Children are fast learners. But how can you teach them as many things as you would like to? You have the time, you have the will, but you can’t keep them focused for more than few minutes.

You probably already know that 2 years old kids stay focused for only 6 minutes, 3 years old kids – for 9 minutes, 4 years old kids – for 12 minutes and so on. Multiply your child’s age by three and you will get the number of minutes for your “learning pill”. And that’s only the first step! Because you have to find the best way to get their full attention for that few minutes. Here are some tips & tricks:

Make the “learning activity” look like playing

 They are still learning.  But playing allows them to make meaning of what they’re doing and the world around them. Let’s think of few popular games:

  • use water. We can use a water table, a bowl or a natural puddle. Make paper boats together. Children love playing with water and this can improve their fine motor skills.
  • play card games. Simple games help them develop the ability to identify numbers and symbols, learn to take turns, and understand the role of rules.
  • building and crafting. It’s and easy and creative way to learn shapes and colors, but also develop  math skills, visual ability, and team work, if there is more than one child involved in playing.
  • create a tickle trunk. Pretending to be an animal, adult or imaginary character is a common, and loved, game for kids. This helps foster their social development, especially in scenarios like “playing house.”
  • set up an obstacle course. Kids get much needed physical exercise while having fun with their friends. As a bonus, they’ll fine-tune their motor control skills, balance, coordination, and learn to follow directions.

Keep in mind your learning goal. For example if you want to teach your preschooler  numbers, keep counting the paper boats, the cards, the pieces of the Lego building, the characters in the story or the obstacles you put on the way. If you would choose the colors lessons, make sure the objects are colored. And so on.

Avoid over structured playtime. Let your child lead the game. Be flexible and adjust to their interests. Unstructured playtime is vital to the cognitive and social development of children, and ultimately, it lets kids just be kids.

Hands-on

This is a time when kids are developing both their fine and gross motor skills, so anytime an activity can be hands on, the more opportunity kids have to develop these skills. Using manipulatives (things kids can hold in their hands) are great for preschool activities, too.

Manipulatives are learning tools that can do just that – they can grab attention and keep a preschooler engaged. Learning through manipulative play requires that a child use objects to build, weigh, move, order, turn, or arrange to fit. A child learns how it feels to have control of objects that can be touched and moved and are inspired to build, sort, and count for a variety of activities. Manipulative learning can be done independently, with guided practice, or in collaborative groups.

For example, math manipulatives are a great way to make math fun and engaging! Manipulatives connect abstract concepts to real-world objects. Children learn to count, add or subtract, sort, and measure at this age. They start to:

  • count objects or sets of objects
  • count from 1 to 10
  • identify the shapes of written numerals
  • understand concepts like quantity – they learn what more or less means, and how they can increase or decrease quantities.

In exploring learning activities with manipulatives, preschoolers utilize many skill sets. They practice decision-making as they think about which tools to use and distinguish between weight, height, length, shape, and size of objects as they sort.

Make the first steps towards abstract thinking

Encourage your child’s abstract thinking by trying to find alternative ways of doing things. For example, when you build a tower using different shapes. Ask your kid if there is another way of building it using the same shapes in another order. Always ask and answer the “how” and “why” questions. And make use of analogies. If you can think of a similar situation you went through together, don’t forget to mention it and discuss it in details.

The psychologist Jean Piaget believed that children are not like “little adults” who may know less, that children just think and speak differently. By thinking that children have great cognitive abilities, Piaget came up with four different cognitive development stages:

  • sensorimotor – from birth to 18-24 months old – defined by object permanence,
  • preoperational – 2-7 years old – symbolic thought,
  • concrete operational – 7-11 years old – operational thought,
  • and formal operational – adolescence to adulthood – abstract concepts.

Young children begin to develop abstract thinking skills through their pretend play. In the kindergarten years, children’s ability to pretend is taken to a high level of abstraction. They imaginatively use a simple object to represent something, and try on a variety of symbolic roles.

Make sure your kids meets other kids their age

Be there for your child, but when it comes to giving kids an environment that helps them “learn how to learn,” a well-designed preschool system tops the list. Whether it’s in the classroom or during playtime, kids will teach each other social skills and give each other a variety of language input that can really make a difference. Keep your child connected to other children, even these times. Outdoor classes or online group activities may be some great options.