What kind of learning materials should I be working with my 2 year old son over the summer? Numbers? Colors?

Question

He is very smart and he picks up on things fast. I will be home with him until January. I figure that I should take advantage of the time we have at home together and not just play all the time. Any suggestions for the kind of things I should include in our "learning time"?

Answer 1

You don't want to teach him too much "academics" before he starts kindergarten. If he knows the curriculum before he starts he may become bored. It's like learning German before you take a German class.

Teach him the ABC song, at least 8 basic colors, how to match a quantity (3 race cars) to the symbol (the number 3), and some letter sounds.

What is more important is his hand strength. Especially for boys. Parents often put a pencil in their child's hand before their hand is strong enough. They get use to holding a pencil in an unorthodox way and cannot break this habit. To build his hand strength, get him some Lego's, play dough, let him use a small scrub brush to wash tables and windows. He can also trace letters or shapes in a dish of sand or cornmeal.

Teach him to dress himself. This will greatly help him when he starts school.

Socially and emotional development is more important than academic development. Teach him how to express his feelings. Stories are great for teaching this. Expose him to other children as much as possible. This will help him develop socially and emotionally.

Keep it fun! Good luck!

Answer 2

i have two daughters 6 and 4, i was not teaching things at the right times and my six year old is behind others now. when she started kindergarten, three kids of the 13 in her class could already read. imagine that. if i were you, i would look on ebay and get a USED hooked on phonics the complete edition. i use it with my four year old (she has one more year of preschool before kindergarten) and it can be broken down into 10 or 20 minute sessions and i would do a 10 minute session daily. it teaches the letters through repetition, their sounds, and beginning reading and how to sound out words over time. there are levels, at the end there's a short test on cd/tape to take, if he passes, he goes to the next level. my kids love it. he should definately start knowing the colors. and this may sound like pushing it, but once a week i would take 10 minutes for you to get a dry erase board for 2.97 from walmart and trace the letters while he holds the pen. it sounds like alot but not in today's society. in kindergarten my daughter learned to read, do addition, count to 100, etc. if you go on www.wvsd.k12.pa.us, this will give you the cirriculum in my PA area, but i am sure it is standard nationwide for the most part. it tells you what the child needs to do per grade level (just as an example, of course). don't push him, ten minutes a day until kindergarten will make him in the top of his class. if you wanna go ultra cheap, go to the dollar stores and pick up a few preschool workbooks and do a page or two daily. that's how we taught her the numbers. dora the explorer is helpful, sesame street, and other kids cartoons are the best. they teach them alot, clifford the big red dog is great, too. as we are driving, i stop and let the kids read the numbers on the road sign, they loved that

Answer 3

There are some great color books that teach colors, numbers and all that- I bought some at the Family Dollar store- very inexpensive- also if you type in preschool- you will find all kinds of fun stuff to do to learn online- do you remember how you taught your 7 year old?? It probably started very young- make it fun- and games to learn- that will help=even blocks and shapes- D

Answer 4

i say do it all. i have a 3 year old that knows ALL her colors, can recognize numbers, recognize ABC's and some spanish. i am teaching her Math now. Her 2 year old sister knows her ABC's and 2 colors. Just go over all that you want him to know 30 minutes a day, everyday. He will start to pick it up after about a week. Dont forget to make it fun for you both. Make funny faces and sounds, get on him level, he will pick it up faster.

Answer 5

I would be working on him with colors....and maybe some fine motor skills...putting puzzle pieces in...plus if you get things that are farm related...such as toys and puzzles, etc, than the names and sounds of all the animals cover a wide area of sounds and speech that your child can be picking up just by you and him playing! I think that at this age, a child will pick up things faster through play than through any other method.

Answer 6

I buy my 3 yr old the preschool workbooks from places like Toys R Us and Wal Mart. They have easy things - introduction to counting, matching, differences, etc. I usually set aside "learning" time at home... 30 minutes (don't make it too long, kids that young have short attention span.) Look for age appropriate learning tools too :)

Answer 7

Work on it all, colors, numbers, letters, shapes. Make it fun, watch interesting videos, read books. Take him on walks and look at the different colors of flowers, different shapes you might see in nature or in your own back yard. Learn with food, for instance cookies are circles and bread is square. Allow him to eat the different items after he gets them right. Color or paint and use the colors of the paint or crayons to teach him. Have him to count as you are putting toys away, or doing laundry(have them count the articles of clothes. Letters you can work on by looking at items at the store, there many many different ways to teach your child and make it fun for them.

Answer 8

I found that a good "toy" to have around a child that age is a set of dominos. They can be used to encourage counting, color recognition, manual dexterity (with stacking them), creativiness ( building with them). I have had a set at the house for my nephew for sometime and bought him a set for his house as a christmas present.

Answer 9

My little girl knew her ABC's at 2. But have fun with them too. They grow up fast, enjoy the time you have with them.

Answer 10

at this age play time is learning time. By play I mean anything without tv, video games, or anything electronic. Encourage art, running around, read to him, anything tactile!