The Importance of Early Childhood Education & Development – At Home Activities

We are halfway through the school year, time really does fly when you are having fun. If your child is a pre-K’er, I am sure you are starting to think about next year…. kindergarten!  And the number one question you should ask yourself is how prepared is your child?  Following are some fun home preschool activities to your student become more prepared for kindergarten:

"I Spy With My Little Eye" Game

You will need:

• Letter flash cards, letter puzzle pieces or anything that has a single letter on it.  I use some felt letters my students made, which would be a fun art and learning project to do with your kiddo
• A room full of various objects

How to play:

• Put the letters in a pile
• Have your child draw a letter
• Ask them find something in the room that starts with that letter: “B”- Book
• When they have a match put the letter and the object together
• Keep doing this until they get through all 26 letters or when they are “done”

Challenge: time the activity

Challenge: after getting a few matches, put all the objects in a pile and have your child find the letter of the word for which the object begins

What this activity develops:

• Letter recognition
• Phonemic awareness - the ability to hear and identify letter sounds
• Makes learning fun!

“Letter Sound Challenge” Game

You will need:

• Letter flash cards, letter puzzle pieces (same as above)

How to play:

• Place a handful of letters on the floor so they are visible
• Yell out a simple word (cat, dog, fish, etc.)
• The object of the game is to find the letter the word begins with

Challenge: If your pre-K’er is a little more advanced have them find the last letter in the word

What this is activity develops:

• Letter recognition
• Phonemic awareness - the ability to hear and identify letter sounds
• Auditory Modality of Learning - the child has to “hear” the word and “listen” for the letter sound, not “see” it.  Here is some more information about the 3 Modalities of Learning:

http://www.mindworksresources.com/p-324-3-primary-learning-modalities-every-person-uses.aspx

For more ideas on at home educational exercises follow me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/blossomingbuds/. To learn more about Seattle’s best preschool and drop-off childcare visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.

New Year, New Ways & Making It Stick Like Glue

Every year I put a lot of thought into my New Year’s resolution. This year is no different, what is different is making it stick like glue. My resolution this year is very simple, healthier life choices - from food to the gym, eco-friendly products to less chemicals, daily relaxation to reading.

Defining my annual New Year’s resolution is the simple part, making it stick for 12 months is the challenge. This year I have come up with 6 ideas to make my New Year’s resolution stick like glue!

1) Monthly Alarm Ding, Ding! Create a monthly reminder in my electronic calendars (i.e. iPhone, Outlook). The reminder is simple; it starts at the beginning of each month and states my focus for the month, such as “Healthier Life Choices – This Month Practice Daily Relaxation.”

2) Fill ‘Er-Up! A Mason Jar labeled “Healthier Life Choices Jar” and next to it is a small note pad where I can jot down ideas, such as recipes, homemade cleaning products, work-out routines, quotes, etc. When I need inspiration I can open the jar and pull out a note card with inspiration.

3) Pin-spiration. I love Pinterest and what better place to remind myself to make this resolution stick like glue. So of course I will create a Healthier Life Choices board chalk full of ideas. You can follow that board here: http://pinterest.com/blossomingbuds/

4) Something New Every Month. I will commit to doing something new every month, whether it be a cooking class, a workout class, signing up for green product home-delivery, etc. To make it simple my something new will coincide with my monthly alarm.

The Honest Company Products

5) Me, myself and OTHERS! I have rallied some friends who inspire me in all areas of my life and asked them to be inspiration for me. I even added them as contributors to my Healthier Life Choices Pinterest board so they can add ideas.

6) Sewing It Thru Everything I Do. For a more substantial impact I have shared my New Year’s resolution not only with family and friends, but also my schools. I want the idea of healthier life choices to not only impact my family, but also the Blossoming Buds’ brand and culture. I will share my monthly Healthier Life Choices ideas with my staff and try to incorporate elements and ideas into the curriculum.

For more information about one of Seattle’s best preschools go to www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and one of Seattle’s best drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudscottage.com.