At ages 3 and 4, children are growing rapidly in their language use and in their knowledge of reading and writing. They are learning the meanings of many new words, and they are beginning to use words in more complicated sentences when they speak. They know more about books and print. They are eager to write. They may even be showing an interest in learning to read.
Many three- and four-year-old children attend day care centers or preschool for part or most of the day. The information in this section of the booklet will help you and your child, whether your child stays at home all day or attends a day care center or preschool.
Continue to talk and read with your child, as you did when he was an infant and toddler. Also, add some new and more challenging activities.
When you do something together–eating, shopping, taking a walk, visiting a relative–talk about it.
Take your child to new places and introduce him to new experiences. Talk about the new, interesting, and unusual things that you see and do.
Teach your child the meaning of new words. Say the names of things around the house. Label and talk about things in pictures. Explain, in simple ways, how to use familiar objects and how they work.
“That’s a whale! It’s a great big animal, as big as a
truck. It lives in the ocean.”
“This is a vacuum cleaner. We use it to clean the floor.
See how it cleans up the spilled cereal?”