I thought I would share with you ways you can teach your preschooler or toddler using items in your kitchen. When Charlie was little we lived in a tiny apartment and to keep Charlie entertained we would make up games where I was able to teach Charlie. The first thing I wanted to teach Charlie was to count.
Charlie and I would pull all of our pans out of the kitchen cabinet and we would sit in the middle of the kitchen floor . I let Charlie know we would be playing a game I called Hide the Pan/ Pans and each of us would take turns hiding a pan or pans and then we would count how many items were left.
Once Charlie would get tired of playing hide the pan/ pans we would discuss what colors we had and then we would get out the art supplies and see who could draw the best pan. I would also sit out different can goods, glasses and boxes and we would count them and match shapes. Charlie would tell me the letters he knew on the cans.
I would pick out one letter a week to work on. I would ask Charlie to go through the kitchen and look for items that had that letter on it. As I would take flash cards out and write that letter on the cards for Charlie to find. Once he found all the flash cards he would hide them from me and I would find them.
On other days I would take flashcards and I would draw shapes on them then I would color the shapes and ask Charlie to find the shapes or items that were the color of the flash cards I had hidden around the house. Sometimes we would turn on music and dance around the house to find the items as this helped Charlie get up and move.
I always held Scavenger Hunts for Charlie where I would hide a book we would be reading that day. Which made reading time more exciting and would help Charlie wear off some excess energy before we would sit down to read the book I would ask Charlie questions so I knew if he was paying attention.
Supplies you can use:
Alphabet Flash Cards (Brighter Child Flash Cards)
Colors and Shapes Flash Cards ( Brighter Child Flash Cards)
AmazonBasics Heavy Weight Ruled Index Cards, White, 3×5- Inch, 100-Count
Crayola Large Crayons Tuck Box – 8 Count – 2 Packs
Counting 1 to 10 (Rookie Toddler)
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
These are really great activities! My brother loved pots and pans when he was little and could play with them for hours. We could have engaged him much better had we thought of it at the time. I love the scavenger hunt idea too! That really is a great way to help tire a child out!
It’s amazing how much we can teach our children in the kitchen – and you’ve shared some lovely, innovative ideas! Thank you so much for sharing with us at the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Pinning and sharing.
Awesome ideas! I’m going to try some of the flash cards!
Visiting from #FreshMarketFriday