Have you ever noticed the contradiction that babies and toddlers are both sensitive to loud noises and supremely loud themselves? Understanding the differences between quiet and loud are a complicated pair for babies and toddlers to get a handle on.
My son could frequently be found as a toddler open mouthed watching trains or trucks with hands over his ears to block out the noise. Later he would regale me with every moment of what he had seen in a loud excited voice.
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The noises of trains, airplanes, and music are all fascinating to this age group. LOUD and quiet are just one of the many opposite pairs that every baby and toddler will explore in their first few years. We discussed quiet and LOUD with the help of this fun book, Quiet LOUD by the lovely Leslie Patricelli.
Quiet + LOUD Read and Play Exploration
Read: Quiet LOUD
Read the book aloud with your babies or toddlers. Don’t be afraid to be dramatic with your quiets and louds. Re-read the book again if your kids are interested.
Quiet LOUD
by Leslie Patricelli
Patricelli writes the most playful books for toddlers. This one toys with the idea of Quiet and LOUD. The repetative text invites listeners to call out Quiet and LOUD on each page. Expressive, fun, and simple – this is the perfect board book for energetic toddlers. Find on Amazon
Play: Quiet and LOUD
When you are done reading (and re-reading) the story, bring out some instruments to practice being quiet and loud together.
Pass out an instrument to each toddler. (We love this collection of instruments from Melissa & Doug.) They are going to want to shake them and try them out. Give them some time to explore.
also read: Opposites Storytime for Babies & Toddlers
Once they have had time to try them on their own, re-introduce the concept of quiet and loud with your instruments. Try something such as “Who can play their instruments really quiet (use whisper voice) like this?” and demonstrate with your instrument.
Invite them to imitate you playing quiet and LOUD! Next can you play quieter? Louder? Loudest?
More Books about Opposites for Babies & Toddlers
Cat & Dog: A Tale of Opposites by Tullio Corda
*Another excellent read aloud choice.
Find on Amazon
Opposites by Sandra Boynton
Find on Amazon
What’s Up, Duck? A Book of Opposites by Tad Hills
Find on Amazon
Olivia’s Opposites by Ian Falconer
Find on Amazon
What a fab selection of books and yes I got the whole quiet loud thing! Indeed Mini at 10 is still rather loud,but hates being in a loud environment!
And here I was hoping you were going to tell me that she had outgrown it and quieter moments were in my future 😉 It does seem to be a universal truth with young kids. Thanks for reading.
Oh, I love doing opposites work with young toddlers. You know they “get” and they have learned well when you see that sparkle in their eyes.
So very true Kara. I love that sparkle too. I also love that processing/wheels turning look when they are trying to figure out something new. Toddlers are so much fun.
Oh, you can’t go wrong with Duck & Goose and anything by Sandra Boynton. Such great book picks!
I completely agree Jodie. She was the favorite in our house when my twins were little. Her books are so much fun.
These are such fun ideas! I miss having toddlers around the house (even though they do get loud).
I miss having toddlers around too! They are my favorite age. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Nice ideas for exploring opposites.
We love the melissa and doug instruments as well
They are awesome instruments! We used them almost daily when my kids were toddlers. They still request them sometimes now years later.
This is great! I’ll be sure to check out Quiet Loud, and our little one loves hearing and experiencing different sounds so we’ll be sure to try this out!
Thanks so wonderful to hear Sarah! It’s a great book. This author has a whole bunch of books for toddlers that are all a lot of fun if your little one likes Quiet Loud.
I did not know about these books. I am sure kids will love these books and activities. Great activity ideas to go with the books.
Thanks Beth! This was a huge hit with my toddlers.
Instruments are always fun for toddlers! This is such a cute way to reinforce the idea of quiet and loud.
Thanks! They are always fun. My kids (of course) loved making loud noises and then they found it almost equally as amusing to try to be quiet.
Love adding instrument play and any music experiences to my kids’ days! We will need to check out that book!!
Me too! My kids love instruments so much – I’m constantly trying to think of fun ways to integrate music into our lives and learning.
What a great way to practice and learn about being quiet and loud with toddlers! My son is a bit older, but I think he’d enjoy this book and activity, too…and maybe he’ll learn to play the piano with some variation in volume. 😀
I think this could definitely work for kids who are a little older. My kids are 5 now and they’re still working on loud and quiet. I love your idea of using a piano!
Science with toddlers — LOVE this! And such fun book choices too (we’re big fans of all 3 authors 🙂
I’m beaming over here lady – thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂
I became familiar with Leslie Patricelli through her book Potty – it was my kids’ favorite book while going through potty training. I didn’t read Quiet Loud but I’m sure we would have loved it.
That’s a good one too! She has a whole series and I think they are all hilarious.
Such fabulous ideas! I may use some of them with my youngest who is still struggling with this concept. Lol.
Thank you! My kids are 5 and are definitely still learning how to regulate their volume. I think it takes a while. This is a fun way to practice though.
Awesome books. My toddler likes to do music and needs to learn to be quieter sometimes, so a good combo idea.
It sounds like you’re describing my kids too. I hope you guys have fun with this!