Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Toddler Activities: Foot Parade

By Deborah Pace Rowley

As a young mother I worked at Parent Cooperative Preschool in Salt Lake City. One tradition at this popular preschool was a favorite of the two-year-old class. It was the annual Foot Parade. You can have your own foot parade at home or with a playgroup of friends. This activity works best outside for reasons that will soon be made clear. It is perfect for a long summer afternoon. All you need are some shallow containers (disposable cake pans work great) and a variety of items your toddler can walk on or step in. 

Line up your items in a row and let the foot parade begin. Mom or Dad should help their child step in each container and cross each surface in the parade. Ask your child which surfaces she likes to feel on her feet and which ones she doesn’t. Be sure to have a camera handy to capture all the funny facial expressions. 

Here are some ideas to get you started in creating your own foot parade. Think up some of your own.

Textured Surfaces:
Grass
Cement
Plush Carpet Square
Silk Throw Pillow or Silk Scarf
Quilt Batting
Fuzzy Scarf or Sweater
Square of Artificial Turf or Rough Door Mat
Piece of Plywood (Step carefully to avoid splinters)
Cool Marble Cutting Board
Big Bubble Wrap

Items in shallow containers:
Feathers
Wood Chips
Cotton Balls
Jello
Warm water
Sand or Salt
Potting Soil
Paint
The tray of paint was always the last item in the foot parade. The children would step from the tray of paint onto a roll of paper and then march down the paper, leaving a set of darling footprints as a priceless memento of the day. Be sure to add the date and age of your child. 

1 comment:

  1. This such a fun idea! I am going to have to gather some materials, but this is going on my to do list.

    If you're interested, I'd love if you'd link up to my Teaching Time for Toddlers post!

    http://philwife.blogspot.com/2012/06/teaching-time-for-toddlers-tuesdays-zoo.html

    ReplyDelete