presentation for 3 year old

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Why Latino Catholics Celebrate 3 Life Events in Ways that Other Cultures Normally Don't

Jan 14, 2016 by Veronica Mena

The Latino American culture is rooted in the Catholic religion. Maybe this statement sounds hard to believe if you watch the news or read the lastest survey by the Pew Research Center   about how people are losing their religion, but I don't see that too much from my own experience.

I think that most Latino Catholics keep their beliefs, and we continue to grow thanks to the respect for values and customs that are practiced from a very young age and encouraged by parents who are good role models. And I bet our kids, when they are grown, will do the same with their own children.

In my Hispanic culture we celebrate life, and commemorate death, in a way that is never separated from religion. For many of us, being aware of why we do this is not as important as following the inherited traditions and customs. But taking the time to learn why helps faith go deeper.  Let me tell you briefly about two Hispanic traditions celebrated with all the formality required as if they were among the Seven Sacraments: the Quinceañera (or Sweet Fifteen), and the Presentation of a Child. Then I will share how we celebrate someone's passing from this life to the next.

1. THE PRESENTATION OF A CHILD

The Presentation of a Child is a thanksgiving ritual for a child who is forty days old or three years old.  Although this celebration is followed as part of a tradition in various Hispanic countries, the event has a historical connotation that most people don't know about.

Why do we celebrate this?

The Presentation of a Child ( Las Presentaciones ) is a ritual in honor of the Virgin Mary's presentation at the temple at the age of three, and the Presentation of the Baby Jesus in the temple 40 days after Christmas. It is normally done for girls, although it may also be done for boys. The child is dressed in a gown or elegant suit and is accompanied by parents and godparents. After the Mass, a feast with music is a must. Gifts to the child from the godparents can be rings, medals, a rosaries, bracelets, money, and more.

Although I am from Latin America my parents didn't observe this ritual for me, so I didn't do it for my sons, and neither did any of my friends from Central and South America—so I discovered that celebrating the presentation of a child is stronger in the Mexican community.

The Presentation tradition is a precursor to the child receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, which is another lavishly celebrated life event for Latinos. I don't remember my baptism, of course, but luckily, my mom kept and gave me an original picture from that day, in which I am held by my godparents at the Basílica Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in San Salvador. I recently visited this church and it was great to see that they still have the same baptismal font.

2. QUINCEANERAS (LOS 15 ANOS)

If you are not Latino American but you have heard the word Quinceanera before, or you have witnessed a church ceremony for a teen girl, this is a celebration called Fiesta Rosa (Pink Party), where a fifteen-year-old girl is called a Quinceañera. Pink is the classic color to wear - although the tradition has changed and now girls can choose another color.

Not just another birthday party

As part of the Hispanic community, I feel like we celebrate a Quinceañera as if it was one of the Seven Sacraments because the ritual requires a full etiquette and extravaganza. I remember my teen days when some of my friends could even choose between a car or a Quinceañera party, and guess what? The girls chose the party! (I didn't get that option from my parents, though).

I tell you this to illustrate how important the Quinceañera celebration is, not only for the birthday girl, but for the parents, who inherited this tradition as well, and who want to give their daughters the very best. It is a custom still kept and passed from generation to generation in Latin America, but not followed in Spain as it used to be.

This tradition can be lavish and full of symbolism. The video below shows the entrance of a Quinceañera into the chapel, while a mariachi band serenades her before Mass.

The Quinceañera is accompanied by chambelanes.  They are brothers, cousins, or friends, and there can be as many as fifteen of them participating. Bridesmaids are optional. There are  padrinos de velación (godparents of vigil):   a faithful Catholic couple who are responsible for serving as an example to, and council for, the young girl.

Why do we celebrate 15 years of age?

I recently asked some parents why the Quinceañera celebration is so important. They replied, "Because it is tradition, and it means that our daughter is no longer a little girl, but a young woman. So we show our thanksgiving for her life. This is also the way that she is introduced into society."

Going back in history, the act of introducing young girls into society showed that they were now eligible for marriage (although today this reason for the practice would be inconceivable). But beyond the tradition, I learned that a  Quinceañera celebration is a formal renewal of a 15-year-old girl's baptismal vows.

3. FUNERALS & DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

The pastor of my local parish recently attended a funeral in my hometown of Charlotte; but he didn't find the solemn atmosphere that he is accustomed to seeing at funerals. He was almost shocked to find a mariachi band singing a last farewell to the beloved departed. Somebody's grandmother had died, he told me, and she was dressed as a queen, with a gown and tiara.

When It Is Time to Cry, We Sing

This is another important part of my Hispanic culture: when a loved one dies, some families decide to offer el último adiós (the last farewell) with mariachis ! Some people even asked for it as part of their will. It is also common to bring mariachis to the cemetery for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) to remember the faithful departed with joy, and singing songs such as " Cuando muera no me lloren" (When I die, do not cry for me).

Traditions honoring the dead vary among Latin American countries. For example, throughout the Day of the Dead celebrations, part of the tradition in Mexico is to decorate home altars in honor of deceased relatives . In Central America the feast of the Day of the Dead can be accompanied with mariachis , too, while we come to enflorar (bring flowers) to the graves of our deceased relatives in the cemetery.

Why do we do this?

Part of my understanding for why we celebrate such things is because Catholics in Latin America really live religion as a tradition; it is deeply rooted, and you can't separate anything in life from it. Faith helps us to overcome everything, and gives us hope for the future.

This might be one of the reasons why even people living in poverty seem to be happy; it's not that they are happy about their difficult circumstances, but, in general, they are optimistic and are always putting their hope in God. This is something that deeply moves me and makes me appreciate the Latino culture.

The lavishness of such celebrations depends on each family's budget, but in all cases, I think it is a beautiful expression of love. I have never questioned this practice, and I wouldn't mind receiving a farewell like this, too. I just love it.

What are your thoughts about these beautiful celebrations?

Have you ever experienced one first-hand? 

Share your thoughts with us!

• Author:Veronica Mena
• Catholic Living

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Las Presentaciones: A Vibrant Hispanic Tradition

This principally Mexican tradition of the presenting of a child to God, and to the Church, stems from a strong desire by parents to ask for divine protection for their newborn, and thanksgiving for a safe childbirth, as infant mortality rates are extremely high in developing nations.

During most Spanish Masses that I celebrate on Sundays, there are always a great number of “ presentaciones ” of children, who can be either forty days old or three years old.  Towards the end of Mass after the final prayer, I call the names of the children who are to be presented that day.  Those who are forty-days old are carried into the sanctuary in the arms of their parents or their “ padrinos ” (“godparents”); while the children who are three years old, walk up to me accompanied by their parents and godparents.  Then, I invite the parents and godparents of each child to draw near to the altar, standing before the congregation.

La presentación” consists of three parts: the marking of a child with the sign of the cross, the anointing with the oil of catechumens, and the consecration of the newborn or toddler to Mary. 1   The rite begins by my saying a prayer over the child held in the arms of one of the godparents, or if three years old, next to the godparents and parents:

La vida es el mayor don que hemos recibido de Dios y la vida de los hijos es el signo mayor de la bendición divina para nuestra familia.  Hemos recibido estos dones y por eso presentamos a N________ al Señor.  Queremos que lo bendiga y acepte para que sea un buen cristiano en la vida. 2

Then, I turn to the parents and “ padrinos ” and pray as found in the baptismal rite:

N_____, la comunidad cristiana te recibe con mucha alegría.  En el nombre de Dios yo te marco con la señal de la cruz y, en seguida sus padres y padrinos les marcarán con la misma señal de Cristo, el Salvador.” 3

I then trace a cross on the forehead of the child, and direct the parents and godparents to do the same as directed in the baptism rite.

Next, I anoint the child on the chest with the oil of catechumens as described in the rite for the sacrament of baptism and pray:

Por la unción de este niño, le damos la bienvenida como miembro de la familia de Cristo e iniciamos nuestra jornada unidos a ellos hacia el bautismo.  N____, te ungimos con el aceite de salvación en el nombre de Cristo, nuestro Salvador; que El te fortalezca con su fuerza que vive y reina por los siglos de los siglos. Amen. 4

I conclude by consecrating the young child to Mary.  I hold the child up and pray:

Santísima Virgen María, Madre de Dios y Madre nuestra, te presentamos a este niño que Dios ha dado y confiado a tu cuidado y protección.  Te lo consagramos con todo nuestro corazón y te lo entregamos confiadamente a tu ternura y vigilancia materna.  Para sus padres ayúdales a cumplir fielmente sus obligaciones hacia ellos y el compromiso que han contraído delante de Dios.  Intercede por ellos ante tu Hijo, que vive y reina con el Padre y el Espíritu Santo por los siglos de los siglos.  Amen. 5

This long-established tradition of a presentation is principally Mexican in origin. However, with the intermingling of many Latin American cultures in the United States, more and more Hispanics are celebrating this extraordinary custom.  The presenting of a child to God, and to the Church, stems from a strong desire by parents to ask for divine protection for their newborn, and thanksgiving for a safe childbirth.  As documented in many studies, infant mortality rates are extremely high in many developing nations. Therefore, this custom began because parents wished to give thanks to God, and the Virgin Mary, for the survival, and ongoing good health, of their child.

In addition, this tradition has become an important pastoral opportunity to celebrate God’s gift of life, not only for a family, but also within a larger community, for example a church congregation.  With each “ presentación, ” a family formally announces the birth of a child to the faithful, their brothers and sisters in Christ, with whom they pray at Mass, and socialize with at church events.  This moment is also very significant since it marks the beginning of pre-baptismal formation for the parents.  The ritual first emphasizes the presentation of a newborn infant or child, but it also incorporates the marking of the cross, and the anointing of an infant or child, with the oil of catechumens, which occur during the baptism of a child.  The ultimate goal of all presentations is the baptism of the child.  Unfortunately, many families now wait to baptize their children. So, often children, who are even three years old, also need to be christened.  The rite of “ la presentación ” follows closely a pattern outlined in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), where the rites for adults occur in a progressive manner over time, and not in just one specific moment.  If the marking and anointing is done at “ la presentación ” of a child, then there is no need to repeat it again during the actual baptism of the child.  In effect, in the adult catechumenate, many rites are likewise performed separately on different Sundays before the actual Easter Vigil, when one receives the sacraments of initiation.

The source of this tradition of “ la presentación” is, without a doubt, the presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, forty days after Christmas, or on February 2 as noted on the Church calendar.  In Mexico, this special day is an annual holiday as the entire family attends Mass and carries .  These statues are of many different sizes, with the child Jesus lying down as in the manager, or sitting up in a chair.  In almost all cases, “ el ni ño Jes ús” is nicely dressed in elegant clothes, often sewn by the mother of the family.  The bringing of “ el ni ño Jes ús ” to church for a blessing has become a widespread tradition now in the Mexican, and Mexican American, communities in the United States.  However, in the United States this celebration has moved to the closest Sunday to the Feast of the Presentation since it is not celebrated as a national holiday in the United States, and many family members work long hours during the week.  On that Sunday, I often have hundreds of statues of “ el ni ño Jes ús ” in the sanctuary to show the deep love that Mexicans have for “ el ni ño Jes ús ” and the Virgin Mary.

On the Feast of the Presentation, we Catholics commemorate Jesus being carried to the Temple in the arms of Joseph and Mary.  In doing so, the parents of Jesus were merely following the Mosaic Law of that time by giving over their first-born male child to the Lord, as a testimony and remembrance of his Divinity.  As observant Jews, Mary and Joseph knew of this law from the Book of Exodus, when Moses informed his followers that, when the Lord brings you safely into the land of the Canaanites, everyone “must offer every first-born male to the Lord.”(Exodus 13:11).  Moses explains that, as a result of obtaining this freedom, everyone had to “buy back every first born male child” (Exodus 13:13; Numbers 18:15) by going to the Temple, and paying with a lamb, or if one is poor, “with two turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).  From that moment, the eldest son was fully consecrated to the service of God.

For the Blessed Virgin Mary, the offering of her Son in the temple was not merely a ritual gesture.  The significance of the presentation of her Son was that Mary was offering Jesus up for the redemption and salvation of the world.  In fact, by her very act, Mary was renouncing her maternal rights to Jesus, as she offered her Son fully to the will of the Father.  Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, in the eleventh century, expresses this very clearly in one of his prayers: “Offer your Son, Holy Virgin, and present him to God the Father as the fruit of your womb.  Offer him for our salvation, the sacred victim who is pleasing to God.”

By placing Jesus in the arms of Simeon and Anna, Mary also offers her Son to the world.  In this respect, she is acting as the Mother of the whole human race.  Pope Benedict XVI, in a homily for the liturgical feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and for the Day of Consecrated Life on February 2, 2006, explains the singular role of Mary in the temple:  “Carrying her Son to Jerusalem, the Virgin Mother offers him to God as the true Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world; she hands him to Simeon and Anna as an annunciation of redemption; she presents him to all as light for a secure journey on the path of truth and love.”

There is a strong connection between the presentation of Jesus to God, and the saving act of Jesus’ death on the cross. On this joyful occasion of the presentation of Jesus in the temple, we also hear of the impending sadness in the words of Simeon to Mary:

This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel.  He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts.  And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart” (Lk2:34-35).

The sword, mentioned by Simeon, represents Mary’s participation in Christ’s suffering, particularly in his passion and death.  In effect, the Mother of Jesus Christ suffers because of the rejection of Christ by men.  This suffering, prophesized by Simeon to Mary, is not limited to solely one particular moment, but assumes dimensions much greater that extend to her entire life.  Every rejection endured by Christ, throughout his life, will pierce his mother’s heart.  This suffering clearly finds its culmination onCalvary, when Christ is crucified and dies.  John Paul II has emphasized the character of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple as a “second annunciation.”  According to the Pope, the first annunciation focuses on the Incarnation and the role of Mary as Virgin Mother; however, the second one centers on Mary’s co-operation in redemption as she witnesses her Son’s passion and death.

The second custom of the presentation in Jewish law was the purification of the mother after giving birth to a son.  This law is spelled out in the first chapter of Leviticus that “if a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days … on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised … She shall bring to the door of the tent of the priest a lamb a year old for a burnt offering … and if she cannot afford a lamb, then two turtledoves or two pigeons … and the priest will perform this ritual to take away her impurity and she will be ritually clean”(Lev 1:8).  Thus, this feast day is also known as the “Purification of the Virgin Mary.”  However, in truth, Mary did not have to go through this ritual purification since she remained a virgin, even though she had given birth to a child.

