Fun Activities To Promote Math Skills (Kindergarten )

As your child becomes a fluent reader, you can continue to encourage a love of reading. Make sure reading stays fun with these great activity ideas.

Because children learn in different ways, we've arranged these activities by learning style.But any child can benefit from the suggestions in all three categories.

For physical learners
Make a family newspaper Have your child write stories about what's happening in the family. Need some ideas? Recent birthdays, outings, and events at school all make good subjects for "articles." Then encourage her to read the paper to others.

Discover words to grow on Go to the library and check out a gardening book or buy one at the bookstore. Read through it to find plants, flowers, or vegetables that look interesting and then buy some seeds or plants from a local nursery and watch them grow.

Make your own bookmarks Cut a long rectangular strip out of white cardboard, punch a hole in the top, and let your child decorate each side with markers, stickers, sparkles, anything she wants. Then choose a ribbon and tie it through the hole as tassel.

Write a letter to a favorite author To help your child get started, ask her a few questions. What do you like about this author's book? How do you feel when you read these stories? Who is your favorite character? When it's ready, you can send the letter to the author care of the publisher. Check the title page of the book to find out who that is.

Make a dictionary As your child comes across words she doesn't know, have her write them in a blank book or notebook along with the meaning. This is a great way to help build vocabulary.

Give out book dollars If you don't want to use real money, you can draw your own. Dole out the cash for chores or other good deeds at home. When your child earns ten or 15, take a trip to the bookstore and let her spend the money.

Go to a book signing party Popular children's authors often make appearances at bookstores. Check local papers and bulletin boards at bookstores to find how who's coming next.

Build a reading fort In your child's bedroom, lean together some broom or mop sticks and drape blankets over them to create a tent. Invite your child to grab a book and a flashlight and climb in for story time in the dark. In the summertime you can do this in the yard.

Serve a meal from a book Use food coloring to make green eggs and ham, try to recreate parts of the Grinch's Christmas feast, or make your own batch of freckle juice from Judy Blume's book.

Throw a book-related party Read over your child's favorite book and think about what elements would work at a party. Can you decorate her room like the Hogwarts Academy in Harry Potter? You'll get your child and her friends talking about books.

For auditory learners
Go to story time at the library or a bookstore Nothing beats listening to a trained storyteller. Going to the library or a bookstore to listen to a tall tale is not only a fun outing, but your child will also learn about new books and meet other children. As a bonus, you may pick up a few tips to jazz up your own read-aloud sessions.

Write a menu for a weekend dinner Decide what you'd like to serve and then ask your child to write the dishes down with descriptions. Tell your child to use describing words (also known as adjectives) such as "green, fresh" salad, "hot" chicken, and "cold, sweet" ice cream. The next night, scramble the adjectives as a joke on the rest of the family!

Find a reading phone pal Teach your child to share the joy of reading. Call a friend or relative in another city and arrange a one-on-one book club. Have the children read the same books and talk about them each week.

Listen to books on tape You can check out tapes from the library for free or buy them at a bookstore (to save money, stop by your local used bookstore). Kids love listening to someone else tell them a story, and they can follow along in their own books.

Read a recipe and cook the dish together Start with an illustrated children's cookbook so your child can see how the dish might turn out. Read the recipe to your child while she follows along. Making the food will teach your child that books provide useful information.

Join a summer book club at the library Most libraries arrange summer programs with lists of books for each age group and awards for completing the books. To get credit for each book your child may need to retell the story to a librarian or volunteer. Your child will share the joy of books with others — and may even win some prizes.

For visual learners
Read a story that's out as a movie Then go see the movie. Your child will love seeing characters she already knows from a book up on the big screen. You can rent videos too. For a fun twist, make it a sleepover party and invite other kids to read and watch the video. Then have them talk about it to build reading comprehension. Some ideas: Charlotte's Web, Sarah Plain and Tall, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Make a photo scrapbook Have your child glue some favorite photos in an album (or on colored paper that you'll later punch holes in and tie together) and then write captions next to each one describing what's going on in the picture.

Subscribe to magazines Let your child browse the racks at the store. Aside from the obvious brown-bag restrictions, let her choose whatever she wants. Kids like to read teen magazines long before they're teens. Buy a couple of different magazines from a newsstand or bookstore, then ask your child to pick out a favorite for a subscription.

Imagine what happens next Have your child make up and write down a sequel to a favorite book.

Visit your child's favorite author's Web site Some great ones to try: the site for Gary Paulsen, author of Hatchet and other popular books, the site for the Goosebumps series, and the site for J.K. Rowling, of Harry Potter fame.

Leave notes for your child Put them in her lunchbox or book bag every day. Even if it's just a few simple words such as "I love you." You can also leave them around her room or next to her toothbrush.

