Ideas to stimulate my daughters brain 4 years old.

amother

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 6:04 am

My daughter is 4 years old. She is extremely smarter than average. She likes to touch everything, explore, ask questions etc. She looks like a mess and is a mess. Her nose running, gets up while eating, colors herself up when she colors with marker etc. She has lots of energy knh”. I found if she does puzzles she can do it amazingly (100 peices) and it keeps her busy in a productive way.
Any ideas to keep her brain stimulated in a healthy way (not watching)? Certain games, books etc
Please let me know! Thank you.

amother

Peachpuff

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 7:39 am

I had a kid like that.
Read to her.
Take her places, let her have experiences (park, playground, aquarium with touch pool, zoo, supermarket)
Play music in the house.
Bake and cook with her, let her do whatever she is capable of doing.
Give her chores -- sorting laundry into piles, setting the table.
I wouldn't teach her to read, though; she might figure it out on her own.

amother

Nasturtium

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 8:01 am

amother OP wrote:

While I dont have advice, I recently discovered that the most calming activity for my 4 year old is puzzles, we recently discovered it and it's a game changer!
Can you please recommend 100 piece puzzles? We're up to 50 PC at this point.

thank you!!

amother

Nemesia

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 11:20 am

I would highly recommend NOT teaching her to read because it is not developmentally appropriate. A child her agr should be exploring the world in a physical, hands on way. There will be time enough for reading later on. The other ideas above are excellent, also encourage lots of playdates. She sounds like she could also benefit from OT evaluation.

amother

Pearl

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 11:29 am

I would suggest looking at OT because it sounds like she could benefit from help with regulation. I would also look at sensory activities. A child who touches and explores everything usually loves sensory play. Get a tray or box and put different sensory things inside and allow her to explore. Like if you put sand/rice/pasta inside the tray. She can have spoons, cups etc and then just leave her to it. Sensory play can also help with regulating herself. Water play is also fun. Or you can google sensory play ideas and there's a lot out there.
Would she be interested in basic activity books? Where they have to match or find the odd one out etc.

mushkamothers

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 11:45 am

Math Montessori style. I've been doing it with my son since before age 4 (he's turning 6 now). Also you can teach sounds and phonemic awareness in tactile ways, this isn't reading from flashcards. You can see highlights on my IG. This is a great book https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Y.....76851

dena613

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 11:51 am

amother Pearl wrote:

Yes, OT.
Sounds like (but I may be wrong) she's not in school.
I would focus more on the soft skills- social skills, hygiene etc. than mental stimulation at this point based on your OP.
Your daughter will be smart Smile

no worries

I don't think it's a problem to teach a 4yo to read. I know 4 yos who could read! But coupled with the rest of her behaviors, I don't think you'd be helping her in the long run

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 3:31 pm

I also don't recommend reading so young if you can help it as one who was reading fluently by that age and the mother of many readers... The kids start picking up books totally not appropriate for them emotionally since they catch on to reading levels quickly. Waiting even till 5 buys time.
(It's very hard to deal with nightmares due to kids reading about kidnapping just because they can understand the book and did go ahead and read it.)

Definitely agree with an OT evaluation, look for creative toys (Lego, playstix), spatial toys like tanagrams/pattern blocks, logic games like those from ThinkFun
A favorite in my house is Izzi
It'll combine her love for puzzle/spatial intelligence with logic and requires quite a bit of problem solving.

amother

Lemon

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 4:09 pm

Buy her a globe - you can get one that has physical and geographical features that light up. She can learn about the oceans, continents, countries, and more.

But her a water/sand table which you can also fill with rice, beans or other items to give her sensory stimulation.

Buy her a double sided easel/whiteboard so she can draw and paint.

Go onto an educational toy website and you will find many ideas.

Highstrung

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 4:11 pm

My daughter this age loves any art projects. She likes to have free reign over her creations. Just give her tons of supplies and she spends hours creating and creating (and makes a huge mess which she does not clean up)

amother

Wine

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 5:38 pm

Play doh is great for this age, especially if you get a set that has interesting tools

Marble works, something where you build a track for marbles and then run them through it. Only if she doens't put things in her mouth and with supervision or it is a real choking hazard.

Duplo is great. Some kids do better with free rein of a tub of pieces, some are better occupied with a set where you have to build something.

Mazes are fun, get a book of them.

If you want to start with reading skills, first just focusing on identifying the letters, then add in what sounds they make. If she is interested in learning more reading skills after, just follow her lead but never push it.

Easy math can be fun, might require more involvement from you. First teach to recognize numbers. If that goes well, simple addition can also be taught.

Pattern blocks to make shapes and mosaics.

Craft kits for that age group are great - early sewing kits (plastic needle), beading jewelry (again, if she doesn't put things in her mouth and with supervision), etc.

Sticker books where you have to match the stickers to an activity page or coloring page, and then also do the activity or coloring on the page as well.

amother

PlumPink

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 6:18 pm

My son is that age and loves dot to dots. He is already doing the ones with over 100 dots as well as skip counting and abcs (he taught himself the abcs but hasn’t taught himself to read yet, and like others said I’m in no rush for that to happen)

amother

Gray

Wed, Jan 04 2023, 9:34 pm

Good Lego builds, some even have mechanics, the directions are in picture steps, seems similar to puzzles activity. Start with smaller ones, and younger age recommendations and move up.
Have a high shelf to save them on if there are younger siblings to break them. They are mostly meant to be built once