Who Does This Job?: illustration of a toddler doing the activity

Who Does This Job?

from 30 months · 5-10 min · Everyday helper

What you need

  • a few everyday things from round the house: a watering can, a wooden spoon, the house keys, a tea towel

How to do it

  1. Put the things in a pile and hold one up.
  2. Ask 'who uses this at our house?'
  3. Talk about the job it's for and who usually does it.
  4. Ask which job they'd like to help with, and do it together, like drying a few plastic cups with the tea towel.

Why it matters

Linking the things around them to the people who use them shows them how a home runs and who does what.

What they're learning

The people at home
Who waters the plants, who stirs the pot: a home full of people with jobs.
Naming things
Each object is a word and a use.
Helping
Picking a job to help with makes the talk real.

What to look for

Watch for them naming a job you didn't mention, like 'Grandma does the garden'.

A tip

Leave anything sharp or heavy out of the pile and keep hold of the keys yourself afterwards.

Make it easier or harder

Easier: just two things and two people

Harder: ask 'what else does Daddy use for that job?' and go and find it

More like this

Browse

Everyday helper activities · Activities for 2 year olds · Toddler activities with a spoon · Toddler activities with a towel

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