Giving clues about an item without actually revealing its identity can be a difficult task for a young child. It is a critical thinking skill that takes practice. Learning to tell another person details about an object also helps a child develop their observation skills. The activity described below uses very simple items found in nearly any home with a preschool child, but it provides a wonderful opportunity for your child to build both of these skills.
Start by gathering a bunch of stuffed animals and place them in a pillowcase or dark colored bag. One at a time have your child choose an animal in the bag, but do not have her show you the animal. She must give you clues about the animal without actually saying what it is. She can tell you its color, what it eats, where it lives, how big it is, etc.
You may need to give your child an example by taking a turn first. After your example, you can then choose to alternate turns or simply allow your child to give the clues for the remaining animals. Play as long as she is interested, and congratulate her on her clue-giving skills.
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Written by BRWI Staff on November 17, 2010
Have you ever listened to someone tell a story that is difficult to follow because the timeline is disconnected? Or perhaps you have gotten frustrated while watching a movie where the creators thought it would be neat to have ten flashbacks within a fifteen minute stretch of film? The reason these situations can catch us off guard is because we are accustomed to having stories and events told to
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 26, 2010
It is probably safe to assume that most people played the game “I Spy” is some form or another during their childhood. The version of the game I am most familiar with involves having one person locate an object in the room and then revealing only its color. “I spy something green,” the person would begin. The other players would then take turns asking “yes” o
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Written by Laura on April 29, 2010
Parents of preschoolers are busy people. Our little ones keep us on our toes twenty-four hours a day. So fitting in extra learning activities can be challenging. Here is one you can try at home that is simple, and it teaches three important readiness skills with one activity.
Give your child an opportunity to practice rhyming and categorizing while forming word families. Use clip-art or magazi
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Written by BRWI Staff on April 13, 2010
Word families are groups of words that have the same ending sound. They are typically three or four letter words such as hug, bug, jug, mug, etc. You can help your child gain confidence in reading using simple word families because he will quickly realize he can read a lot of words when he knows the ending sound. Here is a quick activity you can do with your child to create word family flip boo
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Written by Laura on February 28, 2010
When I think back to my elementary school days, I can clearly remember being told to stop daydreaming. I was one of those students whom a teacher made a special point not to sit next to the door or, heaven forbid, the windows. I loved to stare at the clouds using my imagination to create pictures in the sky. Although my timing was not appropriate, encouraging a child to use their imagination ca
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Written by Laura on January 29, 2010
It is fairly safe to say that no two children learn in the same exact way. In other words, you can’t use a “cookie cutter” approach when it comes to teaching children. However, the following activity does just that. But don’t worry…I am talking about literally using a “cookie cutter” approach to teaching critical thinking skills.
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Written by Laura on December 8, 2009
Have you ever gotten to the end of a pile of laundry you are folding and still had a bunch of socks that needed to be sorted? You must then go through the pile matching pairs of socks and putting them together. Although this skill may seem mindless to you, your preschooler may enjoy this simple challenge. The activity also provides your child the opportunity to practice his sorting skills all w
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Written by BRWI Staff on December 2, 2009
Although young children are consistently egocentric, when it comes to describing their own physical features, they may be at a loss for words. Help your preschooler get up close and very personal with her own image by simply handing her a mirror. Ask her questions about what she sees. Have her name her eye color and hair color. Ask her to describe the shape of her nose, lips and ears. Then, m
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Written by BRWI Staff on November 13, 2009
You may be able to think back to your elementary school days and remember organizing lists of words into alphabetical order. The lists would start simple with words that all had a different beginning letter. They would then get more complicated and you would have to look to the second or third letters in a word. Although you certainly wouldn’t give a list that difficult to a preschooler,
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Written by BRWI Staff on August 7, 2009
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