From circle time to centers,
preschool is a complicated, wonderful, difficult, and memorable experience.
This is the final piece in Mumbling Mommy’s series about preschool. Previous
posts discussed the benefits
and drawbacks of preschool, how to know if your child is ready
for preschool, how
to select a preschool, and how to handle behavior
problems.
By Rachael
Preschools
are popular places to send our little ones, but children don’t need to attend
preschool in order to be successful in school later. Whether you don’t have
room in your budget for preschool or just want a little more time with your
child before she goes off to school full time, there are plenty of things you
can do together on your own.
1.
Read
together. This is a biggie.
Keep books everywhere: a stack in your child’s bedroom, a basketful in the
family room, and couple in the car.
2.
Make
crafts. Buy a kit or look online for ideas. My daughter and I enjoy dltkkids.com and crayola.com. Sometimes we just do a Google
search for free printable coloring pages.
 |
| Make recycled chunky crayons! |
3.
Create
your own sensory box. Fill a large, shallow plastic storage box with uncooked
rice, beans, pasta, or bird seed. Add some scoops, cups, spoons, and tiny toys,
and let your child play. Any spills can be swept up afterward, or set the box
on a large blanket for easier cleanup.
4.
Buy
a preschool skills workbook. These are only a couple of dollars in the
book area at any big box store or drugstore. My daughter loves doing mazes,
dot-to-dots, tracing letters, counting objects in pictures, matching, and
identifying patterns, and she feels like a big girl when she does “school
work.”
6.
Turn
your back yard into a wildlife observation area. Allow your child to help you
hang and fill birdfeeders. Set out a hummingbird feeder (filled with one part
dissolved white sugar to four parts boiled water; no red food dye needed). Put
out bird houses and a bird bath. Grow flowers that attract butterflies. Plant
berry-producing bushes to feed birds.
7.
Play
in the yard or at a park. Children learn through swinging, skipping rope,
walking on stilts, blowing bubbles, jumping in leaves, splashing in the kiddie
pool, catching bugs, collecting interesting sticks, and more.
8.
Grow
a garden. Kids love learning where food comes from. Tomatoes, green beans, zucchini,
and cucumbers are especially easy for novices to grow, and you don’t need lots
of space for them. Don’t forget to plant sunflowers for fun, too!
9.
Visit
the library. In addition to great books, most libraries have programs for
children ranging from story time to summer reading clubs.
10. Make homemade play dough.
This recipe is particularly good because it uses powdered Kool-Aid mix, which
smells wonderful.
11. Plan day trips to local
attractions. Zoos, museums, and art exhibits are fun and educational.
12. Get busy in the kitchen. Young
children love to help measure and pour ingredients for cookies or stir banana
bread batter. Things may get messy. Try not to stress.
13. Bring the snow indoors during the
winter. Fill a large mixing bowl with snow and set it in the kitchen sink. Add
measuring cups, Little People figures, toy cars, or whatever you want. Pull up
a sturdy chair for your child to stand on and let them play!
14. Visit local seasonal attractions.
Pick strawberries or blueberries on a farm during the summer. Return in the
fall to pick pumpkins. During the Christmas season, drive out to view light
displays.
15. Make recycled crayons.
Gather all your broken crayon bits and melt them in a muffin tin in the oven to
make new chunky crayons.
16. Bake holiday-themed cookies. My
daughter and I have made easy Thanksgiving turkey
cookies and Christmas Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer cookies.
17. Go camping at a state or national
park. If you aren’t the camping type, stay in a hotel or cabin. Hike the
trails. Go swimming. Visit the nature center and participate in interpretive
programs.
18. Do wacky science experiments.
19. Play board games. Candy Land,
Chutes and Ladders, and Hi Ho! Cherry-O are excellent choices.
20. Above all, love on your child!
You can contact Rachael by e-mailing her at rachael@mumblingmommy.com.
2 comments:
Great post, Rachael! We already do many of these, but you still gave me lots of ideas for more projects. I love the idea of science experiments at home. We'll definitely try that! I agree (of course) that the best teaching happens at home.
Thanks, Elizabeth! While writing this, my goal was to list an even 20 ideas. I got stuck briefly at 18, and my husband kindly suggested the science experiments!
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