Challenge your child to find as many things as they can that are blue. Get creative by limiting the game to a specific time (three minutes or so) or place (the grocery store.) Have them count how many they find. Switch it up by looking for letters or objects instead.
Category: 6 Loving Habits
Chore Conversations
When you have a sink full of dishes, turn the chore into something fun. As you scrub, ask your child to talk about the shapes of each dish. “What else is round like this bowl?” Have a conversation around their response. Remember, there are no wrong answers!
Bath Time Counting
Think of all the things you can count together at bathtime! Toes, of course, but what about the number of times you pour water on your child? Let your child think of things to count too. Take turns counting and talk about what you’re doing.
“Which is Heavier?”
A store can be a great place to build your child’s brain on the go. Give them something like a banana and an apple to hold. “Which is heavier? Which is larger? Which is softer?” You can do this with any items, in any aisle, in any store!
Word Pattern
Pick three food words such as “banana, apple, pear” to make a word pattern. Repeat with your child three times. Have them pick three food words and make a pattern three times: “fork, spoon, plate.” Talk about what word comes first, second, and third.
The Shape Game
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.
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.
