1.   Early vocabulary is the biggest determinant of later literacy. So it’s important to help develop your child’s vocabulary. And the best way to do this is by talking to your child. But how do you talk to your child? There are 2 words that are not helpful in developing vocabulary: ‘good’ & ‘thing’. That’s good that you want to play outside, that’s good that you put away your toys, that’s good that you held the baby gently, etc. Go and get your things, what kind of thing is that, these things are for the kitchen, etc.

Imagine in the above sentences if you eliminated ‘good’ and ‘thing." I’m glad that you chose to get some fresh air and sunshine, thank you for helping keep the house neat, your sister loves your gentle touch. Go and get your backpack and extra shoes, what kind of tool is that, these containers are for the kitchen.

In fact, try not to say the word ‘good’ or ‘thing’ for a day. See what happens. You will find that you are naming and describing and defining for your child, and using a variety of words he probably has never heard before but are part of his world. You will be expanding his vocabulary by leaps and bounds.


2.   Children love to use the carpenter measuring tape that pulls out and quickly rewinds itself. It is a wonderful tool for learning numbers and measurement, but is also dangerous. Whenever I add the tape to the set of carpenter tools, I always show the children how sharp the edge is, and thus how careful they must be with this tool. Get a pickle and slice it with the edge of the tape. A picture is worth a thousand words.


3.   In our noisy and busy world, it's nice to add a silent and quick way to communicate. Consider sign language. Children love learning this new language and communicating with their hands. Review with your children all the signs that they already know: good by, come here, shhh, stop, and the numbers 1 through 10. Get a sign language dictionary and teach your children basic signs like: water, hunger, kiss, hug, let's go, please, etc. It's fun and stimulates brain growth.

Families are even teaching infants as young as 8 months to sign. Begin teaching food signs: drink, cracker, apple, etc. Each time you give a child that item, say its name, and show the sign. After a few weeks, ask them with the sign if they want an apple or a cracker. It's so helpful when a parent knows what an infant wants.


4.   Summer time is swimming time. And one way to teach your child to swim is with glides. You need two adults in the water about 5 feet apart from each other. Have your child lay on his stomach in the water; arms and legs stretched out - in the typical dead man's float but with the head above water. One adult holds the child at the waist and pushes them so they glide across to the other adult. The momentum of the glide will take the child effortlessly across the water. As the child feels comfortable with this, have the child kick on the glide. As they feel comfortable with this, start increasing the distance of the glide. The child will be swimming at this point. Show them the basic breaststroke for the arm motion, and your child is a swimmer.


5.   Children love canteens. And parents love that children can get their own water when they want to. There's something about carrying your own water supply that is fun and makes you feel independent at the same time. It's easy to make a canteen. For the water vessel, buy any 20-oz. bottle of water that has a pop up reusable cap. For young children, refill only half way up so it's not so heavy. Return water bottles to the freezer with just a 1/2" of water. It takes only a short time for the water to freeze and this becomes the 'ice cube' that keeps the water cool and refreshing. The water bottles can be refilled and reused indefinitely. Regularly wash bottles or rinse with mild bleach & water solution.

Now for the canteen carrier. Cut a 10" x 20" piece of canvas or vinyl tablecloth. Sew a hem at both 10" sides. Sew up the side seams. (Child can do with adult assistance.) Determine the length of strap that will be comfortable for your child. The easiest way to carry a canteen is with the strap around the neck rather than hanging off the shoulder. Sew the strap from one side of the pouch to the other at opposite corners. (Child can do with adult assistance) The strap can be one of Dad's old ties, a fabric belt, or nylon strap that can be bought by the yard at the fabric store With permanent magic markers, your child can now decorate the canteen carrier, which he just made!


6.   We were discussing whose birthday was coming up next, and when we reached July, none of the children had a birthday. They were disappointed that we were not going to have a party that month. Then I realized that the 4th of July is actually America's birthday. It would be an interesting way to consider the event. Instead of small candles on a cake, we have huge candles in the sky (fireworks). And everyone gets together to celebrate. One might even want to sing Happy Birthday to America. And in developing a beginning sense of patriotism for young children, what would be the present one would want to give to America? ...helping keep her clean by picking up litter, keep her beautiful by planting a garden, keep her friendly by smiling and saying hello to people? It would be an interesting and fun discussion with children to consider what their contribution to their country would be.