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Children are sponges for learning. This is why you should take advantage of this and engage them in fun, but educational activities. Many of these activities can help your child thrive when they are at early child care centres. Thriving at these centres is a good indication that your child will not only be successful at school, but that they are grasping a lot of the skills necessary for a solid foundation of knowledge.
When children are young, teaching can be difficult. Their attention spans are usually quite limited and, depending on their ages, they are not able to verbally understand or respond. This is why fun activities are so helpful. If your child perceives the activity as fun, he or she is more likely to stay engaged whilst also learning. There are many activities that children can partake in to help them thrive at their early learning centre. Let’s take a look at 5 fun activities that can help your child thrive in their early learning centre.
5 activities to help your child thrive at an early child care centre
- Painting or any other form of artwork - Engaging in arts and crafts can help your child thrive at an early learning centre by developing their problem-solving skills, communicating their feelings and improving their self-confidence. When drawing, painting or sculpting, your child will frequently run into problems such as not finding the right colour or not being able to create what they want. This will prompt them to keep trying until they get the desired result causing them to develop new ways of thinking that can be used in other areas. Art, for many children, is a safe space for communicating how they truly feel. This is important in teaching children to express their feelings, even if it is through art, to other children and adults. Producing a beautiful piece of art can do wonders for a child’s confidence. Ensure you praise your child, this will propel them in many other areas of their early learning centre.
- Swimming - Swimming lessons can actually help your child thrive at their early learning centre, especially if they’re in a transition period. Transitioning into an early learning centre can be difficult for both children and parents. However, if your child is in swimming lessons, continuing this activity can help him or her transition as it can serve as a familiar environment and a ‘safe’ space. Similar to painting, swimming also can help your child build confidence, which will lead to them being more vocal and socially interactive in their early learning centre.
- Gardening - Gardening has a host of benefits for your child which will help them to shine at their early learning centre. Having your child join you while you garden will give them a sense of responsibility as they develop a need to care for plants and vegetables. Additionally, they learn up close and personal about the life cycle of plants and what is required to make them grow. Learning about the science of plants helps them to understand and appreciate nature from a young age, following them through their time at the early learning centre where they will be ahead of their age group both cognitively and attitudinally.
- Cooking - Cooking helps children develop cognitive skills and abilities. With cooking, children learn to follow instructions, solve problems, appreciate produce and enjoy the efforts of their hard work. It is also a great way for them to verbally communicate with adults and ask questions when they are confused. These skills will help children internalise and ask questions in group activity sessions at their early learning centre and later on in classroom sessions at school.
- Singing and dancing - Singing and using music instruments boosts children’s creativity and helps them to develop social skills if done in a group setting. Children also learn how to move their bodies with different muscles, developing spatial awareness. Through song, they also expand their vocabulary and communication skills, eventually developing into improved self-confidence.
All of the benefits associated with the activities above will help your child to transition to their early learning centre more smoothly and help them grasp concepts taught in our programs much faster. At Young Academics, we try our best to ensure that your child develops holistically however, always remember that as parents, you can make their lives brighter at home as well.
While we hope that you find this list helpful for introducing valuable and fun activities into your child’s day, also rest assured knowing that our licensed and professional staff are dedicated to ensuring that your little one learns as much as possible at our centre.
In our programs, we try to implement most of these activities mentioned in this article in order to ensure that your children can benefit from a wide variety of methods.
For more information about our centre, contact us today on 1300 668 993.
