Past, Present, Future
Target Age: Early Three-Year Old
What To Do: Today's activity will help develop your child's concept of time. Discuss the concepts of past, present, and future with your child. Give your child a few examples of things that have happened in the past, (last birthday, last vacation, etc.), and see if your child can come up with some too. Now discuss today's events as things that are happening in the present. Do the same for things that will or may happen in the future. Test your child's understanding of the concept by giving your child an event and asking him/her to categorize it.
Skills Learned: Language Development, Listening, Concept Development, Vocabulary Enrichment

Clapping Rhythms
Target Age: Early Three-Year Old
What To Do: Following directions is an important skill for your child. Ask your child to listen very carefully to what you do. Clap a simple rhythm. Encourage your child to clap the same rhythm. Repeat the rhythm if your child seems unsure of what to do. If your child is successful, make your rhythms more complex. This is a great activity to try when stuck in traffic!
Skills Learned: Rhythm Exploration, Listening

Calculator Fun
Target Age: Middle Three-Year Old
Materials You Will Need: Calculator
What To Do: This fun activity will provide opportunities to practice number recognition. Show your child a calculator and watch your child explore. See if your child can push the buttons for the numbers you recite. See if your child can type the numbers in order from 0-9. See if your child can type a sequence of numbers as you recite. This is a great tool to bring along on road trips, especially if you have a solar powered one. You'll never need to replace the batteries and it doesn't make noise!
Skills Learned: Visual Discrimination, Listening, Counting Concepts

Right and Left Hands
Target Age: Early Four-Year Old
Materials You Will Need: One red and one blue sticker
What To Do: Today's fun activity will help your child understand 'right' and 'left'. Place a red sticker on your child's left hand and a blue sticker on the right hand. Explain to your child that the red sticker is on the left hand, and the blue sticker is on the right hand. Play several games where you ask your child to raise the right hand, snap the fingers of the left hand, or pat his/her tummy with the right hand, etc. You will probably need to do this for several days to reinforce this concept. You can also write an R and L on your child’s corresponding hands with washable markers. Tell your children which direction you are turning when you are driving and ask them which way to turn to get home when you are in a familiar part of your neighborhood.
Skills Learned: Language Development, Body Awareness