight hundred words, D) it depends. 6. A two-year-old is not yet old enough to speak in four and five word sentences, or to carry on a conversation. T or F? 7. At 24-26 months, a child is able to relate clearly with others, and see things from another s point of view. T or F? 8. During the third year of life, children still favor parallel play, playing along side others, but also begin to interact directly with others. T or F? 9. Temper tantrums and outbursts are an unnatural part of child development, and are a sign of abnormal behavior. T or F? 10. During this third year of life children usually are ready to use the toilet, and should be forced to grow out of their diapers. T or F? 9
Quiz Answers 1. A The circle. It s the most basic shape in the human mind. Some psychologists suggest it represents the search for the unity in life. 2. D The sensorimotor stage. Here a child will not be able to understand the concept book unless the book is in view and someone points to the book directly while naming it. 3. B What Jean Piaget calls the preoperational phase means two-year-olds learn to make complex mental connections. They can symbolically represent things in their mind, notice multiple aspects of objects and situations, can think about things that are not currently present in the room. 4. A Personal agency. This leads to the idea that people can affect each other s emotional states as well. 5. C They can speak many sounds and mimic many words, but they probably only understand the meaning of two hundred to eight hundred words. 10
6. False. A two-year-old is just beginning to speak in four and five word sentences, though they may not speak very clearly. They can carry on short conversations and love to ask the question why? 7. False. A young child is still mostly selfcentered and finds it difficult to see a situation from another s viewpoint. 8. True. They begin to enjoy the pleasures of friendship for longer periods of times. 9. False. Temper tantrums and outbursts are a natural part of growing into new emotions and experiences. 10. False. Children show their willingness to use the toilet naturally and only when ready. They first need a certain amount of muscle control, motor skills, body awareness, and language skills. 11
Bibliography Greenspan, Stanley. Building Healthy Minds. Cambridge, Ma: Perseus Books, 1999. Lieberman, Alicia F. The Emotional Life of the Toddler. New York: The Free Press, 1993. Mayes, Linda and Donald Cohen. The Yale Child Study Guide to Understanding Your Child. Boston MA: Little Brown, 2002. O Brien, Maureen. Watch Me Grow: I m Two. New York: William Morrow, 2001. Wolfe, Jerri. I m Two Years Old! New York: Pocket Books, 1998. 12