While waiting, draw a shape (like a circle or a wiggly line), using your fingertip on your child’s open palm. Can they name it? Repeat the same shape until they can guess what it is. Take turns back and forth, drawing and guessing shapes.
Author: Sarah Childs
Clean Up Sort
Encourage your child to sort objects during cleanup. Talk about what you’re doing: “All of the small lids go in the little bowl and the big lids go in the big bowl.” Then mix it up and ask them to put the small objects in the big bowl. You can also sort by shape or… Continue reading Clean Up Sort
“Big Time”
Play “Big Time” to make waiting time fly by. Hold up an object—a magazine, an item from a bag, or a toy. Ask your child, “Can you find something bigger than this?” After they do, then ask, “Can you find something smaller than this?”
Point to Different Things
Being out and about is a great time to be on the lookout for what’s around. As you go, point out what you see. Do you see birds, trees, leaves, people? Ask your child, “How many do you see?” Take turns pointing to different things all over!
Find the Matching Sock
During laundry time, pull out a single sock and see if your child can find a match for it in the laundry basket. Once they get it, let them pull out another sock and you find the match. Talk about the clues you use to find the match.
Open and Close Game
Working in the kitchen? Give your child some safe plastic containers to open and close. Say “open” and “close” as they play. Show them how to take things, like spoons, in and out of the containers. Say “in” and “out.” Make sure to talk to them about what they’re doing.
Teeth Time
When you’re brushing your child’s teeth, look in the mirror together. Talk about how your teeth are the same and different from theirs. For example, you have more teeth, and bigger teeth, but you both can make funny faces. Follow their lead and talk about what they notice.
Guess That Place
Describe a place in your home to your child. You can say something like: “I am in a room with a table, a stove, and a refrigerator. Where am I? That’s right, the kitchen!” Provide as many or as few clues as they need. Then give them a turn to give you clues so you… Continue reading Guess That Place
Pick a Number
Think of a number and see if your child can guess it based on your clues. Say something like, “My number is bigger than four and smaller than six.” Or “It is the number of fingers on my hand.” Make it harder by adding or taking away numbers. “My number is two more than the… Continue reading Pick a Number
Kitchen Organizing
Ask your child to help you in the kitchen. Let them organize a shelf and find their own way to group things. If they need help, its OK to suggest things like “boxes here and cans there.” Or they could put crunchy food like cereal and crackers together. You can even give them a towel… Continue reading Kitchen Organizing
