Early Childhood Tips & Tricks Articles

Mastering scissors develops fine motor skills and improves pencil grip while fostering bilateral coordination and engaging both sides of a child's brain simultaneously. This necessary ingredient will help your child tremendously in completing the academic tasks in class. And it’s good to remember that school isn’t just about internalizing knowledge—it’s also about learning to manipulate and produce things! 

In this article, you'll find exciting and safe scissor activities to help preschoolers develop and reinforce this critical ability.

The start of school is a significant milestone, not just for your child but for you as well. It marks the end of their toddler years and begins a new chapter filled with learning, new friendships, and increased independence. As summer unfolds, now is the perfect time to prepare both your child and yourself for this transition.

Saying “no” isn’t about undermining authority. It’s about teaching children that their feelings are valid and that they have a right to say “stop,” “no,” or “I need space.” Through this, we’re raising emotionally intelligent and resilient children, rather than rebellious ones. Read on to learn about ways to teach your child about setting their personal boundaries.

During their development, children undergo many changes spanning their physical, mental, social and emotional state. It’s a huge undertaking, don’t you think so? Our kids are learning so much about themselves and the world, building their personalities as they interact with their environment. It’s then easy to see that this process of growth is not without its problems—a lot of us may know these as “growing pains”. While the phrase literally refers to the leg pains some children experience while growing up, it applies to other kinds of changes as well. 

Listening to podcasts supports learning in many ways because unlike virtually every other online resource that is visual in nature, podcasts strengthen imagination, listening comprehension and ultimately, language skills. Join us as we discuss our favorite podcasts for kids! 

As humans, one of our most obvious signs of growth is the ability to independently manage ourselves and the environment to achieve our goals. As parents and caregivers too, we become key figures in encouraging this capacity of independence in children and helping them form secure attachments. In this article we'll dive into understanding how children develop independence and how we can foster this process for them so that they learn to manage their emotions and behavior.

As spring is already at the door, you are probably thinking of cheerful and enjoyable ways to spend time with your children. April Fool's Day is an ideal opportunity to arrange some playful pranks with your family.

On this day, you can have an amazing time with your children by enjoying hilarious pranks that are just as fun to plan as they are to carry out.

Don't forget, the secret to a successful April fool's joke is to keep it uncomplicated and ensure nobody gets hurt.

Now, let's explore some playful pranks that will bring laughter and joy to this day!

As soon as kids can play outside, parents teach them to stay away from the street, and when older to look both ways before crossing. These common-sense steps are vital for children to learn the bare basics of road safety, but do not go nearly far enough to keep them safe. When playing outside, they are exposed to a plethora of hazards that vary based on the neighborhood and community. Not only is it important for them to look both ways before crossing a road, but it can be lifesaving to know where appropriate places to cross are located.

Sorting and matching activities serve such an integral role in a child’s early learning that parents, caregivers, and early childhood teachers should offer plenty of fun opportunities of varying complexity as kids grow older. But there’s only so many toys parents can buy. Luckily ideas for sorting and matching games don’t have to be bought; they can be created using items you already have around the house and learning can be reinforced and assessed using free matching and sorting resources from Kids Academy! Join us as we explore exciting options to incorporate more sorting and matching fun into your child’s learning.

In essence, play-based learning serves as a cornerstone in early childhood education, with experts touting its benefits and importance. It is no doubt an essential component of childhood, but as a parent or teacher, you may be wondering about the details of how play can develop your child’s specific academic skills or how to know if the games they play are useful. Join us as we explore answers to the most commonly asked questions about play-based learning to gain deeper insight into this important topic.