Shapes, colors, and numbers are all around us. You don’t have to look far to find true, authentic examples in your home, neighborhood, or local community. Make it a habit to point out details in your child’s world – the shape of their teddy bear’s eyes, the colors of the leaves outside, the number of rubber duckies in the bathtub. You are your child’s best, most important teacher, and you’re more qualified than you know!
Repetition is key, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring! Preschool and toddler learning activities come in many forms.
Read Books Together – And Go Off Script!
Reading with your child has numerous benefits, from language and cognitive development to imagination and creativity – not to mention the endless snuggling opportunities! But you don’t need a at home library to enrich your child’s life with books. Instead, utilize the amazing resources available at your the Ridley Township Library. Visit their website or download their app to unlock an array of online resources: you can search for books by age group, renew books, and request holds – all at the swipe of your finger. This makes pickup easy-peasy. Just walk in and find your books waiting for you on the hold shelf, much like picking up food to-go!
Reading With Babies and Toddlers
Although your newborn baby won’t initially be able to respond to prompts, there’s still value in asking questions, pausing, and then revealing the answer. Use your hand to point out words and shapes on the page. With time, your little one will get in on the fun and respond back to you.
For toddlers, start with simple questions, such as: “Where is the red ball? Do you see the star?” Initially, they’ll prove their comprehension non-verbally, through pointing at the pictures. And one day they’ll add an adorable “bah!” to indicate “ball”. And yes, that counts! Encourage their responses with verbal praise such as, “Yes, ball! That is the ball!”
As your toddler acquires more language, enhance your questions accordingly. Try questions like this: “How many dogs do you see? Does the girl look happy or sad? Have you seen a stop sign like that? What color is it? How many sides does it have?”
Reading With Preschoolers
For preschoolers and students in pre-K, level-up your asking game through open-ended prompts. If your questions are too simplistic, your child may lose interest.
Get their wheels turning by asking inference questions, such as, “What do you think will happen next?” or “Why do you think the character is doing that?” Put your child’s mind in the shoes of the characters on the pages by asking, “What would you do in this situation?”
Design your questions based around the content you want to teach, reteach, or expand upon. Consider doing a follow-up craft to hone their skills further.
Listen to Music
Music is an excellent tool for teaching children numbers, shapes, and colors in a fun and engaging way. Whether you expose your child to music through your own voice and/or instrument playing, digitally through a playlist, or with the help of visual components (aka YouTube), it can all be helpful, especially with your involvement and encouragement as a parent.
Songs About Shapes and Colors
Songs about shapes and colors work best with visuals. Before diving into semi-structured learning, gather a toy or object to serve as the representative for each color and/or shape.
Songs About Shapes and Colors
Songs about shapes and colors work best with visuals. Before diving into semi-structured learning, gather a toy or object to serve as the representative for each color and/or shape. Check out these resources for color songs and shape songs.
Songs About Counting and Numbers
Songs that count from one to ten or even higher can help children to learn number sequencing and memorization. Some popular songs include “Five Little Ducks” and “No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.” For more ideas, check out this list of 15 Preschool Counting Songs, Fingerplays & Rhymes.
Songs About Movement and More
Songs that involve movements or dances, such as “Wheels on the Bus”, “The Hokey Pokey” or “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” can help children learn new words while moving around and having fun.