Support your child’s preschool curriculum at home | Easy ways

Children in preschool learn basic counting, vocabulary, alphabet, shapes, and colors. Even though these concepts might seem quite simple to parents, they are the “pre-skills” that set preschoolers off on a journey toward achieving academic success.

Children in preschool may only seem to be singing, dancing, and having fun, but in reality, preschoolers learn the most through fun and games. The preschool curriculum also helps children develop social, emotional, physical, and intellectual skills.

So, let’s focus on how parents can support their child’s preschool curriculum at home through a few fun preschool activities.

How to enhance the preschool curriculum for 3–5-year-olds at home

Letters and sounds

Children in preschool learn the 26 letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. They can identify letters and can associate sounds with each of these letters. They also learn to write letters and about CVC (consonant–vowel–consonant) words.

Also read: How to teach long and short vowel sounds to a kindergartner

How to support your preschooler at home:

Singing and tuning to nursery rhymes like the ABC song may help reinforce letter–sound associations like, “A is for apple, a a apple…” You can practice learning the alphabet with tons of activities like ABC fridge magnets, identifying an object’s first letter, or reading aloud the letters of words while on a grocery shopping errand. Practicing their ABCs can help reinforce and recall taught concepts.

Number identification and counting

Preschoolers will learn numerals from 0–9. They will be able to identify and name them. They’ll also count these numbers while counting objects in front of them. 

Also read: How to help your child build their numeracy skills for a future in STEM

How to support your preschooler at home:

Concepts taught through songs and fun games can help your child memorize them better. Just like teaching the alphabet, numbers can be taught through nursery rhymes like “Ten in the bed” or “Five little speckled frogs.” You can also carry out activities such as asking your child to count the number of fingers they have, counting the number of stairs, and so on.

Colors and shapes

The preschool curriculum for 3–5-year-olds teaches children the names of basic and primary colors, and different shapes.

Also read: 5 fun ways to teach your child about colors

How to support your preschooler at home:

You can start by asking your child to identify different colors around the house, “where is your red car?” or “can you bring me two blue balls?” These types of questions can reinforce the concept of colors and, at times, numbers and shapes too. Ask your child to identify simple shapes like squares, triangles, circles, and rectangles around the house. Ask them questions like, “what is the clock’s shape?” or “is the picture frame a square or a rectangle.”

Social–emotional learning 

Social–emotional learning takes place when preschoolers start interacting with other children in their classroom, share lunch boxes during the break, or take turns playing with a toy.

Also read: Voice out feelings! Help build your 3-6 year old’s emotional vocabulary

How to support your preschooler at home:

Communicate with your child about sharing and waiting for their turn. Arrange playdates with other children and supervise them. If your child has siblings, teach them to share. You can also teach your child to clean up after themselves, like picking up the toys after they’re done and putting all the crayons back into their boxes. Let your child take responsibility for simple chores, but remember to model similar behavior first.

Remember, the above activities for preschoolers should be treated as “add-ons” for parents to support their child’s preschool curriculum at home. In no way it is a suggestion to solely depend on these activities to cover the preschool curriculum.

Keep in mind that your child is still quite young, and these concepts may not come easily to them. So, practice daily with everyday objects to reinforce concepts like letters, their sounds, numbers, counting, colors, and shapes.

At byjuslearning.com, we provide curriculum-aligned, grade-level learning experiences for kids between ages 4 to 8, helping them build on skills they learn in school.