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March 17, 2025

How to Help Your Child Transition from Preschool to Primary School

The preschool to primary school transition is a big one. Exciting, yes, but also potentially daunting for parents. You likely have a ton of questions!

Will your child adapt to a more structured environment? Follow the academic curriculum? Thrive with the increased independence and socialisation in a bigger setting?

Don’t worry – you can ensure your child is ready and prepared for it in advance. With our tips, your child can handle the transition to primary school – and possibly even find it a fun experience!

Before anything else: understand the change 

To prepare your child for the step up, you should understand it yourself. Specifically, you should know what’s changing with the K2 to P1 transition.

Primary school has differently structured days compared to preschool. The classroom setting is more formal, and lessons are more regimented. 

Time spent in formal classroom settings in primary school is also longer than in preschool, where children would have a mix of indoor and outdoor activities, as well as multiple sessions of games and free play sessions. Your child will need to sustain focus and attention for longer periods of time after the move up.

P1 also introduces unsupervised free time with recess. You should give your child an idea of what this means, as he/she will have to manage his/her meals and socialisation there.

The same goes for your child’s belongings and schoolwork. Children typically handle these themselves upon entering P1. This will eventually transition into doing their own homework independently and managing preparation for assessments later on in the year!

Tip 1: Build independence and good habits

Your child will navigate the first day of primary school and the new physical environment without you. That’s why you need to work on preparing him/her for it ahead of time. 

Encourage your child to begin doing things on his/her own, to start with. It can be as small as having your child pack his/her own school bag. Here are other ideas that you can try: 

• Have children organise their belongings at home. It’s a great way to practise tidiness while also encouraging independence.
• Teach children how to buy their own food. Bring them to stalls or shops and guide them through the steps in ordering food, paying for it, and collecting their change. This will build their confidence for their first attempts in P1! 
• Ask children to help with clean-up after meals. This is another good way to build the responsibility and independence they’ll need at recess.

Tip 2: Develop your child’s social skills

Socialisation in a bigger setting is a key change for the transition to primary school. You can help your child manage it better by building his/her social skills in advance. 

Start exposing your child to larger-but-curated social groups. Guide him/her in recognising social cues in them and how to interact with others appropriately. 

Schedule playdates with more new friends as well. It’s a good way to take the anxiety out of new meetings or acquaintances. 

The same goes for playdates in new places. You can take the fear out of new environments by exposing your child to more of them early on.

Collaborative activities are options as well. Here at My Little Campus, we provide K2 children in particular with more group activities to build teamwork and collaboration. This shows them how to work together with others towards a shared goal. It also offers various opportunities for our children to strengthen their social skills.

Don’t forget to act as a role model too. Use friendly and polite phrases with others, introduce yourself to people, and ask for others’ permission when appropriate. Showing this to your child will shape his/her own behaviour.

Tip 3: Explain the concept of rules and instructions

Rules and instructions probably aren’t new to your child by this age. At My Little Campus, for example, we introduce the concept of classroom rules in our learning environment to our preschoolers.

However, primary school will give your child more rules than ever. Remembering and following these can be a challenge in itself for some children, but it helps if your child understands what’s expected. Try explaining to him/her how the classroom setting works and what the standard instructions are.

You can also help your child by giving him/her instructions to follow at home. This helps him/her with following guidelines, whether for chores or daily routines. 

For example, you can have your child clean up the play area before going to bed. Or you can ask him/her to help you with setting the table during dinner time. All of this gets a child used to routines and rules.

Tip 4: Build literacy and numeracy

This is going to be a core part of your child’s primary education. That’s why you should build a foundation in literacy and numeracy early – it can make a big difference in your child’s academics!

Some easy ways to do this include encouraging children to read or do word puzzles. For numeracy, there are also numeric games and number-based activities. 

At My Little Campus, we use various academic activities to prepare our children for the Primary 1 curriculum. We even add bilingual literacy to the range of skills we build early on.

Tip 5: Get your child excited about P1

A large part of making the preschool to primary school transition​ successful has to do with your child’s attitude going into it. What does he/she expect?

