Emergent literacy is the development of early reading and writing concepts that receded actual reading. It begins at birth and continues throughout the preschool years. During this early period of language development, children learn important skills that contribute to the development of reading. Encouraging Emergent Literacy Children begin to develop concepts about print at a…
Stacking Blocks and Mathematicians
One of the signs of a toddler developing appropriately is if they stack things. Stacking is a beneficial activity for toddlers for many reasons. Stacking blocks is one of the earliest forms of geometry. Yep, playing with blocks is geometry for toddlers! Stacking blocks is not only beneficial because it develops hand-eye coordination or social…
Letter Sound Matching Activity
I have spent a fair amount of time teaching the letter names and sounds to William. But I stressed more the name, rather than the sound. This is because by learning letter names he was also hearing the sounds (of most letters). However, recently when I ask William to do something, he’ll reply by saying…
Introducing Your Preschooler to Addition and Subtraction
Many parents feel rather confident in teaching their child early mathematics skills such as the basics of number recognition, one to one correspondence in counting, sorting activities, and knowledge of shapes. But…what about addition and subtraction? I once taught with a teacher who frequently complained about the difficulties of addition and subtraction for her third…
What is Phonological Awareness?
Phonological awareness is the detection and manipulation of sounds within an alphabet language. It involves having a thorough understanding of how oral language can be represented via written language and how those sounds and word are organized. Phonological awareness includes breaking down spoken language into smaller components, such as sentences into words, words into syllables,…
Squirt the Letter!
Squirt the Letters! Letter Identification Game for Preschoolers My husband is going to laugh when he reads this post. There is a very funny story associated with this game, and let me just say that I, Mom, am at the butt of the joke…of course (and as usual)…while my son thinks that he is the most…
Fine Motor Practice with Scooping and Pouring
Scooping, pouring, and transferring are three separate skills that are important for toddler development. Here are all the benefits of scooping and pouring activities for toddlers, in particular, the importance of fine motor practice with scooping and pouring activities. The Benefits of Scooping and Pouring for Fine Motor Skills Scooping and pouring is used as…
Easy Fine Motor Activity For Babies
Corinne is methodical when she plays. And deliberate. And thorough. Sometimes her play involves extensive processes and patterns of actions which are repeated until she is satisfied with the outcome. She loves to put toys into containers (namely the flip top garbage can which has recently found a new home in the pantry), and she…
