Playtime

When you have a day at home with your child, set aside some time to play. If you can make your playtime with your child creative, you can have fun and teach, as well. There are many creative ways to teach your kids some basic skills through play. Here are a few ideas, but I’m sure you’ll come up with many more on your own.

Play Dress Up – We all know that little girls love dressing up, but you’ll find that with the right costumes, little boys love it too. Have a princess playtime with your daughter, but a pirate or cowboy playtime with your son. Dressing up fosters the imagination and helps toddlers learn to dress themselves.

Go For A Nature Walk – You can buy very inexpensive bug collecting kits (sometimes at the $1 store). Take your child for a walk and see how many different kinds of leaves and bugs you can collect. Just be sure to stick close by so that your child doesn’t choose poison ivy for his leaf collection or a biting bug for his bug collection!

Cook – Even as young as 2 or 3 years old, your child will love being in the kitchen with you. If you’re worried about having your child around a hot stove, make things like popsicles from kool-aid or other no cook treats. No matter what you make, you and your child will have a great time together. You’ll be teaching the basics, not only of cooking, but of science and math, too.

Visit The Library – Check with your local library about story times and other programs for kids. These opportunities make a wonderful educational (and free) way to spend some time with your child. These programs will also give you more ideas for things to do at home, and can generate some great conversations with your child. Of course, check out some books while you’re there, too!

Playtime should be a regular part of your time with your child from the time they’re infants. Even though you may feel that infant playtime isn’t effective, keep doing it. Because, in fact, the time you spend playing simple baby games like peek-a-boo, singing and reading to your infant speeds brain development in your baby. At any age, actively playing with your child is one of the best things you can do to raise a smart and happy little one.