Choosing a kindergarten readiness learn and play activity for the letter C wasn’t easy. There were so many ideas to use for a play-of-the-day: crafts, creativity, communication, cause and effect, consequences and more. But the obvious one is c for choices.
For young children, making choices is another strategy to practice. Some children tend to choose whatever appears first. Some are so reluctant that the choices are made for them. The best option is somewhere between those two extremes but children need to find this out for themselves and that requires lots of experiences with choosing.
Some opportunities in a day for children to practice making choices might be what to eat first for snack, what to wear, what toys to play with. Even putting a puzzle together involves lots of choices: which piece first, which one next, etc. Results may or may not influence future choices.
Children need to practice making choices when that is appropriate for them. Sometimes, this means the adults need to wait and be patient. That gives time to watch how a child copes with choosing. Is it easy or hard? Does the child choose one thing and then another and another? What seems to influence a child’s choice?
Part of children’s early learning and development, means being able to deal with the challenge of making choices. Some children are comfortable making choices at home, but not at daycare or preschool. Is there a way for your child to practice choosing today?