I have enjoyed watching my grandson Brayden grow and manage tasks more independently and to help him, we keep his room well organized and easy to navigate. We also use lists and charts for certain tasks. But when working with kids, and many adults, it helps to make the lists visual.
The majority of our students are visual learners, so we need to pay more attention to the development of their visual skills. Our schools are very focused on verbal literacy, but visual literacy is essential to success in the classroom, especially for our visual learners. Visual literacy requires us to be able to read, write and interpret visual images, so we need to help our children gain proficiency.
Last night I had a ‘sleepover’ with my grandson Brayden. Like most four year olds, Brayden loves to read books, or at this stage, have books read to him. And one of his favorite parts of our ‘sleepovers’ is getting jammies on and climbing into bed with a very big stack of books.
The preschool years are ripe with opportunity to discover the world and prepare children as learners.
Along with building certain physical skills, like the pincher grasp used in writing, children also need ways to develop their sequencing abilities, focus and concentration skills. Here are five activities (free downloads) that are easy to implement at home and in the classroom.
While there are a multitude of assessments to gauge preschool development, as an educator, mother of four, and now a grandmother, I would like to share some thoughts. And while it’s enormously tempting to measure, compare, worry and even compete, it’s hugely important to remember that all children develop at their own pace and in their own time.
Don’t let this season pass you by. Instead of hibernation this winter get active and keep your mind and body moving with these fun ideas.
Inspire Imagination! Foster your child’s imagination – this season by encouraging them to create their very own dream worlds. Your child can do so by drawing a fantasy world out on paper, creating exotic cities by building sheet forts and finding secret places in the house, or by simply playing pretend with props like scarves, boxes or other household items. These unrefined objects allow children to dive into their imaginations and go wherever they like – with little to no guidance from the grown-ups!
Preschool Development
