Fun Ideas to Help Your Child Learn and Prosper

Is your child struggling to learn and you need some fun ideas to encourage him/her? Here you will find some of my favorites that have always worked. It is important to note that I am not a professional but have used these things with my own children and others and they really have been successful.

Turn things into songs. Just like the alphabet, singing is fun. Make numbers, colors, shapes, etc., into fun songs your child will love to sing again and again. Make the song full of silly rhymes, use hand gestures and facial expressions, and do things that are unexpected like changing the pitch in your voice to really high or low all of a sudden. For example, for numbers, start singing slowly one, two, than say really fast, three, four, five.

Incorporate things into your everyday life. Ask your child how many pieces of fruit they have and count them out, pointing to each one as you count. Ask them what color their favorite toy is while they are playing with it. Tell them what your favorite color is and encourage them to pick one. Ask what color the fruit is at the supermarket. It is important to sound sincere, like these things really interest you. For example, say, "Wow, I just noticed your plate is shaped just like a circle!"

Create colored flashcards with funny pictures on them, instead of the ordinary flashcards you can buy at the store. Instead of "apple" for the letter A, put animal acrobats in fun colors. You do not have to be an artist, just have fun. Encourage your children to draw pictures on them with you while coming up with silly things for each letter.

Help your child learn manners by setting a good example, always use please and thank you. Praise your child when they do. For example, say, "Wow, you asked me so nicely for that, thank you, you're such a big boy/girl, I'm so proud of you." A trick I learned for children who are on the stubborn side and just don't want to say please and thank you is to teach them sign language for these words. This way your child does not necessarily feel that they are saying what you want them to because they are signing it, but you still get a child that has manners. It also helps them to verbally say it without a fight. Your child may sign please and thank you for a few months but then they will most likely starting saying it without a fight.

Brag about your children a little when they can hear you talking with someone. Say something like "Did you know that Timmy sang all his ABC's this morning without any help?" Children love to hear you talking about them in a good way instead of dwelling on the bad things they do. They will be so happy you are telling people; before you know it they will be demonstrating their abilities to others (and practicing at the same time).

Last, is my all time favorite. Its dinner and your child won't eat their vegetables. Instead of enforcing the "its good for you, you will eat it" policy, try turning this into a song as well. For example, you say, "I love peas, they are so silly when they roll on your plate," then break out in song with something like, "I love peas, I love peas, I love peas, hey hey hey hey." You would be surprised at how quick they can disappear after a good silly song. Making your child eat them will just bring about a power struggle; try taking the fun approach. If the song doesn't work, abandoned the "no playing with your food" rule and make faces, trees, or whatever else you can think of out of the vegetables. Then say something like "his nose looks yummy, I think Ill have a bite," and take one. Then encourage your children to eat its ears, mouth, etc. Do not forget to praise your little one when they do take bites.

Just remember to always have fun. Children are always curious and love to be praised and have people be proud of them. They will love to learn and try new things if you make it fun for them. Think on a child's level and how they would enjoy things. Do not worry about looking silly or strange in front of other people, as long as your child is prospering, that is all that matters.