Over time, the Mexican tradition of “ la presentación” has changed noticeably.  In the past, Mexican families would follow the custom known as “ sacamisa ,” (“take one to church”), which was a tradition to bring the already baptized child to church in order to hear Mass for the first time.  The parents did this precisely forty days after the birth of the child.  At the end of the Mass, then, the priest would give a special blessing to the child and the mother.  Why has this tradition changed so drastically?  Times have changed.  Catholics no longer baptize their children within the first week of birth.  Perhaps, also due to the lack of catechesis, parents do not feel obliged to baptize their children so quickly.  They often wait to baptize their children when they have enough money for a large gathering or celebration.  As a result, parents first plan to present their child during his first year, and delay the baptism for later.  Surprisingly, “ los padrinos ,” form an important part of “ la presentación” of a child.  They often are the ones who carry the child up to the altar, if he is forty days old, or if three years old, they hold the child’s hand and walk with them to the sanctuary.  In most cases, “ los padrinos” are chosen based on their ability to help pay for the child’s clothes and party, and not especially for their deep faith in God.  Interestingly, parents often ask me if the “ padrinos ” for “ la presentación” have to be married in the church if they are a couple, as required for godparents for the sacrament of baptism.  The Church does not provide any definite rules about “ padrinos” for a presentation, but I try to encourage the parents to choose carefully so as to have the same “ padrinos ” for “ la presentación ” as for baptism.

Even though “ la presentación ” is a wonderful and significant tradition in the Hispanic community, I often reiterate that the truest form of “ la presentación ” of a child is at the sacrament of baptism.  A presentation is no substitute for this sacrament.  In “ la presentación ,” a child is merely presented to God and the Church, and the parents are blessed.  It is not a sacrament instituted by Christ for grace, and entrusted to the Church. In addition, the efficacious sacrament of baptism is the basis for our whole Christian life.  By this sacrament a child is freed from original sin, becomes a member of the Church, and also a child of God.  So, true catechesis is required for the parents, and even the faithful, to learn about the role of “ la presentación ” which leads to baptism.

According to the Old Testament, only the first born son was presented to God for consecration.  However, tradition provides a basis for “ la presentación ” of young girls.  On November 21, the Church celebrates a feast known as the “Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary” in the temple.  This event is based on an ancient tradition of Judaism, which is not found in Sacred Scripture.  This presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is detailed in a work titled the “ Protoevangelium of James,” from the second century.  However, the true commemoration of this feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary did not truly begin until the solemn dedication of a church to the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem in 543 A.D.

According to the proto-Gospel and tradition, the Virgin Mary was carried to the temple at the age of three by her older parents, Saint Ann and Saint Joaquin.  The Blessed Mother was presented to God by her parents, who were also further instructed in the faith on that day.  Even though the Blessed Virgin Mary was consecrated to God on that eventful day, in reality this sanctification had begun much earlier during her infancy when the Holy Spirit bestowed graces on her from the time of her Immaculate Conception.  In the apocryphal gospel, we also learn that lighted torches were carried by the parents of the many girls, who were also to be presented that day.  At the temple, we are told that Mary broke away from the crowd of children, and climbed fifteen steps, in spite of her young years, drawing near to the most sacred place of Judaism, the Holy of Holies.  According to tradition, there she received a special gift of food from the angels above, who were singing psalms to her.  At that moment, Mary was being prepared, in both body and soul, for her unique role to become the Mother of God, and the Church.  Her presentation, of course, points to the similar event of the presentation of the child Jesus in the temple.  Due to the deep love and honor that Mexicans have for the Blessed Virgin Mary in the person of “ La Guadalupe ,” they also began to practice the custom of presenting little girls in the church in order to consecrate them, along with the boys, to the maternal care of Mary.

In the third phase of “ la presentación,” the child is consecrated to the care of “ la Virgen Mar ía.”  Honor is rendered to Mary in a unique way in Catholicism.  She is celebrated for being present in the salvific events in the life of Christ, for example, in the Presentation of Jesus Christ, which points directly to the death and resurrection of her Son, Jesus Christ, and the salvation of all peoples.  All devotion to her is based on a Christological orientation because all of the various forms of piety towards the Mother of God ensure that, while the mother is honored, the Son is always glorified. On December 9, 2010, at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, John Paul II proclaimed the Virgin of Guadalupe as “ la Emperatriz de las Am éricas. ” (“Empress of the Americas”).  Extending from Canada to Patagonia, the Pope entrusted all Americans to the unconditional love and the care of the Blessed Mother.  In “ la presentación, ” the consecration of a child to the Blessed Mother highlights, in a public way, how all of us are children of Mary.

For priests, extra attention needs to be given to the explaining of the wonderful tradition of “ la presentación ” for each family and the faithful.  Many of our faithful are not catechized, and, therefore, they merely believe that the presentation of a child is an excuse to celebrate the birthday of a child with a huge party.  Many families even believe that the certificate given for “ la presentación ” of a child is an important document that they often frame and hang on the living room wall of the house, surrounded by pictures.  However, nowhere in sight is the baptismal certificate.

Therefore, the priest, during the “ presentaciones,” should emphasize the intrinsic value of “ la presentación” since it is a way to catechize the child, the family, and even the faithful.  I often utilize a beautiful stained glass window of the Presentation of Our Lord in the church to help teach about the history and value of a presentation.  This is a teachable moment for all.  Not surprisingly, if the celebrant shows genuine trust and warmth in presenting the child to the congregation, his credibility will be enhanced.  The same is also true if the priest looks for ways to involve all of those present in “ la presentación, ” both family and the faithful.  However, it should never be overlooked that the true objective of this vibrant tradition should always be the baptism of the child.

In fact, the priest should underscore that, from the moment of “ la presentación, ” the child and the family should walk along with Jesus to that special moment of the “ entrega ” (“giving over”) in the sacrament of baptism, when the parents entrust the child to the godparents for the pouring on of water, and the praying of the Trinitarian form by the priest, and, afterwards, the lighting of the candle.  Only then, can we understand how “ la presentación ” is a very special and sacred way for a family to begin to walk with God towards that great sacrament of baptism.

• Mark Francis and Arturo J. Pérez-Rodríguez, Primero Dios:  Hispanic Liturgical Resource (Eldrige, Iowa:  Liturgy Training Publications, 1997), 25. ↩
• Translated by author, “Life is God’s greatest gift to us.  The life of a newborn child is the family’s greatest sign of blessing.  Since we have received the gift of a new life, we come to present N_______ to the Lord our God.  We ask that God bless and welcome him so that he may become a good Christian in this life. ↩
• Translated by author, N____, the Christian community welcomes you with great joy.  In its name I claim you for Christ by the sign of the cross.  I now trace the cross on your forehead and invite your parents and godparents to do the same.” ↩
• Translated by author, “By anointing this child, we welcome him as a member of the family of Christ and we begin our journey with them toward baptism.  N____, we anoint you with the oil of salvation in the name of Christ, our savior, may he strengthen you with his power, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.  Amen.” ↩
• Translated by author, “Most holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, we present to you this child that God has given us and place him in your care and protection.  We consecrate him with our whole heart and we give him over to your tenderness and maternal love.  Help his parents faithfully comply with the obligations they have committed themselves to this day in the presence of God.  Intercede for them before your Son, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.  Amen.” ↩

Reverend Gus Puleo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is presently the pastor of St. Patrick Church in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and teaches Pastoral Spanish at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.

Dear Fr. Gus, I believe there is a typo on the fourth to the last paragraph. Was it not in 1999, the year that Blessed John Paul the Great, when he proclaimed. “La Virgen de Guadalupe”, the “The Emperatriz de las Americas”? I enjoyed this article, very much! I witnessed this “presentacion” of a 3 y.o. girl at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish in Orange, TX, some few years back. Yours in Christ, Sylvia JD, parishioner of St Paul Catholic Church, San Antonio, TX

[…] Las Presentaciones: A Vibrant Hispanic Tradition – Fr. Gus Puelo, Homiletic & Pstrl Rvw […]

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Creating engaging presentations for children: Why you can't treat them like mini-adults

Average: 5 ( 1 vote)

5 to 10 year-olds might be the toughest audience that you as a presenter will ever face.

If you cannot connect with and engage them, it won’t be long before they start looking away, fidgeting, and flopping on the floor (or on the child next to them.)

The best ways to engage children is to get into their mindset, keep things simple and visual, and use a lot of interactivity.

Start by asking their teacher (or mentor) what they will expect from your presentation. Find out how much they already know about the topic, and roughly how long your presentation should be. They will know their particular group, and take out a lot of the guess work. Pay close attention to their advice and work it into your presentation.

Below are some tips on how to adapt your presentation to connect and engage younger audience.

How to connect with children

Be empathetic. Start by putting yourself into their (little) shoes. Try to empathize with their mindset, and then decide what will be the most important thing for them to get out of your talk will be.

Don’t try to be one of them, this very seldomly works with children. Instead, project yourself as the type of adult they may want to become.

Young people are genuine in their feedback: when they don’t like what’s being said, they will let you know. They are not naturally rude: they just haven’t learned how to pretend yet.

Avoid being too perfect or scripted, they will quickly find this boring or disingenuous. If you want to connect with them, tell them what you did, thought, felt, or found, what you felt as opposed to abstract concepts.

Make your presentation as relevant as possible, anchor it to a topic they just learned about, or an everyday example that they can immediately relate to.

Do your best to get an emotional response out from your audience right away. If you want them to listen to you, you will need to connect with them on a more personal level right away, and stop them from feeling indifferent.

In your introduction, make your topic relevant to them, by using examples of things that they can relate to.

Get to the point quickly, then keep up the pace.

Keep your presentation short and sweet.

The average attention span of 3 to 6 year old is under 10 minutes; for 7 to 12 year olds you have about 20 minutes; and a maximum of 40 minutes the 12 to 17 year range. In short, the younger they are the less time you will have to get your idea across.

You need to quickly get to the point and move on.

Often when we are presenting to adults, we make sure to evenly pace our information, with long, meaningful pauses and a measured, moderate pace. This, however, does not work well with a young audience.

For children, slow means boring and once they are bored, you’ve lost them and you won’t be able to get your message across.

Try the one-sentence rule: say the main point of your talk in the opening sentence.

If you ramble or talk too much, children will get the feeling that you’re not quite sure what it is you want to say, and they will lose interest in waiting for you to figure it out. 

Keep your language simple

Although you want to keep things moving at a quicker pace: this does not mean that you should talk faster.

Adults can speak and understand roughly 150 words per minute, but studies have shown that younger children can only process about 124 words per minute. This means you are going to have to speak a bit more slowly and carefully.

When talking to younger children, use short simple sentences with one-syllable words.

Ask the teacher or leader for advice on how complex their language is, or listen to how they communicate with each other and adapt to match their complexity.

Watch your words and phrases and be very intentional with the language you use; use conversational language rather than formal.

Avoid using “baby talk” or patronizing your audience, but at the same time, use a kind of language that children will actually understand and be able to relate to.

Here are some examples:

• “ I like the outdoors ” can be made more relatable by saying “ I love jumping in puddles  and building campfires ” instead.
• “ €1 billion euros ” can change to “ enough money to fill this room from floor to ceiling ”
• “ Our study looked for explanations ” might be too complex, try using “ we searched for answers to our questions ”

Get very visual

The younger the audience is, the more important your visuals will need to be.

Young children are primarily visual creatures. Standing in one place and just talking at them will be painfully boring for most children.

You have a maximum of a few minutes of talking without doing anything, or showing them some sort of visual: go over this and you will lose them.

Children are very concrete thinkers and when they can see concrete examples, it will help them understand what you are saying. Bring with you lots of pictures and props, even your tools and uniform can help.

As much as possible, use your body to demonstrate physical actions, because the visuals will help draw the audience into your story .

If you are using a slide presentation, be more colourful than professional. Use comics, well-known cartoon characters, and feel free to animate your slides, this will add a level of excitement to the presentation.

Use movement, interaction and involvement

Although adults find it fairly straightforward to sit calmly and listen for 20 minutes, children crave interaction and movement.

You need to come up with ways to keep your audience stimulated and entertained.

Ask for a volunteer to demonstrate an action, hold a visual or prop, pass around handouts, or even to turn off the lights.  

Ask the group to repeat key terms, or play a version of “when I say [fill in the blank], you say [fill in the blank].” You can even invite young children to stand up and pretend to make a motion, like climbing, cooking, or dancing, right along with you. Just make sure that it is age appropriate (ie. preteens will appreciate this a lot less than five year olds.)

From a simple show of hands, to a game, getting them up and moving around as part of your presentation will make it easier for them to connect with your message.

Always make sure the activity ties into your message, or the children will simply get sidetracked.

What to do if they get bored

If your audience is getting bored, wrap up your point, or shift gears quickly.

You will know when they are getting bored, because they will stop making eye contact with you, start wriggling, fidgeting or sighing, or will just have a glazed, unentertained look on their little faces.

When this happens move on to something else very quickly.

Don’t get flustered by spontaneous, excited behavior like talking, blurting things out or moving around a lot: this is completely normal and does not mean they are not engaging with you. Just work with it or move on.

Lastly, if ever you feel that things are getting out of control or you have lost them completely, ask for some help from the teacher or the group leader, and they can help bring the group back on track.

One of the main goals of SpeakerHub is to connect talented experts with the schools and organizations in their area.

You can make a positive impact in your community by communicating your message to local kids. If you’d like to learn more about being a volunteer speaker, please click here .

What are your best tips for working with younger audiences? We’d love to hear your stories. Contact us here .

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Children’s Presentation

The Presentation of a Child is a thanksgiving ritual for a child who is forty days old or three years old.  Although this celebration is followed as part of a tradition in various Hispanic countries, the event has a historical connotation.

The Presentation of a Child ( Las Presentaciones ) is a ritual in honor of the Virgin Mary’s presentation at the temple at the age of three, and the Presentation of the Baby Jesus in the temple 40 days after Christmas. The child is dressed in a gown or elegant suit and is accompanied by parents and godparents.

