Hippo Herald

My kids just can’t get enough of playing games with Mom and Dad–can yours?

Sometimes we all take a break in the middle of the day and play a game together. Most of the time, I just make sure we play games so that we all have fun together. I can get so caught up in things that I’ll go from one task to the next and forget to have a little fun.

Today, after several pleas from my kids, I got out the Uno cards. Today I would be playing with six-year-old Ryan and three-year-old Maegan. In the past, Maegan would sit on my lap and help me with my cards; but today, she wanted to be her "own team".

Not feeling sure how things would go, I dealt seven cards to each of us. Maegan picked up her cards and held them in her hand.

I flipped over the first card and asked Maegan to go first. "Do you have a yellow card to put down?"

"Yep," she answered and put down a yellow card on top of the pile.

Round and round we went, with Maegan putting down the correct color on her turn all by herself. Then finally a turn came that she didn’t have the right color.

"Do you have a card," I asked, pointing to the large symbol in the middle of the card, "that has a circle like this one?"

While I still had my finger next to the symbol, she went through each card, one a time. She carefully checked to see if she had a "match" - and when she found one, she put it down on top of the pile.

The game was a great success–especially since she won the first round!

"That’s one point for the team ‘My Little Pony’ (as she had named her team)," I congratulated her. She beamed with pride. She had won and she had done it all by herself.

As I sat there admiring her accomplishment, I realized how easy it is to miss opportunities like this that are educational in nature. This game taught her taking turns, sorting, colors, and shapes.

It’s always a great asset as a home school parent to have one more way to help our kids learn and practice what they’ve been learning. So, "Uno away"!!

About The Author…

Laura Bankston is author of Internationally selling Cooking with Kids Curriculum: Homeschool Cooking in a Box and the Homeschool Cookbook. She currently home schools her three children, maintains home school support websites, and manages their family-owned service business. For information on her curriculum and free home school support services, please visit her website www.homeschoolcookbook.com

Toddlers love mixing things and helping in the kitchen, so try baking a batch of cookies or a loaf of bread for good wholesome fun.

Older kids are coordinated enough to really try their hand at arts and crafts, so try some simple projects together. You can create pasta necklaces, paint pictures and other simple crafts.

If you need to entertain a preschooler for a few hours, pop in their favorite cartoon or children’s movie. You are guaranteed at least 2 hours of uninterrupted fun. I prefer educational shows and DVD’s so they can learn while watching TV.

He should be old enough to start learning the basic rules of some preschool board games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. Sit down with him and learn how to play together, and remember that many preschoolers are notoriously poor losers.

There is a lot of debate around the sandbox about the right time to enroll a child in preschool. Some argue that it really isn’t necessary at all, while others think that the sooner they can get their kids into a formal program the better. I am on the fence about it, and really think that it depends on the child and the situation. If you are able to cover the necessary topics at home, then all the better. If you don’t think that you can do it alone, then by all means look for a preschool. The key is to make sure that your child gets a good start to their education.

Here are a list of topics that should be taught before your child enters Kindergarden:

Academic Skills

* Say the alphabet
* Recognize own name, and letters in name
* Recognize as many letters as possible (A-Z)
* Count to 10
* Recognize numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
* Count items
* Name the basic colors (blue, red, yellow, purple, green, orange, white, brown, black)

Physical Skills

* Care for personal needs (Use restroom, wash hands, fasten clothes, wipe nose, etc.)
* Catch item tossed underhand
* Walk up and down stairs
* Use pencils and crayons
* Use scissors & glue stick
* Stack blocks
* Put toys and class items where they belong

Social Skills (These are always a work in progress!)

* Shares and takes turns
* Sits quietly and listens in group setting
* Follows directions
* Demonstrates good manners while eating
* Respects other students and adults
* Respects other’s belongings and class items
* Expresses thoughts and feelings clearly

Reading.

Depending on your local school system, children now begin reading in either Preschool or Kindergarten. It is very important that your child be familiar with the letters of the alphabet and if possible, even the sounds each one makes. Knowing the letters will make the transition to reading much easier.

Throughout the early school years, teachers will often remind you how important it is to read to your children every day. You can make it a special time by letting the child choose the book to be read, and ask them questions about the story as you go - this will also help them develop good comprehension skills, which are needed throughout life.

Your preschooler is busy learning how the world works, which is why pretend play is crucial to his development. Puppet shows, pretend grocery trips and playing house are all fun ways to help him learn about the world around him. Create the crafts and props for pretend play, for even more fun.

Let him explore his creativity by giving him a few basic ingredients in which to create works of art. If he still likes to explore with his mouth, offer up pudding as finger paints or other edible art supplies.

There a ton of things that you can do with water to entertain this age group. You can add some food coloring to the bath to create themed tub time, or offer up a water table with some measuring spoons and cups for some good clean fun.