The first five years of your child’s life are vitally important to the learning that will take place for many years to come. Research has shown that children who are immersed in a supportive, learning-oriented, and literature-rich environment greatly succeed later on in school.
Rest assured though, you do not need to spend a fortune on an “educational” program to give your young child a head start. In fact, some of the prepackaged materials can sometimes be detrimental to their learning because of little interaction (both from you and them).
Here are some suggestions for ways to implement educational activities with your toddler and preschooler:
1. Use what you have on hand or what you no longer need.
Not only is this strategy great for the environment, but it also sparks creativity for you and your child!
Many of the activities that my boys and I do together have come from a moment of thinking, “I wonder how I can reuse this?” and a learning activity magically appears.
- These alphabet boxes were created using baby food containers.
- This color sorter was made out of a fast food drink carrier.
- This “Save, Spend, Give” Coin Bank was made out of a shoebox and baby food jars.
The possibilities are endless!
2. Learning isn’t just ABC’s and 123’s.
There are essentially seven domains of Early Childhood Development that are important to remember. Running, jumping and climbing are just important for a child as learning the ABC’s!
A child loves to experience both new and familiar things with you and the escalator at the mall can be just as enchanting to a two-year old as Disney World!
3. Utilize your local library.
Surrounding your child with books is very important but this doesn’t mean you need to spend $50 every two weeks at the book store.
Most local libraries have a large assortment of children’s books, including many board books. Plan a trip every couple of weeks to restock with new books. If your children are anything like mine, you’ll be checking out the same books over and over.
4. Stock up on “school supplies” in early August.
Even if you don’t think you’ll use four boxes of crayons and three bottles of glue in the next few months, go ahead and purchase them during back-to-school sales because they are a fraction of the cost that they will be in a month or two.
I bought school supplies for a charity we support last November and was appalled that a box of crayons was over $1.00 when you can get them in August for $0.25.
5. Recruit friends and plan activities.
The friends with whom you surround yourself all have different and unique talents. Plan outings together or a day of activities.
A friend of mine and her sister plan monthly “theme days” where every activity they do is centered around a specific theme.
6. Most of all, give your child the gift of time.
Regardless of what you are doing, spending intentional time with your child will be greatly beneficial to him. You don’t have to spend hours planning special activities, just take 10 minutes to sit down and read a book or get on the floor and play!
Aubrie, from The Buzz 4 Moms, sent me this sweet poem and I think it is absolutely perfect as we reflect on ways to best teach our children:
I tried to teach my child with books;
He gave me only puzzled looks.
I tried to teach my child with words;
They passed him by often unheard.
Despairingly, I turned aside;
“How shall I teach this child,” I cried?
Into my hand he put the key,
“Come,” he said, “Play with me.”~Author Unknown~
Poem from The Perpetual Preschool
Jenae is a Master-degree holding former first grade teacher turned stay-at-home Momma. She loves finding creative ways to save money, spending time with her family, and sharing fun activities on her website I Can Teach My Child.
Charity Boozier says
Thank you so much for the link to I can teach my child. I have a 1 y/o and we are always looking for new ideas for learning. I also really like the theme days. Have to think about that one, but may bring some friends in with me with their little ones. Thank you, love this post!
Christy says
Our local library has activity bags for birth through age 5 or 6. The bags are funded by a grant with our local United Way chapter, so look and see if your library has something like it. They call it Bright Beginnings where we are. I had to go to a one-time training session in order to be able to check out the bags. Each bag has a theme and there are several books and then things like board games, puzzles, DVDs, CDs, matching cards, etc. to go with the theme. We have gotten Thomas the Tank Engine, Bible Stories, lots of different animal themes, Transportation, seasonal and holiday themes, food, etc. Also a great way to have puzzles and board games, but not to clutter up your house. We can keep the bag for 3 weeks and can usually renew for another 3 if we want, then trade it out for something else.
Don’t forget how important social experiences with other children are and how inexpensive they can be. (This is coming from a teacher who has taught 4K – 2). It is very sad when kindergartners come in and it is apparent they have had very little interaction with other children except maybe a sibling. My personal children go to daycare. Even if you homeschool, going to the playground with another family is free (other than the gas money). Or invite a friend with kids over. If you are involved in your church, let your child go to Sunday school, Bible school, children’s choir, etc. Story time at the library. All low cost!
Krysten says
I’ve been learning how very true your last paragraph is. I have a 16-month-old little boy, and he is ALWAYS being exposed to other people of all ages. He plays in the nursery at church with the other kids and we play several times a month with the little boy down the street. My husband teaches at a small school within walking distance of our house, and when the weather is nice, we go play with the kids on recess (which is beneficial both to him and to the school children). I’m a piano teacher, so we have people of all ages coming into our house every week. I also teach piano at the school, where he often gets to go play with the teens (during their free periods) while I teach.