Luckily, you can shape that. Share positive info or your own good primary school experiences with your child to encourage excitement. Here are some things to talk about:

• How you made friends with classmates
• How you enjoyed playing games with your friends at recess
• Your favourite teachers in primary school
• The fun new subjects you were introduced to
• Entertaining activities and projects you took part in

This is good emotional preparation for your little learner. Your child will start looking forward to primary school as a milestone worth experiencing!

Tip 6: Introduce the new environment in advance

This is another thing worth doing ahead of time to prevent anxiety about the change. Bring your child to the school’s open house! 

This will show your child the actual school environment and grounds. It’s a chance to introduce the different areas like the courtyard and canteen too. 

You can even prep your child for the school commute. Take him/her along for a drive to the school to simulate the drop-off and pick-up. Or you can also plot out the expected school bus route together in advance!

Tip 7: Set consistent routines

One to two months before the start of primary school, give your child a regular routine to get used to. This includes regular bedtime and wake-up times. 

Try setting up a sustainable routine of getting dressed and eating breakfast early. Don’t forget to packing your child’s school bag into the routine too. 

The idea is to help your child acclimate to the coming P1 routine well in advance. It becomes less of a shock or disruption that way. By the time the first day of primary school arrives, it will feel like second nature to him/her.

Let us help you and your child prepare for P1

The transition to primary school is an exciting time for you and your child. The right preschool teachers and curriculum can be of great help to you here. 

If you want a preschool that supports you in the transition, consider My Little Campus. We have programmes that build children’s skills not just academically but also socially.

Enquire with us to learn more about our programmes today. We may have just what your child needs to prepare for primary school effectively.

March 3, 2025

How to Create the Best Morning Routine for Preschoolers

A good preschool daily routine has many benefits for little ones. Research has even found that it’s associated with positive developmental outcomes. 

The daily routine of a student, even a very young one, provides a stable base for his/her activities. It offers a way to set the tone of the day for both you and your child.

If you want to benefit from having a good morning routine, read on. We’ve put together a list of practical tips for creating the best morning routine for local preschoolers.

1. Get started the night before

Interestingly, having an effective morning routine can be supported by preparing your child’s necessities from the night before. For example, pack your child’s school bag and lay out his/her school outfit. Among other things, this advance preparation can make things less hectic in the morning!

And of course, don’t forget to establish a calm bedtime routine as part of this. It can help your child develop good sleeping habits, which leads to waking up fresh and ready for a day of school.

2. Wake up early and at a consistent time

Start your own day early. It will help you avoid rushing and even give you some time to both decompress and organise your thoughts for the day ahead.

The exact time you have to get up depends. You can base it on the total length of your morning routine and commute. And if you want added time for yourself – say so you can enjoy a nice cup of coffee – add a half-hour to the time buffer before you have to leave. 

If you can, try to wake up at the same time during the weekends too. Doing so will condition your body clock and make waking on weekdays easier.

3. Make a morning checklist

A simple checklist is a must! Whether it’s on your phone or your refrigerator, it can help you and your child stay on track every day. 

The checklist is your method of ensuring you complete all tasks before heading out the door. It can be as simple as a list of activities to do before you leave the house. Or it could be a list of items to pack for your child’s preschool day. 

This is especially useful if you have more than 1 child. Usually, each child will be a different age and therefore in a different preschool class or level. 

That means each child will very likely have a different set of items needed for the school day. By making a list for each child, you can avoid missing out on items as you prepare them to head out the door.

Don’t forget about yourself either. Create your own list of tasks that you need to keep in mind or accomplish every morning. 

And if you have a partner or other family member helping with the morning routine, the two of you can use it to split the load and check off tasks so they don’t get done twice.

4. Prepare a simple yet nutritious breakfast

A good breakfast can energise your child for the day ahead. And if it happens to be tasty, it can put all of you in a good mood too!

The nice thing about being here in Singapore is that we have so many great breakfast foods available in the morning. Fishball noodles, whole grain congee, oats, eggs and toast… There’s no end to the yummy options. 

Or if you’re feeling up to it, you can prepare nutritious meals in advance, like yoghurt bowls, multigrain-bread sandwiches or even your own version of a Big Breakfast!

