• Provide toys and objects that have different colors, shapes, and textures, and that respond to the actions of your child, such as rattles, squeeze toys, cloth toys, and soft balls (birth to 18 months).
• Talk with your child about the things you do every day. Explain “why” we do things, such as “Why do we vacuum the floor? To clean up the dirt (18 months to 3 years).”
• Help your child make connections with past learning and events by playing “Do you remember when…?” games and talking about things that have happened in the past (3 to 5 years).
• Invite your child to tell you more. For example, say to your child: “Tell me more about why you said that (5 years to kindergarten entry).”

• Sing songs and read books with numbers and counting (birth to 18 months).
• Use numbers in everyday routines, such as asking your child if he would like one or two more pieces of something (18 months to 3 years).
• Play card or board games together that use counting (3 to 5 years).
• Guess the number of objects in a box, then count them out loud together (5 years to kindergarten entry).

Reading shows a child how wonderful books are and all they can teach him. Also, going for a walk and having a child describe and compare the color, size, and shapes of things you see develops her thinking and observation skills.