I get SO many comments both from people who know him and from strangers at the grocery store (he smiles and waves at just about everyone!) about how cheerful and outgoing he is, and I believe that it’s largely due to the fact that he’s always around other people.
Kim says
One of my favorite seasoned homeschool moms says that Jesus taught by writing in the dirt with a stick, so surely we can do with a lot less than think we need. 🙂
The Café Sucré Farine says
Thanks for all these great tips – my children are grown but they are also great ideas for grandchildren – I have 3!
mrs k. king says
Thank you so very much for this timely post. My son read his first word at the beginning part of March and knows over half of his letters by name and their phonetic sound. I have been trying to make sure I let him set the pace and make it fun, he is not ready yet for funnix, in my opinion, and he will not be 2 for another 2 months or so.
Kim says
Thanks so much for this post! It’s so relevant to what I’ve been pondering w/ respect to how to begin teaching my toddler.
This site is great!
In so many instances, when I have had a concernor have been working on an idea, I”ve read posts on this site to find timely, relevant,and very helpful info! So many good ideas are here! Thanks for all that you do!
Vee says
When my guy was little, we didn’t carry cellphones everywhere. Now, when I am in the grocery store, I hate to see so many moms talking on the phone when they have such a good opportunity to teach that child in the cart something new. Afterall, the kid is practically face to face with you, the aisles narrow his/her perspective, there are lots of colors and new words to learn ((can you say rootabaga?) and the little darling IS TIED DOWN! P.S. This doesn’t always work out so well if it’s almost mealtime.
Tracy says
I began using the library again about 6 months ago and had forgotten what a great resource it is. My mother takes my 4 and 6 year-old niece and nephew weekly and they look forward to it.
And thank you for mentioning the “get on the floor and Play.” Getting on their level and just letting imaginations run wild can turn into such fun and sometimes educational moments all on their own!
Audy @ Seeking Truth Daily says
Wow! You are creative. I clicked your links and wow! I homescool and love to be creative, but you have definitely raise the bar. I like your article and the encouragement to seek and teach outside the box. Thanks for your time.
Shanna says
Great ideas! When my kids were little we would use the library as a great resource. Each Sunday I would take the kids to the library to pick out a book/video for the week and then we would head to a favorite place to eat because on Sunday they had .99 kids meals. AND I always stock up on school supplies when I find them on clearance especially Great ideas!
Brandi says
Thank you for this article! I am considering home-preschooling my daughter next year, and have been overwhelmed by all the pricey curriculum plans out there…who knew you could be just as successful by just playing and re-purposing things that you already have on hand! The wheels are turning now… 🙂
Kimberly says
Thanks for the great reminder, Janae! I was talking to some friends the other evening, talking about some of the things my 2-year-old daughter is learning. And then one of them (a teacher with a few kids of her own) reminded me, “Remember to let her be a kid.” I needed that reminder that she needs to be playing outside and being creative just as much as she needs to be learning to sound out words. Thanks for this guest post. And — I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog! I have been looking at it for months and sending my friends your way. :o)
Lynda says
Excellent advice. : ) Just talking to your child about what you see around you is one of the best ways to teach him or her. Here’s a typical converstation in grocery store with my then 2-year-old daughter in the cart. “Shannon, we are looking for baby carrots. Can you find the baby carrots? They are orange. They are short. They come in a bag. Do you see them? Yep! There they are, let’s get the baby carrots.” In that conversation we talked about color, we named the vegetable, we talked about size and we talked about packaging. Repeat x the number of items on your list and your child not only learns a ton of stuff, she’s not bored and she feels like she’s helping you with your grocery shopping.
Today she’s 15 and she can find the baby carrots just fine all by herself. ;*)
Brandy says
I love your last sentence!
Tricia H says
I used to talk this way to my children….when i went back to work my co -workers complained about my running dialog…i had done it for so many years ..it was hard to “turn it off”…lol
Michelle says
These are great ideas, especially the last one! My daughter (age 4) can find learning moments nearly everywhere we go–recently she’s discovered that she can count up over 100 if she follows the numbers in the women’s locker room at the fitness center. It means that I have to wait a few minutes instead of rushing to leave, but her counting skills have really improved just by repeating the task a few times over the past few weeks.
Markie Lamb says
What some WONDEFUL ideas! I will for sure be doing color sorter. I would do the others but I no longer have any baby food jars! 🙁 It is true. The best teaching time also comes from playing time!
Kathy says
What state do you live in? I have some and kept so many and started throwing them away because Ididn’t know what all to do with them and thought should I be keeping all these? I’m in IN.
Markie Lamb says
I live in Alabama. I appreciate the thought! I know that’s a long way! My cousin is due to have a baby soon…..maybe she’ll save me some of her jars.