5. Add buffer time for contingencies

If there’s one thing we all know, it’s that few things go exactly to plan when a preschooler is involved. So why not prepare for that too in advance?

When plotting your daily routine, add buffer time in there for safety. It won’t always be necessary but it’s better to have it there than not. And it can be used for independent tasks too, like children dressing themselves or playing with their toys for a bit. 

It’s a great way to avoid delays for the actual stuff that’s time-sensitive. That being said, try to avoid showing your frustration if you do think a delay may happen. 

Instead, try to remind your child of what he/she has to do for the day. That focuses him/her on a goal and helps you move things along without causing feelings of anxiety.

6. Always be positive and encouraging

Continuing from the final point in our previous tip, try to be positive every morning. A good preschool daily routine isn’t one where a dark cloud hangs over people’s heads. It’s one where the mood is bright from the very beginning.

Be positive from the moment you interact with your child in the morning. This can help both you and your child get through tasks with more ease. 

A good idea here is to praise your child for everything he/she does right in the routine. It makes your feel like he/she is achieving something and being recognised for his/her efforts. It also helps most children figure out what they’re supposed to be doing on a daily basis.

And ultimately, it’s a great way to start any child’s day. Wouldn’t you love to start your own day with praise for your efforts? Giving your child that will put him/her in the right mindset for preschool.

Discover a preschool where positive daily routines are the norm

Of course, your child’s daily routine doesn’t end the moment you drop him/her off at preschool. It continues with the preschool you’ve chosen. 

That’s why a preschool with a morning routine that ties into yours can be useful. At My Little Campus, for example, we provide a positive and very warm welcome to our preschoolers every day.

We have consistent drop-off and pick-up routines to create a sense of security for children. It lets the students in our care, especially the youngest ones, settle into their school day more easily.

Our preschoolers’ schedules are also meticulously planned and followed for maximum developmental support. We help children feel comfortable with knowing what to expect daily, from hands-on learning to engaging with others in social experiences. 

If you’d like to learn more about our programmes, enquire now. We’d love to show you how our own schedules are designed to offer the stability little minds need to grow.

January 10, 2025

A guide to the importance of play-based activities for preschoolers

You probably hear this often as a parent: children learn through play. But what does it really mean? 

In the context of early childhood education in Singapore, play is more than fun. It’s among the building blocks of holistic development. At My Little Campus, we’ve also found that it’s among the best ways to support well-rounded growth in children aged 2 to 6.

Today, we’ll show you what play-based learning in Singapore means and what it offers. You may be surprised by its ability to nurture children’s potential as joyful, curious learners!

What is play-based learning? 

Play-based learning is a teaching approach where play is the main medium. That means it’s used both to engage little ones and facilitate their learning. 

A good way to understand it is to compare it to structured learning. That other approach involves following rigid instructions on the rails, usually in a traditional classroom setting. 

Play-based learning diverges from that by allowing children to explore “off the rails”. It even allows them to make new discoveries at their own pace and self-direction. 

This doesn’t mean play-based learning is directionless. Indeed, gentle guidance and supervision are still provided by teachers in it, to help guide children’s curiosity. 

However, it’s typically more engaging and immersive than structured learning. The latter might try to teach numbers through memorisation, for example. Play-based learning would be more likely to do it using numbered blocks that the child uses to build a tower. 

What are the benefits of play-based learning for preschoolers?

Play-based learning has a host of benefits. Here are the most significant ones you may want to know about when it comes to early childhood education in Singapore.

Enhancing cognitive and creative development

Play is a surprisingly good medium for cognitive growth. That’s because certain kinds of play are based entirely on cognitive abilities. 

Puzzles are great play activities for stimulating problem-solving abilities. Role-playing can do the same while building your child’s creativity. 

Children taking on certain types of imaginative play can even build decision-making skills. They also learn the meaning of roles and the concept of narratives.

Even building blocks can be good at teaching a child to grasp the concept of spatial and numeric concepts. A child building structures with toy blocks is learning more than you may think. He/She may be discovering concepts like balance and weight!

Building social and emotional skills

Social play is a particularly useful activity if you want to hone interpersonal skills. When children play collaborative games, they discover things they’ll use even as adults!