Let her read comic books Everyone knows they aren't fine literature, but there's no denying that kids love them! Some great ones to try: Garfield, Archie, The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes.

Illustrate a song Write down the words to your child's favorite song and have your child draw pictures to go with each stanza. Then read the song.

Set a family reading time For 15 or 20 minutes a night, everyone in the house reads a story together. If friends or neighbors are visiting, ask them to participate. Follow the reading time with a few minutes of discussion about the book to encourage comprehension.

Keep a diary Let your child pick out a diary with a lock and key and encourage her to write in it every day, even if only for a few minutes.

Follow along with a book project Find an instruction or how-to book based on your child's interests: How to draw cars, how to make perfume, how to construct a model, etc. Show your child how to read for information and then put that information to use.

source from http://parentcenter.babycenter.com

Starting Kindergarten

Most favorable age for children to start kindergarten is between 3 and 5 years.

Prepare a child for the thought of kindergarten beforehand, of necessity to attend it. The first thing you should do, - is staying with a child less, than you usually do (about a month before he starts kindergarten).

Secondly, tell him about kindergarten in details, go there with him, so that he would have his own idea about it. Tell a baby you’re very proud of him – you know, he’s so big already and can go to a kindergarten by himself. But don’t make a problem of this situation, don’t speak about coming change in his life every day. Prepare a baby to communication with other children and adults: visit children parks and squares, teach him to playing in playpits, on swing. Go to holidays, friends’ birthdays with him, watch his behavior: whether he is shy, retires from other children, conflicts, fights or, to the contrary, gets on well with his coevals, is open for communication and relaxed.

When you choose a kindergarten, the main its criterion are teachers and children, not comfortable and beautiful interior. Come to a kindergarten and observe children: whether they are happy and like this place. A good kindergarten is a very noisy place. If you don’t hear hue-and-cry for a 30 minutes, and also bursts of laughter, search another kindergarten for your baby. Meet teachers beforehand, tell them about your baby’s peculiarities, his likes and dislikes, which help he needs, determine methods of encouragement and punishment, appropriate for your baby.

Since the very beginning help your baby to enter kindergarten easily. You know, he’s leaving home for the first time in his life, moves away from you, although only for several hours. During first days after starting kindergarten don’t leave a baby alone at once, it’s better for him to let you go. And, when you part, don’t forget to assure him you will come back for him surely.

When you leave – part with a baby easily and quickly. Of course, you are worrying for his stay at kindergarten, but long leave-takings with worried face will cause anxiety in a baby, as he will understand something can happen to him here and he won’t let you go for a long. If a baby feels difficulties while parting his mom, then father should lead him to kindergarten during first several weeks.

Give a baby his favorite toy with him, try to persuade him leaving it in a kindergarten for a night and meet with it in the morning again. If a baby does not agree, allow him taking his toy with him every day and introduce it to other children, ask a baby about things happening with a toy in a kindergarten, who made friends with it, who offended, whether it felt sad. Thus, you will learn a lot about the way your baby manages to get used to a kindergarten.

During first days some children get tired very much in a kindergarten because of new impressions, new friends, activity, big quantity of people. If a baby comes home exhausted and nervous, this does not mean he cannot get used to a kindergarten. Probably, you need to take such baby from a kindergarten earlier, or leave him at home 1-2 times a week. Play with a baby using home toys, imitate kindergarten, each toy will be a child. Observe what this or that toy does, says, help it finding friends with your baby, solve your baby’s problems through it, orienting game on positive results.

It happens that a baby does not accept a teacher: “I won’t go to her, she cries, she’s angry” etc. if this repeats every day, then you just should send your baby to other group. Protect him from suffering and communication with unpleasant people. Your baby’s “second mom” should resemble you as for her educative methods, have an ability to consider and understand originality and individuality of each child. Don’t hurry to choose a kindergarten for your baby, be observant and prudent. It’s bad if you have to change kindergartens too often. It’s better for a baby to attend the same kindergarten. It’s not so awful to change it once, but 6 or 7 times – it’s already harmful.

Don’t send your baby to a kindergarten only because you gave birth to another one, even if this will lighten your life. Your elder son or daughter will feel that an uninvited guest appeared in a house and treat your decision as his/her banishment, making a conclusion that you prefer a newborn one to him/her. So, if you, expecting a baby, still decide to send an elder one to a kindergarten, do this beforehand, before baby birth.

The main purpose of a kindergarten is to give a child a possibility to communicate and play with coevals. And no matter how good a kindergarten is, don’t make an irreparable mistake – don’t think it can replace a family.

source from http://www.baby-health.net