During the holiday season, East Cobb News contributor Tamar Levy has offered up some of her ideas for shopping small to support local businesses and family-oriented activities at home and out in the community.
In her final installment, she’s got some ideas to help parents as the holiday season turns into a new year. As the mother of two small children herself, she writes from experience as she engages them in early learning activities.
As we close out 2022 and look ahead to 2023, East Cobb News will be adding more freelancers to help us cover more of the news you’ve come to expect from our community’s only all-online news and business promotion outlet.
By Tamar Levy
As we approach 2023, parents begin to reflect on the past year and start to make goals for the upcoming year for their families. Maybe that’s to go on a family vacation, spend more quality time together, or even start to think about how they can support their child’s learning at home.
If you’re a parent and you’re thinking about the latter, I am here to give you some ideas. As a former teacher and reading specialist and a mom of two, I believe there are always ways (even small!) to support your child’s learning at home.
- If you don’t have a library card already, now is the time to get one. The East Cobb Library has a wonderful children’s section and is the perfect place for your family to discover new titles. It is a way to encourage independent reading and to spark new interest for books at home. They also offer various story times and activities for your family to enjoy.
- Connect your child’s interest with learning at home. For example, does your child like the TV show, Paw Patrol? Use your Paw Patrol toys at home to practice the beginning sounds of letters. Or hide the toys around the house and encourage your child to count them as he or she finds them. Learning and play can go hand in hand, and you can use what you have in your home to support that.
- When purchasing alphabet materials, make sure they practice the letter sounds and not just the letters. There are several puzzles that have pictures of the letter sounds when matching the letters. These are a great fit for a child learning or practicing letter sounds.
- Place books everywhere. Reading isn’t just for bedtime. It can be for the car ride to school, the bathroom, getting cozy on the couch, or you can even create a reading corner for your child at home.
- Use educational experts as a resource. Ask your child’s teacher how you can support your child’s learning at home. There are also several experts online that share activity ideas to support your child’s development as well.
If you have Instagram, my own platform can support your family daily. Check out @that_peachmommy for more ways to support your young learner at home. Navigating parenthood is challenging and I am here to help you with that.
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