(ARA) – Shorter days and colder weather not only herald the approach of the holidays, but the months when kids spend more time indoors, whether at school or home. While the rush of shopping, cooking and entertaining visitors may seem like a never-ending to-do list, the winter months can also be a magically calming and rewarding time to encourage your child’s curiosity and interest in learning.
With many families “cocooning” this holiday and avoiding holiday travel, parents and children may be in search of some fun, engaging and age-appropriate activities over the winter months and beyond.
Seasonal hands-on camps
For parents, seasonal day camps offer great solutions to help them organize their children’s holiday time off while providing their children with engaging and hands-on educational activities and themes. Kids can have a blast and busy parents get the gift of knowing that their children are continuing to learn and discover during the holiday break. KinderCare Learning Centers, for example, offer a winter science camp for both preschool and school-age children during the last two weeks of December. Among many activities, younger campers will get to be “science detectives,” solving a series of science mysteries by using touch, smell and hearing. Meanwhile, school-aged kids will be busy experimenting with colored dyes, creating everything from paper to volcanic eruptions, building balloon rockets, and more.
Look for seasonal camps that will work with your schedule and build on your child’s natural curiosity and expose them to new activities, new friends, memories and a passion for discovering the world around them from their point-of-view.
Don’t forget to play
The colder weather outdoors offers a good excuse for good old-fashioned indoor play time. Play is the natural work of children and essential to learning. Through play, children develop social skills, the ability to solve problems and the courage to express their ideas. The following are some quick tips for educational and fun family playtime:
* For infants, playing peek-a-boo will help baby recognize your voice.
* To help infants and toddlers develop fine motor skills, provide a variety of soft, easy-to-grasp toys, such as soft blocks or plush toys.
* Blow bubbles with your child and watch them have a blast as they chase and catch the bubbles – both reinforce motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
* Toddlers and preschool children like tactile activities like digging in sand and dirt. Make a simple sandbox out of a large shallow bin. Vary the items you put in the bin for your child to explore. Some suggestions: sand, rice, packing peanuts, cornstarch (great to play with and easy to clean up when it dries) dirt or dried macaroni.
* For preschool age children, play listening games such as Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light.
* Involve your preschooler in everyday math – How many steps to the garage? How many dollars to buy that toy?
* Play board games as a family – rolling dice, counting spaces and problem solving are all involved in this type of activity.
* Use stuffed or plastic animals and cardboard boxes to help your child create a zoo, a farm or a wildlife reserve – dramatic play builds vocabulary, social skills and creative thinking.
Winter reading: start early for a lifelong love of books
Nothing is better than snuggling up to a great book with your child. Reading to a child, as early as infancy, on a regular basis is by far the best way to encourage a budding reader. In fact, studies show that reading to an infant promotes early language acquisition and literacy development and, later on, achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school. The winter months are a perfect time to begin a reading routine with your child that can jump-start a yearlong love of reading.
As one of the nation’s leaders in early childhood education, KinderCare educators know that one of the most effective ways to increase a child’s language comprehension and vocabulary is by actively teaching and encouraging early reading. KinderCare educators offer parents a comprehensive reading guide that incorporates tips on reading to infants, toddlers and preschoolers as well as recommended age-appropriate book titles. Some tips include:
* Help cultivate baby’s interest in books by choosing ones that capture his or her attention such as board books and pop-up books. Your child will want to see these again and again.
* While reading together, ask questions about the pictures. Children are delighted in finding objects on the page. If they’re saying “da” and pointing at the dog, say, “Yes, that’s the dog.” If the child says “ball,” follow up with, “That’s a blue ball.” You’ll be giving your child additional language for his or her verbal bank.
* Ask your child open-ended questions about the story you are reading, such as “Why do you think that happened?”
“Reading with your child will be some of the most enjoyable and rewarding times you spend together,” says Megan Riede, Senior Director of Education Programs at KinderCare Learning Centers. “That’s why we encourage families to make reading time a fun and engaging activity. Really create an experience for your child that allows him or her to imagine, explore, have fun and learn about the world around them in a language-rich environment.”
No matter the activity your children engage in this winter season, it’s important to remember to introduce them to activities that are age-appropriate and that allow them to have fun before they return to school/childcare in the new year.
