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There are so many choices when it comes to books and other media. How will you know what types of books will support the learning and development of your child? How can you teach concepts that will make difficult concepts such as science to small children? Interestingly enough, if content about science is in children’s books, it makes it much simpler for your child to grasp those concepts. Here are a few books that are age appropriate for your child and will stimulate their scientific learning.

Night in the Country will teach your child about the differences between day and night and the expected sounds for each time of the day. You can stimulate the spirit of inquiry in your child by asking them additional questions about other sounds they might hear at night, and things they may observe.

Can You See the Wind is a book that teaches all about the wind. This book will teach your child about what causes the wind, how people use the wind, how it affects people and wind speed. You can pique your child’s interest more by asking questions about how they see the wind used in their lives. Show them a windmill, or wind chimes during a windy day and a still day. Take any opportunity to build upon the knowledge gained in the book and to stimulate them on to deeper learning.

Twilight Comes Twice will teach your child about observable objects in the twilight sky, and all about what twilight is. You can ask your child questions about how twilight is different from day or night. Look at pictures of the moon in the book, and compare them with the night sky.

In conclusion, choose some well-written books for your child to stimulate their learning, growth and development. Take the time to talk with them about the concepts to further develop their brains and critical thinking. Happy Reading!

Sackes, M., Trundle, K. C., & Flevares, L. M. (2009, February 14). Using Children’s Literature to Teach Standard-Based Science Concepts in Early Years. Retrieved December 13, 2019, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-009-0304-5#citeas.

It can be concerning if you see your child’s friend doing more things than your own child. You may ask if your child is developing correctly. You may wonder what you can do to facilitate their developmental progress. How can you tell if your child is learning the things they should at their age?

Luckily for you, we have many assessment tools we could use to monitor these things. Just as your doctor uses screening tools to ensure that your child is healthy and growing correctly, there are ways to screen their development as well.

Your child should have good movement; he should be able to walk the stairs without help, kick a ball, throw a ball overhand. Your child should be developing fine motor skills such as drawing shapes, copying letters, using scissors. Your child should be speaking in sentences containing fiver or six words, telling stories, understanding the concepts of same and different and speaking clearly enough for strangers to understand.

Cognitively, your child should be able to correctly name colors, begin to count and understand numbers, approach problems from a single point of view, recall parts of stories, engage in fantasy play and follow three part commands. Your child should cooperate well with other children, dress and undress independently, be interested in new experiences and begin to find solutions to conflicts.

You should also understand that children develop with different timelines. Just because your child’s playmate has already learned a new skill doesn’t mean your child is behind.  There are some things that you should be concerned about if your child cannot do. These include: inability to throw a ball overhand, inability to jump in place, inability to hold a crayon between thumb and fingers, clinging or crying when you leave him at school or daycare, disinterest in becoming more independent and not engaging in fantasy play.

If you do see some of these deficits, check in with your doctor to see if they can do some additional screening. Your preschool may be able to provide additional insights as well for supportive measures and additional screening tools.

Parents Guide to Developmental Milestones. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2019, from https://childmind.org/guide/developmental-milestones/