My three-year-old son crawled into my bed, placed his head on my pillow, and started singing, “Mr. sun, sun, Mr. golden sun, please shine down on me.”
It’s his favorite song.
He can’t get enough of them.
But, there are days when I’m too tired or too caught up in everyday life to sing and to read to him when he wants to. If you’re like me, you might:
- Try to read and sing every day, but you’re not always consistent.
- Be looking for more activities at home for your preschooler to get them ready for their school years.
- Know how important the first five years are for your child’s development and you’re on the hunt for more resources.
If you’re nodding as you read that list, this post is for you!
You probably know how important singing, reading, and talking are to our children’s development. But, doing it daily can be a challenge. That’s why I’m excited to share with you some news from First 5 California (a Happily Ever Mom sponsor). They know how important it is to Talk. Read. Sing. to our kids every day, BUT they also know that life gets busy. So, they’ve developed something that will help us to remember to Talk. Read. Sing to our kids with fun activities, songs, and printables.
The best part? They’re launching something new that will be at our fingertips… (literally)
When I first checked out the Talk. Read. Sing. website, I was struck by this quote:
Research today shows that talking, reading, or singing with young children every day helps build important connections in the brain that can change their lives forever. Created by First 5 California and Scholastic, the Talk. Read. Sing.® program supports higher learning skills and is a fantastic way to model speech and language, engage young children in conversation, and aid in healthy brain development.
The Key Is This:
Talking, reading, and singing to our kids aids in healthy brain development.
I thought about when my son crawled into my bed. I tell my kids every night that I’ll see them when the sun comes up. That morning, my son snuggled up next to me, singing “Mr. Sun PLEASE shine down on me.”
The sun wasn’t quite out yet, but he was making a connection between the song and what I say to him every night (you can wake up when the sun comes out).
I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world!
More than that, I realized how important it is to sing to my son (something that I don’t often remember to do).
Remember, First 5 California is launching something to make it easier on us.
Remembering to Talk. Read. Sing. Every Day with Our Kids
In an effort to remember to Talk. Read. Sing. every day, First5 California is launching a new app in Jan/Feb 2017.
Talk. Read. Sing. gives parents access to:
- Tracking pages regarding how much time we are talking, reading, and singing to our kids daily.
- Activities, lesson plans, and games.
- Printable posters and guides.
- Prerecorded songs that are in both English and Spanish.
The best part is that these resources are already on the website, so you don’t have to wait to check everything out!
Since I have a child in elementary school, a preschooler, and a newborn, my time is constantly being pushed and pulled in different directions (I know you get it).
This app will allow us to jump in and make sure that we’re dedicating time to Talk. Read. Sing. to our kids daily.
Until then, I’m printing out this tracking chart (located under parent materials on the right-hand side of the website) and keeping track of talking, reading, and singing with my preschooler:
- Print the trackable chart
- Place in a frame
- Use a dry-erase marker to put check marks every time you talk, read, or sing daily!
Psst…This is the perfect way to include a younger sibling during homework time!
Thanks again to First 5 California for creating an app that makes it easier on us to Talk. Read. Sing. every day!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of First 5 California . The opinions and text are all mine.