The presentation of a child is stronger in the Mexican community.

To schedule one (at least a month in advance) or for more information call the office.

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Making Presentation Design for Kids and 8 Ideas to Turn It More Compelling

Shasa Azzahra

• Published on July 14, 2020

Table of Contents

Making a presentation design for kids isn’t an easy thing, and if you are an educator, indeed you truly understand the struggle.

First of all, you will work with so many kids and it is such a hard-won thing to create an engaging presentation for them.

If you want them to keep an eye out for your presentation while you are teaching them and give oh-so-exciting bullet points of information, think about it again. Because the best way to attract them is not only to make an interactive topic but also to keep the slides hilarious and energetic. 

So how to make a presentation design for kids to be more compelling? Below are our directions that you can follow:

Use the best tools for young learners

There are many preferences today for an educator to use technology to keep the young learner engaged.

You can pick another presentation app that is more fascinating than a basic PowerPoint, such as Courseware . It is a platform that can be applied to a small class of children.

The tool helps to make polls via electronic remotes without raising hands, needless to say, it will help your shy students a lot. If you need any other tools to assist you in creating a seamless presentation, you can check here . 

Create easy and funny themes

Everyone knows that PowerPoint hands down thousands of colors, fonts, shapes, and animation effects.

Most of us are often mistaken that those graphic elements can make one presentation look artsy. In fact, those things may mess up your message.

So use a simple design but still fun-looking for kids. Keep in mind that you have to eliminate useless things. Secondly, skip the stock template.

To tell the truth, the default templates provided by PowerPoint are ugly and overused. If you are using a template theme, create it more colorful and fun. Need an idea? Take a look at the example of a presentation template design for kids .

See also: Good Presentation Design Tips and Tricks to Develop

Five colors combination are enough.

A matching palette can genuinely develop the look of your entire presentation slides. No need for mixed-up gradients or textures but you can touch them for excellent results by adding the right colors. We have some references for using tools like Coolors , Colordot , or Canva to create fine-tuned color schemes.

Look at your strong contrast between background and text so that your message can stand out. If you put a dark color as the background, use a lighter color as your text and if you have a light color as the background, then use darker color as the color text – this makes the text easy to read. 

Using a plain white background for your presentation slide is also a good idea to maximize your message to kids. Intentionally creating the elements of your background presentation also helps you to make a cheerful design.

Vector graphics yes, bullet points no

Too many bullet points included in slides can make kids difficult to get the message clearly.

They will not remember those ugly bullet points. Instead, they will remember some funny clipart matching and vector icons that look fun.

You can try them for a slide title, headings, and subheadings through recommended sites like Freepik and Vecteezy .

There are also 7 websites to download vector icons for PowerPoint to help children memorize your ideas easily.

Use kids-friendly fonts

Creating funny designs for children can be challenging. You can use a lot of funny fonts that are any other way of bounds on more formal design.

In a way to do that, you have to know about the scope related to the characteristics of kids. Creating a kids’ font is the best way to energize things. Unleash your inner child with 12 Best Kids Fonts for Children’s Website and Design Project .

Add audio-visual graphic

Creating visual properties to build your verbal PowerPoint topics may help kids be interested in what you are saying. Adding things such as a photo and a film or short video clip or a sample piece of fabric, food, animal, or relevant stuff for the discussion will create a creative twist.

Add your slide presentation by creating short videos from your PC or creating videos from a variety of online sources.

Another way of making a fun presentation is the use of animated GIFs , which somehow can uplift some touches of humor. Trying to attach an animated gif as a bit of comic relief or funny things is also relatable for kids.

Use attention-grabbing keywords

“The average attention span of 3 to 6 year-olds is under 10 minutes, for 7 to 12 year-olds is about 20 minutes, and a maximum of 40 minutes for 12 to 17-year range,” said O’Hanlon .

In brief, the younger they are the less time you will get your idea over them. Filling too much information into one slide will absolutely knock the bottom out of its purpose. Remember, kids often take a long time to process everything you say while they are watching the slide.

So use some keywords! When talking to children, use short simple sentences with one-syllable words. Have a look-see your words and phrases and be more intentional with the language, use interactive language rather than formal.

Download PowerPoint templates for kids

Searching for a presentation design service but you do not know if it is worth it? We highly recommend checking out here and jumping into their huge collection of presentation templates.

They provide a high-quality PowerPoint design with plenty of fascinating features, reused templates, and very cost-effective, and quick service.

What’s more, they already have so many trusted business customers over the world. 

Put in your mind that it is always good to survey any new software in making a presentation design by yourself. By doing that, you can tackle any problem and finally can present materials in a more fascinating way for kids. 

Questions or comments about this presentation design for kids tips? Feel free to drop your ideas, or just get in touch with us via Instagram !

Let’s visit RRSlide to download free PowerPoint presentation templates with many categories. But wait, don’t go anywhere and stay here with our Blog to keep up-to-date on all the best pitch deck template collections and design advice from our PowerPoint experts yet to come!

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How To Engage Children With Your Presentations?

Hrideep barot.

• Presentation , Public Speaking

“Pay attention!” “Concentrate!” “You can take a break after just two more pages.” Nearly every parent or teacher has tried pleading to engage children with their presentations. After all, children have limited attention spans.

Grabbing children’s attention and keeping them engaged with you might seem like a daunting task. However, there are fascinating ways in which you can make them glued to your presentation. From adding visual aids, interesting graphics and stories to quizzes, polls, games, and humor, it is possible to hook the focus of children and make teaching and learning a worthwhile experience for them.

Why Can’t You Treat Children Like They Are Mini Adults?

Before addressing how to engage children with your presentations, it is essential to understand why children can’t be presented in the same way as adults.

One of the reasons children require special needs and aids to keep themselves present at the moment is their tendency to get easily distracted.

They may notice something more interesting in their surroundings and shift their attention in a flash. And before you know it, they will start gazing away, fidgeting, and flopping on the floor.

To be cautious about these situations, you can begin by inquiring about their teacher’s (or mentor’s) expectations for your presentation. Determine how much they presently understand the topic and how lengthy you should make your presentation.

This will allow them to be familiar with the particular group, eliminating a lot of the guesswork. Pay heed to their suggestions and incorporate them into your presentation.

The Art Of Starting Off On The Right Foot

The success of your presentation will be determined by how well you start with it. Add a 60-second rule to your presentation game. Make the first 60 seconds the most eye-catching you can. The following strategies can help you gain perspective.

1. Connect With The Children

Well, how do you connect with these young minds? For starters, empathize with the children. Put yourself in their (little) shoes. Try to understand their perspective, and then decide what the most essential takeaway from your conversation will be.

Don’t try to fit in with them; this rarely works with kids. Instead, imagine yourself as the kind of grownup they’d like to be.

Avoid being too flawless or scripted; they will quickly become bored or suspicious if you do. Tell them what you did, felt, or discovered, rather than explaining abstract concepts.

Make your presentation as relevant as possible by tying it to a recent topic they learned about.

Furthermore, you can start making your topic interesting to them by offering examples of things they can relate to in your introduction. Quickly get to the point, then maintain the pace.

2. Arouse Curiosity And Inquisitiveness

Children in general are curious little angels. The presenter can take the advantage of this characteristic and progressively arouse curiosity in them at the start.

This can be done by a series of statements to draw them into your presentation or simply by asking a set of questions. Even better, asking rhetorical questions. 

For example, if you wish to teach them a lesson about nature and animals, you can ask them questions like:

• Do you have any pet animals at home?
• Which is your favourite animal?
• What do animals do for us?
• Do you like playing in the parks among trees?
• How do trees help us?

3. Use Interesting Materials And Props

Children are as fond of visual aids as anyone can be. Using objects, props, and materials during your presentations can make children even more interested in your topic, which would develop their attention.

It is also important that you make sure the prop is relevant to the topic of your presentation.

For example, if your topic is Human Anatomy, you can show them a skeleton.

A classic example of this strategy was demonstrated by Bill Gates in his Ted Talk in California. He brought a box full of mosquitoes to his talk. Now, why would someone do that?

Well, the topic of his talk was the dangers of Malaria. Interesting, isn’t it?

The audience was surprised and intrigued at the same time when they heard the topic and were able to comprehend why he brought the box filled with mosquitoes.

Just as this example illustrates, this technique has a chance of working well with children too.

To get more ideas on how to have a great start to your presentation, you can refer to our article on 50 Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own) .

Making The Presentation Suitable For Children

1. add intriguing visual aids.

Small kids are concrete thinkers, which implies they have a hard time comprehending anything they can’t see. You’ll need more images if your audience is younger.

Images, objects, sketches, animations, and films will all aid in communicating your point. If you’re giving your presentation in person, you can also take advantage of your own body language and movement.

Be a little more colorful than professional when giving a slide presentation.

Use jokes and well-known cartoon characters, and feel free to animate your slides to add to the presentation’s enthusiasm.

Remember to not overlook things like backgrounds, fonts, and colors. These design components can transform an uninteresting presentation into something that draws children’s attention and interests them in a topic.

Downloading templates from sites like slidesgo might uplift your presentation designs and make them visually appealing.

Here are a few templates that can be suitable for children and grab their attention.

2. Add Games, Quizzes, and Polls

What student, regardless of age, does not enjoy a nice game, challenge, or competition?

Including a mini-game in a presentation breaks up the monotony of a lecture and encourages the young learners to consider the lessons critically to help their team win.

Basic instructional games come in a variety of variations and adaptations. Pictionary, Jeopardy, Charades, Hangman,  and Bingo are examples of games that teachers can modify to their requirements.

A teacher can rapidly launch an interactive digital game by incorporating links to tools like ClassCraft or Kahoot within the presentation.

These apps assist teachers in customizing their own games by allowing them to add their own questions, information, and materials for individuals, small groups, or the entire class to participate in.

Additionally, since virtual online learning is on the rise, teachers can use various games that can be suitable for online learning as well.

Some examples of games could include:

1. Identify the sound: In this game, you can simply play a sound or audio on your screen that might be related to your topic and ask the children to identify those sounds.

For example, if you are teaching kids about animals, you can play the sound of a dog or cat and ask them to identify which animal is it.

2. Recognition and memory game : Here, you can display a picture on your screen and ask the learners to carefully look at them.

After 15-20 seconds, remove the picture from the screen and ask the kids if they remember or recall anything from the picture. You can also ask them related questions to the particular image that was shown.

3. Correct me if I am wrong : This can be an interesting game that will also help you to ensure if your kids are able to grasp what they are being taught.

Here you can state some sentences that might be true or false. For example:

• The color of Mango is yellow.
• These are five fingers (showing them your fingers).
• Lion is the king of the jungle.

The above statements may be true or false. You can ask the kids to answer whether the statements given are true or false and ask them to correct you accordingly.

4. Complete the word : You can display a word on the screen with missing letters and ask them to identify and complete the whole word.

For example, if you wish to display the word ‘orange’, you can show the following sequence:

There are many more games that you can come up with, which are further elaborated in the video below.

Additionally, teachers can come up with quiz questions on the spot using technological aids such as an interactive digital whiteboard on applications such as Educreations , Google Jamboards , Drawp For School , etc.

This digital quiz can be distributed to all students wirelessly, and the results can be shared with all participants for discussion in seconds.

A basic quiz’s spontaneity, unpredictability, and class involvement can be considerably increased as a result of this.

Furthermore, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to quizzes.

Even simple questions with restricted replies, such as polls, are used to reach a consensus. This could be done through a show of hands, ballots, or forming groups of learners.

To make this suitable in the world of online learning, various classroom management software, such as Google Classroom , includes built-in polling, survey, and quiz tools, as well as assignments, communication, and other educational functions.

The collecting and assessment of your work begin immediately after you submit it.

Here is a video that can help you with creating engaging quiz lessons with your kids.

Similarly, not only games and quizzes but even non-linear presentation software, such as Prezi , allows presenters to create presentations using easy-to-customize templates.

They provide a zoomable canvas (rather than slides) to allow people to share information, stories and motivate audiences to act.

The canvas depicts point relationships and suggests a flow, but not a specific direction to follow.

Here are a few templates from Prezi that can lighten up the monotony of a linear presentation.

3. Add a Good Amount Of Humor and Delight

Humor can be a beneficial technique to keep kids interested in what they’re studying. Furthermore, it reduces stress, making learning easier and more pleasurable for both teachers and students!

You can inject some laughter into your presentation by using a comical presentation template design. You could even include a funny character who appears on every slide. You can also incorporate animated GIFs, which can convey a humorous message in a matter of seconds, especially for older primary students.

Just be careful not to go off on a tangent with your humor. Always keep your subject in mind when using comedy and use it sparingly.

We have written an entire article on how you can incorporate humor in your speech. You can check that out on A Guide to Using Humor In Your Presentation to get more ideas and examples.

4. Make Your Presentation Crisp and To-The-Point

Many of the world’s best speeches and presentations, which have been heard and seen by millions, contain a lot of humor.

A great speaker will use natural charm, humor, and beautiful language to convey their arguments and get the audience interested in what they are saying, regardless of the subject.

The typical attention span of 3- to 6-year-olds  is less than 10 minutes; 7- to 12-year-olds have roughly 20 minutes; and 12- to 17-year-olds have a maximum of 40 minutes.

In other words, the younger they are, the less time you will have to persuade them of your point of view. You must get to the point swiftly and move on.

We generally make sure to equally pace our information while presenting to adults, with extended, meaningful pauses and a regulated, moderate pace. This, on the other hand, does not appeal to a young audience.

Slow implies boring to kids, and if they’re bored, you’ve lost them and won’t be able to communicate with them.

Try the one-sentence principle: in the first sentence, state your primary idea.

If you wander or talk too long, kids will get the impression that you don’t know what you’re trying to communicate and will lose all interest in waiting for you to figure it out.

With long, meandering presentations, you’ll quickly lose them, and the rest of the speech will be a battle of endurance for the few courageous listeners.

Famous presenters across history have understood the value of compressing information by employing well-thought-out sentences and short, meaningful phrases.

You will also need a set of structures or standards so that you won’t stray away at any time. This entails logically progressing from one point to the next, arriving at a sound conclusion, and emphasizing the most important facts.

To get a clear picture of how to make your speech clear, and concise, you can have a look at our video that elaborates on tips and strategies you can apply for the same.

