Turn everyday moments into fun learning!
These simple ideas are especially great for 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds,
but it’s never too early to start.
Read together every day
- Store your child’s books in a special place that’s easy to reach, such as a basket or low shelf.
- Place a small rug or pillow nearby to create a comfortable space for reading.
- Get a library card for your child (and yourself if you don’t already have one).
- Find a place to read together away from distractions. Hold your child as you read to help develop a positive attitude toward reading.
- Children enjoy and learn by repetition, so it’s OK if they want you to read the same books over and over.
- Talk about the story as you read. Ask questions and point out details in the pictures.
- Ask your child to retell the story in their own words.
- Count out loud with your child every day while reading, cooking, and shopping.
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Use school tools
- Decide on simple rules for using drawing and writing tools. “Markers may be used at the kitchen table or outdoors,” or “Scissors are for cutting paper.”
- Draw pictures together about family events, daily experiences, etc.
- Praise your child’s efforts. Perfection is not the goal. Display some of their work and change it from time to time.
- Plan a healthy meal and make a grocery list together.
- Label belongings with your child’s name.
- Encourage your child to use the tools to write a letter if they’re interested in writing.
- Practice how to hold scissors, how to open and close them, and how to hold the paper.
- Try snipping paper first or even play-doh or plastic straws.
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Get moving
- Save plastic water or soda bottles to use as bowling pins.
- Toss bean bags or socks in a basket.
- Balance books on your head while walking.
- Visit a safe outdoor space so you can run and play together.
- Play toss and catch together with a rubber ball.
- Set up an obstacle course (inside the house or out). Run through it or steer a tricycle/bike through it.
- Teach your child games like “Hokey Pokey,” “Red Light, Green Light,” and “Simon Says.”
- Suggest your child try to move like different animals: hop like a rabbit, slither like a snake, fly like a bird.
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Practice letters & words
- Use an uppercase letter followed by lowercase letters when writing your child’s name. For example: “Matthew.”
- Make a name card for each member of your family. Help your child place them at the dinner table where everyone sits.
- Use letter magnets on the refrigerator or a cookie sheet to spell their name and familiar names: Mom, Dad.
- Place alphabet letters in a container. Pull them out one at a time and name them.
- Invite your child to “read” familiar business signs as you run errands.
- Read alphabet books and allow your child to name the letters they recognize.
- Read a book together, then ask your child to go back and look for a certain letter of the alphabet found in the story.
- Write the alphabet on paper. Sing the ABC song slowly and have your child touch each letter as you go.
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Find math everywhere
- Talk math. Use words such as more, less; longer, shorter; heavy, light; etc.
- Count out LOUD every day. Start at 1 and count as you walk, put plates on the table, add apples to your grocery cart or as they wash their hands. Ask your child to count with you. Pause and ask, “What number comes next?”
- Hold up 5 fingers in front of your child, then quickly hide your hand. Ask, “How many fingers did you see?”
- Name and describe shapes when you see them. “That is a square napkin. The box of cereal is a rectangle. That tire is a circle.”
- Count: “Let’s count the blocks.”
- Compare: “Which plate has more crackers?”
- Explore: “Let’s go on a shape hunt—can you find circles?”
- Question: “I wonder how many cars we can fit in this basket?”
- Sort: “Let’s put all the yellow pieces in this pile.”
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Talk about thoughts & feelings
- Turn off the music & movies in the car and talk about where you are going, what you are going to do and what might happen when you get there.
- Turn off the TV and put down the phone at meal times. Talk about what you did or are going to do today.
- As you read together ask your child to tell you what they sees in each picture.
- Ask your child to predict what will happen before you turn the page.
- Ask your child to draw you a picture and then tell you about it.
- Model sympathy & caring for others, "Dad isn't feeling well. Let's make him some soup."
- Talk about situations and how they might make people feel happy, sad, frustrated, angry, scared, etc.
- Encourage your child to talk about and label their feelings.
- Teach calming techniques when you see your child becoming upset. "Stop, take a deep breath, relax," etc.
