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Did you know that when preschoolers play, they learn? It's true! Use these activities to encourage your preschooler to play. Click here to print a copy of Kindergarten Here I Come, or click here to print a copy of January's booklist!
We're learning Language and Literacy Skills
Do it!
Look at pictures in a new or unfamiliar book. Ask your preschooler to think about or predict what might happen in the story. Read the story and compare your child's predictions to the actual story. Once you finish reading the book, ask your preschooler what they liked best about the story.
You and your preschooler can work together and come up with your own story. They could illustrate while you write what they are narrating. Find photos or pictures that tell a story. Find the sign or braille word to describe the picture. Use them to help your child learn the sequence of events.
Read it!
Hide and Seek by Janet Wong. Surprising Sharks by Nicola Davies.
We're learning Mathematical Skills
Do it!
With your preschooler, write down special events on a calendar. Talk about when the events are happening. Use words like yesterday, tomorrow or next week. Print or draw pictures of special events where it can be visible near the calendar. Provide an opportunity for them to put a small star or cross the days off the calendar to count down until the special event. You can help develop their understanding of time by talking about the days that have passed and how many are yet to come. Use puffy numbers or stickers on the calendar and let them feel the days and the numbers of the dates. You can add the braille word for the day or number as well.
Read it!
And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens. Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate.
We're learning Science Thinking and Technology
Do it!
Help your preschooler find their own winter clothes by making an area where they can keep their winter clothing together. Put mittens, hat, scarf, boots and coat for them to find when it's time to go outside. A great way to make this accessible for your preschooler could be to have open stacked baskets with pictures of the winter items with the name of each on the pictures. Add the sign or braille word for each article of clothing. As you help them dress, increase awareness of color and texture by describing each item. Explain why hats, mittens, gloves and other cold weather apparel are so important to good health. Check to make sure clothing is not too tight, cutting off circulation or restricting breathing, or too loose, exposing them to the elements.
Read it!
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Snow Friends by Christina Butler.
We're learning Social and Emotional Development
Do it!
Ask your preschooler to find a specific items in the house using a flashlight. Ask how the light helped them find the object. You can also play the game of "what's missing." Place the items in front of your preschooler and have them close their eyes and you take an item from the pile. When they open their eyes, have them guess which item you took. This is a great turn-taking activity. Describe the items in the pile. Allow them to explore the items with their hands and feel them close to their skin. Use words to describe the colors, shapes and sizes of the items. Add the words in pictures, braille or sign to your family dictionary.
Read it!
The Mitten: A Ukrainian Folktale by Jan Brett. Yesterday I had the Blues by Jeron Ashford Frame.
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