5. Use a Language That is Simple and Suitable For Kids

Even though it is preferable to keep things going at a faster pace, this does not imply that you should speak more quickly.

Adults can speak and understand about 150 words per minute, but younger children can only process about 124 words per minute, according to studies.

You’ll have to speak more slowly and carefully as a result of this. Use short, basic sentences using one-syllable words while speaking to younger children.

Request advice from the teacher or leader on how sophisticated their language is or pay attention to how they speak with one another and adjust to fit their complexity.

Keep a close eye on your words and phrases and utilize conversational language rather than formal terminology.

Some instances are as follows: • Instead of saying, “I like being outdoors” say, “I enjoy jumping in puddles and building campfires.”

• The phrase “1 billion euros” can be translated as “enough money to fill this room from right to left, and from the floor to the ceiling.”

• If “our study concluded with these explanations” is too complicated, consider “We found solutions to our problems.”

6. Encourage Students To Participate In Class

Your kids will not be able to drift off into a daydream if you use interactive activities. When you invite them to participate, they must sit up and pay attention. Encourage students to get up from their chairs and move about the classroom.

Request that they repeat back to your essential phrases.

Encourage them to stand up and act out some of the concepts you’ve presented. In the process, you’ll create a really unique and memorable learning experience! 

Ask help from volunteers to illustrate an action, hold a visual or prop, pass out leaflets, or even turn off the lights.

Getting children up and heading around as part of your presentation, whether it’s a simple show of hands or a game, will help them engage with your message.

Although, keep in mind and make sure that the activity relates to your message, or the kids may become distracted.

7. Make Up A Tale For Them

One of the most effective ways to begin a presentation is with a story. A well-told story will drive listeners to lean in more than anything else. Our brains are designed for storytelling, according to science.

However, the story must be succinct, with just enough detail to make it come alive. It must be genuine and have a “message,” or lesson, that supports your point of view.

8. Run Through A What-if Scenario With Them

A “what if” scenario is a great way to start your presentation. For example, starting a presentation with the topic ‘Benefits of eating healthy’, come up with the question “What if you can stay healthy all your life?”.

This might increase the interest of the children because it encourages them to envision something that lies in the future. It has the potential to increase their interest and learn more about your topic.

Make use of the word “imagine.” This word invites the listeners to visualize something in their minds. It has become a potent word with emotional appeal since John Lennon’s famous song.

9. Make Sure The Slides Are Simple, Interactive, and Funny

It’s tempting to squeeze as much information as possible onto a slide, but too much text might be confusing rather than informative.

Always keep in mind that the majority of learning occurs during a discussion of the issue rather than from reading the words on a slide, so keep the text to a minimum – just enough for students to understand the question or subject – and rely on the dialogue to flesh out crucial ideas.

Presentations are frequently thought of as a visual help. However, because PowerPoints have so much versatility, they may also be an effective interactive tool!

There are various methods to make your slides more interactive, whether it’s through “this or that” questions, a “find the mistake” challenge, or “guess the word” activities.

The example below might help you to create a simple and fun game using PowerPoint.

It is advisable to liven up the slides if you need them to emphasize your point and deliver your information more effectively.

Facts aren’t always black and white, as they say, and your presentation should reflect this. Add some color, make the content stand out, and utilize a fun animation to transition from one slide to the next.

You can also use the presentations to add extra humor to the presentation, both in terms of words and visuals. Within the context of what you’re talking about, a picture that’s utilized to provoke a positive response ought to be entertaining.

You can also add certain videos and audio that explain your concept or add to it. Children are more likely to remember something they watched as a video than something they simply read.

Additionally, sprinkling Q&A sessions between your presentations can also turn out to be quite engaging for the students.

This will not only make them gain attention but will also help you ensure that they are understanding what you are trying to explain.

To help you get an idea of how to create an interactive Q&A session on PowerPoint, you can watch this short video.

10. Make Use Of Your Body Movements

When speaking, don’t be scared to use your arms and hands; it makes you appear more passionate and confident. Moving around and taking up some space can come across as positive for the children.

They will also make more sense to what you are trying to explain when you use your body language and incorporate certain movements.

11. Practice, Practice, and Practice

Standing in front of a mirror and preparing a speech or presentation is a practice as old as mirrors – or, come to think of it, as old as human speech.

This is because you can see yourself and interpret how you will be reflected in front of the actual audience, and in this case, the children.

So, try practicing your presentation beforehand. This will help you be sure of your content and structure, which in turn can be a huge success for your presentation’s goal.

Additionally, recording oneself while preparing your presentation is one of the techniques to rehearse. You can evaluate and watch yourself in this way, identifying areas where you need to improve.

Getting aid from people you know who are good at presentations or have experience with children is even better. You might share your practice video and inquire about their impressions of your presentation.

After all, constructive feedback is always a terrific approach to grow as a person!

You can find out various other impacts of video recording yourself in our article on The Incredible Impact of Video Recording Yourself While Practicing a Speech .

Ideas to make Presentations Creative And Out Of The Box

1. include an audio story.

Your presentation doesn’t need to be silent and boring. A visual presentation can be transformed into an experience by adding an audio narrative.

It can either be set up as a self-playing video in which the spectator observes and listens, or it can be initiated by clicking on arrows. The video below can help you to do that.

2. Add the Stop-Motion Technique

The stop-motion technique is time-consuming, but it may make your presentation stand out. Stop-motion can be used in a variety of ways, either with characters doing actions or with items that move around and create a scene.

Stop-motion animation can also be used to make titles that move about. Anything from toys to plants can be used to write the title.

Get a glimpse of how you can create a presentation using this technique below.

3. Make The Presentation Look Like a Comic Book

For many people, comic books serve as a source of inspiration. A comic-style composition’s visual aspect may make your presentation stand out. This approach can be applied in a variety of ways.

Set up the slides as if they were bits from a comic book, with the content in thought bubbles and a pointillist texture for the background.

If you’re going to use characters, make sure they’re appropriate for the theme of your presentation.

4. Add Cinemagraphic Templates

A cinema graph is similar to an elegant GIF. A cinema graph is a photograph with a moving segment that gives it a cinematic appearance.

This type of background can captivate your audience while they listen to your audio story or keep viewers on the slide longer so they can fully comprehend the material presented. Cinemagraphs are accessible for a wide range of themes and topics.

You can watch the video below to learn how to add cinema graphics to your presentations.

5. Use Tree Diagrams

One of the eight thinking maps that helps visualize ideas and concepts is a tree diagram. A tree diagram is used to organize and classify information. This map can aid in the creation of a presentation by ensuring that each slide builds on the previous one.

They may need to be divided into segments so that all of the information may be easily delivered. You can use these to explain concepts that have various sub-divisions.

To create a family tree in PowerPoint, we will go to the “Illustrations” section in the Insert Tab and click on “SmartArt”.

A popup window will appear where you will be asked to select the desired chart type. Scroll down to hereditary and select a chart and click ‘ok’. The graph will be placed on your slide.

6. Use Charming Images To Appeal The Children

Assume you’re making a presentation to kids about moral lessons. Why not add a fun visual element to the slide backgrounds by using adorable illustrations?

Cute creatures, fruits with cheerful faces, illustrated human child characters, and even aliens are all options. A speech bubble might also be included with the charming characters.

7. Use Fonts That Are Thick And Bold

Huge, hefty letters can be an excellent technique to draw attention to slide headers. You could also make the letters bleed over the edges or have the words go vertically down the side.

The thickest and boldest typefaces are those with the fewest embellishments. Use fonts with strong edges or rounded terminals on the other end of the spectrum. It’ll also help if the title is brief and sweet.

8. Sprinkle Gifs To Your Slides

GIFs can be amusing, entertaining, and enthralling. They can also serve as a source of information. GIFs can be found on websites such as Giphy , where you can also make your own!

Whether you use a single GIF or a collection of GIFs in your presentation depends on the message you want to convey with your story.

Here is an example of a Gif from Giphy. You can go ahead and add many more of your choice into your presentation.

9. Use Quotations As a Transition Between Slides

Between a slew of educational presentations, quotes can provide a nice break. You can use them to start new parts of the content or to separate topics inside your presentation.

Your quotes must correspond to the topic of your presentation so that the viewer doesn’t become confused.

Nailing The Ending and Conclusions

After everything is said and done, you want the students to retain the key themes and continue to think about what you’ve said long after the presentation has ended.

This is why you should let things settle down organically before concluding with a key point, quote, or even a question. Make them ponder by planting a seed in their minds. 

Refocus and summarise. Recap the most important ideas or arguments you’ve discussed. Restate your goal, or question if necessary. Reiterate what you want the audience to remember from your presentation.

Make a sense of completion and closure. Many of the same tools that are recommended for openings can be used here.

You can even utilize the same anecdote, phrase, or remark from the beginning and change it up. Other options include posing a challenge, looking ahead, or just restating your primary conclusion or advice.

Creating an interactive presentation can be the secret to reaching a really engaged classroom for teachers looking for new ways to connect with students. It can be fun to integrate questions and collect and analyze answers using a responsive technology solution and effective PowerPoints.

You can successfully create presentations that are engaging by including tools, images, videos, audio, and various other components. Children can benefit from the new generation of technology and become effective learners and thinkers, while also imbibing wisdom and knowledge.   

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3-Year-Old Child Development Milestones

Your child’s growth and development at age 3

• Language and Cognitive Milestones
• Movement, Hand, and Finger Milestones
• Emotional and Social Milestones

How to Help Your 3-Year-Old Learn and Grow

How to keep your 3-year-old safe.

• When to Be Concerned

3-year-olds are funny, thoughtful, creative, loving little creatures. Your child has moved past the baby and toddler stage and into the preschool stage, which is a super fun time. You will start to feel like you have a real little kid now, and you’ll be able to interact with your child in new and exciting ways.

Many parents feel relieved to move past the “ terrible twos ” phase, and hope that their child will become a little easier to manage and less prone to meltdowns. But 3-year-olds can still be difficult to parent at times, as they learn to control their emotions and sort through their big feelings. So if you are finding this phase challenging, you are not alone.

Let’s take a look at what developmental milestones to look forward to at 3-years-old, how to nurture your child and keep them safe, and when to be concerned about your child’s growth and development .

3-Year-Old Language and Cognitive Milestones

When your child was 2, they began saying more words and stringing them into short sentences. At 3, your child’s speaking abilities should start to explode. They will be talking in longer sentences of about 4-5 words, and will be able to start having real conversations with you.

Your child should be able to ask for items by their name, understand simple instructions, and make eye contact with others, says Emily Rooker, speech language pathologist at Bright SpOT Pediatric Therapy . “If they are difficult to understand or appear frustrated over not being understood, an evaluation [by a speech language therapist] may be beneficial,” Rooker recommends.

As your child’s curiosity about the world around them increases, so will the kinds of things they want to talk about. You can expect a lot of “why” and “how” questions now, as your child soaks in everything there is to know about how the world works, and their place in it.

Language and Cognitive Checklist

• Speaks well enough for most strangers to understand what they are saying
• Says their own name and the names of their friends
• Is learning correct use of pronouns (“I,” “me,” “we,” “you”) and how to pluralize words
• Can do a puzzle with 3-4 pieces and can count about 3 objects
• Can retell the story in a book they were read

3-Year-Old Movement, Hand, and Finger Milestones

If you are noticing that your 3-year-old just won’t stop moving, you are in good company. 3-year-olds have a ton of energy, and they are also learning new skills and new ways of moving their bodies.

There are a couple of key gross motor skills you might notice at this age, says Caitlin Sanschagrin, an occupational therapist at Bright SpOT Pediatric Therapy . These include pedaling a tricycle, walking up and down stairs one step at a time, and running and jumping more easily.

There are also some fine motor skills your child should start to master at this age, says Sanschagrin. They should be able to build a tower with about 6 or more blocks. You should notice their ability to draw, using a pencil, marker, or crayon. They should also be able to start copying vertical/horizontal lines and circles at this age, says Sanschagrin.

Physical Milestone Checklist

• Is learning how to get dressed and undress themselves
• Can wash and dry their hands
• Is able to feed themselves with a spoon
• Can throw a ball
• Can balance on one foot for at least a second

3-Year-Old Emotional and Social Milestones

Again, don’t be surprised if your child is still having tantrums and meltdowns at times. This is totally normal for this age. This is partly because 3-year-olds often experience intense emotions, and are still learning to self-regulate.

“They have a wide range of emotions that they are learning to verbalize,” says Rooker. “3-year- olds may also get upset with big changes to routine.”

At this age, you’ll also start to notice changes in the way that your child plays. Their imagination is really starting to take off, Rooker says. “They enjoy playing house, and other simple make believe activities,” she describes.

Your child is also starting to learn how to play with others . This will sometimes be a bumpy ride. Your child is just learning about sharing and taking turns, but may also still be very possessive of their toys, which can lead to meltdowns during play.

At the same time, your child is starting to learn empathy. For instance, they may go to comfort their friend if they see them crying.

Other Milestones for Your 3-Year-Old

After 3 years of seemingly endless diaper changes, most parents of 3-year-olds are looking forward to their child being potty trained . Keep in mind, though, that potty training doesn’t have a specific end date, and all kids are different.

While most 3-year-olds are ready to begin the process of potty training, not all 3-year-olds will complete the process by their fourth birthday. While most 3-year-olds are able to stay dry all day, some still have accidents. Staying dry all night doesn’t usually happen until a child is 4, or even older.

It’s important to muster up as much patience and compassion as you guide your child through the process. A healthy sense of humor helps immensely as well. Always check in with your pediatrician if you have any questions about how potty training is going.

3-year-olds are prone to having very big feelings, and they don’t always know how to manage them besides acting out or melting down . As a parent, you might not know what to do in those types of situations.

Besides trying to remain calm yourself, you can try helping your child conceptualize and better understand how they are feeling. You can do this by assisting your child in naming their feelings (“sad,” “mad,” “frustrated,” etc.) and reassuring them that these feelings are normal.

While your child is in the middle of a tantrum, there are a couple of methods you can consider to help manage the situation. You can try redirection, which is where you try to distract your child by suggesting a fun activity or offering them a favorite toy. You can also try giving your child options. For example, rather than saying, “No, you can’t climb up on the counter,” you can say, “Would you rather go outside and play on the slide, or have a dance party?”

