Everyday routines and chores, even cleaning up, provide great learning opportunities for your child and can be fitted into a busy schedule. While completing chores around the home, discuss what you are doing and why to help your child understand how things work and learn new words.
Children are learning through every experience, why not turn your routines and chores into a chance for learning?
Encouraging literacy
While grocery shopping, encourage your child to read out any words they can see in the aisle or on packets and discuss the different types of food displayed. You can ask your child to select the tins or packets from the shelf that you want to try and spot the words.
Incorporating numeracy
By involving your child in watching the food being weighed and counting out items or money, they are becoming familiar with mathematical concepts. Once you return home, encourage your child to help sort and put away the groceries with you.
Sorting things is a fun way for your child to learn about shapes and colours and can be useful in helping with chores too. You could ask your child to help you sort laundry, count items such as pegs and socks or to count their toys as they put them away.
Including them in the routine can also help your child feel safe and establish a sense of independence.