Shiny New Year

Shiny New Year

Activities for toddlers and babies

It will soon be time to put Christmas decorations away. Once they have been put back in their boxes, enjoy this theme that uses luminous, colourful, and shiny items to ring in the New Year.

AREA SETUP

Hang shiny streamers and star shapes from the ceiling to represent New Year's celebrations and decorate your daycare.

ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS

Organize a glittery New Year's lunch. Simply serve children's meal in aluminum pie plates to add a touch of shine to your table. At the end of the meal, wash the pie plates so you can use them for other activities.

SENSORY ACTIVITIES (look)

Shiny discovery bottles
Add a variety of shiny items to empty plastic water bottles. For example, you can add glitter, glitter glue, balls of aluminum paper, etc. Use hot glue to secure the caps on the bottles. Let babies and toddlers explore the bottles and admire the shiny items.

Lit-up ceiling
Hang a string of tiny Christmas lights from the ceiling within your daycare. Turn your ceiling lights off and lie on the floor with your group to admire their glow.

ARTS & CRAFTS

New Year's craft
Cut the numbers representing the New Year out of shiny scrapbooking paper. Encourage children to add stickers, feathers, and other arts & crafts materials to the numbers. Display the numbers in order on your daycare wall.

Shiny hats
Make shiny hats with the children in your group. Cut a strip of heavy construction paper for each child. Let them decorate their headband with shiny paper, stickers, aluminum paper, etc. (Supervision required) Measure each child's head and staple or glue the strips of paper to complete their hats.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Shiny hat parade
A parade represents the ultimate New Year's celebration for little ones. Help them make shiny hats (see arts & crafts suggestion) or purchase shiny hats at your local dollar store. Parade around your daycare or neighbourhood. Provide rattles or musical instruments to add to the fun.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Color exploration
Cut squares of shiny paper and laminate them. Arrange them on the floor and encourage babies and toddlers to manipulate them. Name the colors with your group.

Shiny body parts
Purchase or make your own shiny moisturizing lotion. Perform an allergy test on each child's arm before presenting this activity. Have fun massaging children's hands (or other body parts) with the lotion. Encourage them to admire the glittery effect.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Infernal plates
This activity can be quite noisy. However, toddlers love it! It is also great for encouraging little ones to move. Print several different illustrations representing New Year's celebrations. Use adhesive paper to laminate them in each plate. Deposit the plates on the floor. Show toddlers how they can bang the plates together to produce interesting sounds.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Glitter-filled books
This activity is great for older toddlers. Deposit a small quantity of glitter between the pages of several storybooks. Set the books on the floor and let older toddlers manipulate them. They will enjoy seeing the glitter fall out of the books as they explore the different pages.

Have a shiny New Year!

Chantal Millette
Early childhood educator

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