How much spare change do you have laying around at home? In jars, on top of the dryer, on the nightstand, maybe in the bathroom…you know you have it. Sometimes, it is not very much. Other times, it’s enough for a Dr. Pepper and vanilla ice cream cone at Sonic during Happy Hour…completely hypothetical! Why not use that spare change at the bottom of your purse to encourage your little one’s language skills? Not we are not talking, toddler age. They are still putting too many foreign objects in their mouths. But your preschooler? Ideal for this activity! Here are some ways to use coins to enrich language!
Tips for Using Coins for Language Skills
Basic Sorting: Early categorizing skills can be reinforced here! Sort quarters and pennies for the easiest task. For a little more challenging task, have him separate nickels and dimes. Use the quarters to teach “big,” and the dimes to teach “little” if you are sorting those.
Coin Value: It’s never too early too teach the value of coins. Consistently reviewing it will only help when it comes time for them to start school. They will be one step ahead in math when this concept comes around!
Basic Comparing: Lay out some change and ask your child to build towers with the coins. Stack all the quarters in one tower. All the nickels in another, and so on. Then, talk about which stack is the tallest, shortest, which are the same. Instead of stacking the coins, your child can line the coins up. Afterwards, talk about which line is longer, shorter, etc. Group coins together and work on concepts like “more,” “most,” “less,” “few,” and “same.”
Presidents: No, your child does not know George or Abe. But they can! Little ones are like sponges. They soak up everything we say! If you don’t believe me, stay something negative about a family member in front of your child. Then, see how many shades of red you turn when sweet little Susie repeats that same comment to the said family member! SPONGES!! Talk about who is on the quarter, nickel, dime and penny. Maybe even find a cute book about one of them on Amazon.
So, I’ve given you my tips on how to coins to encourage your child’s language skills. Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive. Just plain old coins that sit in the console of your car, forgotten.
Need some tips? How about this one?
