For the parents of young children...?

Question

...what educational things do you do to help your child's development? I feel like I'm wasting much of my children's potential because I can't think of educational activities for them. I already read to them and we play outside, etc., but the way my daughter can memorize things makes me realize that I'm not doing enough. Especially because those things tend to be things off of the TV. She's incredible at memorizing Disney songs - what could help me get her to memorize state capitals, for instance?

Answer 1

You don't have to think up educational things, there are materials all around you!! Play outside, learn how to play a board game together, find some dressup clothes (yardsales or goodwill) make stuff out of playdough, make necklaces with cheerios and friut loops, it's all learning skills they need. The biggest resource I have is the library. We take books out all the time (my daughter is two and a half). Some are story books, some are junior non-fiction about things she's interested in like the planets, dogs, firetrucks...whatever she seems to find interesting. We read together and talk about things, not jsut the stories and books but what we'd do if there was a fire, what a firetruck sounds like, what colours they are, not to be scared, stop, drop and roll....just wing it, I'm sure you're doing great!

Answer 2

I'm an older mother with three children, The age difference isn't as great as between you and your half brother but it's supstancial all the same. My children are 32, 28 and 15, as you see there are 13 years between the youngest and the middle child. I treat my youngest the way that I treated the older two. I expect her to respect me, herself and other's and I demand that she do so. I think that person that told you that you should get your step mother involved was right, becasue she has as much a stake in this as does your father in fact maybe even more so if something (God forbid) happens to your father. She may not be aware of how the child acts when she's not present, it can't hurt if she's the open mineded type, but be aware she may feel that you and you're brother's are jealous that your father was more strict with you than with the younger child. Just remind her that he's close to going to school and that his behavior there may very well be come an issue. Good luck! It won't be easy dealing with this one, One thing that you can do is make sure that he know that he can't act like that with you or when he's with his older brother's either and maybe you might want to spend more time with him. Maybe your father's realizing that he really doesn't have the same amount of energy to spend on these children as he did with you. Believe me a large age gap, can really take a toll on a parent.

Answer 3

i am anti-TV when it comes to my kids . i usually make a game out of things .i use flash cards alot for the younger kids , and for the older ones i use the idea of lets see if mommy can stump you !
my 2nd grader knows how to multiply and knows basic square roots we are now working on fractions . i used time when driving places to explain things to him and to teach and quiz him .
do you know all the capitals? if so start going over states and capitals in the car when going places.
or another thing i do is when i am cooking i will do the same thing. any activity i am doing that i can talk time to educate i do .
also you can buy a united states puzzle . kids love puzzles. alot of stores including walmart have an area with educational stuff that is usually around school supplies . they have fake coins and currency to teach money , dry erase math books , letter books, number books , counting bears , etc.
you do not state how old your child is , but you can more than likely find stuff at local stores or even book stores. i would look for a variety of age approperate things and some that are a bit advance for her and work with all of it . if she is in school you can probably call the local school and ask if they recommend and websites online or any places that sell educational stuff. kids love to play on the PC you can also find educational software to install . if you find a website online i would make sure to supervise your child while online . the cyber world can be a very dangerous place for a child . sit with her and do activites and maybe even challange eachother and see what you know too.
good luck , and keep up being a great mom ! you really seem to care , dont see that much these days ! ;-)

Answer 4

Buy some flashcards. Teach her her numbers and letters. There are memory games out there for little money, where all the cards have different pictures, place them upside down and turning over two at a time, she needs to match them up. Reading is VERY good also. I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but they've got some terrific childrens activity books at both Target and Walmart, that actually makes learning fun for them! How about a game of memory where you begin doing one thing, and she copies you... How many things can you do, and still have her remember all of them in the correct order?

Answer 5

There are lots of songs that help memorize facts. I remember learning the states and capitals from animaniacs when i was little. "They Might Be Giants" has fun songs for kids. My 2.5 year old loves their "Here comes the ABCs" DVD.

I included a link to teaching songs in the source box.

Online you can look up the standards (for your state) for whatever grade level she's going into (or for preschool if she's a toddler) and work on those things. That will give her a head start for what she's going to be working on later. That's what I do for my daughter.

Answer 6

Young children learn through play. State capitals can be learned later in school!

I utilized the computer when my kids were younger, there are many great educational software programs geared towards young children and they think they are playing when they are actually learning. My kids started this at 2

Answer 7

I have a two year old. Great DVDs include Schoolhouse Rock and The Best of the Electric Company. I would also recommend making sure that he or she plays a lot. That is key to her development. Lastly, relax. That you are asking means you are being an excellent parent. Most parents, sadly, do not care.

God bless.

Answer 8

Find a CD or DVD of songs that are the capitals, etc. They are out there. Get her to watch a lot of Sesame Street and other shows that teach something instead of the mindlessness that populates most TV.

Answer 9

Make a game out of it. Also, I would suggest sending her to nursery school, if only for a few hours a day. I did that with my son and he LOVED it. He is now 6 and in enrichment(advanced) classes.

Answer 10

Tons of books appropriate with her age. Do not overstimulate your child.
Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Little Einsteins, they are all good shows and you can watch with her in order to enhance the learning process.
If she is older than 3y she can go to the Internet with you www.playhousedisney.com, all games there are good for them.