We’re Learning in the Neighborhood!

Encourage your baby to explore different textures by providing them with items to feel, like bare feet in the grass or hands touching trees. Talk about what they are feeling and use words to describe the item (soft, rough, hard, smooth, etc.) Tell what they are feeling as it relates to their neighborhood. “This trees is in our backyard and gives us shade from the sun.” If you cannot take your baby outside, bring the outside in. Put grass in a plastic container. Allow them to play with their fingers or toes. Pick up a blade of grass and tickle hands, arms, legs, feet, or face. Smell the grass and talk about the color. Read more!

Encourage your toddler to still (just for a second or two!) and listen to the noises around them. What do they hear? Help identify the noises they are hearing. Listen for birds singing, dogs barking or church bells ringing. Try a verbal and/or visual cue to stop and listen. You may need to guide the listening, “What is that? I hear a bird. Do you hear it? Where is it?” When you are out in the community, listen for those sounds you may not hear at home. (Traffic, church bells, horns, etc.) Read more!

Compare large and small as your preschooler moves throughout their neighborhood. Help them decided if items are larger than they are (like a tree) or smaller (like a dandelion) by having them stand next to the item. Now it’s your turn. Have them help you decide if items are larger or smaller than you. Read more!

Go for a walk with your kindergartner and have them help identify different items that begin with each letter. For those more difficult letters (like Y or Z), can they name items they’d like to see that begin with those letters? (Wouldn’t they like to play with a yo-yo?) Take along homemade flashcards or a list of the letters of the alphabet so they have a reference to the letter and the object that starts with the letter. Have them match the card with the correct letter by the object. Read more!