Toddler Activities for the Letter S

I found this book at the library called "Measuring Size" and decided that would be a fun topic to study for the letter S. For this activity, we made our own rulers and "Book of Size."



Materials:
cardboard
markers
string
hole punch
scissors
measuring tape
construction paper
staples


I cannot get this photo to stay rotated for the life of me. It's never been a problem before! Ah well.

Step One:
Measure and cut your piece of cardboard about 2" in width and, of course, 12" in length.


Step Two:
Cut out your ruler and mark each inch along the top. I held the measuring tape in place while my preschooler marked the inches. If you're doing this activity with a toddler, you'll have to do most of the work on this part.






Step Three:
Punch a hole in the ruler and thread your string through the hole. Tie it so that it hangs from their neck, long enough to hold it out and measure things.






Step Four:
Staple a few pieces of paper together for their "book of size." We went outside to find some items to measure such as a flower and our car. I followed her and helped her to hold the ruler and mark the end of it with her finger and hold it up again in the proper place.









I also showed her how to write the marking for inches and feet. We measured our trash can and one of our lovely little chickens.


This activity is geared more towards 3-5 year olds, but there's a way to adapt it to younger toddlers. You make a ruler that they can color and show them how you measure simple things on their body like their nose or finger or feet. They can measure things on your face or your hands or a favorite toy. Focus on words such as "big" and "small" and which things are smaller or bigger than one another.

Have fun with this!