The once wildly popular “Mommy and Me” craze of yesterday might have calmed down a bit, but that doesn’t mean the goal of bonding with your child through learning and interaction should change. The modern parent might work from home or the office, but it doesn’t change the fact that every second you have to spend with your child is a precious one. Using unique tools and techniques to enhance these precious moments will help you build a lifetime of learning and self-esteem for your child, equipping them with the tools they need to succeed. Here’s how:
- Talk about your favorite books. Ask your child about their favorite characters and why they like them.
- Cook with you child. This provide fine motor skills, awakens the senses and is jus plan fun!
- Watch a movie of a book you read and discuss it. Ask you child what was different about the move. Later, reread the book… As we read and interpret information, we experience characters personally through reading. Movies can miss out the full book experience. Rereading the book can teach your child to think for him/her self, increasing their joy of reading.
- Play ‘old fashioned’ games like Trouble and Chutes and Ladders. This is fun and gets the little ones counting.
- Invent your own game and spend time playing it. My son and I use to play roll the blocks, a game we made up. When he rolled the blocks, he had to sound out the letters or tell me the name of the pictures the showed up on the blocks. This was an early learning game. He was learning phonics and thought it was all fun and games:)
