Sometimes the best learning tools are hiding in plain sight — on your own bookshelf.
Counting: Filling a Gap I Didn’t See Coming
We’ve been working on counting for a while. Songs, food, everyday moments — natural and low-pressure. Counting to ten has been going well, and one-to-one correspondence is starting to click.
But I realized recently that visual number recognition was lagging behind. We could count, but did we know what the number 4 looked like? That was a gap in my teaching, not in the learning. Once I started pairing counting practice with number visuals, the connection started forming quickly. Just recently while we were out, the number 2 showed up on a sign and she called it out immediately. Such a small moment but such a clear sign that even a short focused effort on number recognition is already paying off. A good reminder that sometimes it’s worth looking at what we’re not covering, not just what’s going well.
Games: The Most Underrated Learning Tool
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make academics feel more like play, especially at this age. Games are the answer I keep coming back to — and I’m just starting to bring some favorites from my classroom days into our home learning. I recently picked up a few Zingo and Bingo games with different focuses — numbers, letters, colors and shapes. We played the color and shape Bingo the other day and it was a natural way to practice labeling, finding and matching. All the good stuff, wrapped in something that just feels like play. I’m excited to try number Zingo next.
A Screen Time Exception Worth Mentioning
We keep screens minimal, but video chatting with grandparents is the one exception we don’t think twice about. We still try to be mindful of how much it adds up to, but staying connected to family is worth it.
What’s been a surprise bonus is how well it pairs with the games we’ve been playing. The other day we played Bingo over video chat — grandparent on one end, us on the other. It takes extra patience on everyone’s part, but the educational benefits are real. Labeling, matching, taking turns — all while getting quality family time built in. That feels like a win on every level.
The Book I Completely Underestimated: Press Here
We were gifted Press Here early on and honestly didn’t think much of it at first. It sat on the shelf. Then it became a favorite — and once I looked closer, I understood why.
What it quietly teaches:
- Color identification
- Left and right directional cues
- One-to-one correspondence through pressing and clapping
It’s genuinely clever. Interactive without a screen, engaging without being overstimulating, and packed with early learning skills tucked inside something that plays like a game.
One tip: model the clapping and tapping amounts first. I found that demonstrating before asking made copying the right quantities much easier early on.
Highly recommend — and just to be clear, this is a genuine recommendation. No sponsorship, no affiliation. Just a book that earned its place on our shelf.
The best learning moments lately haven’t required a screen or a complicated curriculum. None of it has been complicated — but all of it has been purposeful. That’s the part that matters.
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