Respect- Ask your child for their ideas about dinner, activities, and routines, including them when you can. Role model treating others and the environment with appreciation and reverence as they spend time outside.
Creativity- Allow your child to follow their own path and ideas when appropriate as they work to form themselves and try out new ideas. This could include how your child dresses themself, the art they choose to do, and the songs they makeup.
Freedom of Movement- Provide plenty of opportunities and choices for moving the whole body and practicing coordination with climbing, kicking, skipping, and so on. Also, bring out activities for small motor movements, such as pony beads and small blocks.
Freedom of Choice- When possible, let your child choose! This could include what they wear for the day, when they eat snack, or which household chores they will help with.
Freedom to Repeat- Be patient when your child wants to do things over and over again, as this is a great way for them to learn. This could include being open to reading the same book each night at bedtime or answering similar questions day to day.
Prepared Environment- What can you set up for your child to be successful? A lower cabinet or drawer with self-serve snacks or lower dresser drawers stocked with appropriate clothes for your child to choose from are just a couple of great options.
Planes of Development- Making time for your 0-6-year-old to explore the natural world through their senses is a great way to help them develop. For those children around 5 and 6, playdates become especially important as their development seeks more social interaction and imagination.
Mixed Ages- Providing opportunities for your child to learn from children a little older than themselves and practice leading children a little younger than themselves will go a long way in their sense of building community.
Independence- Increasing your child’s space for independent tasks gives them the building blocks for developing self-confidence. Can they set the table for dinner, clean up after their lunch by themselves, or do they have ideas of what they can do on their own?
Holism- When introducing something to your child, give the big picture before you break it into the details to expect. This is something to keep in mind when letting them know about a vacation or family coming to visit; prepare them with the overall event before breaking each day of vacation into parts.
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