It’s the beginning of a new year, and so it’s time for setting new goals. January is the month where we tend to make big plans and work hard to accomplish them…for a short time at least. Do you ever work with your kids to set goals for the new year? Kids can set goals too, and they often are much better at sticking to them than we are. As you think through goals with and for your kids, consider going beyond habits or behavior. Think about setting some learning goals for your kids this year.
In addition to it being a new year, we’re in the winter season. And in the winter, we parents need good indoor activities for our kids. So why not make these learning activities? There are all kinds of things for little ones to learn. We want our kids to know their colors, the names of animals, numbers, letters, and letter sounds. And there are likely several other things your family wants to teach to your children.
Here at My Signing Time, we can help make learning effective and fun. Signing helps develop communication skills for kids of all ages. It helps even babies to communicate before they can talk. And did you know that kids who learn signing early have an easier time learning to read? There are so many benefits to having our young children learn to sign. So, here are some ideas to go along with these learning goals for your kids this year.
Colors
Colors are one of the first things we teach our kids. In our free Signing Time Dictionary, you can head to the Colors section. There, you’ll find detailed instructions and short videos showing you and your kids how to sign a bunch of colors.
At My Signing Time, we have shows that teach the colors.
In the Rachel & Me series, we have an episode on Rainbows.
And in the Signing Time Classic Collection, we have My Favorite Things and Box of Crayons.
Animals
Again, in our Signing Time Dictionary, which is free for anyone to use, there is a section for Animals, and it has 65 signs in it!
And at My Signing Time, here are some of our shows about animals.
In the Rachel & the TreeSchoolers series, we have Awesome Animals.
And then in the Classic Signing Time collection, there is The Zoo Train and Leah’s Farm.
All of our shows are super fun for kids while being very effective in their educational objectives.
Numbers
Back to the Signing Time Dictionary! In the Numbers section, you’ll find all you need to learn the numbers from 1 to 20.
Then, for practice and reinforcement, head over to My Signing Time.
In Practice Time 123s, Rachel teaches each number from 1 to 20, then leads the Counting Song to help you learn as you sing and sign along. And there are interactive counting activities too! These will help your child learn the concrete concepts of the number values. It’s important to go beyond the number names and to know what the numbers actually mean.
Art Skills (fine motor skills)
Have you seen our series Art Time at the TreeSchool? Great Artist Mom, Laurie White, leads kids through several fun art lessons to draw some of their favorite TreeSchooler and Signing Time characters. And the first episode is free to watch right here!
Art skills are a really great way to help your kids develop fine motor skills. Kids love art, so they can have fun being creative while developing these important skills.
Letters and Letter Sounds
The alphabet song is another thing we teach our kids as soon as we can. Why not learn the letter signs too? All of the letter signs are in the Letters section of the Signing Time Dictionary.
And for a really fun way to learn the letters and their sounds, check out our newest series TreeSchoolers: The Legends of Phonetica. The fun TreeSchooler characters from our science series Rachel & the TreeSchoolers have a series of adventures to learn the letter sounds. There are short episodes and activity guides to reinforce learning. The activity guides will also give you ideas for some indoor winter fun. The first episode, ABC, is free to watch here.
So as you think about learning goals for your kids this year, consider including signing along with your learning. My Signing Time makes it easy and fun. The Signing Time Dictionary is always accessible, and you can try out a My Signing Time digital subscription with a 14-day free trial right here!