Early Learners
READ
Read your own book in front of your kiddo. Do you read on your phone? Show them.
Have a full conversation with your baby. Answer their sounds with noises of your own.
Re-enact your baby’s favorite books with actions.
Name your baby’s body parts as you dress them.
Name the items you touch at the grocery store. Say the words while showing the item to your baby.
Turn the subtitles on when watching videos, movies, or tv with youth.
Check out a Launchpad.
Read a book together in a new place, such as under a table, in a closet, under a blanket fort, or in a large box. What fun place can you find to read together?
Learn new rhymes, fingerplays, songs, and new ideas on Story Blocks.
Read a book with pictures of real people in it. Talk about what they are doing? How are they feeling?
MAKE
Make a sensory ‘touch and feel’ book.
Make a photo album of family members (on your phone counts too!). Look through the album with your kiddo.
Have your toddler or preschooler help prepare a meal-- they’re excellent mixers.
Play with your senses. Put small objects in a paper bag. Have your kiddo feel.
Make an obstacle course. Stay inside and jump across cushions and crawl under chairs. Make it harder and add a stopwatch.
Make a tunnel using a cardboard box. Attach ribbons of varying lengths, widths and textures to the box and let your little one crawl in and out, feel the ribbons, and play peek-a-boo.
Make art in the bathtub! Paint the walls, paint your body, or tape paper to the walls. Make a real mess and then let the shower wash it all away.
Make popcorn together and use your senses. Look at and touch the smooth kernels. Listen to and smell the kernels popping. Touch and taste the final treat. Yum.
Make playdough or cloud dough together. Let your toddler or preschooler help with mixing and the measuring cups.
EXPLORE
Explore a touch and feel book together. THEN search together to find those textures inside your house
Get outside! Sit outside--on your front stoop or at the park. What can you see?
Blow dandelion seeds.
Find a place to observe wildlife. Can you find squirrels, ducks, deer, or songbirds? As you point to different animals, try to make the animal's sound.
Splash in puddles after it rains or in the bathtub. Drop toys from different heights to see how big or small they splash.
Visit a museum using your library card to check out a pass!
Explore fine motor skills by using tools. Wooden mallets and golf tees make great hammers and nails. Have fun and build coordination.
Build memory and problem solving skills by sorting objects. Sort by color. Sort by size. Sort the shoes from the blocks! Muffin tins and egg cartons work great for sorting.
Explore curiosity and water. Fill a bowl or tray with water and let your kiddo dunk and dip strips of paper or cardboard into the water. Try using magazines or junk mail.