Finally, it can be helpful to try and stay on top of your child’s meltdowns by making sure they get enough sleep and eat regular meals. A hungry, tired child is much more likely to have a meltdown than one who is fed and rested.

While your 3-year-old isn’t growing quite as quickly as they did as an infant, there is still a lot of growing at this age. Your child will gain about 4-6 pounds this year, and grow about 2-3 inches. You can encourage healthy habits at this age by making sure your child gets adequate sleep (usually about 11-13 hours, including one nap), adequate exercise, and eats a healthy diet.

Children this age can be picky about what they eat, but as long as they eat regularly and are growing well, you can be assured they are fine. Contact your pediatrician if you have any questions about your child’s physical growth, overall health, or eating habits .

As your child becomes more independent, you may start to become more lax about supervising them while they play. But they are still too young to play unsupervised, especially outside. Now is a good time to teach your child important outside play tips, such as never running into the street to catch a ball, keeping away from streets while riding a tricycle, and the basics of stranger safety.

When to Be Concerned About Your 3-Year-Old

All children are different, and reach milestones at different rates. For example, Amy Graber PT, DPT , a physical therapist at Family Fit Physical Therapy , says that kids can vary considerably when it comes to mastering motor skills. While milestones are helpful ways to check on your child’s progress, they shouldn’t be thought of as “firm endpoints” for assessing your child’s development, she says.

“Exposure to certain skills, variability in size or stature, and general motivation for play may vary among kids and this can impact developmental progression,” Graber notes.

Still, there are certain warning signs for developmental delays you might want to take note of, Graber warns. “Major red flags would be loss or regression of any prior skills (unable to walk or jump as was previously able), frequent falls or injuries, any excessive delays (i.e. not running or jumping at all), and fatigue with activity that seems to limit participation in play or other social activities,” she describes.

If you notice any of these, or if you have any questions about your child’s development, speak to your pediatrician. If they think there may be an issue worth exploring, they will refer you to a specialist for a developmental screening.

A Word From Verywell

Many parents expect things to get easier after their kids exit toddlerhood, and may be taken aback when they find that 3-year-olds can still be quite a handful . You can be rest assured that this is normal, and that if your child seems to be testing limits more than ever and exhausting you on a daily basis, you haven’t done anything wrong as a parent.

Thankfully, many of these stressors are balanced out by the fact that 3-year-olds are inquisitive, energetic, and affectionate. There is never a dull moment when you have a 3-year-old, and there is plenty of joy mixed in with the hard stuff.

Swanson W. Top Tips for Surviving Tantrums . American Academy of Pediatrics.

Children’s Health of Orange County. Development Milestones for Your 3-Year-Old Child .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Important Milestones: Your Child By Three Years .

Nemours KidsHealth. Your Child’s Development: 3 Years .

Stanford Children’s Health. Is It Time for Toilet Training?

American Academy of Pediatrics. Everybody Gets Mad: Helping Your Child Cope with Conflict .

American Academy of Pediatrics. Developmental Milestones: 3 to 4 Year Olds .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preschoolers (3-5 years of age) .

Stanford Children’s Health. The Growing Child: 3-Year-Olds .

By Amy Morin, LCSW Amy Morin, LCSW, is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind. She's also a psychotherapist, an international bestselling author of books on mental strength and host of The Verywell Mind Podcast. She delivered one of the most popular TEDx talks of all time.

Best Activities for 3-Year-Olds

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Pasta necklaces, simple board games and gigantic block towers are just some of the easy ways you can make your 3-year-old's day both entertaining and educational. So find what sounds like fun and get started!

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Does My 3 Year Old Need Preschool?

I found preschool to be so beneficial for my daughter at this age. The socialization is one of the biggest benefits of a preschool program.

They’ll be exposed to so many new opportunities that may not be available at home like different toys and learning materials, daily structure and routines, learning to respect their teachers, various educational activities, much more.

I don’t believe that preschool at 3 years old is absolutely necessary and your child will be fine without it. However, I would enroll a 4 year old in some sort of program to get them prepared for Kindergarten.

Some schools or daycares offer full day or half day preschool and you can choose whether your child goes every day or a few times a week.

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What You Can Teach Your Three Year Old

If you’re not in the education field, you may be unsure of simple ways to teach your three year old or ways to incorporate new learning into everyday activities.

Below are a bunch of things that you can help your 3-year-old learn and understand. Practice and exposure is the best way to develop new skills with your child so try and make every opportunity a learning opportunity you can.

This list is for children in the 3 year old range up to 4. Not exclusively once they turn three.

Also, always remember that every child develops at their own pace so don’t worry too much if your child doesn’t have all of these skills yet. This isn’t a list of what they should know at this point, but rather a guide to help you understand what they are capable of learning at this age.

1. New Vocabulary

Your 3-year-old will probably be speaking in full sentences or at least long 4-5 word phrases by now. Three year olds should have at least 250-500 words in their vocabulary as well.

Although there are way too many words to give you a full list, here are some of the common words, phrases, and concepts that your three year old should be able to say and understand:

• Body parts , Animal sounds and names , Friends/Family Names (and their own first, middle, last), Vehicles , Household objects (food, utensils, furniture, clothing, etc)
• Colors and Shapes
• Direction words (below, above, next to, on top, underneath, etc.)
• Days of the week, Months of the year, Seasons, Weather (sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, snowy, hot, cold, etc.)

If your 3-year-old isn’t talking much at this point or is not trying to speak in full sentences, mention it to your pediatrician. Here are more  tips to get your child to talk  here.

2. Conversational Speech

Your 3 year old should be able to ask and answer simple questions and tell simple stories or anecdotes. They’ll probably be asking a lot of WHY questions as they are curious to learn all about the world around them.

Be sure to answer them with the correct responses and not just ignore their requests for information. Every question is an opportunity to teach your child and you don’t want them to miss out on those experiences.

It’s also important to make corrections in their grammar. When they were 2, some of the things that they said wrong sounded pretty cute. However, now that they’re 3, you don’t want them to get into bad habits of the way they speak.

Whether they’re pronouncing a world wrong, using the wrong tense, pronoun, or grammar, the only way they will learn the right way is if you correct them. So let them know the right way to say the word or sentence and have them repeat it back to make sure that they understand.

In order to get your child to initiate conversation or answer your questions , you can:

• Ask them about their favorite characters/shows/books/toys. What easier way to get a kid to talk than to get them talking about their favorite tv show or super hero?
• Ask them about their day , ie. what did you eat for lunch? What did you play with in the bath tub?
• Ask them for their opinions
• Tell them to ask you about the above mentioned things

If they still tend to give you one-word answers, ask them more questions to get them to elaborate. The more you ask. the more responses you will get. In turn this will help them to realize that they need to add more detail in their responses.

3. Reading books

At 3, your child should understand the concept of “reading” a book. They won’t actually be reading the words , but they should know how to grab a book, hold it the right way, and flip through the page independently.

They should be able to get a good understanding about what is happening in the book by looking at the pictures . They should even recognize that there are letters and words on the page that mean something, but won’t know exactly what they say or mean.

Read to your child everyday to instill their interest in reading. When you are reading to them:

• Use your finger to follow the words on the page so they start to associate the letters with what you’re saying
• Read word-for-word what the text says on the page instead of making up words or describing what the pictures look like
• Ask them questions about what they see on the pages

Your 3 year old may even be able to answer some inferential (why) questions (although this is a tougher skill), but it can’t hurt to try and ask them some of the questions. These are questions that the book doesn’t actually give the answer to, but the child has to think about their own answer or reason. For example, Why is the girl sad in this story? Why shouldn’t the boy have crossed the street? Why did the dog jump over the bone?

Reading doesn’t have to begin and end with books; labels on cereal boxes, words on toys, printed words on street signs, text on the television, or signs at stores are some examples where you can point out words and letters.

Related Post:  The Outstanding Benefits of Reading to Babies and Toddlers

4. Promote Independence

Your three-year-old should be doing many things on their own now so be sure to give them these opportunities to learn, understand, and make mistakes (within limits, of course).

Of course they may not have perfected every skill yet, but the only way a child will learn is by doing it themselves. You can give them a hand completing the task once they’ve finished.

They should be increasing their independence in areas like:

• Dressing : choosing their own clothes, dressing for the weather (warm items or cool items), taking on/off a shirt, pants, underpants/pull-up, shoes, and socks, and learning the right way to put on items (backwards, forwards), and that shoes are on the right feet.
• Self-feeding:  using utensils without spills, choosing their own meals and snacks (check out these  veggie puffs ), opening containers, drinking from an open cup with some supervision, and why it’s important to eat healthy. I love these utensils as my 3 year old graduated from her “baby utensils” to wanting to be just like mom and dad- these look like our silverware but are a perfect size for preschoolers.
• Brushing teeth and hair:  Teach them how to brush correctly on their own (back and forth, top and bottom), putting toothpaste on (with help), and why it’s important to keep our teeth clean. My 3 year old LOVES using an electric toothbrush like this one , especially the ones with their favorite characters.
• Cleaning up:  wiping up messes, putting toys away, bringing dishes, cups, & utensils to the sink when done, throwing away their garbage, using handheld vacuum to clean, and putting away toys when completing activity
• Hygeine : Blowing their nose, washing their hands, using a washcloth to wash themselves in the tub. Make washing hands and standing at the sink much easier by using stools and sink faucet extenders .
• Transitions:  Getting in and out of the car on their own, going up and down the stairs, ending one activity and moving to the next without complaining, turning on/off lights when entering/leaving the room

Be sure to model and show your childhood to do these skills the right way so that they don’t keep practicing something the wrong way.

5. Pretend Play

Using their imagination opens up a world of fun and play for your 3 year old. This skill typically comes naturally as they copy and imitate what they see in the real world, in books, or on tv.

They will use a combination of imagination and reality to copy the things they see daily , like these:

• Cooking in a play kitchen with pots and pans
• Hosting a tea party for their dolls and stuffed animals
• Feeding, burping, and changing a baby doll with play spoons, bottles, and diapers
• Talking on the phone with a play cell phone
• Playing doctor with a doctor or nurses kit
• Going shopping with a shopping cart and fake food
• Driving a car
• Sweeping, mopping , and vacuuming the floor
• Dressing up as their favorite princess , super hero, or character

At 3 years old, your child should have moved passed scribbling and be able to make intentional marks on the paper. They should be able to draw a:

• straight line down
• straight line across
• cross ( + )
• other shapes such as a square or triangle come later, but they can still attempt these, but may need help or the angles won’t be perfect

You can also guide them into making drawings using those elements (lines and circles), for example to draw a sun, a person (stick figure), or a flower . Of course, these drawings won’t be perfect, but they’re gaining insight as to how to make their marks on the paper look like something real.

Imitation is the best way to have your child learn to draw at this age, meaning that you draw one line and have them watch and repeat the same thing . This as opposed to copying (where you just show them the picture and expect them to figure out how to draw it).

7. Coloring and Painting

At age 3, your child can start learning how to color a picture correctly. You can guide them by showing them how to:

• Stay within the lines of a shape, border, or object
• Finish coloring each section without leaving a ton of white spots
• Use correct colors for certain objects, ie. coloring a strawberry red and a horse brown, instead of just picking any color that they choose
• Use different colors for different sections of a picture, ie. Coloring a beach scene with blue for the water, yellow for the sun, green for the palm tree, etc. instead of jut coloring the whole thing one color

Be sure that they are holding their crayon with the correct grasp at all times. I highly suggest  these finger crayons  for the young ones.  They are perfect for little hands and promote a good grasp when holding the crayons.

If your child likes markers, but you don’t trust them being alone in a room with them, these Crayola Mess-Free Coloring Sheets are my absolute favorites!

The markers come out clear if they are used on any other surface besides the paper. On these special sheets, they’ll turn a color so your toddler sees the masterpiece that they are creating. They have so many characters available so I’m sure you can find a pack that your child will love.

Tracing is a great visual motor skill (hand-eye coordination). You can teach your 3 year old to trace lines and letters by:

• Having them use their finger first to trace the line on the paper
• Tracing straight lines first and then working toward shapes, zig zags, and curved lines
• Making sure that they know to stay on the line the best that they can
• Tracing letters in preparation for writing

Cutting is a skill that 3 year olds can begin practicing. They may still have a difficult time, but here are some tips to get your preschooler cutting:

• Be sure to use child safety scissors so they can’t hurt themselves.
• Teach them how to hold the scissor correctly with their thumb toward the ceiling on both the cutting hand and helper hand
• Position the paper in front of them  while they are cutting instead of holding it off to the side or way up high.
• Make sure that their  arms, shoulders, and elbows are down and relaxed  as they cut right in front of them. As they’re concentrating, children tend to hike up their elbows and cut up high.
• Once they are able to make small snips on the paper by just opening and closing the scissors, teach them how to cut on a straight line
• Use sturdier paper like construction paper to make holding and stabilizing the paper easier on them.

10. Numbers and Counting

Your 3 year old may be able to count up to 20 (with some errors at times) from memory and maybe even up to 30 with more practice. They can also work on recognizing and identifying numbers and counting objects.

You can practice counting with so many different, everyday objects :

• count each step while you’re walking up the stairs
• count the number of blueberries on their dinner plate
• count the number of toys in their toy bin

Numbers are everywhere so be sure that they are counting whenever they can.

The concept of one-to-one correspondence (one object is one number) should be emerging now. Just show them how to point to each object as they count it and correct them if they start saying 2 numbers as they count one object or skip over objects when counting.

11. Letters and Sounds for Beginning to Read

Your child may already know many of the letters of the alphabet. At this age, they should probably be able to recite the ABC’s from memory (with some errors and help as needed).

Now you can work on recognizing letters, as well as the sounds they make. To make letter learning easier, try these tips to teach your 3 year old:

• Look at both uppercase and lowercase letters when learning . The lowers case letters are the ones that they will see more often when they read or see words.
• Point out letters to them everywhere : on cereal boxes, on street signs, on banners, and on snack bags
• When talking about a letter, always tell them the sound that it makes and a word that has this letter as its starter. For example M: say M says mmm for mom. Always have them repeat you to etch it into their memory.
• Use different sensory modalities to trace, write, or copy their letters . For example, writing them in sand, placing stickers inside the written letter, tracing the letter written in puffy paint with your finger, erasing the letters from a dry erase board , matching upper and lower case letters , etc. Here are some more fun sensory activities for letter learning .
• Sing songs that help them to remember the letters
• Use puzzles with letters for letter matching

These name puzzles from Bloom Owl are a great way to get your child learning the letters of their name. They’ll love playing with the puzzle as they start to recognize the letters they see all the time.

