Parents are children’s first and greatest teachers! And, learning how to read begins far before formal instruction from a teacher. Children learn best informally, in their natural environments, having fun and playing. So, what better way to teach your child than by getting down in the floor and playing with them?
The best way to promote literacy has been known for years. It is of course, to read to your children. This section of the website is designed to help parents teach their children through play using Worms Like to Wiggle. The easiest way to do this is to embed learning opportunities through out daily routines. Below, are suggestions on ways to incorporate learning activities related to Worms Like to Wiggle into your families daily schedule. So, what are you waiting for, get reading!

 

Daily Routines:

Bedtime:
According to the Forum on Child and Family Statistics, about 60% of children age 3-5 are read to daily by a family member. While that might seem like a large percentage, there is more work to be done. Reading to children does not just increase reading readiness but math readiness as well. In light of what reading can do for a child in terms of all subject areas, bedtime can be the best time of day. At bedtime, read Worms Like to Wiggle to your child. The best thing you can do with any story is to get the kids involved. Some ways to do this include having them point out the animals, make the sounds that the animals make, have the kids show you how they can wiggle, and have them repeat the rhyming words. Because there is limited text, it is the perfect time to encourage your child to “read” to you. Children love the opportunity to create their own stories and share their imagination with you.

Snack time: Food can provide fun opportunity to work on math concepts. Worms Like to Wiggle targets math concepts through the use of strategically placed and numbered animals. These animals can transfer into great snack time items including gummy worms and gold fish.

-Gummy Worms. Gummy worms can be a great snack and a fun way to explore many mathematical measurement concepts with your child. The terms ‘longer” and “shorter” are introduced in preschool and continue to be developed in kindergarten. The best way to introduce a concept is in a fun way. While eating the gummy worms, you can ask your child questions about how long their worm is and compare it to the size of your gummy worm. Point to and show the “long” one and show the “short” one. Then when they begin to show understanding of the terms “long” and “short”, you can eat bites off the worm and then compare them. This is simply laying the foundation for familiarity with these terms. After having introduced and practiced them, try to aide your child in generalizing the skill. Challenge your child to use “longer” and “shorter” in other ways. For example, if you and your child are playing outside with sidewalk chalk, trace your bodies. Then compare leg and arm length. You can figure out whose arm is longer and whose arm is shorter by using a piece of string (non standard form of measurement).

-Colored Goldfish: Goldfish also make a great snack and are a fun way to introduce patterns and relationships. Once your child has mastered colors, sorting by one attribute is the next step. Have a bowl of goldfish to snack on and one to play with. Take a handful of goldfish to play with and have your child sort them by the attribute color. Prompt them by asking what colors of goldfish they have. Then make that many different piles. Have your child sort all the fish in the play cup while you are snacking!
If your child knows how to rote count, you can practice one-to-one correspondence by counting each goldfish one by one either as you eat them or as they are in their groups sorted by attribute. Or, you could practice patterning. In preschool, children begin to learn how to pattern the ABAB format. So, you could make up a story about the goldfish swimming off into tummy land or a local pool if you wanted. Customize the story to how your child might like it or ask them where the fish should go. Tell your child that the fish need to line up a special way. Start the line in a pattern. For example, say that red needs to go first then blue, then red, then blue. After they begin to get the idea, let them try with another set of colors. Then practice generalizing the skill. At play time, have you child make patterns with cars. They could have the red car, then the blue car and so on.

Bath time:
This is another fun daily routine. Click on “Curriculum Materials”, then click on “Activities”. There is an activity called “Characters”. Print the activity out. Cut out the characters out. Then either contact paper both sides and cut out again or laminate and cut out again. Next, hot glue the characters onto a foam sheet (you can get this from Walmart or any craft store). Put the characters in the bath tub with your child and let the fun begin. Because the backs of the characters are foam, the characters will stick to the side of the tub when just a small bit of water is added to the back. While your kid is playing they can practice naming/ labeling the characters. This activity aids noun development. Your child can also practice the noises that the characters make.

Breakfast/ Dinner Time:
Kids want to be right in the middle of all the action especially when adults are trying to get something done! Dinner time is the perfect example. It seems as though as soon as a parent begins cooking, the children want attention. Therefore, it is very important to have your child actively engaged in an activity One way to do this is to have your child playing with magnets on the refrigerator while you are cooking.
On the “Curriculum Materials” section of the website there is a link to “Activities”. Click the “Activities” link and there will be a list of several activities. Open the “Characters” activity. Print out the activity and cut out the characters. If you have access to a laminator, you may laminate the characters. If not cover both sides with contact paper. Then cut the characters a second time. The final step is to put magnetic tape on the back of the characters. Now you are ready to put them on the refrigerator.
While you cook, you and your child can talk about the different animals. You can work on your child’s verb development by asking what the animals are doing. If your child is younger, you can ask them what each of the characters is and the noise it makes. Leap Frog makes a “Fridge Farm Animal Set” that would be a good extension activity. You simply set it up on your refrigerator. There are 4 animals included (cow, pig, duck, and sheep). When you match up the two correct halves of the animals and put them into the farm, you can push the animal and it will make that animal noise.
If your child is in kindergarten, you can begin introducing initial consonant sounds. Leap Frog also makes a “Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set”. The set includes all the letters of the alphabet. Each letter can be placed into the main piece and then it sings a letter sound song. To begin this activity, think of a fun way to get your kids interested so they don’t feel like they are doing work. One possibility is to tell your child that they are detectives and they are on a letter hunt. You can tell them that all their friends from Worms Like to Wiggle have a major problem. Tell your child that all the farm animals want to write their names but can’t figure out what letter to start with. You can put the characters from the book out on the fridge and have the kids pick the animal they want to help first. Have the “Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set” set up on the refrigerator as well. At first only have the letters needed out (p for pig, g for girl, ect.) It would be best to begin with dog, pig, and worm. Then move on to the more complex words. Chick would be a possibility to leave out because it is a first grade word due to the “ch” blend. As you have the possible letter choices on the refrigerator, have your child place the letter they chose into the main piece of the “Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set”. Then the set will play a recording of the sound the letter makes in a song format. Help your child see if that sound matches the one at the beginning of the character they chose to help.

Parents never have enough time! So, these are just a few suggestions of activities that you and your child could do without having to find extra time. Now there is no need to set aside what many people consider to be teaching time. Simply, embed learning into your daily routines. Remember any time can be teaching time. Consider all time valuable and use any teachable moment you have with your child. Get learning!

Leap Frog products may be purchased at www.leapfrog.com , Walmart, or Target.

Forum on Child and Family Statistics: http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/edu1.asp