B a r b a r a s h e r I l L u s t r a t I o n s b y r a L p h

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Children are learning to focus on the various sounds in their lives and what
distinguishes them from each other.
If you play the variation and your child imitates your sounds, she is also
getting practice in ways of moving her tongue, lips, and jaw to make dis-
tinctive sounds. This oral-motor practice promotes good articulation and
clear speech.
From Beginning to End
The ability to maintain attention from the beginning of a project to the
very end is a necessary skill. You can start helping your child learn the sat-
isfaction of a job completed even when he is very young. Here are a variety
of ways to do this.
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Y P E O F
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Focused
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A T E R I A L S
Poker chips
Yogurt container (or any container with a lid that can be slit)
D
I R E C T I O N S
The idea of this game is to put all the chips into the yogurt container.
Slit a hole in the lid of an clean empty yogurt container. Give your child
a pile of poker chips and show him how to insert them into the slit as
though they were large pennies going inside a piggy bank. Have him con-
tinue adding chips until they are all inside.
Games for 1- to 3-Year-Olds
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A R I A T I O N S
⽧ Clothespins and an egg carton: turn an egg carton upside down and
poke holes into the cups big enough for a clothespin to stand up in.
Give your child twelve clothespins and show him how to put one in
each hole.
⽧ Straws and a water bottle: cut up straws into two or three sections. Poke
a hole in the top of the cap of a plastic water bottle. Show your learner
how to fit each straw piece into the hole of the cap.
⽧ Paper clips and a box: cut a slit in the top of a small box. Have your lit-
tle one insert paper clips into the slit, one at a time.
There are many more possible variations to this theme. All you need is
things that are small to fit into a bigger container.