By far my favorite resource for having your child learning letters and letter sounds is the Leap Frog shows on Netflix . They include Letter Factory, Phonics Farm, and more. If you have Netflix you can access these shows! My 20 month old was reciting all of the letter sounds because he loves this show so much!

Once your child has a good memory of most letters and their sounds, you can teach them how to put them together to form short words. At 3 years old, a child may be able to start reading 2 or 3 letter words. Teach them how to use those sounds to read short words from the -at, -et, -it families, such as mat, rat, bat, get, set, let, sit, fit, kit, etc.

Related Post: Sticker Activity for Learning Letters

12. Building

Building helps to improve your child’s hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. They’ll be able to use their imagination and creativity to create masterpieces and then knock them all down when they’re done.

This Melissa & Doug Alphabet block set  is great to stack and Bristle Blocks are also perfect for stacking, putting together, and taking apart at this age. My 3 year old is also obsessed with Magnetic Tiles – it’s the one toy that just never gets old!

Have them use blocks to encourage imaginative play and see what they can come up with. Building blocks let them problem solve and investigate the world around them. 

13. P uzzles

Puzzles are a great activity for fine and visual motor skills (hand-eye coordination). Having to fit a piece into it’s correct spot by turning and manipulating it is great for visual-spatial awareness.

Your 3 year old should have moved past inset puzzles and can do more complicated interlocking puzzles . Start them out with small interlocking puzzles like these or these , which only have 6-9 pieces per puzzle.

14. Physical Activity, Sports, and Getting Outside

Three-year-olds are known to be pretty wild so you probably won’t need much coaxing to get them active. However, make sure they’re getting plenty of physical activity to learn new gross motor skills . These include:

• Jumping and running
• Climb up and down playground equipment or a jungle gym
• Start learning how to ride a balance bike or a bike with training wheels
• Throwing/catching/kicking a ball
• Hop or stand on one foot for a short time
• Walk backwards

The best way to get them active is to give them lots of outdoor time . Take them to playgrounds to climb on the equipment as they offer so many opportunities for enriching gross motor skills. Take them for a walk and point out all the sights you see.

Your child can also start playing cooperative sports with peers and follow directions by watching someone do a movement. Activities like gymnastics, dance, soccer, swimming lessons, and tee ball are all great organized activities to practice all of the above skills.

15. Music, Dance, and Rhythm

Children love rhythm and music so get them singing, dancing, and exploring their bodies with music. Put on music for them to dance to, sing along to their favorite songs with a microphone , or make their own music with  toy instruments like maracas, xylophone, tamborine, etc .

You can also make musical ‘instruments’ with so many household objects , like shaking pill bottles, banging wooden spoons, or filling plastic Easter eggs or water bottles with uncooked beans or rice.

Do the Hokey Pokey to get them moving and learning body parts. Imitating movements that they see you doing is a great way to develop body and spatial awareness , as well.

Singing songs and doing dances are also a great way for your preschooler to learn and memorize new words and concepts like the days of the week song, months of the year song, head shoulders knees and toes, finger family song, etc. They’ll know their days of the week s quickly if you just put a tune to it!

16. Potty Training

Around 3, many children will be fully capable of using the toilet. If you haven’t started yet, give it a try! Your child may do better than you think.

If they’re already potty trained, make sure that they are fully independent with pulling their pants and underwear up and down, wiping themselves both back and front, and washing their hands afterward.

Be sure to wait until they’re ready and don’t force it on them. Here are some great tips on potty training your child here.

17. Sense of Time

Of course your three year old will not be able to tell time, however you can still teach them a basic sense of time, including:

• Understanding morning, afternoon, and night. They should understand the concept of when they wake up it’s morning, lunch time is the afternoon, and before bedtime is night. They can also understand this better by seeing outside when it’s light or dark.
• Recognizing the numbers on a digital clock . If they can identify numbers, they should be able to see the first number and say it’s 7 o clock. With my daughter, we tell her that 7 o clock is bedtime so when she sees 7 on the digital clock, she knows it’s time to go to bed.
• Knowing when they have 1, 5, or 10 more minutes left. They still won’t have a true sense of how long these increments of time are, but you can try to make them aware that 1 minute is quick, compared to 10 minutes or 20 minutes.
• Days of the week. They may be able to get a sense of what day it is today, what it will be tomorrow, and what it was yesterday

Before they fully have a sense of time, try setting an audio or visual timer when you need to show them when time is up. For example, when you say clean up in 5 more minutes, set a timer for 5 minutes to ring when it’s time.

We love the Time to Wake clocks for my little ones. They let them know when it’s time to call for mom or get out of bed by simply turning a different color when it’s almost time to get up or when they should leave their room.

This is a great visual way for them to “see” and understand time.

Of course, safety is a crucial lesson to teach your child. This is the age where they will probably have no fear or understanding of dangerous situations. The following practices need to be taught to your 3 year old as they may not just come naturally:

• not running away in public
• not running out into a parking lot
• stranger danger
• staying close to mom or dad
• being cautious when crossing streets
• holding hands when in public or outside
• sun safety: applying sunscreen, wearing hats
• being careful of hot items: kitchen appliances, flames, etc.

Speaking of safety for your little ones, the Whystle App is a great resource for all parents to have that tracks all safety information that’s important to your family. This includes product recalls for toys, food, and more that could promote dangers into your home. Download this app free on your phone and then there’s a free trial for the subscription so you never miss an important safety warning.

19. Manners and Respect for Others

Understanding how to properly treat others is a valuable trait to instill in your child. This goes for respecting both adults and other children. It’s important to teach your children how to use polite words and actions to show manners.

At this age, they are still testing their boundaries and exploring new ways of getting what they want. Instill rules for respecting others even through times of frustration.

• Saying  excuse me  when needing someone to move or get their attention
• Patiently waiting  for a parent to finish talking to another parent before chiming in
• Saying  please and thank you  shows consideration and appreciation
• Making  eye contact  when speaking to others
• Apologizing  when you do something wrong
• Ask questions  to others about how their day is or how they are feeling
• Compliment  others on their clothes, hair, or something they did
• Share  their toys or items that belong to them
• No pushing, hitting, biting, or pulling hair to hurt others in any way

20. Staying Healthy: Good Hygiene and Eating Well

Teaching your 3 year old to practice good hygiene and healthy eating is great to start young . Build-in their hygiene routine throughout the day and they will become accustomed to this regimen. Eating healthy foods early on to set them off for a healthy diet for the rest of their life. These include:

• eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins. Avoid: processed foods, unhealthy snacks, and sweets
• washing hands after meals and potty
• brushing teeth morning and night
• bathing daily or every other day
• keeping their clothes and body clean while they eat or play
• covering their mouth when they sneeze or cough
• blowing their nose into a tissue
• wiping their own privates after going potty

Complying with:

• brushing and combing hair
• cutting fingernails and toenails
• cleaning inside ears with a  child safety q-tip

Related Post:  How to Get Your Picky Toddler to Try New Foods

21. Acting Appropriately in Public and Understanding “No”

Preschoolers are very ego-centric (only care about themselves). It’s totally normal for them to only think about how things will affect them. This almost always leads to inappropriate behaviors as they learn what behaviors get them what they want.

Don’t always give in to every cry  and teach them that sometimes they can’t get everything that they want. Don’t always give them the cookie that they’re begging for or the new toy at the store. If they must get the object that they desire, make them earn it.

Teach your 3-year-old how to act appropriately to avoid tantrums in public. Try  putting rules in place  when you are out so they know what is expected of them. Always have a way to redirect or distract them when you see a tantrum starting (using something else they are interested in). Lastly, just avoid situations that could set them off.

This is a great article about  Tips for Cry-Free Shopping with Your Toddler

22. Empathy and Compassion

From a young age, you want to fill your child with compassion and empathy for others . Teach them about emotions and to be conscious of other people’s feelings.

• If they see someone crying, ask what’s wrong.
• If they see someone alone, go over and play with them.
• If they see someone that looks different than them, treat them equally.
• If they hurt someone, apologize and make it better

It’s never too early to talk to your children about race , ethnicity, disabilities, and recognizing differences between others.

23. Structure and a Routine

Your 3 year old probably already has some routine in place throughout their day . However, you want to ensure that they are consistently doing what is asked of them so that they could even do it on their own if needed.

The more structure that your child has in their day, the more they will start to understand time and a daily schedule.

I love using a  routine or responsibility chart (like the blue/green one on the right) so my toddler can have a visual cue of everything that is expected of her. Use  one with pictures  instead of just words, ( like this Mickey Mouse chart ), so your toddler actually understands what it’s for.

Here are some examples of day-to-day routines that you can create a specific pattern for:

• Bedtime: Brush teeth, go potty, wash hands, put pajamas on, read a story, go to sleep
• Morning: Go potty, wash hands, brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast
• Before naptime
• Pre-dinner wind-down time
• Cleaning time
• Getting ready for school/daycare : Packing their backpack, putting their jackets and shoes on, getting themselves into the car

Related Post:  Why Your Child Needs a Daily Routine and How to Make One

24. Staying on Task

A 3 year old’s attention span is still quite short, although it should have increased a lot since toddlerhood. It’s only reasonable to ask them to focus on a task for around 6-10 minutes at this age.

However, it is important for them to be aware that once they start a task they should finish it to completion. My daughter loves to grab a puzzle and put in 3 pieces and walk away or sit down and read 2 pages and then walk away.

The goal of teaching your child to stay on task is to complete what they start.  Here are some tips:

• While playing with your child, make sure that they complete the entire activity, ie. puzzle or read through the whole book, before they get up and run around.
• If they’re coloring or building a tower, keep them engaged in that one activity for as long as possible before you let them move on to the next.
• During mealtimes make sure they remain seated and finish their meal before getting up and playing.
• Make sure they clean up one activity before moving on to the next

25. Be a Helper and Doing “Chores”

Little kids LOVE to help grown-ups. They want to do everything that you’re doing because they’re starting to gain this growing confidence and independence. Invite them to perform tasks that they may not be able to do independently, but that they can help you with.

• Get the mail
• Take the trash out
• Refill the toilet paper roll dispenser
• Help with cooking: mixing, adding ingredients
• Carrying in bags or groceries
• Fill the dog bowl
• Entertain a younger sibling
• Cleaning up their toys
• Cleaning up after themselves: throwing their dishes in the sink garbage in the trash can
• Wiping down the table or floor when they make messes

26. Technology

Technology or screen time should be  limited  for preschoolers to no more than 2 hours a day, but it is still important for your child to learn how to use these devices. The fine motor skill of swiping, clicking, and sliding to nagivate through tablets and smart phones are something that your 3 year old can easily learn.

Ipad  educational games like  ABC Mouse are great to sharpen a lot of the educational skills listen above, as well as practice using a tablet or smart phone. There’s a great curriculum based on age and developmental level that teaches them so many new skills.

My 3 year old loves  ABC Mouse because of the wide variety of games and fun. She’s learning how to trace letters, numbers, make new sounds and words, etc.

Leapfrog Laptop  is also a fun interactive computer that little words can learn letters and typing on.

27. Sorting and Comparing

Sorting and comparing is a skill that you can teach your 3 year old. Make them aware of how objects are the same and different. Some of the criteria that they can use to sort is by:

• size (big, medium, small)
• categories (fruits vs. vegetables, farm animals vs. ocean animals)
• pattern (stripes, polka dots, solids)

This sorting pie from Learning Resources is a great way to practice sorting and categorizing objects by the features mentioned above.

28. Follow Multi-Step Directions

Your 3 year old should now have progressed from only understanding and following 1-step directions (i.e. put your shoes on) to following 2-3 step directions (i.e. get your shoes from the closet, put them on, and go wait by the car).

Practice with 2 steps at first to make sure they can focus on the direction given, process it, and carry it out. Then you can try adding in another step to see if they can still follow.

At times, your little one may be distracted to get all the distractions, and that’s ok since their attention span is still short, but as they approach 4, they should really be listening to you intently and follow your commands.

29. Rhyming Words and Opposites

You can teach your 3 year old some rhyming and opposite words at this age, as well. Short words that sound alike (ie. rat, bat and sky, tie) should be easy for them to catch on to.

Opposite words, for example in-out, up-down, should also be learned at this age as they use these words all the time. They should already know the words, but now understanding the meaning and how they are opposites of each other will really get their mind stimulated and understanding these concepts.

30. Sight Words

The first sight word that your preschooler may be able to spell and recognize is their name. Teach them how to spell their name and how to recognize it when it’s written. Those name puzzles shown above are great for practicing this!

Although your child isn’t expected to know sight words until later on, it can’t hurt to expose them to it now. Sight words are words that may not sound the wya they are spelled so they will have to just memorize the way the word looks.

These are typically commonly used words, for example, like, the, and my. As you read to your child, you will probably come across these words several times.

Point out the words to them and tell them what they say. If you tend to read the same books over and over, they should quickly pick up on what a word looks like and say it as you read. Not only soul you point these words out in their favorite book, but wherever you see it whether it’s a cereal box or sign.

Flash cards are also great for learning sight words, however they are a bit young for this.

31. Days of the week/Months of the Year/Seasons

By going over the calendar daily or singing songs, your 3 year old can learn the days of the week and months of the year pretty quickly. They still may not get a true sense of how these time periods work, but they can memorize a list of these items.

Most of these skills listed above can be accomplished at some point while a child is between three and four, but every child develops at their own pace.

This article is not intended to skew your mind into thinking that your child MUST know these concepts. However, if you are looking for activities to do with your child, ways to engage their mind, or knowledge to teach them, these are some great tips. Your child is NOT behind if they can’t adequately do all of these things, but if you are concerned, please speak to your pediatrician.

Have fun teaching your three-year-old and enjoy watching them blossom this year. They’ll be growing and developing before your eyes so don’t blink! Here are some more great activity ideas to do with your little one.

Related posts:

• Second Opinion

The Growing Child: 3-Year-Olds

How much will my child grow?

