October 19, 2022
Why are Childcare classrooms still full of simple, classic toys and activities we played with when we were kids? The answer is simple: While times have changed, brain development hasn’t! In fact, children learn best through play, when they’re relaxed, engaged, and having fun!
Building blocks, play dough, and crafts allow children to do so much more than stack, smoosh, and stretch their imaginations! They sharpen fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, lay a foundation for early math concepts, and hone executive functions like memory and focus.
Board games and cards are great examples of cooperative toys that help children practice taking turns, sharing, and cooperating—all key to social-emotional development. They also help children develop their working memory, math, and fine-motor skills.
Reading to your children at home not only makes them enjoy reading, but it also helps them in school. Reading together nurtures companionship and fun and builds concentration, focus, and vocabulary.
The curriculum is designed to empower the children through social interaction, play, discussion, reflection, and creativity. The daily program includes free play, hands-on activities, many learning and outdoor activities.
It's always better to start them on easier books, because then they feel successful, and that spurs them on, so they'll read more.
Kids this age will learn to recognize, write, order, and count objects up to the number 30. They will be able to add and subtract small numbers (add with a sum of 10 or less and subtract from 10 or less); this focus on addition and subtraction will continue through second grade.
Get your kindergartner to look for the numbers one through 30 in magazines and newspapers. He can cut them out, glue them on paper, and put them in order. When you’re riding in the car or waiting in line, play a game of „What comes next?“ Give your child a number and ask him to identify the following number. At bedtime, ask him to count how many stuffed animals he has, and ask, „How many books about dogs do you have? How fast can you count them?“ Take two of these books away and ask, „How many are left?“
Help your child understand the concept of time by saying what time it is during routine activities. Use and explain words like morning, noon, night, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Make a timeline together showing a typical day, with drawings of regular events and the time of day written beneath each one.
In addition to learning about time, 5 and 6year-olds can name the four seasons, so chart changes in the weather together on a special weather calendar to help your child learn how the seasons change. Find pictures illustrating the seasons (colorful leaves, snow, blooming flowers) and discuss what your child sees in them. Talk about what clothing you can both wear during each season.
