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If you’re like most parents, you want your kids to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to learning and development. This is especially true of smaller children, who may experience social, academic, or developmental delays before entering public school where stats show “42% of Virginia children start kindergarten needing extra support.”
This week’s Top 10 Tuesday focuses on five items you can use to help your child move to the head of the class.
Flashcards
This age-old method of helping students learn and retain information can improve your child’s ability to recall important information in short order. Flashcards can be used individually by your child to study on their own, or with mom or dad as a study assistant.
Summer Bridge Activities
Though school is still in session, one of the biggest drop-offs in student learning is during the summer. The teaching tools found on Summer Bridge get the whole family involved in learning. According to its website, “our standards and research-supported learning recovery plan utilize 5 key research domains to better support your students’ learning retention in just 15 minutes a day.” Those key areas are:
- Family engagement
- Social and emotional learning (SEL)
- Activation of prior knowledge
- Spaced practice
- Hands-on and real-world applications
Fidget Tools
While often thought of as a distraction and not a way to help children with focus and learning, fidget tools are making a comeback as strong evidence supports their use in helping children with sensory difficulties, anxiety, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Used properly, children with these challenges can displace much of the energy that causes excess movement into these objects so they can focus and learn without interruption.
Puzzles
Puzzles are a great way to help children focus, solve problems, and build confidence. Children of all ages can use and benefit from puzzles. These easy-to-obtain tools can improve concentration, focus, spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and more.
Music and Movement
For ages, music has been used as a primary teaching tool for children. From the cleanup song to singing the ABCs to encourage proper toothbrushing, music is the go-to for helping kids improve memory, development, learning, and expression.
Interested in finding all these items locally. Visit Chalk N’ More in Central Park.
