Working on Kids 

The minute  our little  heartbeats start school, we start expecting the teachers and our kids  to perform  miracles- write, physical training, swimming, dance, music, social studies, maths, science….and the list goes on.

However we need to reiterate and practise some simple things at home in order to prepare the child for not only schooling or vocational courses but also face challenges out there in the big bad world by themselves.

For handwriting and grip give the child clay or dough to make formations. Let them write on mini white boards with markers.  Show them the formation with their own fingers on sand or sugar on a tray and let them learn and have fun doing so.

You cannot expect children to all be born as Picassos and Da Vincis making art to perfection. Let them play with colours give them a model/prototype. Imitation is the best form of flattery as is the same in art. Slowly they get the hang of colouring between sections and inside lines and their sense of different colours.

Phonetics is important as in words. Different blends of letters produce different sounds. So it is important to sound out the letters and the changes in sounds while blending into a word. Showing videos and practising verbally the sounds will also help you in reading aloud books.

Reading goes hand in hand with blending and mental stimulation. You show the pictures while reading and the child is able to link the sequence of events in a story through pictures. Ask the child to tell the story in their way and to check the conclusions or morals of story

Games and activities are an essential part for revision and introducing topics to kindergarten especially. For example to introduce number 8, we show them a drawing of  octopus and ask them to draw and colour number the tentacles, for counting we give them unifix cubes, for tracing we give them laminated printed sheets with dots to trace with marker, this is to improve grip and formation

For Speaking, encourage children to speak in front of family members. You keep questioning the child and show and tell with big picture books or YouTube videos. If the child is very soft, encourage her/him to speak loudly. Use hand puppets to pretend play any story and help them speak.

The tips are not exhaustive and also one size does not fit all. So, maybe a particular solution might not be working for one kid but will work wonders on others. But the best part of these tips is that as a parent you get to spend quality time with your child and activities are excellent exercises in bonding and helps the mental and physical all over development of the kid and refreshes us as well.

So what activity are you planning to do with your kids?