Say your child plays a tag-team game, for example. He’s not just having fun: he’s also learning about how teamwork and trust can lead to success or achievement.

Or say your child decides to assemble a LEGO model with friends. He’s now learning how to communicate and cooperate with others to get closer to a shared goal.

Role-playing games are also especially effective here at developing emotional intelligence. They teach children to step outside of themselves and into others’ shoes or roles too. 

The interactions from these games can help a child learn to manage his/her emotions. Among other things, he/she can also start figuring out how to express himself/herself or respond politely to others.

Supporting physical development

A lot of children’s play is physical – and that’s a good thing. It helps develop their motor skills, muscle strength, and coordination. 

It goes beyond conditioning a child’s body through exercise, of course. Some games can also build fine motor skills, such as ones involving arts-and-crafts tools like clay. 

What’s more, the games that build fine motor skills can even build focus at the same time as dexterity. That’s one more skill that can benefit any child far into the future!

Boosting language and communication

Engaging in conversations is a natural part of play. That benefits children too – it expands their vocabularies and communication abilities. 

Role-playing games are obviously very good for this. Other games that support it are storytelling ones and ones requiring coordinated teamwork!

Fostering independence and self-confidence

This is such a rewarding part of play! It essentially gives your child a taste of autonomy in a safe, engaging setting. 

By doing this, you can help your child build more than a momentary independence in entertaining himself/herself. You can also develop his/her confidence as well as his/her resilience. 

That means giving him/her two of the greatest tools for future success. Children who believe in themselves and know they can make mistakes as well as try again can achieve a lot. 

That’s because they believe enough in themselves to be willing to take on challenges even after failing them the first time. This resilience is key in the growth mindset as well as in many parts of life. 

At My Little Campus, this is actually one of the tenets of our teaching. We encourage children to embrace their own growth without fear of failure or censure. 

From what we’ve seen over the years, it leads to faster recovery from setbacks, as well as a deeper sense of accomplishment when they succeed. This carries over into other areas of life and many other challenges besides those in preschool.

Discover play-based learning in the preschool environment

Modern preschools like My Little Campus now integrate play into daily routines. We have activities like tactile exploration and interactive storytelling in our own curricula, for example.

Our dramatic play sessions provide ways for children to discover and explore others’ roles. Meanwhile, our outdoor play sessions strengthen their physical condition and skills. 

And we’ve designed all activities of this type to align with the principles of Singapore’s Early Childhood Development Agency in its learning-through-play guide.

You yourself can play a part in this phase of your child’s learning journey. Encourage your child to explore and play even at home! Engage him/her in play, even, and take part in the adventure. 

You may be astonished at how well this supports your little one’s development. If you’re keen on learning more, reach out to us. We can take you through our own programmes and curriculum to support your child’s growth.

January 6, 2025

Understanding The Learning Styles: Tailoring to Your Child’s Development

Do you know your child’s learning style? 

Understanding this is important if you want to support his/her learning and development. Once you know it, you can customise learning approaches and activities to match it. 

That’s why discovering children’s learning styles is among the top education tips for parents. You can do so much more to help your child learn more effectively after it!

If you want to learn more about this, read on. We’ve used our experience as leaders for education in Singapore to craft the guide below.

The different learning styles for children

1. Visual learners

Visual learning is a style focused on images instead of words. Visual learners are good at observing details, processing messages in graphics, and seeing spatial relationships. 

This makes visual learners fast at picking up lessons that are presented aesthetically. Diagrams and charts are better for them than plain text materials. 

As such, try to present info to your child using such media. For example, use colourful flashcards or storybooks to help him/her grasp and retain lessons faster. 

2. Auditory learners

Auditory learning focuses on sound and speech. Children who learn this way do best when they hear lessons or ideas, or even vocalise those ideas themselves. 

As a result, a lot of these children are more communicative. They use speech to process what they’re learning. This can also make them good listeners as they’re naturally attuned to information presented in sound. 

Try using materials like songs and rhymes or storytelling to encourage learning for such children. Remember too that they can be distracted by other sounds, e.g. noise. 

