Whatever activities you and your child choose to play with together, remember that activities will be most effective when they are child-centered and child-directed. As you teach your child and acquaint her with the many wonders around her, let your child’s feelings and desires be your guide. Let her be involved in deciding which activities you will do together and how long they will last. If your daughter gets tired of drawing pictures and letters on the driveway with sidewalk chalk, let her be done! Do not insist that she continue an activity that she has clearly lost interest in. If your son gets bored of sorting marbles into groups of like colors with you after five minutes, move on to something else! Do not force him to sort them all by size as well before you let the activity die. Let each activity be a success in its own right, no matter how small or how short.
It is the compilation of many positive playing activities over the course of years that will have the biggest impact on your child, not one instance of trying to forcibly get a certain point across to him. If your child sees that he is being forced to learn a certain thing, he will most likely rebel against the force being applied to him. However, if he sees that his feelings and desires help determine what happens in his life, he will be more anxiously engaged in shaping his own life and asking you for help as he does so. He will see you as a kind guide not a dictatorial commander.
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