The strategies are:
- Maximize love, manage stress. Kids pick up on stress, which means moms and dads have to take care of themselves, too. It’s also not possible to over-love or be too affectionate with young children. Research shows feeling safe can have a lasting influence on development.
- Talk and show. When you point at something, that helps the young ones to start to associate words with objects. Some children will point before they can even talk. Talk about what you see and even develop a story to go along or a song.
- Count, group and compare. This one is about numeracy. Kids love numbers and counting, and there’s research to show they’re actually born with math ability. This is the first step in children understanding the basic concepts around data. Parents or caregivers can introduce their children to math vocabulary by using sentences that compare things: “Oh, look! A giraffe is tall, but a monkey is short” or “There are two oranges, but only three apples.” How many apples do we have in our cart? Can you add them up and find the average, min, max?
- Explore through movement and play. “The idea is to have parents be aware that their children are learning when they play,” Using imagination is the core of innovation. WHen we imagine we can create.
Read and discuss stories. It’s never too early to start reading aloud — even with babies. Hearing words increases vocabulary, and relating objects to sounds starts to create connections in the brain. The Basics also put a big emphasis on discussing stories: If there’s a cat in the story and a cat in your home, point that out. That’s a piece lots of parents miss when just reading aloud. In addition, parents can have their children draw significant elements from the book to practice their writing skills. This would include, drawing a picture of the cat that is in the story.