35+ Subjects To Explore With a Toddler

I love making book lists.When my little ones began to gear up to preschool, I began thinking of ways to organizing our reading topically. It’s time to plan ahead a little bit. I am working on making a list of subjects to explore together. Now don’t get me wrong. I never forced my toddlers  into seat work yet. I never did much “formal” toddler school. Rather, the ideas below have been general ideas to get me started as I began planning for my little one’s formative years. The list of books is great for our co-op’s “Preschool Picture Book Storytime Hour” because it provides a unique focus for exploration in picture books, with maybe a small activity or two, but it works for the youngest in that class (toddlers!).

I already have a gazillion ideas on which books to add to these categories. (I’ve added links when I posted about a subject.)

In no particular order, here are my ideas.

1. The moon
2. Clouds and the water cycle
3. Fairy tales
4. Folktales
5. Plants in general
6. Flowers
7. Trees
8. Family (relationships)
9. Growing up (learning things)
10. Local community helpers
11. Safety (fire, chemical, vehicles, etc.)
12. Groceries and cooking (where does food come from?)
13. Trains
14. Cars and trucks
15. Up in the air (airplanes, hot air balloons, birds)
16. In the ocean
17. Birthdays and babies
18. Fall harvests (apples, pumpkins, corn, etc)
19. Hibernating animals
20. Snowflakes
21. Dinosaurs
22. Antarctica and penguins
23. World cultures and continents (basic intro)
24. Australia and kangaroos
25. American symbols
26. Farm animals
27. Butterflies, bees, and other insects
28. Money fun (buying and selling, ownership)
29. Ocean animals
30. Desert animals
31. Rain Forests
32. Ancient Egypt and Pyramids
33. Pond life (ducks, frogs)
34. Travel
35. Earth science (rocks and volcanoes)
36. Human body (senses, muscles, bones)
37. Computers and electronics
38. Shoes
39. Colors
40. Shapes

I can’t wait to get started on making these book and activity lists! When I’ve made a list for toddlers, I will come back here and update this list when I can.

What am I missing? I will add to this list. Which book lists would you be most interested in seeing first?

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