Home learning for 4 year old

[JulieBaby]

DS1 had is last day of preschool on Friday and i'd like to help him advance his skills so that his second year of preschool will be easier.

What type of projects can we do together that will help him learn to identify colors, number, letter and shapes?

Im planning on buying one of those chalk board that have a magnetic side. I was also thinking of making hand puppets. He has done this a few times in school and really enjoyed it.

Any ideas would be great!

[JudyJudyJudy]

For me, the best way to teach colors and shapes is using everyday life. Point out colors and shapes regularly. Then you can get to a point where you ask him what colors things are or what shapes they are. You can also play games like "Name something that is (insert color)" or "Name something that is shaped like a (insert shape)." You can let him be the asker as well.

As for numbers and letters, the more exposure he has the better. The chalk/magnetic board is a good idea. In addition to that, you can point out road signs or signs in restaurants and name the letters with which words begin. Also, Jacob had fun with bathtub foam letters that stick to the side of the tub or shower.

[oomaumau04]

We have a poster on our wall that gets changed weekly. (I do daycare.) It has the weekly theme, a vocabulary word that goes along with the theme, a color/shape (I color in the shape with the color of the week), a number, a letter, and a nursery rhyme. Each thing gets left up for a week. This is how I do it :
Monday : change theme/word - we do a gross motor activity that has something to do with the theme - We also have a book, poem, and song having to do with the theme that we read/say each day.
Tuesday : Change shape or color (the first week I put the shape, second a color it, the next week is a new shape, etc) - We cut out the shape with play-doh or draw it, wear clothes or eat foods with the color, etc, Find the shape/color around the house
Wednesday : Change number - Draw the number of shapes (For example, if the shape is a square that week and the number is 2, we will draw 2 squares), Eat the number of a snack (2 cheerios, etc), Count 2 or something around the house, make a counting book - on each page, have the child put the number of stickers each week
Thursday : Change letter - We practice tracing the letter with a finger and fingerpaint or in rice/beans, color the letter, look for letter around the house
Friday : Change nursery rhyme - we say the nursery rhyme every day and sometimes read it in a book

The kids LOVE the poster and can't wait to look at it every day. I have a 3 year old that comes in and wants to know "What happened poster?" each day. :) Since we go over each one individually for an entire week, they really get familiar with them. I can tell they are learning a lot, and each Friday we review the ones we've learned so far.

[QuiltyConscience]

Dr. Suess.

[HammBugga]

They use some flash cards at ds's preschool that help. We also have a toy that DS loves to help learn letters and spelling.

[Jacksmommy]

For colors, numbers, letters and shapes we mostly have used puzzles - oodles of puzzles. We also have magnet letters and numbers.

[smoochy12]

i spy is a great game for us right now.. works for shapes, colours, lots of things :)