The most common use of fine motor muscles today may be learning to use a keyboard which is a wonderful skill to have but has the touchscreen surpassed that, or voice commands? We urge you to not forget to work on the development of finger and hand muscles in your wee ones. There is a fine motor progression we will follow to give you a better idea of how to work your way into this.
In all of these activities, it is important for the adult to participate with the child in the activity before letting them do it on their own while the adult is involved in something else nearby.
At around the age of six months or as soon as they can sit up, sit them next to the drawer where the plasticware is kept and let them take everything out and put it back in again. This will speed up the myelination (development of their nerves) of their arms, hands, fingers. They will be wobbly at first but progress to becoming on target. The next step could be to introduce a shape sorter toy.
As mentioned before, Kirby believes that teaching sight words and phonetics together is the best way to set kids up for a future of reading well. In this post, we'll cover some sight word games to play and the words to use when making these games.
When making your own sight word cards, it is important for us to start by mentioning that young eyes need the sight words written very largely (1-2 inches high). The muscles of young eyes are learning how to focus on things. Another helpful tip is to write mainly in lower case letters on pieces of cardboard or another sturdy card paper.
In choosing which words to begin with, use the names of family members including the child's name with upper and lower case letters. Write the child's name, then Mama (use upper and lower case m with Mama to make it easier), and the names of others who are around a lot. Once these are written on a card, lay them out on the table and pick them up several times throughout the day and say the word that is on the card. Depending on the child's level of interest, this will take varying amounts of time to stick with them- they will learn in their own time. This is a no-pressure, fun way to learn. Eventually, they will say the word before you when they see which one you are about to pick up and then you'll know they have it. This is when you add a new word to the table, keeping the first word in the mix, and so on.
However abstract learning letter names and sounds can be, normally children can do it. It is not too different and equally abstract when a child who has never been to a farm looks at a picture of a cow and says, "Cow...mooo." As you may have read in the previous post, the Alphabet Hotel homemade game can be a great way to get your child learning letters. Now, we'd like to give some options to grow this tool into a toolkit!
When you sense that a child may be interested in reading, start with games like Alphabet Hotel. It can be played by different ages and levels of pre-reading children. A two-year-old may play by matching the letters while an older sibling can name the letters as they match them, and an even older child can give the name and sound that the letter makes. If a child is not interested, leave it and try again in another month. Try using 3D letters, colorful letters, visually attractive and interesting letters.
Alphabet Hotel can be expanded with lower case letters. Suddenly Mrs. B has a baby ("b") that needs to get back to mama in her hotel room. Again, start with two to three letters, then move up to more letters. It is important to note that it is advised never to use these letters together: E & F, C & G, H & A. As you can see, these look too similar and could be very confusing.
The first step in pre-reading is reading to your child as they grow inside and can hear what your saying, the rhythms and sounds of reading. When they are born, start naming whatever they are looking at (get other people to do this too). Name whatever they hold...if it's a rattle, name it but if they shake it, say "shake".
Once the child learns the sounds to make their own "sound language" treat those as real words. For example, in giving the child the choice of milk or juice to drink, pronounce each option very correctly then if they respond with "mmmm" say, "You want milk." You will know if this is not what they want as they will show you with their unhappiness. At that point you can respond with, "Oh you want juice." This is real talking for them at this stage.
A lot of children learn the alphabet song while having no idea what the letters look or sound like. There are games that can introduce children to these shapes and sounds. When playing matching games to learn letters, use no more than three different letters as a start (and use three letters that look very different from one another, ie ABC). One game that is very basic and fun for the child is Alphabet Hotel. To make this game, begin by writing on large, colored cards the three letters you will be using. Then take a piece of cardboard and make pockets that the three cards will be able to fit into, labelling these pockets with the same letters (be sure to make the letters the same size as on the cards). Play begins with hiding the cards (make as many sets of these letters as there will be children playing - one set per child) then telling the story of the Alphabet Hotel...how Mr. A, Mrs. B, and Ms. C are lost. They have gone missing, and what's more, they cannot find their room! The child will search for the cards and locate which room they belong in (their match) on the board by sliding the letter card into its corresponding pocket. When playing this game be very encouraging with excitement proclaiming: "Oh you found Mrs. B! Can you put her in her room?"
Travelling with children can be a special time, even on a road trip! The kids have the potential to triple their vocabulary on a week-long car trip if that's what is chosen to work on. Relationships among family members can improve with interactive car games. Whether infant, toddler, or early elementary, littles can have fun and leap ahead in cognitive development and fine motor skills while en route to your holiday destination.
While technology is a very handy tool to have when travelling, make sure your children are not on their devices the whole travel time. Pack a backpack/travel bag per child that they may fill with their travel treasures. Elementary age children can usually make independent choices on what to leave and what is important to bring. This may include dolls (with add-ins of ribbons, pieces of fabric, etc.) that would be useful for making up stories so be sure to include several that can interact with each other. Comic books, graphic novels, magazines, coloring books, and educational workbooks are all lightweight for easier transportation. Crayons are recommended over markers for use in the car but be sure to keep them in a baggie in case there is weather hot enough to melt them.
A separate family trip bag can be filled with toys that are never seen except for on a trip. These toys might be:
If you're looking for a versatile toy with tremendous developmental benefits, a simple length of string, rope, or yarn is the way to go. Here are some games you can play with that string that address various areas of a child's development. Many of these can be played anywhere! Keep yarn or string in your purse or pocket to pull out when your little one is getting bored and needs something fun and challenging to do.
Balance and Coordination String, yarn, or rope makes a perfect balance beam. Stretch the string out on the floor, and show your child how to walk on it, putting one foot in front of the other. Your child can do lots of fun things on a balance beam:
- Walk on a curvy or zigzag line
- Balance on one foot on the string
- Do an arabesque (or scale)
- Jump zigzags back and forth across the string
- Hop on one foot either on the balance beam or from side to side
- Walk backwards
- Do forward rolls
- Walk on tiptoe on the beam
For more ideas, see this post.
Grocery shopping with preschoolers isn't easy. We get goal-oriented about shopping and feel frustrated that our kids are slowing us down. But grocery stores offer a wealth of stimuli for a child's brain, and shopping is a great opportunity to help your little one learn and grow. Below are some ways you can engage your child while getting your shopping done.
Name everything. Everything you buy, hold it up and name it. Let your child hold, feel, and smell items. This will help your child's vocabulary explode.
Work on colors. Once your child knows lots of nouns, you can begin to work on colors. Hold up a banana and say, "Yellow. Yellow banana." Do this with anything that has a clear color. Show your child something red, and then say, "Can you find anything red?" Let them name everything they can find that's red. Play "I Spy." Keep in mind that kids under 3 probably won't remember what they picked, so they may say no to everything you guess!
Does the idea of a car trip with small children fill you with dread? Road trips don't have to be torture. In fact, they can be an immersion learning opportunity for your kids. If you fill your time in the car with fun games and activities, you can expect your children's vocabulary and knowledge to grow exponentially in a short time while you cultivate fun memories and a strong relationship.
The real challenge of road trips is keeping kids entertained. Here are some ideas that will engage your kids and help them learn and grow at the same time.
Play rhyming games. Let the youngest child say a word and have everyone else say a word that rhymes. Try to come up with as many rhymes as possible. Read Piggle by Crosby Bonsall, and play "Piggle" by saying four words that rhyme, mixing up real words and nonsense words.
