Everyday Activities to Share with Your Preschooler

Read together every day; let your Preschooler hold the book and turn pages As you read, ask questions that don’t have a yes or no answer Go to the library for Storytime and let your child pick out some books to take home Read favorite books over and over Take turns pointing out the first word on a page or line of a familiar book Have your child dictate an e-mail or letter and send or mail it Write down a story your child tells to you and display it on the refrigerator Keep paper, crayons, and markers available Help your child tell a story using props and dramatic voices Play word games together “I See Something” “I see something that starts with the same sound as (child’s name). Can you find it?” “Same Sounds” Make up silly sentences with words that begin with the same sound. “Jack and Jill jumped and jiggled with Joe.” “Fill in the Rhyme” “I know a cat that sat on a ______ and wore a ______ and chased a____.” Match magnetic letters with those in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom or other alphabet books Name the many things you see at a playground or the grocery store Read cereal boxes, menus, and street signs as you go through your day Talk about events of the day during bath time Make a snack together and talk about how to do it Play pretend games together where your child becomes a doctor, truck driver, or librarian Make up new verses of familiar songs and rhymes like “Old MacDonald” or “Down by the Bay” Set up a library shelf in your child’s room

Illustration from WHOSE SHOES? by Anna Grossnickle Hines. Illustration copyright ©2001 by LeUyen Pham.
Used by permission of Harcourt, Inc.