TIPS for TAP
Totally Awesome Parents
Presented to you by the
Midwest Regional
Educational Service Center
February 2015
Serving Hardin, Logan and Shelby Counties
Director of
Early Childhood:
Lori Berger
Northern Lights
Natasha Ruhlen
Myra Carey
Little River
Sarah Castle
Stephanie Lowery
Lindsey Grener
Victory Garden
Amber McElroy
Tiffany Seeley
Wendy Geissinger
Start with the basics to teach
your preschooler how to tell
Of course you want your child to be able to tell time. But
she must first understand what time is before she can
meaningfully look at a clock and inform you that it's 8:21.
Here are some guidelines for teaching your young child to
tell time:
1. Begin by talking about the day. Before telling time,
your child should understand that today is now, yesterday is what happened before she went to
sleep last night, and tomorrow is what it will be after she finishes the next sleep. Say, "Yesterday you
went to school. Today we are at home. Tomorrow, after you get out of bed, we'll go to
Grandma's."
2. Move on to broad times of day. Morning is the time between waking up and lunch. Afternoon is
between lunch and dinner. Evening is dinner and bath. Night is when it's dark. Discussing times of
day in these terms will help your child understand them.
3. Use the words before and after. Say, "Before you brushed your teeth this morning, you ate
breakfast. After you got dressed, we went shopping."
4. Introduce the clock when your child is comfortable with the above concepts. Teach your child
the names of the short hand (hour hand) and the long hand (minute hand). When she knows these,
start teaching her the times on the hour. "See how the minute hand is on the 12, and the hour
hand is on the 1? That means it's one o'clock."
Reprinted with permission from the February 2015 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Early Childhood Edition) newsletter.
Copyright © 2015 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.
Build fine motor skills with valentines
Most preschool classes have an optional exchange of valentines
for students this month. If you let your child make the cards
himself, he will strengthen his fine motor skills.
As your child makes cards, focus on:
 Cutting. Cutting paper with scissors is great for building
small muscles in the hand. It also helps your child use his
eyes and hands together. His hands will follow his eye
movements as he cuts.
 Pasting. Pasting strengthens your child's hand muscles as
he presses down to make the paper stick. It is also a
sensory experience that lets your child learn how different
materials feel.

Drawing and writing. Drawing a picture or writing his
name helps your child practice some of the most
important skills he will need in school. If your child can't
write his name, encourage him to try just the first letter.
Then help him write the rest of it on each card.
Reprinted with permission from the February
2015 issue of Parents make the difference!®
(Early Childhood Edition) newsletter.
Copyright © 2015 The Parent Institute®, a
division of NIS, Inc.
Chores build responsibility and foster a sense of importance
One of the best ways to teach
your preschooler
responsibility is to give her
chores at home. Having
chores teaches your child that
maintaining a home is a family
effort and that she is an
important part of the family.
This sense of responsibility
will pay dividends when she is
at school, and again later in
the working world.
You may be surprised at how many things your child can
do to be helpful, and how much she wants to do them.
Here are some chores you can consider if your child is at
least three years old:
 Set and clear the table. Have her start with the forks,
spoons and napkins. Gradually expand the job to include
plates and cups.
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Clean. Let her use simple tools such as a feather duster,
a small hand broom or a lightweight handheld vacuum.
Give her a soft rag and let her gently wipe tables and low
shelves.
Feed dry food to family pets and give them fresh water.
Help with laundry. Put dirty clothes in a laundry
basket. Carry the laundry basket. Put clean clothes in
drawers.
Match up socks.
Help you with simple cooking jobs, such as stirring
ingredients together and pouring liquids.
Bring in mail or newspapers, unless this requires
going out on the street.
Pick up toys. Have her pick them up on a daily basis
before bedtime.
Reprinted with permission from the February 2015 issue of Parents make the
difference!® (Early Childhood Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2015 The Parent
Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.
Happy Valentines Day!
Teach your child how to listen and speak in turn
CHECK
US OUT ON THE
WEB!
WWW.MRESC.ORG
Listening to others and
waiting your turn to speak
are essential skills for
school. Children could
never learn if 25 students
were always talking at once!
If you encourage and use
polite talking and listening
skills at home, your child
will be more likely to use
them at school, too.
As a family, practice
these skills:
 During mealtimes.
You have probably
heard about the
importance of family
meals. One reason is
that they are a time for
kids to learn valuable
talking and listening
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skills. Give each family
member a chance to
tell something about
their day. Do not allow
others to speak while
someone else is talking.
During story time.
You know it's
important to read with
your child. It
encourages her to learn
to read. But it also
teaches her to listen
and pay attention. Ask
questions about the
story. "Can you tell me
which part you liked
best in the story?"
During playtime.
Games such as "Simon
Says" have been around
forever because they
are fun and they teach
children to listen
carefully. Board games
also encourage talking
and listening. Sing your
child's favorite song
using the syllable "la"
instead of singing the
words. See if your child
can guess the song.
Reprinted with permission from the
February 2015 issue of Parents make
the difference!® (Early Childhood
Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2015
The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS,
Inc. Source: C. Wright, A Parent's Guide
to Home and School Success:
Kindergarten, Brighter Vision
Publications.