• One of the most important things your child can learn to do is to make connections between what she already knows, and new ideas and words that she encounters.
  • Making connections helps a child to “conceptualize, organize, store, and recall words and concepts in ways that are meaningful and effective.
  • Reading together offers some really fun ways to begin to make connections. One of those ways is by having your child get up and move! (Kinesthetic means “to move”!)
  • There are many terrific children’s books with lots of characters moving around! Have your child pretend to creep like a crocodile, climb like a monkey, ride like a cowboy, flutter like a butterfly, or sting like a bee!
  • Whatever the characters are doing – your child can make the story more meaningful by joining in the action!
  • Some great stories for movement are:
    • From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle
    • Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, by Eileen Christelow
    • Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
    • Movement Stories for Children Ages 3 – 6, by Helen Landalf and Pamela Gerke
    • Stories on the Move, by Arlene Cohen

Tip #19: The Bottom Line:
Let your child understand ideas and actions by actually moving and doing them!