Scientific thinking is based on things that children naturally have in abundance—curiosity, energy, and playfulness! While it may sound too easy to be true, a great way to develop scientific thinking is to let children explore and play. As children explore the everyday world, ask questions, and start developing theories about how the w...
Pretend and imaginative play are crucial to a child's development. Research shows clear benefits of children's engagement in imaginative play, especially between the ages two and seven years. Pretend play encompass a host of cognitive and creative activities such as make-believe, storytelling, acting, divergent thinking and the use of ...
Try responding with, “Tell me about your picture.” My mom, a former first grade teacher, passed along this very useful phrase as I started teaching and would have students proudly present their latest masterpieces that were often hard to identify.
It isn't uncommon that a child responds with such a question with not much more than, "Fine!" or "Not much!" While it might be tough to get a conversation started, a few simple things might encourage them to tell you more about their day at school. It is important to ask the right question at the right time. At preschool, it is common ...
Children who are just beginning to identify and write letters often confuse b, d, p, and q, reversing letters that share similar visual characteristics. Some children may continue to reverse letters into the second grade. Oftentimes, letter reversals subside as children get more reading and writing experience and build their awarenes...
While it is never fun to be the parent of a screaming child in a restaurant, take comfort in the fact that tantrums are a normal part of development and are just an expression of your child’s frustration. When your child begins to get upset, try to distract and redirect his/her attention. If that doesn’t work, calmly pick up your child...
Take advantage of your son’s natural curiosity, and provide him with plenty of experiences to explore nature using all of his senses. For example, go for a nature walk and let him have fun navigating his way through rocks, mud, snow, tree branches, and roots. You can also give your child a bucket so they can collect leaves, acorns, pin...
Play is a great way to introduce your child to a wide variety of mathematical concepts. For example, engaging in pretend play helps children practice many important pre-math skills such as symbolic thinking and problem solving. Playing with blocks is another fun way to teach your child about basic math concepts such as size and shape. ...
The piano and string instruments (such as a violin and guitar) are great choices because they give your child a solid foundation in reading music and music theory that will help with learning different instruments as she get older. Many string instruments also come in smaller sizes making them easier for young children to play. Larger ...
Because young children do not have the ability to regulate and control their emotions, once your child gets upset, she becomes flooded with emotion and it is difficult for her to calm down on her own. Being left alone in time-out to deal with her big emotions can also be scary for her. Once she is in flight or fight mode, it is difficu...
It sounds like your son really enjoys being creative, so try to introduce letter-writing activities that build on his love of drawing and coloring. Invite him to make animals or other fun drawings from basic letter shapes. For example, after he writes an uppercase B, encourage him to add black and yellow stripes and a pair of wings to ...
I know it's frustrating when your child responds to your every request with “No!” If it helps, you can rest assured that it is actually a healthy sign of development— he is developing autonomy. Your child is beginning to understand that he is separate from you and can exert some control over his world. When he says “No,” he is really s...