3. Kinaesthetic learners

Kinaesthetic learning is tactical and all about physical engagement. If your child prefers this style, he/she learns best through direct involvement with a lesson, not passive observation.

This means that kinaesthetic learners can get bored easily in conventional classrooms. They don’t want to sit still and listen to someone talking. They want to move and take part in the lesson!

If your child is a kinaesthetic learner, tap into it by associating info with physical actions. Use techniques like role-playing or art-and-craft projects to encourage learning.

4. Textual (read-and-write) learners

Textual learners prefer the written word. They work off conventional study materials like textbooks and actions like writing essays or notes. 

If you notice that your child excels in lessons or subjects focused on books and reading, your child is a textual learner. Make the most of it by providing him/her opportunities for further discoveries via books. 

You can also encourage his/her growth by offering word games, illuminating storybooks, and similar media.

Tips for identifying your child’s learning style

How can you tell which learning style your child has? 

Begin by trying to identify practical signs and behaviours. For example, what does your child naturally gravitate to for hobbies or entertainment? 

Is he/she more likely to read books in his/her spare time? Or maybe listen to music? Perhaps it could even be playing with something that requires hands-on tactile activity?

That already gives you clues on what learning style your child has. Here are some other ideas for finding it:

• How does your child react to different stimuli? Does he/she focus on visuals in books (visual)? Does he/she understand instructions better when they’re spoken instead of written (auditory)?
• How does your child solve problems? Does he/she draw diagrams when trying to understand or plan things (visual)? Does he/she experiment physically with an item when trying to make it do something (kinaesthetic)?
• What does your child claim to prefer? Ask if he/she prefers to read how to do something rather than being told how to do it (textual instead of auditory). Or ask if he/she remembers info better when he/she sees it instead of reading about it (visual instead of textual).

Remember that it’s possible for a child to have more than one learning style. Many have mixed styles.

For instance, a child can be both auditory and textual in main learning styles. Children who naturally listen in class and take notes are examples of these.

Tailoring preschool learning to a child’s learning style

If you want to tailor your child’s education in Singapore to suit his/her style, communicate with his/her teachers. 

With their help, you can better identify your child’s learning style and proceed from there. You can work together to support your child’s development and preschool progress.

At My Little Campus, we do exactly this with our students’ parents. We also cater to different learning styles through varied teaching methods and daily activities. 

For example, we indulge kinaesthetic learners in roleplaying activities that make them part of the action. This helps them associate ideas with actions for easier processing and recall. 

We also use songs and rhymes for auditory learners. By couching lessons in sounds and speech, we make it easier for them to understand and even repeat for confirmation.

Then we have storybooks, visual aids, and task demonstrations for visual learners. This way, they see the things they can learn. 

Finally, we provide structured introductions to reading and deskwork for the textual learners. This helps them understand new concepts and prepares them for a key part of the next stage of their education, which is primary school.

Get help understanding your child’s learning styles

Ultimately, getting a grasp on learning styles is a key part of every parent’s and teacher’s toolkit. If you’re struggling to find your child’s main learning style, consider letting experts help.

For instance, you can reach out to us and enrol your child in one of our programmes. At My Little Campus, we’re more than equipped to identify and support different children’s learning preferences. 

Contact us now to find out more about our curriculum and methods. We’d love to meet you and your child as well!

November 14, 2024

The importance of building a strong parent-teacher relationship

Child educational support comes from many quarters. The average preschooler doesn’t just get that support from home, for instance. It’s also provided by his/her preschool teachers or caregivers. 

This is why parent-teacher relationships are so important for children’s development. Particularly in the formative years of preschool, a good parent-teacher partnership can work wonders. 

In our country, increasing attention is being paid to such partnerships in early education. Let’s go over the way these can offer better outcomes for children in preschools in Singapore.

Easy and open communication 

Open lines of communication are good for parent-teacher relationships. When the primary caregivers at home and school can collaborate, they can provide better child educational support.

Regularity is the first key here. If you and your child’s teachers have a fixed schedule for updates, you always know what’s going on with your child at preschool and vice versa. 

