How to Teach the Concept of Time at Bedtime

Understanding the concept of time is an important milestone in language development and early learning .  So after my daughter learned the 7 days of the week, I wanted to teach her how a calendar works so she could start learning about the year, months, days, and holidays and start to grasp how a calendar can be useful.  I hung the calendar in her room where we would see it and not forget it at bedtime.  As part of our nightly routine she puts an “X” in the box to cross off the day.  I ask her questions such as, “What day (number) is it on the calendar?”, “What day of the week is it today?”, “What month is it right now?”, “What year is it?”, and “What is today’s date?”  Sometimes we review the days of the week and months of the year.  Initially I started off with only one or two questions until she started to get the hang of what I was asking for and got the answers right.

I also found it extremely helpful to use stamps to represent birthdays, holidays, and weekly events on the calendar.  For example, I have a stamp that says “Happy Birthday!” with balloons on it, so I use that to represent each family member’s birthday.  She enjoys looking ahead to see who’s birthday is coming up next, and looking to see how far away her birthday is too.  I have a pumpkin stamp for Halloween and a bunny for Easter, but also use a bear stamp to represent our “Special Saturday Breakfast” (where I make whatever she wants…the request is usually chocolate chip pancakes!) and a butterfly when we go to visit the local butterfly garden.  You can even draw simple shapes to represent each activity, no stamp required.  For example, I drew waves to represent the swimming lessons she is taking twice a week.

The only thing that matters is using the same stamp or shape consistently for an activity.  By doing this you are providing a visual representation of the activity for your child, which he can use to help recall information about his day.  You can then ask even more questions like, “What did you do yesterday?” and “What will we be doing tomorrow?” and your child will be able to tell you based upon the stamp or picture you used to represent the activity.  This time also gives you a chance to review the day’s activities and discuss tomorrow’s activities.  Discussions like this will give him a better understanding of the concept of time and what ambiguous words like yesterday, today, and tomorrow mean.  Children enjoy this type of discussion and crossing off the calendar may quickly become one more thing that is required by your child before falling asleep!

Have you tried this yet or do you do something similar?  If so I’d love to hear how it’s working for you!

Learning at the Grocery Store

The grocery store is a great place for children to learn different concepts.  Initially trips will revolve around being able to label or identify different types of food, but then trips to the store can be expanded to include numerous math concepts.  Ideas are listed by age group.

Toddler/Preschooler:

• Labeling/identifying foods- (”What is this?”) It makes it easy to learn all the different types of fruit, vegetables, etc. when the objects are right in front of them as compared to say a picture in a book. Let your child hold the fruit or vegetable even!
• Learning about categories- Mention how the store is set up…all the fruits are together (see how many you can see/think of), the vegetables are together, the meats, different types of crackers, cookies, etc. Visually seeing how all the items are grouped together helps solidify this concept.
• Types of jobs- Different people work in the store…baker, stock person, cashier, etc.
• We buy things- Introduce the concept that we have to pay money and buy things from the store before we are allowed to take them out. The cashier is the person we see at the end who sees what we are buying, tells us how much it costs, and takes our money.

Elementary:

• Prices- Point out that everything in the store has it’s own price, and that’s what the label is underneath each item. If you haven’t discussed money (dollars and cents), this is a good time to start doing so. Then as you shop, have your child practice reading the amounts on some of the labels ($2.99= “Two dollars and ninety nine cents.”)
• Price per unit- Show how (in most stores) the label has a price per unit, such as cents/ounces. Teach how to compare different products to determine which one is the better deal. Your child will first need to understand the concept of higher and lower numbers (e.g. 55 is bigger than 49).
• Reading- Practice reading signs and product names on packaging throughout the store.

Middle/High:

• Volume and weight- Identify what a gallon looks like compared to a half-gallon compared to a quart. Estimate the weight on something, and then check the package label to see how close you got. Usually in the produce section a scale is available too!
• Budgeting- Set up a budget. Plan a meal or shopping list within that budget. Are there any good deals at the store? How much can you save?

Also, I never leave home without a travel sized Magna Doodle but it is especially handy in the grocery store.  My oldest daughter loves to draw and write on it, so it makes the trip go much more smoothly (for me anyway!).  If you have one handy, then here are a few extra ideas.

• Letter ID- You write a letter of the alphabet and he tells you what it is. Once he is good at this, you say a letter and have him write it.
• Number ID- You write a number and he tells you what it is. Once he is good at this, you say a number and have him write it for you.
• Reading- You write a word down and have him read it to you.
• Writing- You say a word and have him spell it for you, or have him spell different items he sees in the store. This could be a fun way to challenge a reluctant speller.
• Play Tic-Tac-Toe! This is a good game to introduce the idea of strategy. Not only that he has to get three in a row, but he has to try to stop you from getting three! Until he gets the hang of it, point out that you’ve got two in a row, and then ask where he wants to go next to stop you. Do this game enough times and he will start to catch on. (This is also a great game to do in restaurants while waiting for your food to arrive!)

Have fun learning while you shop!

Educational Car Games

I think one of the best times to review or learn new information is in the car while running errands.  You can take advantage of those spare minutes (even a quick 5 minute drive) to introduce a new concept or play a fun game.  Best of all it keeps your child occupied and even entertained!

