Your toddler is growing and ready to tackle some new skills! If you are wondering what to teach a two-year-old, then read on! Grab pen and paper or download the free checklist to get you ready for your teaching journey.
There are life skills you can teach your child as well as academic skills you can start introducing them to. Life skills include getting ready to use the bathroom, pulling up their own pants, etc. Academic skills include colors, shapes, and the alphabet, which will give them a head start when entering PRE-K.
You can grab the free 2-year old milestione checklist and grab a pen and paper to take notes and plan your learning journey this year.
If you want to see how this fits into the bigger picture, this post is part of our homeschool preschool curriculum guide — the full roadmap for teaching your toddler or preschooler at home.
Recommended: The done-for-you version: My First School — Level 2. A full year of play-based, pre-K-readiness lessons for ages 2–3 — every week mapped out for you.
What to teach a two-year-old and give them a head start in Pre-K
Since my son was one year old, I have been working with teachers and speech pathologists, purchased numerous curriculums (which I didn’t fully like), and have spent hundreds of hours doing research and testing what to work on at two years old in a fun and developmental way without overwhelming my son and others the same age as him.
As a sensory teacher, I get to see kids all day learn through sensory exploration, and often, moms ask me what they should be working on at this age. The good news is that everything I learn, I create and develop, publish on the blog, and turn into awesome resources for you to enjoy as well.
2 years of age is the most ideal time to develop some basic learning skills.
Every toddler is different, and everyone works differently.
Because of this, I always suggest starting with the 2-year-old milestones and seeing what your toddler already knows.
This will give you the base of what to teach or work on throughout the year.
It is also good to add the concepts that are expected to be known when they enter preschool and those that will be taught there. This will give you the tools to work on these at home and give your child a head start.
I don’t mean grab a preschool curriculum and do that—that is too advanced—but let’s go over what they can do now to help them when they get to Pre-K.
If reading that list already feels like a lot — colors, shapes, life skills, fine motor, pre-K concepts, all at once — that’s the honest truth of it.
Knowing what to teach is only half the job. Knowing what to do on a regular Tuesday, in what order, without a Pinterest spiral, is the part that actually wears moms out.
That’s exactly the gap My First School — Level 2 fills: it takes everything on this page and lays it out month by month, low-prep, built for ages 2–3. The same play-based approach I use in my own classes, just planned for you.
See how My First School — Level 2 works →
Develop Conversational Language
By now, your toddler is expected to be able to say at least 50 words and understand around 15 sentences you say at a time. This means you can expect your toddler to understand the different words and their meanings at a bare minimum conversational level.
This is the ideal time to start teaching your children the correct usage of words. Teach them about opposites, words that describe them as up, down, inside, and outside.
Teach Life Skills
When I asked preschool teachers what they wish the child learned at home before entering their classroom, what did most say? Independence.
- Toilet Training (or announcing they have to go)
- Eating a meal unassisted
- Sharing
- Taking off shoes and jacket
Independence toilet training, eating alone within a specific time frame (as they have to stick to a schedule, so they often only have about 30-40 minutes to eat, and there is no tablet to entertain them to keep them sitting and focused.
Independence and organizational skills were necessary when dressing and undressing, such as taking off their shoes or coats and putting them in a cubby. So, at home, try to work on these, too. They are essential, as are sharing or even knowing their colors.
Work on fine motor skills
- Learning how to cut with scissors
- Play using Playdough
- Use other sensory materials
- Picking up Items Using a Pair of Tongs
- Solve Simple 3-Piece Puzzles
Work on Gross Motor Skills
- Balance on one foot at a time
- Walking in a line
- Jumping with both feet together
- Catch and kick a ball
Work on Pre-K readiness Concepts
- Colors
- Shapes
- Scissor Skills
- Math (counting, sorting)
- Alphabet (My name)
- Spatial concepts
- Opposites
Teach Colors
The age where they start identifying shapes is also the age when you can show them the colors. The colors should be as basic as possible at the start – remember, toddlers are better served differentiating between red, blue, green, pink, black, and white, so start with those.
Then add the rest of the rainbow colors, and if you want, you can add silver and gold to the list!
One way to teach children colors is to use coloring pages. Some toddlers learn to hold a thick crayon by the time they turn 3, while some learn it later. Use a variety of materials, such as paint, glitter, crayons, and markers, to teach colors. They could also learn it by the time they turn 2.5, but ensure they do not swallow crayons when you try this, or it may lead to a disaster.
Later on, you can start with orange, purple, and brown. The last step would be the complex colors, such as indigo, violet, and magenta. You do not need to show them advanced color variations such as ochre yellow, flesh tint, fluorescent blue, etc. – they will learn these automatically over time.
Teach Shapes
Before age 2, most children did not understand the concept of shapes (even if you tried teaching them), but now their brains are developed and ready to learn about them. Circles, squares, triangles, hearts, and stars are the basic ones you should start with. Eventually, move on to rectangles, diamonds, hexagons, pentagons, rhombi, etc. (It’s also fine if you skip the complex shapes altogether)
What do we teach a two-year-old when we say shapes? You have to first show them these shapes and help them understand what each one looks like. Initially, they will be confused between a square and a rectangle, so when you begin, begin with only these two coupled with a triangle and a circle.
Once they understand the shapes, point towards various objects and make your two-year-old identify them. Teach them when they go wrong, and eventually, they’ll be masters of identifying shapes. This not only helps their overall growth but also eases their lives during preschool.
Teach Math Concepts (Numbers, Counting, sorting)
By two, they should probably already be able to count from one to ten. Now, let’s start making sure they can count one by one and associate each number with its place. This is called one-on-one correlation.
Teach the Letters of the Alphabet For Their Name
You don’t want your kids to learn the complex alphabet directly the way taught in preschool – a letter of the week or more complex ways. It is easier if your toddler has a heads-up about the letters that matter before they even get to preschool.
Don’t go the full distance; you do not need to associate each letter of the alphabet with words at this stage, and they need not remember the order either.
You should just teach them what an ‘A’ looks like, what a ‘B’ looks like, etc., start with the letters of their name, and use flashcards after about three months to identify these letters when you are reading books. All they need to understand is that words have meanings and letters form words. Just work on identifying some letters of the alphabet. If you allow electronics in the house, use ABC songs that visually show the letters when singing, and do sensory activities and art activities associated with each letter of their name. Before you know it, they will be picking up other letters naturally.
Final Thoughts
I get it; all of this is a lot to take in, and it can seem overwhelming! but don’t be, just take one lesson a time and go with your child’s interest.
Ready to get started? See how My First School — Level 2 works →
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