At-Home Activities for 4-Year-Olds

Language Activities • At the top of a piece of paper, write the words “My perfect pet would be ______.” Together create a list of animals that could be a pet. Talk about the pros and cons of each pet. Ask your child to think about what he or she would choose as the perfect pet. Encourage your child to fill in the blank on the paper with the name of his or her perfect pet. Invite your child to draw a picture of his or her perfect pet. While your child is drawing, ask him or her to elaborate on why he or she chose that pet, what he or she likes about it, what he or she would do with it, etc. Take dictation or invite your child to write his or her ideas with invented spelling.

• Together write a shopping list that includes items whose names contain a variety of syllables, for example, apples, strawberries, potatoes, chicken, kale, juice, etc. Paste or draw a picture of each item beside the name on the list. Review the name of each of the items on the list. Introduce syllables to your child and demonstrate clapping out a word in order to determine the number of syllables. As you work, together, identify the number of syllables and write the numeral beside the item on the list.

Cognitive Activities • Create a pattern using objects found in the kitchen, such as napkin, cup, napkin, cup. Challenge your child to recognize the pattern. Once your child identifies the pattern, give him or her items, such as napkins, cups, forks and spoons, to create new patterns. Challenge him or her to make simple and complex patterns using more than two types of items. Chant and clap the patterns aloud together. For example, say the pattern aloud, “fork, spoon, napkin, fork, spoon, napkin,” and clap each time you say a word.

• Talk about the purpose of parachutes and the different people that might use them. Give your child a paper napkin, paper towel, tissue paper or a similar sized piece of fabric to make a parachute. Encourage your child to lay the napkin on top of newspaper and decorate it with markers or crayons. Be sure to remind him or her to color lightly and carefully to prevent tearing. Assist your child in tying one string onto each corner of the parachute. Invite him or her to tie an action figure onto the bottom of the parachute strings. Go outside with your child and determine the direction of the wind. Talk about how the parachutes travel through the air according to the direction of the wind. Have your child predict where his or her parachute will land. Find a raised outdoor area, such as a deck. Encourage your child to test his or her prediction by gently releasing the parachute from the raised area. If there is not a raised area nearby, try raising the parachute up high for your child instead. Compare where the parachute landed to the predicted spot. Was it close? Was it further away than expected? What role did the wind play in the experiment?

kiddieacademy.com/our-curriculum At-Home Activities for 4-Year-Olds continued

Creative Arts • Invite your child to play a game of movie charades. Together, create a list of favorite movies. Take turns being the actor and the audience. The actor chooses a movie from the list and pretends to be a main character from the movie. The audience must guess the name of the movie. If your child is interested, play more games of charades using other categories such as animals, community helpers, emotions, etc.

• Search on Internet for online versions of books by Robert McCloskey, such as Blueberries for Sal or Make Way for Ducklings. Talk about the illustrations in the book. What did Robert McCloskey draw pictures of? What colors did he use? Do his illustrations contain lots of details? Invite your child to brainstorm a list of ordinary things in his or her surroundings that he or she may draw. Encourage him or her to notice specific details, such as a checkered tablecloth, a striped shirt, the pattern on the sole of a tennis shoe, etc. Invite your child to use a black pen to draw items and add details. Discuss the lines, shapes and patterns that he or she creates.

Physical Development • Set up a homemade bowling game together. Fill several 2-liter plastic bottles with water and replace the lids. Set up the bottles at one end of an open space in a pyramid shape. Stand at the other end of the open space and take turns tossing a ball toward the bottles. Practice subtraction skills and encourage your child to count back to determine how many pins remain standing. For example, “We started with ten pins. You knocked down four. Let’s count: nine, eight, seven, six. There are six pins remaining.” You may need to have your child count the remaining set of pins to prove that the quantity is the same. • Ask your child how we move. Encourage your child to show you different movements that he or she can make with his or her body. Explain that the song “Movable Me” is all about the different parts of our bodies and how they move. Ask your child to sing a verse or two of the familiar song “B-I-N-G-O” with you in order to establish the tune of the song. • Introduce the lyrics of “Movable Me.” Explain that the first verse is about the knee, the ankle, the heel and the foot. Ask your child to demonstrate how those parts of the body can be moved. Discuss the bones and the muscles that help to move those parts. Sing the first verse and encourage your child to move his or her knees, ankles, heels and feet along with the song. Repeat this process for each of the verses of the song. Sing the complete song again and encourage your child to sing along with you as he or she moves body parts. Movable Me My trunk has parts that Shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand Tune: “B-I-N-G-O” bend and move Shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand Every time I use them. And this is how I move them! My legs have parts that Neck, back, waist, and hips bend and move Neck, back, waist, and hips I’m made of parts that Every time I use them. Neck, back, waist, and hips bend and move Knee, ankle, heel, and foot And this is how I move them! Every time I use them. Knee, ankle, heel, and foot Shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand Knee, ankle, heel, and foot My arms have parts that bend Knee, ankle, heel, and foot And this is how I move them! and move Neck, back, waist, and hips Every time I use them. And this is how I move them! Shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand kiddieacademy.com/our-curriculum At-Home Activities for 4-Year-Olds continued

Character EssentialsSM Monthly Theme: We Are Good Citizens Continue to review the values needed to be a good citizen and build a trusting and supportive environment. These values include the ability to compromise, honesty, fairness, and accountability. Find opportunities for family members to compromise such as in choosing dinner or which movie to watch together. While playing board games together, model and discuss fairness, honesty and following rules. Create individual chores or responsibilities that will foster independence and accountability.

Enjoy the fun at home! Kiddie Academy is proud to be a partner with Kindermusik. The Music and More program is designed specifically for early learners. Parents can reinforce classroom experiences at home through the monthly downloads, monthly eBooks and monthly multimedia activities. Take time with your child to enjoy videos, streaming audio, story time, video fieldtrips and more by visiting the link for the month of April:

http://KiddieAcademyMusic.kindermusik.com/kah/moveandgroove

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