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Help Learn New Descriptive Words.
Describe objects in everyday conversations. Describe by color, size, and shape (the blue cup, the big ball). Also, describe how things move (a car goes fast, a turtle moves slowly) and how they feel (ice cream is cold, soup is hot).
Helping Set the Table.
First, have your child place the plates, then cups, and then napkins. By placing one at each place, he will learn one-to-one correspondence. Show your child where the utensils should be placed.
Indoor "Campout."
Put an old blanket over a table to make a tent or house. Pack a "picnic" sack for your camper. Have your child take along a pillow on the "camp out" for a nap. Flashlights are especially fun.
Inkblots.
Dribble different colors of paint in the middle or on one side of a paper. Fold the paper in half. Let your child open the paper to see the design it makes.
Learning Location Words.
Build roads and bridges with blocks. Use toy cars to go on the road, under or over a bridge, between the houses, and so forth.
Life-Sized Portrait.
Get a piece of butcher paper large enough for your child to lie on. Draw around your child's body to make an outline. Don't forget fingers and toes. Talk about body parts and print the words on the paper. Let your child color the poster. Hang the poster on a wall in your child's room.
Make-Believe Store.
Collect empty boxes (cereal, TV dinners, egg cartons) and help your child set up her own grocery store.
Make Your Own Puzzles.
Cut out magazine pictures of whole people. Have your child help glue pictures onto card- board. Cut pictures into three pieces by cutting curvy lines. Head, trunk, and legs make good pieces for your child to put together.
Make a Poster of Your Child's Favorite Things.
Use pictures from old magazines. Use safety scissors and paste or a glue stick to allow your child to do it independently, yet safely.
A Matching Card Game.
A set of Old Maid cards is especially useful for this activity, because of its easy-to-identify faces. Place a few different cards in front of your child. Give him a card that matches one displayed and ask him to find the card like the one you gave him.
One For You, One For Me.
Give a cup to your child. Use bits of cereal or fruit and place one in your child's cup and one in your cup. Take turns. Dump out your child's cup and help count the pieces. This is good practice for early math skills.
Sorting Pictures.
Cut pictures out of magazines to make two groups such as dogs, food, toys, or clothes. Have two boxes ready and put a representative picture of a dog in one and of food in the other (one from each group). Have your child put additional pictures in the correct box, helping her learn about categories.
Trace Around Simple Objects.
Use cups of different sizes, blocks, or your child's and your hands. Using felt-tip markers or crayons of different colors makes it even more fun.
Adapted from ASQ-3TM User's Guide by Squires, Twombly, Bricker, & Potter. © 2009 Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.