Your Child’s Journey

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  • Two-year-old girl talks excitedly with her older siblings while playing with the Storypod Tali Tucan Craftie. Communicating verbally with family is one of the best ways to encourage language development in your 2-year-old.

    How to Encourage Language Development in Your 2 Year Old

    It's an exciting time for your child and their language development! At 2-years-old, your child will have a vocabulary of around 50 words and will be able to string together sentences of a couple of words. Furthermore, they'll be able to understand much of what is being said around then and can follow simple, two-part commands. Their language abilities are developing rapidly and now is an important time to take steps that will encourage healthy growth in this area.

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  • A pair of 3-year-old boys take turns playing with Storypod's Sugar Monster Craftie. Being able to manipulate items in one's hands is an important motor skill that children are still strengthening at this age.

    What Can I Do to Strengthen Motor Skills in My 3-Year-Old?

    Motor skills refer to your child's ability to move and use their bodies to participate in everyday activities. It includes everything from walking to using their hands to hold a crayon and draw. Motor skills are essential for a child’s growth and development, as they enable them to interact with their environment and take care of themselves. These skills grow gradually over time, but there are ways you can help strengthen, practice, and reinforce your 3-year-old’s progressing motor development.

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  • A pair of child's hands trace alphabet letters. Tracing alphabet letters while saying the letter's name and sound is a practice that will help your child solidify this skill if done daily.

    Solidify Your Child's Knowledge of the Alphabet with This Powerful Practice

    Your 5-year-old is likely learning their alphabet this year in school, and though most will take to identifying their letters and letter sounds gradually, some children need a bit of extra practice to really solidify this concept. If you find that your child is having trouble memorizing their letter names and sounds, try mixing tactile, visual, and auditory learning through this powerful, daily practice. Be sure to stay consistent to garner results in no time!

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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 tantrums 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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  • 6-year-old girl sits on a rock outside while reading a book. Motivating your child to read is important for their literacy development.

    Motivate Your Child to Read with These 7 Practices

    We live in an age of ever-present technology and today's parents don't have it easy when it comes to getting their children to engage with books. As difficult as it may be, however, it's important to motivate your child to read as much as they can in order to reap its many benefits. WIth a bit of intentionality and creativity, your child will discover the joys of reading and come to appreciate what books have to offer.

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