Tutors Field
My 4 year old loves anything to do with numbers and the alphabet at the moment. As a Mum I’m constantly looking for new ways that I can incorporate new learning experiences for him. One thing that I have found that works for us is to not make homework so formal.
At home, we have set up a table just for him. He has decorated it all by himself and he’s always happy to sit and read a book or trace over words at “his special table”.
As well as having his own table I’ve found that talking about numbers as part of our daily routine has helped him understand the concept of it. For example, we love baking cakes together! So when the recipe calls for 2 cups of flour I will get a quarter cup and get him to count out 8 quarter cups.
I find that this is a really positive technique for us as it keeps him interested in the task (mainly so he can lick the bowl once we’ve finished!) and it keeps his mind active and inspired. As well as baking, he loves helping me with the grocery shopping.
I always give him the task of counting out 10 apples for me or 6 bananas, etc. This makes him feel like he has a big responsibility and he actually looks forward to going shopping!
He loves reading and when he’s in the mood for it, I get HIM to teach ME about the book. I ask him where to start reading from, what’s going on the page, where do we finish reading etc. and he actually loves teaching me about it! By the end of the book he’s so proud of himself and it inspires him to want to read more!
So for us, making homework informal and part of our daily routine works!
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