Cognitive development occurs at a rapid rate during a child’s early years. By the time they are 2 years old, their brains have grown to 75 percent of their adult weight, and by 5 years old, 90 percent. That is why during these early years, they must be given opportunities to be stimulated and challenged through intellectual games. Young children are naturally self-motivated, curious and eager to explore almost everything and to help them we must provide them with concrete materials to manipulate, toys for example, problems to solve and the opportunity to experiment with the environment and encourage them to ask questions.
Children express themselves best when they play:
1. Fun games for children to expand their vocabulary.
Language develops rapidly during the early years, and language is picked up rather than taught. Use puppets, toy phones, or walkie-talkies to encourage children to tell stories or what they have done during the day. You can draw eyes, nose and mouth on each finger and tell a story with your child. An example, it’s Monday and my favorite hobby is painting because they call me the Thumb and I love to dive into the paint to form patterns on the paper. What is your favorite hobby? The child learns a collection of words that help him communicate and this activity is fun and creative.
2. Fun games for children to develop their musical intelligence.
Children have their first experience with music when parents sing them lullabies and dance with them as babies. Music is important during the early years as it helps children bond socially, emotionally, and cognitively with people. Encouraging children to move to music or play musical instruments helps them control their fine motor skills and develops hand-eye coordination. You can play this game which is fun for kids. Play any fast-moving song and ask children to hop like a frog and kick their feet while they jump, move like a train, hoot while going, or wiggle like a worm.
3. Fun games for children to develop their literacy.
The story songs are rhythmic and fun, and they enrich children’s vocabulary through their short and simple texts. Nursery rhymes are an example of story songs and they stay with us as they are passed from one generation to the next. Nursery rhymes have a musical quality that incorporates language rhythm, patterns and rhymes into each verse, which fascinates children to develop their language.
You can also play with your fingers while you sing a story song and there are many story songs you can use like ‘Five Little Ducks’, ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’, ‘I’m a Little Teapot’ and many others. “Five Little Ducks” show five fingers and so on.
Games should be brief and stop when children show signs of restlessness or lack of interest. If you would like more such activities to stimulate your children during these vital early years, you can visit www.gamesforfunkids.com for more such creative activities.
