Education starts at school and continues at home. There are plenty of things that you, as parents, can do at home to help your child along a strong developmental path. Here are some helpful tips to give your child an advantage at home, which will transfer to the classroom.
Read, Read, Read
Read early and read often. The early years are critical to developing a lifelong love of reading. It's never too early to begin reading to your child! Read to your child every day. Give everything a name. Build your child's vocabulary by identifying the names of everyday objects as you experience daily activities together. Provide experiences to stimulate new vocabulary - go to the park or zoo, go grocery shopping and talk about what you could make with the items and describe the appearance and taste of foods. Reading is fun! Your enthusiasm will make a difference.
Have Fun With Math
Mathematics in the home, your home is a great place for you to begin to explore math with your child. Counting rhymes and songs can be both enjoyable for children and a way to introduce them to basic math concepts, such as number names and number sequence. Using objects that are familiar to young children can be a good way to introduce them to differences in shapes and classification. Count everything! Touch the objects as you say the corresponding numbers. Ask children to help set the table, distributing the same number of each object to each place, or ask them to tell how many more they need of something to have a particular number.
Outdoor Play
Try to spend time with your child outdoors. Take walks in the community, go to a local park and explore the natural environment together. Play catch with your child with balls of all sizes. Children can also collect seeds, leaves and rocks which can be used to sort or make patterns.
Cooking
Cooking with your child may take extra time and there may be more of a mess than when you cook alone, but there are many benefits. While cooking together, your child will learn literacy, mathematics and science skills. Your child can help with some of the following: stir batter, squeeze lemons, add spices, measure ingredients, etc.