Effective Ways to Teach 4 Year Olds at Home

At the age of 4, you can start preparing your little one with various important skills for school. Teach the ability to share toys, follow rules, and physical skills for independent activities. Don't forget to also practice their language skills so that their communication becomes smoother.

Teaching preschoolers is certainly not easy. You need to have the right strategy so that your little one doesn't get bored and remains enthusiastic about learning. Here are some strategies for teaching your little one that you can apply at home.

Strategies for Teaching 4-Year-Olds at Home
At this age, your little one is usually more active, creative, and has a high curiosity. Take advantage of this moment to design fun learning activities that suit their interests. For example, reading story books, singing songs while learning to count, or role-playing to train their social skills.

Here are some activities that you can do with your little one so that the learning process at home becomes more interesting and fun:

When reading books together, ask your little one questions. This will help them understand the reading, and develop imagination, empathy, and critical thinking skills. Use flip-flop, pop-up, or noisy books, and let your little one choose the title of the book he wants to read.
Sing songs while counting and pointing to objects around the house. This activity is not only fun, but it also introduces the concept of numbers to him.
Hone his motor skills by playing roles, such as changing doll clothes, making sand castles, or making food replicas with play dough.
Invite him to make chains from paper or cut out unused pictures and stick them on his activity book. This will train his fine motor skills and creativity.
When communicating with your little one, try to always be on the same level as him. Wait patiently before asking other questions, and when playing, let him take the lead and choose the type of game he wants to play. This method will help develop his response to the situation around him.

Building Disciplined Learning Habits
At the age of 4, your little one begins to understand rules and can think more complexly. He can also understand what other people are thinking. This is the right time to start building disciplined habits in learning and daily activities.

Moms can start teaching discipline by introducing him to routines. Create a daily schedule for your little one that includes study time, playtime, and rest time. To make him more enthusiastic, reward him if he succeeds in following the agreed schedule.

Design learning according to your little one's interests and potential. For example, if he likes drawing activities, give him more time to draw than other activities. Adjusting learning activities to his interests will help him feel that learning is a fun activity.

Of course, there are times when your little one feels bored or doesn't want to follow the schedule. If this happens, talk to him about the importance of a routine and schedule. Explain that everything you do is to support his growth and development so that in the future he will become an intelligent and superior person. Give him a break to understand his emotions, before offering to make a new schedule together.

Disciplining him in studying is indeed not easy and can drain your energy. Therefore, in addition to scheduling study time for him, you also need to determine rest time for yourself.

Stay Positive in Educating Your Little One

Effectively educating children requires positive thoughts and intentions. Always remember that every effort you make is a form of attention to your little one's growth and development, to create a superior generation. So, don't feel guilty if you need to take a break. Also, make it a habit to evaluate the parenting style that you apply.

Do you doubt the effectiveness of the parenting style that is applied? Come on, find the answer in the following article: "Is the Parenting Style of Parents Effective, Find the Answer Here"

Source:

WebMd. 4-5 Year Olds: Development Milestones. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://www.webmd.com/parenting/4-to-5-year-old-milestones

Noah Webster Educational Foundation. 6 Ways You Can Teach Critical Thinking at Home. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://nwef.org/2022/03/26/6-ways-you-can-teach-critical-thinking-at-home.

Healthy WA. Child Development 4-5 Years. Accessed 26 August 2024. https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Child-development-4-5-years.