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Learning Time with your Little One

Being a stay at home mom I have always worried that my daughter is not getting all the knowledge that she would if she was going to childcare/ preschool. Being an Early childhood teacher my self I know the importance of teaching our children while they are young. Their little minds grasp so much more than you could imagine. Every day I plan out a routine to do with my daughter so she still gets a preschool type experience. This can take as little as 10 minutes to an hour just depending on the time you have to spend and how long your child will stay interested. It is going to be different for all children.

Goals for your child

Sit down and think of what you want your child to be able to within the next year. This is a great way to motivate you to work daily with your child so they can meet the goals you have set.

Just to give you some ideas on what these goals could be below is a list of things that children learn in preschool.

• Counting
• Letter and number recognition
• Letter sounds
• Colors
• Shapes
• Tracing
• Learning to write
• Beginner site words
• Learn how to spell and write their name

Ideas of Things to Incorporate into your Child’s Day

• Reading ( read two to three books a day)
• Math skills
• Listen to music and Sing along
• Science
• Fine motor skills ( these will help with writing and using scissors)
• Large motor skills ( Kicking a ball, running around)
• Social skills
• Sensory
• Art activities
• Problem-solving
• Building Activities
• Learning new words
• Everyday Life skills
• Circle Time
• Learning Time

How to incorporate these into a regular day at home?

Most of these are done even without you knowing! Don’t feel as though you have to set a specific time to jam these all in. As you start practicing and reminding your self of the skills you want your child to have this will come more natural.

Circle Time

Circle time is a great way to incorporate a lot of those skills above into a short learning time. Sit down in a quite area where there will be little to no distractions. Start by talking about feelings. Ask your child how they are, let them express how they are feeling. I like to use a Mickey mouse activity board for my next part but you can always use a normal calendar also! Talk about what day it is and the date, the weather outside and if there are any holidays coming up. If you are using a normal calendar you can have your child count the days with you.

Sing some songs with your child! Children love music and using repetitive wording while singing will help them to pick up what you’re saying. One of my favorite songs to do while doing calendar time is the Days of the week song and the Months song. If you set responsibilities for your child per day this is a great time to do this also. With the Activity board I posted about before it comes with a great responsibility chart. We love using these, my two-year old has so much fun changing the magnets everyday and seeing what will be put up next.

Daily Activity

This can be done right after circle time or later in the day what ever is best for your schedule. We like to sit down and have an activity or worksheet that we do together. I feel this is a great bonding time while teaching your little one. I have some great worksheet packets for sale in my shop if you would like to check those out! This is a great way to work on fine motor skills, math skills and even science. Different activities could be art projects, science projects or a sensory table item.

Outside Time

Get outside and play with your child. Ply tag, run around practice jumping or kicking a ball. Not only is this great for large motor skills but this is a fantastic way to burn that crazy energy that our children have! I love doing outside time right before lunch then doing nap after lunch. This way they are nice and wore out and have a full tummy!

Play Time

Play time is when your child is going to learn most of their needed skills. Incorporate as much as possible into their playing time. Playing family is a great social skill builder! Playing with blocks is a building activity, you can incorporate games and so much more. Talk about the colors of their different toys and counting their toys.

Cleaning up after playing is a great thing to get them started on right away this way they know what is expected of them after they are done playing with toys. This will teach them good life skills.

Daily Routine

I really stress a routine because it the easiest way to get your child on a regular schedule. When your child is on a regular schedule their will be less behavior act outs and they will know what to expect throughout the day. My circle time normally occurs in the morning after breakfast. With my two-year old she can not sit still for a long period of time so I like to then do activity time a little later such as before lunch.

You may enjoy reading: Teaching Preschool at Home!