"Once upon a time,
there was a big pile of laundry,
The pile was made up of all different colors.
A mommy decided she would play a game.
Red! she said to her child, holding up a red shirt.
Red! the child said. Mommy put it in the colors pile.
Whites went in another pile. White like ice cream!
Green like a frog! And so it went. Colors. whites,
Colors, whites. And on the very last thing-a bib of blue, like the sky-
the child pointed to the colors pile. You should have seen the
smile on the mommy's face."
I came across the above story in my local newspaper. It was an ad advocating a wonderful site: www.bornlearning.org The ad goes on to state "Everyday moments can become learning moments. Because learning starts long before school does. So tell stories. Play with the laundry. And even a chore with your child will become much more." I love this as I remember doing it with my own children. As a kindergarten and preschool teacher, I would often advise on countless progress reports to do laundry sorting activities with your child to help with color recognition, counting, matching, making groups or sets. I would also suggest to let your child help set the table. The one to one matching of placing napkins, plates, and silverware together and counting helps with early math skills. Involving your children in these readily made learning moments does make a difference in jump starting your child's learning, plus it is just fun. Yes, by all means also TELL STORIES and READ! Go to bornlearning.org to find out more. As I look around I see two big baskets overflowing with laundry that is screaming for attention to be sorted and folded...almost makes me wish my kids were young again! Happy Sorting and Learning!
