Creating Preschool Activities At Home
Your little learner is spending the preschool day exploring, making discoveries, and developing new skills. But that doesn't mean she has to stop learning the moment that you pick her up from daycare. What can you do to extend the educational experience at home? Well, there's plenty. From science and math to art and music, you can take what your kiddo is doing at school and turn it into a few fun-filled family activities. Not only do these encourage learning, but they also help you to bond with your child — spending some quality educational together-time as a family.
While there are countless educational activities for preschoolers and their parents to try at home, you can narrow down your choices to what your child is interested in and what she's doing at school or daycare. How can you do this and what does it look like? Check out these tips for transferring your child's preschool education to an at-home learning activity.
Talk to the Teacher
The preschool teacher is a fountain of information when it comes to age-appropriate (and interesting) activities. They can tell you what the class is currently doing, what type of content is being covered, and what is age or developmental level-appropriate for your child.
Along with giving you direct ideas based on what's going on in the preschool classroom, the teacher can also tell you what interests your child during the school day. For example, you might not know that your 3-year-old would rather play with the school's building block set than finger paint. The teacher knows this because they see your child every day in a learning setting. Ask which classroom activities, materials, and toys your child prefers at school. This can guide your at-home ideas.
Talk to Your Child
Your child knows what she likes to do. And some kids aren't shy about talking about it. Then again, others are. If your preschooler is reluctant to give you activity ideas, prompt her with a few open-ended questions. Try asking her, "What was your favorite part of the day?", "What did you like most about school today?", "What made you laugh at preschool today?" or a similar question.
Start with a Book
Early literacy development starts well before your child can actually read. If you're at a loss when it comes to starting an at-home learning activity, begin with a book. Ask the teacher for a list of books they're reading in class. Pick up a book (or a few) at the local library and read it with your child.
Don't stop there. Use the book as a jumping off point for other activities. Create a family play based around the book. Assign roles (the characters in the book), search the house for costumes, get artsy and make props, rehearse, and stage the performance.
The learning your child does in preschool like Jumpin Jax Kids can continue throughout the day at home.