A few things I do with my daughter in the car while running errands:

Practice ABC’s -Sing them, sign them while singing, or the old standby game where you find the letters in order from A to Z on signs and billboards.

Practice counting-  First it was just 1-10, then 1-20, then counting by 10s up to 100, and now we are counting from 1-100 and by 5s up to 100.

Play the “Category Game”- My daughter loves this one and usually is the one who starts it.  Either I name a category or she comes up with one and then we each take turns thinking of an item in that category.  This is an important language development skill for children to acquire, and this is an easy and fun way to learn the concept of categories.  For example, my daughter gives the category “sea animals” and says the first item “crab”.  Then it’s my turn and I say “octopus”, and we continue until neither one of us can think of another animal.  Then we start a new category!

A few category ideas to get you started: farm animals, ocean animals, jungle animals, African animals, colors, shapes, fruits, vegetables, furniture, occupations, transportation, and things found in the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom.  For kids a bit older try the category game based on the characteristics of items such as things that are hard, soft, big, little, tall, glass, plastic, cheap, expensive, can fly, crawl, etc.

Play the “Rhyming Game”- Another version of the category game, but you just start out with a word and take turns saying words that rhyme with the first one.  For example, you start with “hat” and take turns saying “rat”, “bat”, “pat”, “mat”, “sat”, “zat”, “gat”, and “lat”.  Both real and made up words are great!

Sing songs and recite nursery rhymes- Another favorite!  Memorizing familiar songs and nursery rhymes is an important skill for children to acquire.  Being able to remember information is an important life skill, and usually is taught by learning songs and nursery rhymes.  It is also important for children to learn them because they are a part of our culture and may be referenced in material as they get older.  For example, if you are reading a story that makes reference to ‘Jack and Jill’ but you don’t know how the nursery rhyme goes, then you will not fully understand what the author is trying to say.  Nursery rhymes, songs, fairy tales, and other stories that are a part of our culture are often expected to be common knowledge.

Some of our favorites are Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill (both verses!), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wee Willie Winkie, and This Old Man.

A tip to help your child: After saying the nursery rhyme a few times aloud, start leaving off the last word in the verse.  For example, “Twinkle Twinkle Little ____” and have your child say the word to finish it (star).  Then continue with, “How I wonder what you ____” (are).  Since the words usually rhyme, it provides a great clue and children usually pick up these words quickly.  Once able to do this, start leaving out more words (”Twinkle Twinkle  _____  ___”) and before you know it he will have the whole thing memorized!

Fun Learning at the Beach!

We are headed to the beach this weekend and it is the perfect place to incorporate learning with fun.  The sights, sounds, and feel of the sand make it a perfect multisensory experience.  Here are just a few ideas that come to mind…I will definitely try some of these with my daughters.

Younger ones:

Opposites- Big/little (shells, buckets, sandcastles, holes you dig, handprints & footprints),  short/tall (sandcastles, shadows), wet/dry (sand, people, towels, buckets), hot/cold (sand in sun and shade, sun/water, cool drinks, hot skin).

Hide objects in the sand (like shells or her toes!) and see if she can find them.  Show her how a shovel, rake, and sifter can be helpful with this task.

Show her how her hands and feet make prints in the sand.  You step on her footprints, and have her follow in your footprints and step on yours.

Writing:

Have your child spell her name in the sand using her fingers or a stick.

Practice writing ABCs in the sand.

Practice spelling words in the sand.

Have her write a poem or create a song about the beach.

Have your child write a letter to a friend or grandparent telling about her trip to the beach.

Math:

Have your child write numbers in sand using her fingers or a stick.

Practice counting objects- the number of shells you have collected, the number of waves you jump over, birds or beach umbrellas you see, etc.

Have your child do addition, subtraction, or any other math problem written in the sand.  She can use shells or other beach objects to help with solving the problem.

History:

Research a specific castle and try to make a sand castle replica.

Discuss the purpose a moat serves for a castle, and other protective strategies that were used.  Seeing a moat around a sand castle visually will help your child see how an invader would have a hard time getting in.  Even have her use a shell or other object to represent an “invader” and try to get into the castle with the drawbridge up and moat around it.  Can she come up with another creative way in?

Science:

Research sea birds at home and draw pictures of them.  Use these pictures to identify birds you may see at the beach.  What do these birds eat?  Observe them and see…what are they busy doing while you are there?  Write what you observe down and do even more research when you get home.

See how many different examples of sea life you can find- jellyfish, crabs, sand fleas, starfish, fish, shellfish, etc.

Discuss how the moon’s gravity affects the water level/tides.

Do sea turtles nest on the beach?  If so, research the type of sea turtle you might see, how the turtle migrates, why the turtle is protected by law, etc.

Discuss how salt is in the ocean water.  Scoop up a cup of sea water and let water evaporate (also another good topic to discuss!) until only salt is left.

Compare specific gravity of sea water versus tap water (why does a certain object float better in sea water compared to regular tap water?).  Use different objects and try to guess what will happen before testing your prediction.

Do you have some ideas to share?  I look forward to reading them…