Are You Short On Time As A Working Parent? 3 Quick Ways To Support Your Child's Learning At Preschool
Your daily schedule as a working parent is often filled to the brim with responsibilities. Between shuffling through work emails and getting the laundry done, you may wonder how you will ever find the time to get involved in your child's preschool program. While you might not have hours to spend volunteering, you can support your child's learning through incorporating these strategies into your lifestyle that take ten minutes or less.
Check the Theme
Early childhood learning programs often use themes to help children organize new information in their brain. Your child's teacher may incorporate the theme into the activities included in the lesson plan or make it obvious in classroom decorations such as the bulletin board. If you are unsure, just ask about the theme during pick-up or drop-off. Once you know the theme, you can then use it to plan simple activities at home such as taking a nature walk to get real-world experience with spring. Or, you could watch a video of a space shuttle taking off to give your child more knowledge about transportation.
Strengthen a Skill
Quality preschools plan activities that touch upon all of the basic skills each day. For instance, your child may practice pre-writing skills during an art activity or learn how to count as they build with blocks. Talk to your child's teacher about your child's strengths and weaknesses. Then, plan an activity to do with your child on the weekend or in the evening to strengthen their developing skills. Keep in mind that these activities can be short and blended into your normal routine. For instance, your child could count their crackers during a snack on the weekend. Alternatively, you could help them write their name to sign a card that you mail to their grandparent. Small learning moments such as these add up over the course of a school year.
Read Together
Parents sometimes overlook the power of reading together, and you may even already do this as a way to bond before bedtime. To take this activity one step further, try picking out a book that aligns with something that your child is learning in preschool. For instance, your child's teacher can suggest titles of books that are perfect for teaching rhyming, alliteration and new vocabulary. Make sure to point out these things as you read together such as asking your child if two words rhyme, or ask them to count the pictures on the page.
Teachable moments happen throughout your time at home with your child, and most of these moments only require a few minutes to help your child master a new concept or skill. Now that you know a few ways to squeeze learning into your daily routine, you can enjoy watching as your child makes leaps in their learning. To learn more, contact a school like Sammamish Montessori School.