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

T
Y P E O F
A
T T E N T I O N
E
N C O U R A G E D
Focused
M
A T E R I A L S
Deck of cards; if the cards also have beautiful pictures or interesting
patterns on one side, so much the better
D
I R E C T I O N S
Bring out the deck and just show your child the different aspects of the
cards. Name the suits and point out how the written numbers correspond
with the actual amount of objects. “The five of hearts is suppose to have
five hearts on it—let’s count and see if that’s true: 1-2-3-4-5. It is true!”
Offer to sort the cards with him according to suit or color, or put them
in order from ace to king. If he’d like it, give him the box of cards to keep
in a special place and to play with whenever he wants.
V
A R I A T I O N S
⽧ Introduce simple card games, such as War, to help children understand
that some numbers represent larger numbers than others.
⽧ Introduce Go Fish to point out the similarities between colors and
numbers.
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Attention Games
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⽧ If your child doesn’t seem interested in playing a game, just sit yourself
down and play a game of solitaire. There is nothing that spurs a child’s
interest in something more than seeing his grown-up having fun
with it.
W
H A T
’
S
B
E I N G
L
E A R N E D
Children are learning to pay attention to how some things are similar and
some things are different—for example, spades and clubs both being black
but having different shapes.
They are also getting practice in putting things in order from ace to
king and separating the cards according to color or suit.
Incidentally, this is an opportunity to notice how close or how far your
child holds the cards to look at them. If he holds the cards very close or far
away from his eyes, it could be a clue that he needs glasses.
Hand on Top
One of the things we want our little ones to know is that interaction
with others is interesting and that other people are worth their attention.
The interaction doesn’t necessarily have to be big fun to get your child’s
attention; pleasant small moments give the same message. Here is an
example of a small fun moment that you might have experienced in your
younger life.