5 Educational Activities for your child (2-5 yrs)
By the time your child is 2 years old, she will be ready for play school. By the time she is 5, she will already be in standard one. Most schools have a curriculum that gives practice in English, Maths , Environmental Studies and the Languages.
But here are a few suggestions for activities that your child would enjoy at home and at the same time, would help in her school work.
1. MAKING A FRUIT SALAD
Mothers are so good at making this. Get your child to mix the ingredients , as you peel and cut the fruit and maybe one or two vegetables. Let her sprinkle the salt , chaat masala and sugar. You are doing the difficult part but at the same time your child is participating and learning as she watches you. Increase the difficulty level by training her to speak a few sentences about how a fruit salad is made. She can speak these sentences in front of the class. She will have learnt a practical skill and her confidence in speaking will have improved.
2. GROW A PLANT
Get her a pot. Ask your child to go outside and fill the pot with mud (not sand). Depending on the season, you can help her get a stem cutting or a packet of seeds from a nursery. Plant it together, gently patting the soil round the cutting or over the seeds. Put it outside, explaining that a plant needs sunlight to grow. Encourage her to look after the plant herself by watering it, digging round the plant as it grows and loosening the soil for it to breathe. Once the plant begins to sprout and grow, your child can take it to show her teacher and classmates.
3. TEACH A NEW SONG OR DANCE
If your child has begun dance lessons, ask her teacher to teach a simple dance which she can perform for the people who visit or for the residents of your block; or she can learn a new song which either you or someone in your family can accompany with an instrument for a small audience. Again she will develop musical ability and confidence.
4. WORKING WITH AN ABACUS
There are easy to use abacuses available in the market; or you can simply string beads. If your child is having a problem in number counting or in understanding simple single digit addition, using an abacus will make it easier as she will be able to see the beads and add them. Help her to note the sums in her book in an orderly fashion. This is the beginning of logical thinking. (Check out SuperBaby’s Number Kit with an abacus)
5. TRACING AROUND A STENCIL
If your child is having trouble in recognizing particular letters, you could get her to trace around the stencils of these letters on white paper.She can then go over the outline with a dark crayon or a marker pen. Then she can colour these letters in bright colours. Let her say these letters loudly as she colours each letter.
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