Thanks to guest blogger, Amy Stout, those of you who read yesterday’s post may have the melody to Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush running through your head. Also, thanks to Amy, you may be one step closer to helping your child successfully memorize your phone number. To that end, Amy is back today with several tips for making the process fun for the whole family. Take it away, Amy.
How To Teach Kids Their Phone Numbers, Part 2
My Personal Strategies for Teaching the Song
- When I was teaching this song to Kylie, I never asked her to sing with me. Instead, I utilized blocks of time when I knew we would be together and took the opportunity to entertain my daughter by performing the song. So… I sang as I drove us to therapy each day. I sang as I scrubbed her in the bath. I sang as she brushed her teeth. I sang as she sat on the potty. And guess what??? Pretty soon I heard her singing the song while she was playing. And then guess what??? When I would ask Kylie what her phone number was she could answer. And when I asked her what her phone number started with, she would tell me our area code. It was exciting!!
- I never sat her down and seriously told her “We ARE going to learn this, now LISTEN UP”… nope… I just sang in her presence – repeatedly. Kids “work” like that! A child works through play. The more you make something a game, the better they will learn it. If you have puppets- use them! If you have play phones- use them! If you have blocks with numbers on them- use them. If you have a dry erase board- use it! (I think I have made my point.)
- Also be sure to have LOTS of positive reinforcement. Catch them doing something good and give lots of clapping, hugs and “yay” responses. My daughter constantly reminds me “Daddy will say ‘I’m so proud of you’ ” … and she is right. He tells her that all the time!
Teaching doesn’t have to be serious, boring, dull, or heavy. In many cases, Teaching is Being: together, available, and an example.
What Strategies Do You Use?
I’d love to hear how you have taught your children safety skills, especially their phone number. Please also let me know how it goes if you use this song. I hope I’ll get to hear from you. Happy Teaching!
~ Amy
Go Ahead, Leave a Comment
Please do leave a comment about effective strategies you’ve used to teach your kids safety skills. Amy and I would love to hear from you. To read more of Amy’s creative ideas, visit her website at www.histreasuredprincess.blogspot.com.
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My son learned how to spell our difficult last name from hearing me spell it to other people so many times. Especially, while I was on the phone because I would say “s like same” because many people think it has an f in it instead. He then memorized that rhythm and sequence.
My son learned how to spell our difficult last name from hearing me spell it to other people so many times. Especially, while I was on the phone because I would say “s like same” because many people think it has an f in it instead. He then memorized that rhythm and sequence.
Well put, Rachel!
Jolene
Well put, Rachel!
Jolene
“Teaching doesn’t have to be serious, boring, dull, or heavy. In many cases, Teaching is Being: together, available, and an example.”–Loved this! I think my daughter will benefit greatly from this helpful and fun way to learn her phone number, and I plan to begin singing our phone number song soon (need to take a look and figure out rhymes for our number to fit!)=) Thanks for sharing! =)
“Teaching doesn’t have to be serious, boring, dull, or heavy. In many cases, Teaching is Being: together, available, and an example.”–Loved this! I think my daughter will benefit greatly from this helpful and fun way to learn her phone number, and I plan to begin singing our phone number song soon (need to take a look and figure out rhymes for our number to fit!)=) Thanks for sharing! =)