Use the Sunday Newspaper to Teach Your Preschooler

You may not believe that a matching and sorting exercise with a preschool age child would classify as teaching a child early math concepts, but it does. A matching and sorting exercise at home is as easy as opening the Sunday paper.

Let's use the Sunday paper!

Most Sunday newspapers are filled with a few extras, including valuable coupons. Coupons are more than a way to save money. Parents can teach a child lots of things with a few simple coupons.

Children can:

·Sort the coupons by size. This is a great game to play. Pick out three or four coupons of various sizes, and ask the child which is the smallest, which is the largest, etc.

·Sort the coupons by color. Ask the child to look for coupons that have red on them, or blue, yellow, etc.

·Sort the coupons by purpose. (Food, pet, cleaning supplies, etc.) Clip out a: photo of a dog, dog food, a food item for humans, and a photo discount coupon. Lay them out on the table and ask the child which coupon is for dogs.

·Parents can collect pairs of matching coupons to use for a memory game. Just mix up the pairs, flip the coupons over, and take turns trying to find the pairs.

·Play pretend by using the different coupons and/or cut out photos to invent stories. Clip a photo of a person, ask the child what items that person may want, and where does that person go to get what they need using the coupons.

·Play pretend by pretending to shop at home, using coupons for discounts. You can use real money or make some.

A little creativity can go a long way.

And even if you don't have a Sunday newspaper, you can take a sheet of notebook paper and a crayon to make your very own coupons. Learning activities don't always come in a box set of DVD's or an expensive store bought toy, learning is something we do everyday. The opportunities are endless.

The best thing about the Sunday newspaper is that it's available every Sunday, and parents can make the Sunday newspaper a routine. Children learn to look forward to new ways to play and learn all the time. Parents are a child's first teacher, and most important teacher they'll ever have in their life.