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Spend time with rhymes
- Introducing children to rhymes and rhyming words and playing with them gives children a head start in reading and spelling.
- Read Mother Goose rhymes with your child. After you've read one a few times, ask your child to complete the rhyme with the correct word: "Hickory, Dickory, Dock. The mouse ran up the _____ (clock)."
- As your child becomes more familiar with the rhymes, encourage them to join in and say parts of the rhyme themselves (it will take a while before they can recite whole rhymes independently).
- Remember that nursery rhymes are portable, they can be enjoyed anytime, anyplace, anywhere! Share them at bath time, when getting ready for bed, while cooking or in the car.
- Change words to make your own personalized rhymes, for example, "Nye and Jill went up the hill" or, "Nia had a little lamb…"
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Teach with technology
- Preview age-appropriate TV programs, videos, music, computer games, websites and apps to be sure they teach what you want your child to learn.
- Set time limits on all electronics. Children need opportunities to run, play, explore and use their imaginations.
- Keep TV, computers, tablets, etc in a public area of your home not the child's bedroom to allow for easier monitoring.
- Watch programs or play games together. Use this time to talk to, teach, and connect with your child.
- Check out DVDs from the library on topics that interest your child such as animals, outer space, etc.
- Turn electronics off at mealtime. Use the time to talk about your day.
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Learn with play
- Turn household chores into learning games—match socks as you fold laundry or line up canned goods by size. These activities can build math and cooperation skills. Feeling useful also helps children feel good which encourages them to continue to want to be helpful.
- Children can help set the table. Extend their memory by giving 3 step directions "Please get the milk from the refrigerator. Set it on the table. Get the napkins."
- Make matching pairs of cards with stickers, drawings or pictures cut from magazines.
- Use Legos to create color patterns. Have your child continue the pattern: red, yellow, black, red… what comes next?
- Play seek and find. "Find something yellow in the kitchen." "Find something that is square."
- Pour and measure together in the kitchen, the bathtub or use a bucket of water outside on a hot summer day filled with measuring spoons and cups.
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Solve problems & think critically
- Cut out pictures or gather items that go together and ask your child to match: shoe & sock; flower & vase; car & tire; fork & spoon, etc.
- When your child becomes frustrated while playing a game or playing with a friend, refrain from jumping in and solving the problem. Instead, ask questions and guide your child by asking "How did that happen?" and "What can you do differently?
- Ask your child for their opinion on simple problems such as "Should we wash the car or take a walk?" Then follow up with "Why?" Or in the grocery store ask "Chicken or fish for dinner?"
- Hide common objects from the house in a box or bag. Ask your child to close their eyes and reach inside. Don't pull the item out but feel it and try to guess what it is.
- Cook in the kitchen together and ask questions as you mix and stir and bake. "What will happen when we add this milk to the flour?" "What will happen to the frosting when I add this drop of food coloring?"
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Focus on “me”
- Make a book by stapling or tying blank pages together with yarn.
- Find photos of your child to put in the book. Give them magazines to cut out pictures of things they like.
- Ask your child questions and write the question and their exact answer in the book: My name is _______________; I like to _______________; My favorite color is _______________; My favorite food is _______________; I like it when my mom _______________, etc.
- Make another page of personal information your child should know and practice this often: My name is_______________; I am a _______________; I was born on _______________; My address is _______________; My phone number is _______________; I'm allergic to _______________, etc. In an emergency I should call _______________.
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Get ready for routine
- Before the first day of school, choose school supplies and label them
- Play school together and take turns being the teacher.
- Eat a meal from a lunch box or tray. Show your child how to clean up and open milk/juice cartons.
- Visit your child's school and explore the classroom and playground.
- Talk about the kinds of things they will be doing at school.
- Two weeks before school starts, adjust your child's bed time to what it will be during the school year.
- Create a healthy routine that allows time for family meal, homework, play, bath, teeth brushing and a bedtime story.
- Practice zippers, buttons, opening their backpack, putting on tennis shoes. Not all children have mastered shoe tying by the first day of school and that's OK. Just remember to practice once in a while.
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