How your 3-year-old might play now

    • She likes dressing up or pretending she's someone else
    • He loves to move and does not care to be still
    • She's reassured to hear that people love her
    • He begins to compare and contrast himself with others
    • Basic ball play—like catching or kicking a ball—can improve balance and coordination
    • He can throw a ball a short distance and can catch it if it's thrown directly in his arms
    • She starts drawing faces and people
    • He can make balls, sausages and figures out of play dough
    • Her squiggles begin to look like writing
    • He shows sympathy for storybook characters
Learning toys
  • crawlerImg

    Smart Phone

  • crawlerImg

    Smart Tablet

Help your child learn more:

    • Experiment. Help your child try out all the different things a toy does. Notice which activities she seems most comfortable with. Repeating things again and again is a normal part of learning.
    • New and different. Expose your child to a wide range of topics. If she takes an interest in a particular subject, get related books and videos from the library or search the internet for facts about it.
    • Is it round? Give your child's budding reasoning skills a boost with a junior version of "Twenty Questions." Think of a person, place or thing and have him ask you Yes or No questions to discover what it is. "I'm thinking of something we ate for lunch today." ("Is it round? Is it red? Is it crunchy?") Reverse roles so he answers the questions.
    • That’s my name! Show where the letters of her name are on a computer keyboard and let her type them. Print it out and post it on the fridge. In time she'll recognize the individual letters and see how they're grouped to form her name.
    • Let’s play. Find age-appropriate games on children's websites. Using the keyboard can improve your child's fine-motor skills, which he'll use a lot in kindergarten.

I Can Do It!

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Help your child become aware of all the wonderful things she can do! This is a great way to build her self-confidence and self-esteem.

Materiais

  • Magazines with pictures or picture books that show kids doing things

Instructions

  • Look through magazines or picture books together that show kids doing things.
  • Ask your child if she can do the things that are shown.
  • Have her explain how she does them.
  • Let her demonstrate if she likes!
  • If she says she can’t do something, ask her why not.
  • Discuss with her all the things you can and cannot do. Make sure to explain how or why not.

Safety

Make sure to select plenty of pictures of activities your child knows how to do, so she won’t feel like a failure. Don’t pressure her to do things she’s not ready to do.

Learning skills

  • Cognitive/thinking skills
  • Language and vocabulary development
  • Self-esteem/self-confidence
  • Social skills
Your child can learn

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