Oral Language

Read the name of the book to your toddler. The concept of counting might be new to him, so you may want to explain what it means, and make predictions about what the book will be about.

You might say:

"Counting means telling how many there are of something. I have ONE nose, and TWO eyes" (point to each and say one, two). "You have 10 fingers and 10 toes. A garden is where fruits, vegetables and flowers grow. I wonder what we will count in the garden in the book."

Oral Language

The book describes the things in the garden using words that might be somewhat new to your toddler, such as “11 Easter lilies that open like fireworks.” Remind your toddler about times he has seen fireworks and what they look like, and explain why the flowers looks like fireworks, bright and bursting open.

Between each page that introduces the numbers and description of fruits, vegetables, flowers and insects in the garden, there is a page that shows the growing garden. Use those pages to talk about all the things your toddler has learned about.

You might say:

"Wow — look at all the things in the garden now! Can you find the snails? Remember there were seven slippery snails with shells. There’s a pink one! There’s a purple one. Let’s count them again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven snails! We found them all! Great job!"

Oral Language

If your family has a garden, it would be a great time to go outside with your toddler and continue to find and name fruits and vegetables and count them. If not, you might go around your kitchen or outside and find things that might be in a garden. Make sure to use descriptive words.

You might say:

"We have potatoes in our house that we are going to bake to make a delicious dinner; they grew in a garden just like in the book. Let’s count how many big, round, brown potatoes are in this bag!"

Browse more recommended children’s books for toddlers 18 to 23 months, or find an easy at-home activity.