Back to school time is right around the corner. Maybe not all your children are of school age however that doesn’t negate the need for an education. I imagine you’ve heard the say “education starts at home” and I couldn’t agree more.
From a very young age, children can be taught manners. You can not only model this for your child in your conversations but expect it of them when giving or receiving something. Point out and reward when your child says “please” or thank you” to continue to encourage their use. However, manners are not the only thing you can work on with your child.
While what you teach your child depends much upon their age, we cannot stress enough the importance of starting at home. If your little one is under a year old, work on their motor skills and stimulate their minds with different shapes, colors and textures. Tummy time is a great activity to dedicate some time to each day. This will build up your baby’s muscles and strength. As your baby grows, encourage their movement, from sitting, to rolling, to crawling, to standing, to walking.
Many parents pride themselves on the vast vocabulary their little one might know and I’ve heard shining reviews on the use of flash cards. Flash cards most simply for little ones would be an image (letters, numbers, shapes, colors, animals, etc.) with the word written on the other side. However, if you aren’t convinced, just remember the importance of talking to your child, and narrating what you see and do. This will also help build their vocabulary and help them with their own speech.
If you have an infant, learn the phonic sounds. My daughter personally can’t get enough of the song “A is for Apple”. Many recommend learning phonic sounds over letter names which will help your child learning to read down the line.
And while education starts at home that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stay at home. Get your little one out of the house whether with a play group, swim class, or to the park, each experience will be great for your little one’s growth. Being outside and in touch with nature has vast benefits for a child’s imagination and stress relief. Interaction with other children (especially if you only have one child) will be important too. Children can role play or imaginative play together, learn to share and how to interact in a socially appropriate manner. Due to the pandemic and much time spent at home, we’ve had the difficult task of teaching our oldest (3 years old) the importance of the use of clothes in public.
Whether you have an infant, toddler or little kid don’t forget the importance of exercise. Many people start swim classes young or we’ve even done soccer classes with our oldest. There is baby yoga and just about anything you can imagine out there.
Enjoy the months and years you have with your “pre-school” aged child. Soon you will be dropping them off for their first day of kindergarten wondering where the time went. And don’t forget Storybook as tool on your journey. Storybook is a great support to relieve muscle pain as well as pain caused by teething. It can relieve colic, promote good digestion, and be a stress reliever for your little one. Storybook promotes faster, deeper and good quality sleep and can even help teach emotional intelligence and conscious breathing.
Remember if your little one sleeps better, you do too.