Baby Steps :)

Way before your child reaches preschool age, they are already learning ALL THE TIME from the world around them :) You are their first teacher!

There are many steps to child development, and many great resources to find out more about the different stages your child will go through. Each step is exciting, and should be celebrated, as your child begins to interact more with the world around them.

Reaching for a person or an object such as a brightly colored or noisy toy or rattle is one of the first interactive things a baby will do. It’s exciting the first time it happens, and every time after! :) Watch to see your baby track the noise or color with their eyes, or whole head, from side to side, and try to grab as their control becomes more developed.

Stretching out on a flat surface for tummy time is another important exercise for development. As babies gain control of their muscles, tummy time builds their neck and core muscles, which help with so many things down the line. 

Putting bright things or favorite toys on the perimeter of their space will encourage your child to reach and move towards the item. Get right down at their level and shake a toy or call their name - it will keep them engaged and interactive. A little tummy time for the grown-ups is a good thing, too :)

Following your lead in pursuing a toy and beginning to “army-crawl” or roll towards something, or someone, is another step worth waiting for. Your doctor will give you benchmarks that are indicators of your baby’s continued development - keep in mind these are averages :) Each of these "exercises" builds skills in your child that will help them, when it is time, to learn to sit in a group, write and draw, and attend to lessons.

Along with physical development, a child's "literacy" is developed over time, with baby steps from infancy on. Reading aloud to your child is one way to foster literacy. Your child will begin to equate story time with time for your attention, and with coziness. Showing pictures in the book, and reading with feeling, draws children into the story and helps them focus their attention.

There are many other ways to promote literacy in small children :) 

Songs and Fingerplays introduce new vocabulary and rhyme - try “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Using simple hand motions makes it more fun and easier to remember, too! If you're a little rusty, you can always YouTube nursery rhymes, and you will be amazed at what is out there. 

 Puppets are another great tool in developing speech and language literacy. Begin by having puppets "talk" to each other and when your child begins to get involved, have them take on a character, or two! Even simple one word exchanges are a step in the right direction. Acting out a rhyme or familiar story is a fun way to engage your child. I like finger puppets, as they are small enough to have a variety, and easy for little ones to manipulate. Sets of puppets that go with stories are easy to find ... or make your own, using drawings and craft sticks! 

Have fun!

Car Games - Playing with Content

Riding in the car can be frustrating, boring, annoying .....or FUN! My riders get antsy at the end of the day, right before dinner, while we are riding home from day care, school, camp, or sports. Trying to keep the older ones engaged, and the younger ones from falling asleep, we've had great success with car games!

Their favorite, by far, is “Finding A to Z” - we start at the beginning of the alphabet, call out the letter, then find something along the way that begins with it! Some are REALLY hard, like Q (we found a quarter on the floor of the car!) or X (we let that one be an ending sound too!). You can make your own rules, of course!

“Shape Find” is another fav! One player calls out the shape of choice, while others have to find it in a sign, shapes like windows or doors, or even roof lines or wheels. You can also play this like an I Spy game. 

“I Spy” can switch to be shapes, colors, actions, etc. or a combination of these. It relies on powers of observation :) “I spy something yellow that moves…” or “I spy something that spins and is shaped like an oval …” Have fun with it! 

Longer trips may require longer games - see this post for some more ideas: 

https://makeearlylearningfun.blogspot.com/2011/07/simple-travel-games.html?m=1

Car rides are also the BEST places to get some one on one conversation time with little ones!  If you ever get a chance, ask them some open-ended questions about what they like best to eat or play with, and maybe the conversation will help you bridge to other interesting topics :) 

Have fun!