In 3-year-olds, growth is still slow compared with the first year. Most children have become slimmer and lost the rounded tummy of a toddler. All children may grow at a different rate, but the following is the average for 3-year-old boys and girls:

Weight: average gain of about 4 to 6 pounds per year

Height: average growth of about 2 to 3 inches per year

After age 2, children of the same age can noticeably vary in height and weight. As long as the child is maintaining his or her own rate of growth, there should be no reason to worry. Talk with your child's healthcare provider if you have concerns. 

What can my child do at this age?

As your child continues to grow, you will notice new and exciting abilities that develop. Children may progress at different rates, but these are some of the common milestones your child may reach in this age group:

Runs and jumps easily

Walks up stairs unassisted

Rides a tricycle

Washes and dries hands

Stacks 10 blocks

Easily draws straight lines and copies a circle

Can stand on tip-toes

Uses spoon well and feeds self

Dresses and undresses self except for buttons and laces

Can concentrate on tasks for 8 or 9 minutes

Has all 20 primary ("baby") teeth

Vision is nearing 20/20

Bladder and bowel control are usually established; uses potty chair or toilet

May sleep 11 to 13 hours total, may still take a short afternoon nap

What can my child say?

Speech development is very exciting for parents as they watch their children start to speak clearly and interact with others. Every child develops speech at his or her own rate, but these are some of the common milestones in this age group:

Should be able to say about 500 to 900 words

Speech can be understood by others

Speaks in 2- or 3-word sentences and progresses to 4- or 5-word sentences

Can remember simple rhymes or lyrics

Uses "please" and "thank you"

Refers to self by using own name

Names colors

What does my child understand?

Children may progress at different rates, but these are some of the common milestones your child may reach in this age group:

Understands size differences such as big and little

Understands past tense (yesterday)

Understands long sentences

Understands prepositions (on, under, behind)

Uses pronouns correctly such as, I, you, he, and me

Asks "why" constantly

Counts up to 4 objects by 4 years old

Says full name and age

May have fears of certain things. For example, dark, monster under bed, and going down the drain.

Attempts to solve problems

Remembers certain events

Can point to the correct picture when asked a simple question about it.

How does my child interact with others?

Every child is unique and will develop different personalities, but these are some of the common behavioral traits that may be present in your child:

Starts to share and likes to play with other children

Can take turns

Temper tantrums are less often

Starts to show feelings in socially acceptable ways

How to help increase your child's learning and emotional security

Consider the following as ways to foster the emotional security of your 3-year-old:

Spend time allowing your child to talk with you.

Teach your child how things work.

Encourage play with other children.

Encourage your child to tell you stories.

Listen to your child and show that you are pleased by your child's talking.

Let your child do as much as possible for himself or herself when getting dressed, brushing teeth, and combing hair.

Have your child help with simple chores such as picking up toys.

Give your child old clothes for "dress up" and allow him or her 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.

Sing songs or nursery rhymes and teach your child the words.

Read stories with your child and ask your child to name pictures in the stories or retell part of the story.

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.

Let your child build things out of blocks or boxes.

Give your child a safe space to ride a tricycle.

Listen to children's music with your child and dance.

Practice counting with your child.

Give your child the chance to play games with other children. Church groups, YWCA or YMCA recreation centers, or libraries often have preschool programs.

Put puzzles together with your child.

Let your child have pretend playtime with dolls, cars, or toy cooking utensils.

Play hide and seek and follow the leader.

Let your child use his or her imagination by playing with play dough or clay.

Trace your child's hand or whole body and make a picture.

Show your child you are proud of any artwork and hang it up for display.

Teach your child colors.

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.

Related Links

• General Pediatrics
• Nutrition: Toddler
• Normal Growth
• Age-Appropriate Speech and Language Milestones

Related Topics

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Growth and Development in Children with Congenital Heart Disease

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Surviving to Three – Lupita’s Presentación de Tres Años

Within the Mexican culture, which traditionally had a very high infant mortality rate, the Presentación de Tres Años is a celebration for the gift of life received by one’s child. Traditionally celebrated on the child’s third birthday, the presentación is a way for families to join together to give thanks for the life of the child and to ask for continued blessings on him or her. I was honored to be asked by Lupita’s family in Mexico to photograph her Tres Años celebration.

The events of the day included an afternoon mass and blessing at the Parroquia here in Pozos.  Then there was a large gathering of family and friends at the family’s el rancho.  The party included food supplied and prepared by family members — rice, yummy mole, and large steaming vats of beef and pork carnitas.  There was musical entertainment provided by a couple and a karaoke machine while everyone enjoyed their food.  Afterwards, there was a special procession and dance featuring  Lupita and her little escort as family watched and cheered. Then out came the piñatas filled with candies that were broken apart by stick wielding children (I admit it was a little strange to witness Thumbelina joyfully pummeled and torn apart). The night finished off with everyone sharing a rather large cake.

This was my first Tres Años and it gave me a nice glimpse into local culture.  Here’s some of my photographs and a video trailer that were presented to Lupita’s parents:

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Hi Carol. What a wonderful memory you have created for this family! I love how you intermixed still images within the video. Wonderful shots.

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Important Milestones: Your Child By Three Years

CDC’s milestones and parent tips have been updated and new checklist ages have been added (15 and 30 months). For more information about the updates to CDC’s developmental milestones, please review the Pediatrics journal article  and these  important key points .

How your child plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves offers important clues about your child’s development. Developmental milestones are things most children (75% or more) can do by a certain age.

Check the milestones your child has reached by 3 years by completing a checklist with CDC’s free Milestone Tracker  mobile app, for  iOS  and  Android  devices, using the Digital Online Checklist , or by printing the checklist [1 MB, 2 Pages, Print Only]  below.

“Learn the Signs. Act Early.” materials are not a substitute for standardized, validated developmental screening tools .

What most children do by this age:

Social/emotional milestones.

Close this video

Language/Communication Milestones

Cognitive milestones (learning, thinking, problem-solving), movement/physical development milestones.

Calms down within 10 minutes after you leave her, like at a childcare drop off

Strings items together, like large beads or macaroni

Puts on some clothes by himself, like loose pants or a jacket

1 of 2 images

2 of 2 images

Uses a fork

Other important things to share with the doctor…

• What are some things you and your baby do together?
• What are some things your baby likes to do?
• Is there anything your baby does or does not do that concerns you?
• Has your baby lost any skills he/she once had?
• Does your baby have any special healthcare needs or was he/she born prematurely?

Concerned About Your Child’s Development? Act Early.

You know your child best. Don’t wait. If your child is not meeting one or more milestones, has lost skills he or she once had, or you have other concerns, act early. Talk with your child’s doctor, share your concerns, and ask about developmental screening.

If you or the doctor are still concerned:

• Ask for a referral to a specialist who can evaluate your child more; and
• Call your state or territory’s early intervention program to find out if your child can get services to help. Learn more and find the number at cdc.gov/FindEI .

For more on how to help your child, visit cdc.gov/Concerned .

As your child’s first teacher, you can help his or her learning and brain development. Try these simple tips and activities in a safe way. Talk with your child’s doctor and teachers if you have questions or for more ideas on how to help your child’s development.

• Encourage your child to solve her own problems with your support. Ask questions to help her understand the problem. Help her think of solutions, try one out, and try more if needed.
• Talk about your child’s emotions and give him words to help him explain how he’s feeling. Help your child manage stressful feelings by teaching him to take deep breaths, hug a favorite toy, or go to a quiet, safe place when he is upset.
• Set a few simple and clear rules that your child can follow, such as use gentle hands when playing. If he breaks a rule, show him what to do instead. Later, if your child follows the rule, recognize and congratulate him.

Click here for more tips and activities

• Read with your child. Ask questions, such as “What is happening in the picture?” and/or “What do you think will happen next?” When she gives you an answer, ask for more details.
• Play counting games. Count body parts, stairs, and other things you use or see every day. Children this age are starting to learn about numbers and counting.
• Help your child develop his language skills by speaking to him in longer sentences than his, using real words. Repeat what he says, for example, “need nana,” and then show how to use more “grown-up” words by saying, “I want a banana.”
• Let your child help with making meals. Give him simple tasks, such as washing fruits and vegetables or stirring.
• Give your child instructions with 2 or 3 steps. For example, “Go to your room and get your shoes and coat.”
• Limit screen time (TV, tablets, phones, etc.) to no more than 1 hour per day of a children’s program with an adult present. Don’t put any screens in your child’s bedroom. Children learn by talking, playing, and interacting with others.
• Teach your child simple songs and rhymes, such as “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
• Give your child an “activity box” with paper, crayons, and coloring books. Color and draw lines and shapes with your child.
• Encourage your child to play with other children. This helps him learn the value of friendship and how to get along with others.
• Let your child play with playdough by squishing it, pressing it, pinching it, and making balls in different colors. This builds her hand and finger muscles for writing, buttoning, and cutting.
• Give your child simple, healthy food choices. For example, at snack time ask, “Do you want carrots or an apple?”
• Play games to teach opposites. Get down low and say, “I am small.” Then stand up and say, “I am big.” Do the same thing for fast/slow, quiet/loud.
• Play matching games. Ask your child to find objects in books or around the house that are the same.
• Play outside with your child. Go to the park or a walking trail. Allow your child plenty of time to choose what and how she wants to play. Join her and follow her lead.
• Help your child be ready for new places and meeting new people. For example, you can read stories or role play (pretend play) about new places or things to help him feel more comfortable.
• Encourage your child to tell you her name and age.

Special acknowledgments to the subject matter experts and others who contributed to the review of data and selection of developmental milestones, especially Paul H. Lipkin, MD, Michelle M. Macias, MD, Julie F. Pajek, PhD, Judith S. Shaw, EdD, MPH, RN, Karnesha Slaughter, MPH, Jane K. Squires,  PhD, Toni M. Whitaker, MD, Lisa D. Wiggins, PhD, and Jennifer M. Zubler, MD.

Sincere gratitude to Natalia Benza, MD and José O. Rodríguez, MD, MBA for their thoughtful review of the Spanish-language translation of these milestones.

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3-year-old Presentation Church Ceremony

I'm hoping you ladies will be able to help me out with this.  Our DD is turning 3 in April and I forget all the things we need for the church presentation ceremony.  I know there is the dress (which her padrinos are getting for her) and a pillow, but what else goes into it?  Does she need a saint medallion?  We did our oldest DD's 3 year old mass with another girl and I can't remember everything that went into it.  What is the process entail - like what is the pillow for??? Thanks for your help!!!

12 comments

Are you Catholic?  What presentation are you talking about? Is this like an ethnic tradition? you don't mean Baptism, do you?

Yes, I'm Catholic.  No, not Baptism.  DH is Mexican. 

• c carmen8127 Last edited 03-13-11 I guess it depends on the padrinos. I treat it a little like a baptism. For my ODD her padrinos just got her the dress and a gold bracelet. We just threw the party. Advertisement | page continues below
• b BonitaGp Last edited 03-14-11 We go to Spanish Mass and there was 1 just last week. I've also been to a couple of parties for them. I don't know much about the items needed or the process, sorry I can't be of much help there.

here's a video i found on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5cfX9MK2U0&feature=related Opens a new window

I have a question.Do they only do this for girls?

In my family usually is just the white dress since all the priest is doing is basically presenting her to the church. You can get the medallion or the bracelet but is not as common as it is for the baptisms or any of the other like primera comunion,confirmation and 15.

That is just where I am from thou. I was not presented to the temple I was just baptized my husband was, he was presented to the temple, and did his confirmation at the same time. El dia de la candelaria, he was baptized after and much later did his first communion.

Yes this all happened in Mexico.

I was searching for how to do a presentation for a 3 year old girl. I am a Catholic Deacon (but not Latino, I speak some Spanish). Sometimes I get asked to do Baptisms in Spanish, and I was asked to do a Presentation. This forum was the only thing I found on the internet. I did not know how to do this!

I learned that there is a blessing rite in the Catholic Book of Blessings that is used by a Deacon or Priest. The Spanish version is called Bendicional (Ritual de Bendiciones) and the rituals are on pages 72 through 77. I hope this helps anybody looking to have this Presentation for their child!

So to my understanding this mainly takes place in Mexico and when done in the US its pretty much a mass that the child is taken too.

In Mexico the 3 yr presentation started out for boys now its also done for girls like the sweet 15 (quinceneras). In Mexico or traditionally its celebrated like a mini quincenera. A mass is held in their honor that is especially for them. What ever a quincenera has they have. The dress, pillow to kneel, kids that accompany them and so forth. Its a big event to say the least.

As far as the significants in the Catholic Church I have no idea. I am hispanic and was born and raised Catholic but never heard of this tradition until after I married my husband who's family is from Mexico.

In the US the tradition is far from what is in Mexico. From what I know they dress up the child in all white and simply present them (more like indroduce them) to everyone at mass that morning. Then the party afterward.

Hope that helps ...

Never heard of it...very interesting..

Resources for parents to get through the challenges.

21 Fun Things to Do with a 3-Year-Old: Put that Toddler Energy to Good Use

If you’re the parent of a rowdy toddler, you’re not alone! Fortunately, you can positively channel all that energy and curiosity with our suggestions for 21 things to do with a 3-year-old below.

Three-year-olds are amazing, they have such a sense of wonder about the world and are so full of fun. But keeping them busy can feel like a full-time job.

We have put together some fun activities that you can do with your 3-year-old . Whether you’re stuck inside on a rainy day or embracing it boot-in-puddle style, these 21 great ideas help develop creativity, fine motor skills, imaginative play. (Not to mention, keeping them busy and entertained!)

In this article

Sensory Play Activities

Pretend play/imaginative play activities, five fun outdoor activities for 3-year-olds, six fine motor skills activities for 3-year-olds, what should a 3 year old know educationally, should a three-year-old know the alphabet, should a three-year-old be potty trained, can 3-year-olds draw people, fun with toddlers: summary, ten indoor activities for 3-year-olds.

There are a wealth of activities that you can do with a 3-year-old when the weather is less than favorable. As much as kids may enjoy the freedoms of the outdoors, this doesn’t mean you should underestimate the importance of some creative ideas and a few pieces of paper!

Sensory stimulation is a vital way to develop the sensory pathways and promote healthy development in your child. This stimulation can also promote wonderful opportunities for communication and strengthening bonds.