That being said, don’t limit your interactions to formal meetings or update notes. Don’t be afraid to engage with your child’s teachers by chatting with them at drop-off or pick-up. 

Doing this can facilitate the camaraderie between you and the teacher. This reduces friction and makes working together easier. At the same time, you may glean even more valuable insights into your child’s behaviour and development.

Enhanced contextual insights

Everything happens within a context, even your child’s growth. When you work with your child’s teachers, you get a better understanding of that context. 

For example, you may learn why your child has recently developed an interest in artistic expression. You may see what activities he/she disliked in preschool. You may find whether his/her attention is held better by audio or visual media. 

You can discover things like that by exchanging information with your child’s teacher, who may do the same with you. The result can be active collaboration to put that information to good use. 

For instance, say your child’s teacher says he/she is struggling to tell left from right. Say the teacher also reveals that he/she loves interactive learning experiences. 

Based on that, you may then try playing games or activities with him/her at home that can help with spatial awareness. It’s a great way of using shared information to deliver what your child needs.

Consistent learning environments and practices

Children don’t do too well when they’re given conflicting instructions or input. You can’t blame them – even adults don’t do well in such situations!

That’s why establishing consistency in your learning practices and environments is useful. It avoids confusion for the child and also helps him/her feel secure about expectations or goals.

This is where communicating with your child’s teachers for preschool in Singapore helps. If you can share your approaches to common activities with each other, you can establish consistency between your home and the preschool.

Enhanced emotional development 

A good parent-teacher relationship is also a good behaviour model for little ones. Remember, they tend to imitate what they see! So, why not give them a model they can happily emulate?

If your child observes you communicating politely and amiably with his/her teacher, that’s already a model for learning. He/She can pick up essential skills there, especially in terms of communication and socialisation. 

These are skills that your child will benefit from even when he/she is grown up. Emotional development is a critical part of growth in our society, so the sooner you support it, the better!

Conflict resolution modelling

This relates to the previous benefit. One thing we can’t evade is occasional conflict when interacting with others. Even the dearest friends don’t always agree on the same things, so the same is true of parents and teachers. 

When that happens, treat it as a useful opportunity to teach your child yet another new skill, which is conflict resolution. Again, this is a skill that he/she is likely to use even after he/she is no longer a child. In fact, one might say a great deal of adulthood is about resolving conflict!

So, early development of this ability can be a gift. To contribute to that, try showing your child that your interactions with his/her teachers are open enough to allow you to discuss concerns. At the same time, show that you can air those concerns in a non-confrontational way.

Proactive issue resolution

If your child has an issue in school, a strong parent-teacher relationship can help again. That’s because the issue is more likely to be addressed earlier, before it worsens. 

There are so many issues that can crop up too in these early days. From behavioural problems to academic struggles, both parents and teachers will run into their fair share.

But when they notice, discuss, and move to address them early on, they prevent those issues from snowballing. This gives children the prompt and directed attention they need in such situations.

Build supportive parent-teacher relationships with us at MLC

In sum, strong parent-teacher relationships are essential for your child’s development. They enhance child educational support, strengthen understanding of his/her needs, and facilitate collaborative caregiving. 

If you want to work with teachers who invest time in building such relationships with parents and students in this way, reach out to us! At My Little Campus, we believe in the long-term benefits of such positive collaborations. Talk to us today to learn more.

October 14, 2024

10 Games and activities to boost preschoolers’ vocabulary

Your child’s early years are vital for language development. At the ages of 2 to 4, children pick up new words and phrases naturally. In this way, they build the foundations of their communication skills.

But did you know that you can stimulate and even enhance that process at this stage? There are a lot of language development activities that can contribute to your little one’s growth. 

Early language learning for kids can be beneficial in so many ways. A rich vocabulary builds the blocks for reading comprehension. It enhances self-expression as well as the ability to digest complex concepts. 

These are skills they can use well into the future! That’s why making the most of this golden window of language learning is crucial. At 2 to 4 years, children’s brains are incredibly receptive to new information, so it’s the perfect time to do things like vocab building for children.

Here are some activities that can help you do that with your child.

