Young children learn throughout the day — during play, meals, conversations, transitions and all the little moments in between.
Not every learning experience needs to be a planned lesson.
Sometimes a colorful map, an interesting animal, a number to count or a new shape to find is enough to spark a question and get children thinking.
Here are some simple ways to make learning part of the natural rhythm of a preschool or daycare day.
Let Children Explore Before You Explain
It's tempting to begin by telling children what they're looking at.
Instead, try giving them a moment to explore first.
Put out a learning placemat and ask:
- What do you notice?
- What do you recognize?
- Can you find something you've never seen before?
You may discover that children notice things you wouldn't have thought to point out.
Starting with their observations gives you an easy way to follow their curiosity into the activity.
Turn Mealtime Into Conversation Time
Meals and snacks offer a natural opportunity for learning because children are already gathered around a table.
With a Tot Talk educational placemat in front of them, try one simple question while they eat.
- Can you find an animal that lives in the ocean?
- Which shape can you find first?
- Can you find the number 8?
- Which animal would you like to see in real life?
There's no need to turn the entire meal into an activity. One question may be enough to start a conversation among the whole table.
Create a Quick "Find It" Game
Choose something children can search for on their placemat.
- Find something blue.
- Find an animal with four legs.
- Find a circle.
- Find something that starts with B.
Then let a child choose the next thing everyone has to find.
This works especially well with younger children because the challenge can change with their abilities. One child may be identifying colors while another is recognizing letters, numbers, animals or words.
Let Children Draw, Circle and Practice
Hands-on learning can be especially engaging for young children.
With washable or dry-erase markers and Tot Talk's reusable placemats, children can circle answers, trace, practice, color and interact with the activities on the mat.
One child might practice a letter. Another might circle a shape. Someone else might happily color a fire truck.
It doesn't all have to happen the same way — or at the same pace.
When the activity is finished, the placemats can be cleaned and used again.
Follow What's Happening in Their World
Learning becomes especially meaningful when children can connect it to something they're experiencing.
Talking about the weather? Bring out a weather placemat.
Learning about community helpers? Explore firefighters, police officers or construction.
A child went to the zoo over the weekend? Look at animals together.
Getting ready for a holiday or a new season? Look for subjects that connect naturally to what children are seeing and talking about.
Those connections can help turn an abstract idea into something familiar.
Introduce Something Before You Teach It
Children don't always need a formal lesson to begin becoming familiar with a subject.
A preschooler may not be ready to understand everything on a map, periodic table or detailed science placemat — and that's okay.
They can still notice colors, pictures, shapes, words and patterns. They may ask a question or remember something they saw.
That early exposure can make a subject feel less unfamiliar when they encounter it again later.
Sometimes learning begins simply with:
"I've seen that before."
Put Children in Charge
Young children love being the one who knows the answer.
Let them quiz you.
Ask one child to choose something for everyone else to find.
Have children take turns