Early Head Start Homework

Social-Emotional Learning

Learning to Play with You

1. I'm learning how to play with other people! One way to help me learn is to play simple and short games with me throughout the day.
   
2. Here are some games we could play whenever we have five minutes:
   
• Play "hide-and-seek" with a toy. While I'm watching, hide a toy. Encourage me to find it.
  
• Take turns filling a box or bowl with toys, one at a time. When we're done, encourage me to dump it out.
  
3. I'll likely lose interest after a few minutes, which is normal for my age. See if you can fit another short game into our daily routine later today.

Full Guidance

Creativity

Contrast Pictures Tummy Time

1. Create contrasting pairs of simple shapes on white paper with a black marker (for example: a heart, circle, square, etc.). First, draw the shape's outline only. Right next to it, draw the same shape but color it in.
   
2. Place your baby on the floor on their tummy.
   
3. Place the pictures on the floor where your child can see them (they can be propped upright to challenge older babies).
   
4. Over time, you can create more contrasting pictures for your baby. They may be interested in different patterns, or looking at simple faces.

Full Guidance

Language & Literacy

Boxes of Colors

1. Make two color boxes for me to explore. Put items of one color in one box, and items of another color in a second box. Examples of colored items:
   
• socks
  
• blocks
  
2. Let me play and explore, and talk about the items and their colors as I play.
   
3. Then, show me how to sort the items by color again, putting them back in the boxes they started in.
   
4. (Optional) Repeat with other colors.

Full Guidance

Science

Bubble Chase

1. Head outside with a bottle of blowing bubbles.Pick a starting point and put something there to mark it (a ball, a water bottle, etc.). Blow bubbles and have your child chase after them. See if your child can pop them!
   
2. From your new location, blow bubbles and chase them again. Repeat several times, then look back to your starting location. What direction have the bubbles been moving in?
   
3. Ask your child to describe what's happening with the bubbles.
   
4. Experiment with different ways of blowing bubbles (like waving your arm around instead of blowing air, or holding the bubble wand still and letting wind blow bubbles). What made the bubbles move that time?

Full Guidance