Provide young children with safe, age-appropriate natural or man-made objects to explore. Younger children simply explore objects with mouths, eyes and hands. As children grow, engage them in sorting activities. Have them sort objects by size, color, purpose or texture to assist cognitive development. As fine motor skills develop, ask children to examine an interesting natural object. such as a shell, plant or animal, then draw a detailed picture of it.
Have children move to music and work on gross motor skills. Non-walking children can clap or rock, while mobile children can hop, skip and dance to music. Work on fine motor skills using building blocks and art activities. As soon as children can hold a writing utensil, have them practice early writing and drawing skills with scribbles of their choosing. These early scribbles help practice the fine motor skills necessary for cutting, drawing and writing. Building blocks of all kinds, from soft plastic toddler blocks to detailed building block sets help develop fine motor skills and problem solving.
Help children develop creativity and social skills with imaginative play stations that mimic real life. Develop play centers for themes such as stores, schools, home, art studio, science labs, repair shops and doctors offices. Initially, children play alone or side-by-side without interacting. Children still benefit from the imaginative play they participate in alone. As they grow and mature, the play becomes more interactive and social. Children begin to develop social skills during creative play in the centers.
Immerse children in language from the earliest age. Read stories aloud daily. Choose books with a repetitive line, such as "Click, Clack, Moo" by Doreen Cronin, that children can anticipate and repeat to keep them engaged in the story. Place word labels throughout the room and have children, as early as possible, walk around and "read" the room. Provide a special child-safe pointer and have children point to the labeled objects in the room for which they can "read" the word. They may not actually be reading but are using the object as a clue to what the label says. This clue-using technique to read the walls helps develop reading skills. such as using picture clues.