1. Indulging in interactive storytime

Suitable for ages 2-4

Diving into the world of stories through books introduces children to many new words. Try to pick stories with rich vocabularies and engaging illustrations. 

Encourage your child to act out emotion or action words as you read, perhaps by doing it yourself. This is a multi-sensory approach that will help your child remember and grasp new words more quickly.

2. Matching words and pictures

Suitable for ages 2-3

Make some paired flashcards, one with clear pictures and another with the matching words for those pictures. You can also buy these if you like.

Spread out the picture cards and have your child match the word cards with the picture cards. This is a great way to use visuals to reinforce word acquisition.

3. Doing creative arts and crafts

Suitable for ages 3-4

Try different arts and crafts projects with your little one. As you do so, you’ll find yourself introducing new materials and their names to him/her, e.g. “glue”, “crayon”, “paper”, and more.

This is a hands-on approach that not only stimulates vocab learning for children but also lets them have fun and be creative. Make the most of it by encouraging your child to let his/her creativity loose during the projects!

4. Dressing up and role-playing

Suitable for ages 2-4

Set up scenarios where you and your child can do pretend play, e.g. a role-play session about ordering food at a restaurant or seeing the doctor. 

This is a very good way for you to help your child build context-specific vocabulary. A trip to a restaurant would help him/her learn words like “waiter”, “order”, and “menu”, for example. It also lets you start showing him/her how to act in such situations.

5. Drawing in pictionary

Suitable for ages 3-4

This is a classic game that you can easily play with your child. Simply take turns drawing simple objects and ask the other person to guess what the object is. 

The best way to play this is to focus on words that your child has recently learned. This helps him/her remember those words and also strengthens his/her abilities when it comes to visual communication.

6. Playing “I spy” together

Suitable for ages 2-4

Here’s another classic game that parents and children can play together to support language learning for kids. The way to play it is to use descriptive clues that focus on colours, shapes, sizes, and other descriptive attributes.

As an example, you can start off the game of clues by saying, “I spy something round and red” if you’re talking about an apple on the table. This can help your child start learning about the relationship between words and what they represent, e.g. descriptions.

7. Shopping for groceries

Suitable for ages 3-4

This isn’t just about taking your child with you when you go to the supermarket, mind you. Involve him/her from the moment you start making a shopping list, so that he/she can also see the words being written down!

This real-world activity will introduce your child to a slew of new words related to items he/she can easily find around the home, helping with his/her recollection of them. At the same time, it will help him/her learn about the realities of chores, food, packaging, and shopping.

8. Singing and dancing

Suitable for ages 2-4

This is extremely effective as vocabulary building for children because most of them just love music! The trick here is to choose songs that you can easily pair with dances corresponding to the lyrics.

This gives you an engaging, wonderfully immersive approach to helping children associate words with actions. This can even help them recall the words they’re learning about, as they can link them to gestures they’ve performed.

9. Participating in nature walks and scavenger hunts

Suitable for ages 3-4

These are particularly good for children who love adventure and the great outdoors! Just take your child on a nature walk or scavenger hunt for little treasures in a safe area. 

This will be sure to stimulate your child’s senses while also introducing him/her to many new words and objects: leaves, flowers, bushes, insects, etc. Interact with your child throughout the experience so that you can help him/her describe what he/she is finding as you go.

10. Sorting and categorising games

Suitable for ages 2-4

You can do this by using everyday objects or picture cards. Just invite your child to sort them based on various categories, based on which words you want to focus on at the time: colours, shapes, etc.

As you sort the objects with your child, tell him/her about new words for each category. This is another of the activities you can use to help children understand the meanings of words and how they help us distinguish objects from others.

Let us further boost your preschooler’s vocabulary

The fun and engaging activities we listed above should do a lot to support your child’s language learning. The key is to make these language development activities enjoyable ones. 

That helps your child look forward to them and encourages retention of learning. At the same time, it enriches the time you spend with your little one.

Of course, consistency is key when it comes to learning – that’s where we can help. At My Little Campus, we can provide the child care and preschool experience children need to properly sustain their growth.

Our comprehensive and academically focused programmes are designed to support a child’s language development, among other things. Enquire now to learn more about them and how we can help your child develop key skills early on.