Literacy – read simple fairy tales. Talk about which character your child likes most.

Mathematics – together create a number book for number one through five. Have your child help you write a number for each page. Cut out pictures from magazines or have your child draw the appropriate number of objects for each page.

Language development – using a simple story that is well-known to your child, have him/her retell the story to you… what came first, what happened next, what happened at the end of the story.

Learning development – help your child identify the letters in his/her name. Associate the letters with different objects: A is for apple, J is for jellybeans.

Problem solving – collect a variety of household objects such as a vase and flowers, baseball bat and ball, shoe and sock, fork and plate. Mix them up and ask your child to match the objects that go together.

Personal information – on a calendar, help your child mark his/her birthday. Talk about what you might do for a celebration. If you do not celebrate birthdays, select another date for perhaps a family vacation and mark that on a calendar. Talk about plans for that event.

Small muscle development – provide your child with opportunities to play with toys such as Legos, small building blocks, beads to string and playdough.

Large muscle development – Go for a walk in a shopping mall. Count the number of steps it takes to get from one store to the next. Walk sideways, on tip toes, with giant steps.