Your Childā€™s Journey

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  • 2-year-old boy looks through books at the library. Although your toddler isn't able to read on their own yet, there are several pre-literacy skills you can start building on now.

    What Pre-Literacy Skills Can I Start Practicing with My 2-Year-Old?

    Pre-literacy skills are the abilities that children need to develop before they learn to read and write. Although they'll be learning all about reading in school, having plenty of exposure to books and words will create a base from which they can build on when they start kindergarten. By practicing these skills with your 2-year-old, you can lay a strong foundation for their future literacy success.

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  • Three child's stuffed animals lie side by side, neatly tucked in with a blanket. Creating a serene, organized environment for your toddler is helpful for fostering independence.

    Create a Serene & Organized Environment That Will Foster Independence

    Creating a serene and organized environment for your child is one of the most effective ways to foster independence in them. When a child has a clean, structured, and orderly environment, they are more likely to develop good habits, become more responsible, and feel more in control of their surroundings.

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  • 3-year-old girl wears an expression of tearful sadness on her face. Tantrums are normal part of the toddler phase and must be managed properly in order to develop emotional regulation in your child.

    Managing Tantrums in Your 3-Year-Old

    Being a toddler isn't easy! They're learning to navigate a big world with growing independence and feelings of frustration and disappointment are bound to come up. Often, these big feelings can be too much for them to process and tantrumsĀ can occur. But don't worry! At this age, these occasional outbursts are normal. Learning how to properly manage tantrums can make all the difference in this being just a "phase" instead of something they fall back on everytime they don't get their way. Educate yourself on why they happen, have a plan, stay consistent, and in no time your child's blow ups will be a thing of the past.

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  • A mother's hands chops up chocolate as her 4-year-old assists. Doing activities together in the kitchen can be a fun and educational experience.

    10 Fun & Safe Ways to Involve Your 4-Year-Old in the Kitchen

    Involving your 4-year-old in the kitchen can be a fun and educational experience for both of you. It's a great way to teach them about healthy eating and develop their motor skills, creativity, and confidence. Furthermore, it gives them a hands-on education about measuring and following directions. It's essential to ensure that these activities are safe and age-appropriate.

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  • Mother sits her 1-year-old daughter in her lap and reads her a book. Even though your 1-year-old isn't able to read yet, reading to them interactively at this age is hugely beneficial to their future literacy.

    Interactive Reading with Your 1-Year-Old

    Even though it will be a few years before your child can start reading on their own, having your 1-year-old spend time with books is integral to their future literacy. By reading with your child regularly (we recommend daily) you will help them develop pre-literacy skills such as print awareness, phonemic awareness, and print motivation. Furthermore, it's fantastic for parent-child bonding and will help progress language development!

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  • One-year-old girl experiments with cause and effect by pouring sand out of a plastic container.

    Experiment with Cause & Effect with These Simple Activities!

    Your 1-year-old is learning a lot this year, and one of the things they will be solidifying is their understanding of cause and effect. You may notice your little one throwing items from their high chair or dumping out the contents of a box. This is because they're experimenting! Some of your child's seemingly impulsive behaviors are actually them learning about what happens through certain actions.

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  • 4-year-old girl lies on the grass with a huge smile. There are plenty of fun ways to play with rhyming words that will strengthen your child's literacy skills as they start to read.

    5 Simple Rhyming Games to Play with Your Preschooler

    Playing rhyming games with your preschooler is a fantastic way to develop their language and literacy skills. Rhyming games help children learn about sounds and patterns in words, which lays the foundation for reading and writing.

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  • Mother converses in the bed with her 4-year-old son, who is holding a Storypod and Puss in Boots Craftie. Having regular conversations with your 4-year-old is important for their language and social development.

    Conversing with Your 4-Year-Old

    Talking with a 4-year-old is usually a fun experience, but it can also be challenging at times (yes, we're talking run-on sentences and stories with no ending!) As a parent, caregiver, or educator, it's essential to encourage their language development and social skills during these conversations despite these challenges. At this age, your little one will have a vocabulary of about 1000 words and will be able to speak sentences of around 4-5 words. The more conversations you have with your child, the more opportunity they have to strengthen and expand their skills.

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  • A kindergartener's hand holds a crayon while coloring a picture at a desk. As your child starts school, it's important to set up a consistent after-school routine that reinforces the concepts that they're learning in the classroom.

    5 Steps to the Perfect After-School Routine

    Your 5-year-old has likely just started school and is learning all sorts of new things, from their letters to how to sit at a desk for extended periods of time. They may also start getting homework for the first time. As a parent, it's your job to support them in their learning journey and reinforce these concepts at home. A strong after-school routine will help them to not only solidify what they've learned, but will also provide the structure and organization that they will need to be successful students and adults in the future.

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  • 5-year-old boy walks in nature alone, holding up an autumn leaf. By this age, children should be able to perform several self-care skills independently.

    What Self-Care Skills Should My Child Have at 5 Years Old?

    Five is a big year, as many children will be starting school for the first time! With this huge milestone looming close, now may be a good time to reflect on the self-care skills that your child has and work on those that they haven't yet mastered. Kindergarten teachers often refer to a child's ability to do things independently as being a big factor in their success in the classroom. In fact, being able to take care of themselves independently can really have an impact on their self-esteem. Little ones who can dress and groom themselves, know where to find items they need, and can clean up after themselves beam with pride when they show the adults in their lives all they can do!

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  • Wooden blocks lay scattered at a child's feet. Stacking blocks is a simple activity that encourages problem solving skills in young children.

    6 Simple Games That Encourage Problem Solving Skills

    From being able to accomplish goals to overcoming frustrating social interactions, problem solving skills are essential to move through the ups and downs of life. As with most things, consistent and regular practice is necessary to strengthen these skills so that they can be utilized with ease when the situation calls for it. At 3 years of age, children learn a lot from play. When it comes to problem solving, they practice patience, thinking outside the box, and trial and error.

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  • Six-year-old girl and her brother play with a Storypod and Craftie Plane. Singing songs and reciting rhymes is a great way to support vocabulary development in your 6-year-old.

    Vocabulary Explosion! How to Encourage Your 6-Year-Old's Vocabulary Development This Year

    Six is an amazing age for your child's language development. At this stage, your child will speak around 2,600 words and will understand around 22,000! In fact, they'll be able to put together sentences of around 9 words, so their ability to converse and express themselves will be better than ever. Take advantage of this fruitful time by encouraging vocabulary development through consistent and intentional activities!

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