Doesn’t matter if your little one is attending play group or not, it’s never too early to start introducing his ABCs, numbers, shapes and colours!
There’s no need for special flash cards or learning charts, in fact, skip all the educational materials! Instead, let letter-learning come naturally through everyday activities and play. The key is to take advantage of their curiosity, rather than forcing it upon them. Not every child is into their ABCs at the moment, but don’t worry! Time is on your side!
Introducing the ABCs
The best way to start – from your child’s name! Write it often, on paper, whiteboards, etc. Point it out whenever you see it somewhere (on letters, packages, books). Labelling toy shelves and other objects in your home helps him associate letters and words with the objects they represent. Get creative!
Fun with 123s!
Just as you point out the letters around you, do the same with numbers. Count his fingers and toes in the shower, count the number of Cheerios you put into his snack bowl or count the number of birds there are in his book. Singing songs with numbers (ten little monkeys, one potato two potato), helps too!
Colours of the rainbow
Toddlers love colours! This one shouldn’t be an issue to point out around the house – from clothes to toys to building blocks. Other greats ways to introduce colours are to use finger paint from some simple lessons in colour-mixing. Or another fun way is to colour-theme your day! Let everyone wear the same shades of red.
Shape up
As your little one plays with his shape sorter or builds with his block, casually mention the names of the shares he’s using. Try harder comes like rectangle or pentagon too. During your drawing sessions, make a square or circle and have him copy it. You can also show him how to turn a square into a house or a circle into a face. Eventually, he may surprise you with what he can spot around the house!
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