Tips for Working Parents to Improve Child's Learning in Daily Activities

Schools often rely on parents to reinforce what children are learning in the home. If you're a working parent it is pretty hard to find the time to do that. What time you do have with your child is spent getting ready for school, running errands or getting dinner ready. But there are opportunities to teach your children and improve their learning skills even in the few moments you do have with your children. Here are a few tips on how to incorporate learning into your daily activities.

While Getting Ready in the Morning: Your child can learn about the weather first thing in the morning. Have your child step outside to see what the weather is like. Is it raining, sunny, foggy? Have him guess what he thinks the temperature will be for the day. Turn on the weather channel or the local news to help him learn what the weather will be for the day. Have your child see if his guess was close to the weatherman's forecast. Based on the forecast, have your child decide how he should dress for the day. Does he need an umbrella, a sweater, or a hat?

Running Errands: Running errands in the car is a perfect opportunity to teach your child about nature, traffic and automobiles.

-Clouds-

Teach your children the different kinds of clouds and how to identify them.

Cirrus clouds look like long, thin, wispy streamers. Cirrus clouds are usually white and predict fair weather.

Stratus clouds are low layered clouds that stretch out across the sky like a blanket. They can be smooth, or have a bumpy look underneath.

Cumulus clouds are white or light gray clouds that look like floating cotton balls. Sometimes they look like cauliflower heads and that means rain showers may occur.

Cumulonimbus clouds are the most common kind of cumulus clouds that may extend upwards for hundreds of meters in fantastic looking formations. These are the clouds that produce heavy thunderstorms in the summer.

-Traffic Signs-

Teach your child about the different kinds of traffic signs and what they mean. For example, a yellow sign means a warning of some kind; a rectangular white sign is a regulation sign that gives information about speed limits, parking restrictions, or other instructions. Have him identify marker and highway signs so he can learn where he is going and how to get there.

-Car Mechanics-

If you're knowledgeable about mechanics, you can teach him how a car operates, what the different gears are, and how to drive in different kinds of weather.

-Identifying Car Models-

A fun game to play is to see if you can correctly guess the make and model of oncoming cars. When the car passes by you can see if you were right or not. This can improve his learning and memory skills.

While Eating Dinner: While preparing and eating dinner, you can teach your children the nutritional value of the different kinds of foods they eat and what each nutrient does for the body.

Cottage cheese, yogurt, spinach, are good sources of calcium. Calcium is need for strong bones and muscles. Beef is a good source of protein, iron and zinc. Chicken is a good source of the vitamin B, (niacin) and selenium. Niacin and selenium are good for the body because they help prevent cancer.

Vitamin C is important because it boosts the immune system and helps prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. We all know oranges, lemons and lines are good sources of vitamin C, but did you know you can get vitamin c from banana, strawberries and tomatoes? Broccoli, carrots and potatoes are also excellent sources of vitamin C.

Vitamin A helps promote good eyesight, bone growth and tooth development. It also helps keep our skin and hair healthy. Peaches, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes are excellent sources of vitamin A.

During Bath Time: Bath time is a great opportunity to learn the different parts of the body.

Play a game where you tell your child to wash different parts of his body and see if he gets it right.

Most working parents are only able to spend a few minutes in the morning and a couple of hours at night with their children. Make the most of that time together by teaching them about themselves and the world around them.