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Spend time allowing your child to talk with you.
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Teach your child how things work.
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Encourage play with other children.
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Encourage your child to tell you stories.
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Listen to your child and show that you are pleased by your child's talking.
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Let your child do as much as possible for themselves when getting dressed, brushing teeth, and combing hair.
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Have your child help with simple chores, such as picking up toys.
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Give your child old clothes for "dress up" and allow them to pretend being a mom, dad, healthcare provider, cowboy, and the like. Even old sheets or towels can become skirts, capes, or turbans. You can also pretend you are an elephant, butterfly, robot, or other characters and play with your child.
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Sing songs or nursery rhymes and teach your child the words.
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Read stories with your child and ask your child to name pictures in the stories or retell part of the story.
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Help your child play with crayon and paper or chalk and chalkboard by showing how to draw circles and lines and then put them together to make a stick figure. Make figure faces that are happy, sad, or surprised, and talk about the different feeling shown in each picture.
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Let your child build things out of blocks or boxes.
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Give your child a safe space to ride a tricycle.
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Listen to children's music with your child and dance.
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Practice counting with your child.
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Give your child the chance to play games with other children. Church groups, YWCA or YMCA recreation centers, or libraries often have preschool programs.
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Put puzzles together with your child.
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Let your child have pretend playtime with dolls, cars, or toy cooking utensils.
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Play hide and seek and follow the leader.
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Let your child use their imagination by playing with play dough or clay.
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Trace your child's hand or whole body and make a picture.
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Show your child you are proud of any artwork and hang it up for display.
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Teach your child colors.
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Play ball with your child. Play different games with the ball, such as tossing a ball into a box or rolling the ball up and down an incline.
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Limit screen time (TV, phone, tablet) to no more than 1 hour a day. Don’t put any screens in your child’s bedroom.