A house full of invitations to learn

First, an invitation to read

A great way to stimulate your children is to encourage them to love reading. The key element here is not the quantity of books offered, but rather the variety: children's picture books, novels, comic books, wordless books, documentaries, cookbooks, I Spy books, fairy tales and legends, alphabet books, etc. In short, by exposing our children to different types of books, we allow them to explore and appreciate different structures. Have books for yourself too. With children, it's important to be a role model. A child who sees their parent reading (even if it's just the newspaper) will register that the act of reading is important. They will tend to imitate the model. However, I believe that reading on a tablet or phone doesn't count! Not with young children, anyway! Here, we love the works of Élise Gravel and Mélanie Watts (Scaredy Squirrel, Chester the Cat). At the same time, my little ones also discover the fantastic worlds of Harry Potter and Beatrix Potter. The important thing is variety!

***Books can often be borrowed from the library. Personally, my 2-year-old has access to our books, but he's not gentle enough for those borrowed from the library. It depends on your situation. Books can also be second-hand. There's no need to spend large sums in bookstores.

Let's "go wild" with the invitations!

First, what is an invitation? It consists of setting up materials that the child will use and manipulate to perform the action they are invited to do. There are thus invitations to write, to create, to count... I'll give you some ideas for invitations that could easily be offered at home.

Invitations to create:

1. A bin filled with cardboard scraps, glue, scissors, plastic eyes, empty toilet paper rolls; ask the child to make something (monster, animal, insect, etc.)
2. A bin filled with sticks, leaves, pinecones, pebbles; ask the child to make a model, a mask, a crown, etc.
3. Cardboard boxes (cereal boxes, cracker boxes, granola bar boxes), scissors, paint, and brushes; invite the child to create a thematic decoration (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc.)

The idea is to propose the idea (a theme) and let the child go. You will probably be surprised by the result!

Invitations to write:

1. A bin with letter stamps. The child can use them to write labels, family member names, etc. The child could also draw something and write what it is with the stamps.
2. A bag with letters (on scraps of paper, necklace beads, Scrabble tiles). Ask the child to pick one and challenge them to hunt for words starting with that letter in the house. If your child is still young, it could be to choose a sound (e.g., ch, on, r, p) and find words with that sound in the house.
3. A bag of flyers, scissors, glue; invite the child to cut out letters or words to form a message.

*Small tip: "invitations to write" are very similar to writing workshops/stations/centers used in preschool or early elementary school. If you do a quick search online (Pinterest, for example), you'll easily find inspiration!

**I suggest using a bin, but that's only for practical reasons; when you're done, put the bin away! But of course, use what you have on hand!

Quick Suggestions

Here are some easy-to-implement invitations that are always a hit with kids:

• Dry-erase whiteboards
• Blackboards
• Play-Doh
• Puppets and figurines (to develop imagination)

At our house, many things are set up for the children, but often we improvise. We use dried beans, noodles, or pebbles for counting. We take out sugar or flour to trace letters or words. Use what you have on hand and be imaginative; an invitation isn't that complicated! At your place, what forms do your invitations take?

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