Message in a Backpack™ Explore Your Community
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Children learn from exploring the world around them. Visiting shops, restaurants, and other businesses in your neighborhood can help your child understand how things work and what people do. It can also be a great way to meet neighbors. Try these suggestions to turn small errands into learning opportunities.
Museum or art gallery
Talk: Discuss with your child the different colors, shapes, materials, and textures in the art.
Do: Provide paper and crayons for your child to make a drawing inspired by the artwork after the visit.
Post office
Talk: Encourage your child to ask a postal worker about stamps or how mail is transported.
Do: Help your child write or decorate a letter to mail to a family member or friend.
Park
Talk: Ask your child to find the smallest and the largest objects in the park.
Do: Go on a scavenger hunt with your child to find natural items, such as acorns, sticks, or dried leaves.
Grocery store
Talk: Review with your child which foods grow in the ground and which grow on trees.
Do: Put your child in charge of the shopping list. Together find what you need and cross the items off the list.
Message in a Backpack™ is available online in Spanish. Visit NAEYC.org/tyc to start reading now!