1. Playdough

A great fun way to get your children to use their imagination and make some amazing creations.

You can also have some fun making your own salt dough if you find you don’t have play dough to hand.

This is also a fun activity for them to practice their fine motor skills. Just provide them with some simple tools for cutting, chopping, and shaping the dough. Working the dough hones the strength and coordination of those tiny fingers and hands whilst they play.

2. Rice and Beans

This activity is so much fun and really helps your 3-year-olds to use their imagination.

All you need is some dry rice or beans and then lots of different-sized containers for them to pour them back and forth. Give them spoons, scoops, cups, and even a mesh strainer, and see the fun they have.

You can even encourage your kid to have some fun by mark-making, or showing them how to draw in the different textures.

For some added fun you could always dye the rice a range of colors using food coloring. This gives an extra layer of creativity to this activity for all kids and can help your three-year-olds to recognize colors and their names.

3. Water Beads

Water beads are a fantastic way to make learning fun and improve children’s hand-eye coordination through sensory play, and they can also double up as a fun outdoor activity.

You can use a variety of play ideas to improve kids’ pouring and counting skills and even include other toys and puzzles to create your own racecourse to blow the water beads through!

4. Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts cover a broad range of activities from finger painting , using pipe cleaners, working with a glue stick, cutting out, and using chalk or markers.

You really can let their imaginations run wild. Depending on the time of year you could make cards using colored paper, do some potato printing or use some toy cars and run them through the paint to see the patterns that their wheels make.

These activities provide a fun sensory experience for your little one.

Making fun craft activities doesn’t need to be expensive either, often activities for 3-year-olds can involve several steps such as outdoor exploring to collect materials that can be attached to colored paper using a glue stick or printing using leaves and other items that you may have collected.

You could even just print off some coloring sheets and let your child have some fun exploring their own ideas.

5. Making Lunch

Another great way to involve your preschoolers in daily activities is to let them help you prepare lunch. It’s the ultimate hands-on task that can help to improve their relationship with food in the future too!

Having more control over what your little ones choose and prepare for food can increase the likelihood of them clearing their plate. It also taps into different developmental domains, eliminating the need for lots of toys overwhelming them.

You can help them get creative with different shapes and patterns when chopping up fruit and veggies and make games out of everyday activities to promote wonderful fun for your little ones.

Not only can cooking together improve your kids reading skills, but it can also teach your child valuable life skills that will stay with them throughout the course of their life.

If your young kids struggle to maintain focus on a task then you can draw or write the recipe onto some paper and watch them stay focused to ensure a great outcome.

One of the most widely recognized methods of improving kids’ speech and imagination is through play.

Many a qualified professional says this quality time together can make learning great fun. It helps teach kids exciting new ways to play in the world around them as well as improve fine motor skills, without the need for expensive toys.

Imaginative play activities for 3-year-olds work best when your child can re-enact experiences you have noticed them taking an interest in. L their ideas and imagination take the lead to enable open-ended fun with no structure.

6. Reading Books

Although you may already read with your three-year-old every day, you can make your child’s face light up by adding funny faces and voices. Not only will it delight your little one, but it will help them to identify characterizations and follow narratives.

Kids love this type of quality time together when you read books; eye contact can help to immerse your three-year-old in the story further.

It will promote a great bonding experience and help your kids associate reading as a positive experience (a net benefit well into adulthood).

There is plenty of information online showing the best books to read to your kids , and sometimes this website provides printouts for activities related to these books.

Before reading a book you could mentally take some ideas for a nice list of questions you can ask throughout the story to encourage your kid’s imagination. This will help make the most of that childlike creativity and vivid imagination when reading books with them.

7. Put On a Puppet Show

One of the most overlooked and hilarious activities for 3-year-olds is to put on a puppet show using anything you can find around the house.

You can set up a stage, make up stories together and see what great ideas your little one can come up with in their very own first performance.

Your child will love something as simple as a sock puppet, or you can even encourage them to draw a paper puppet for you to play with together.

You could use this as a chance to re-enact a difficult scenario your child may have encountered. Address their emotions at the time to enable a healthy outcome to any tantrums in the future.

8. Run a Store

Running a store is a fantastic role play experience that kids love, you can take on any role and even spend time doing fun crafts to create a store sign beforehand.

Kids love to mimic the activities they see in everyday life, and you can often find many children’s toy websites that will feature their own pretend play and toy sections to help your kids take part in their favorite roleplay scenarios.

Toddler Teatime: The Best Tea Sets for Imaginative Play

You could sell board games, pretend to play in a bowling alley or even include their own favorite activities into the play on the days when you don’t want to leave the house!

Engaging in these forms of communication gives your kids the chance to improve their language and writing skills by using phrases they wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to use.

9. Safari Adventure

This is a great activity for your 3-year-old or any other kids for that matter! Your child will love this play set up and can be fully customizable using the toys your child has available.

You can get creative in the house, by drawing on paper to make little hiding spots for your safari animals, or take your child outdoors and hide their safari toys around for them to spot!

You could put together a list on a piece of paper and develop their knowledge of animals by printing fun fact sheets from any website your child enjoys and turn this pretend play into a great learning experience.

10. Doctors and Nurses

Setting up your child their very own hospital playset is a great way to eliminate any fears your toddlers may have of a medical setting and familiarize them with some of the familiar medical terms and equipment.

With some paper signs, or even some website print outs you can decorate the walls to replicate a doctor’s office and treat your patients (dolls, toys, anything your child wants!) and let their creative sides go wild.

One of the best ways to cheer up a grumpy preschooler is by adventuring on outdoor activities and letting their imagination take over, from a scavenger hunt to pretend play, you can find so many great ideas for activities that your three-year-olds are going to find fun.

11. Mud Kitchen

Mud kitchens are a staple preschooler activity that helps to make learning fun by improving knowledge of the outdoors.

The best part about a mud kitchen is that it is fully adaptable and can be used for older kids too.

From a muddy tea party to mixing bowls full of grass and seeds, the number of ideas for your 3-year-olds mud kitchen can lead to hours of great activities and endless fun craft, without having to worry about any mess on your kitchen floor.

12. Toy Car Race Tracks

It often feels like you can miss out on all the fun if your garden space is less than desirable. Even if you only have a small space, this doesn’t mean imaginative play needs to be limited to inside the house.

You can create an obstacle course for your child and their toy cars to race through by drawing chalk on the floor to create a fun race track kids will love. It’s simple fun stuff like this that makes the best activities for 3-year-olds.

13. Blow Bubbles

Bubbles are a great way to play with any kid of all ages. Taking some out and about with you and your preschoolers is a great game to involve others and even watch your kid make friends with others effortlessly!

You can make some great games with bubbles which require lots of imagination that your kid will love. Some firm favorites include-

• Making bubble wands
• Hula hoop bubbles
• Clap the bubbles
• Add paint to your bubbles

You can make your own bubbles by mixing 1 cup of dish soap with warm water and bending an old coat hanger to make a DIY bubble blower and letting your kids enjoy this fun activity.

14. Board Games

Board games are not only a great idea for activities for 3-year-olds, they can be a fun way to include kids and toddlers of all ages and teach them wonderful new ways to solve puzzles and play a game in a social setting with the whole family.

You could even include it as a once-a-week treat to spend some quality family time together doing something you all enjoy.

Even simple board games can help to improve hand-eye coordination and dexterity in any child, as well as teaching the valuable lesson of learning to follow rules and wait your turn.

Your 3-year-old may be struggling with the idea of sharing their toys and involving others in their game, but a board game can help to encourage your 3-year-old or any other child to play as a team and work together.

15. Car Wash

Water play is always a winner with kids–and you can also get a free car wash out of this activity!

Fill a bucket with water and some toddler-safe shampoo/soap and give them a variety of brushes, sponges, and cloths to clean with. You can get them to clean the family car, a favorite  toy fire truck , their bike or scooter, or even an older sibling’s bicycle.

On a hot day, you can finish up the activity by letting them rinse off their car wash with the hose before drying up and showing off their clean new ride around the block.

16. Threading Objects

Threading beads is a fantastic and highly versatile activity that focuses on supporting your child as they work on those fine motor skills.

It will involve their perceptual, visual, and pincer grip as they focus on correctly threading the objects onto their string.

This can be a great calming activity to relieve stress and unwind after a hard day and allow your child to get creative and explore the different patterns they can make within their beads of choice

You can use anything to make this activity come to life which is a fantastic way to reduce spending on new toys you don’t have room for. You can thread any beads of choice from wooden beads, metal, buttons, leaves, felt, or even shapes.

You don’t have to use string either! It could be spaghetti, pipe cleaners, macaroni, a colander, holes in a lid, or anything you can find that would fit the activity!

Threading is a highly versatile activity that your child will enjoy at any age and can be highly adaptable to your three-year-old preferences.

17. Building Blocks

One of the most highly recognizable toddler toys is the wide variety of stacking and building blocks that are all designed to have a versatile approach to aid their learning.

These blocks can be solid and easy to stack or interlink to focus on their engineering skills.

Structured block play is highly adaptable and can help improve color work and mathematic skills as a visual representation can help your little ones to understand basic mathematic concepts easier.

18. Webbed Baskets

Grab a small basket and some string and watch your kids love trying to solve this puzzle!

You can alter the amount of yarn you use in order to suit their abilities with this task and give them some tweezers, tongs or even a clothes peg to fish out small toys you place under the layers of string.

You can use any toys you have to hand such as plastic spiders, wooden pegs, or figurines your child loves! This activity is suitable for older children too if you want to improve their fine motor skills.

19. Gem Patterns

If you want to start focusing on patterns and shapes within letters then this is a great idea that kids love!

Using any buttons, beads, or shiny gems you have, trace a pattern onto some paper and get your child to follow the pattern with their chosen material.

You can even get them to focus more on creating a repetitive pattern with the colors of their buttons and beads to work on their concentration skills.

You could also alter this activity to include pipe cleaners and get your kids to bend and wiggle them into the right shapes and focus their hand strength.

20. Fidget Objects

Making your own fidget pillow isn’t as difficult as you may think, although there are several available online to purchase.

You can introduce a variety of different developmental activities to help improve your child’s skills. You can include zippers, buttons, switches, locks, or even doorknobs and attach them to a board or block for your toddler to focus on the individual skills that they’re most interested in.

21. Scissor Skills

Introducing the use of scissors can be a highly scary topic for a 3-year-old, but around this age, it is perfectly normal for them to develop an interest in this exciting-looking object.

Showing your child the safest ways to use scissors is the best way to introduce the use of scissors and also improve their visual-motor skills as well as an appreciation and understanding for appropriate tool usage.

There are a few fun activities you can introduce the use of scissors to your toddler:

• Cutting Playdough
• Cutting foam sheets
• Cutting string/ yarn
• Cutting paper

All of these methods are a great way to get creative with your little one, but of course, make sure you watch over them as they work on this new skill so you can appropriately help them learn how much fun this can be.

If your child is already familiar with the use of scissors you can draw some interesting patterns on paper for them to follow along with their scissors to work on their steady hand and gripping skill ready for all the crafts to come!

Frequently Asked Questions

As parents, we can spend a lot of time worrying about our children’s development and if they are meeting the correct milestones. Here are some frequently asked questions about your three-year-old to help.

At three years of age, most kids should be able to correctly name common colors, memorize parts of stories, understand a better concept of time, have a wider creative thought, understand differences in sizing and notice the difference in similar and different features.

By this age, your child will usually not remember the whole alphabet, but often will be able to remember around half the letters and their sounds in order to connect a letter to their sound.

Most children will not fully master potty training until their fourth year, although if you start around 18 months of age then they may begin being fully potty trained during their third year.

Usually, around this age, a drawing of a person will emerge with a “tadpole” style, and a head attached directly to the legs with some arms sticking from the sides.

Related Reading: 12 Kid-Friendly Card Games

At three-year-olds your child will be showing so much more emotion and awareness of the world around them.

During this important stage of understanding their own mind and body, you can really ease this developmental stage through creative play and educational learning to make the job of learning these new skills easy and stress-free for the caregivers.

Filling each day with exciting and entertaining age-appropriate activities can seem like an overwhelming task, but having access to open-ended toys and multi-purpose materials can do the world of good for your little one and help them play and learn together.

This article has covered some of the firm favorites that toddlers know and love, and given you some ideas for ways to improve your three-year-olds developing skills in a fun and appropriate way that can get the whole family involved.

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5 Fun Developmental Activities for 3-Year-Olds

5 indoor activities for 3-year-olds, 5 engaging art activities for 3-year-olds, how educational activities transform kids’ lives.

Toddlers are very active and always on the go! As a parent, it can be tough to keep up with their energy levels. However, it’s important to find ways to keep your toddler occupied and engaged and learning!

Here are 15 activities for 3-year-olds that are both fun and educational:

1. Recognizing Letters and Sounds

Learning activities for 3-year-olds are most fun when they are dressed up as family games, pretend plays, or become parts of our daily activities and observations. Recognizing letters and their sounds is one such activity that can be done in several ways.

Things you need:

A whiteboard or chalkboard, some colored markers or chalk. You can also use letter cards, board games, or online games for kids .

How to play:

You can play games where you write a letter on the board and teach your child to read it. Preschoolers can start learning both uppercase and lowercase letters . If they get it right, give them a point. If not, give them a clue and let them try again.

You can also play the “sound it out” game. Write a letter on the board and ask your child to make the sound it makes. Again, if they get it right, give them a point. If not, give them a clue and let them try again.

Pointing to letters written somewhere as you go about your day—a cereal box, a signboard, a magazine, etc.—is also an easy activity to help your child learn to read them. Children can also trace letters with their fingers on the sand, match uppercase and lowercase letters, erase letters on a chalkboard, etc. 

If you are busy, play some alphabet songs for your toddler to dance or let them play some online English games .

Skills your preschooler will learn:

Letter recognition, phonemic awareness, letter sounds

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SplashLearn inspires lifelong curiosity with its game-based PreK-5 learning program loved by over 40 million children. With over 4,000 fun games and activities, it’s the perfect balance of learning and play for your little one.

2. Reading with Your Child

Reading books with your child is one of the best things you can do for their development. Not only does it improve language skills, but it also helps them learn sight words, develop their imagination, and understand the world around them.

Books that are appropriate for your child’s age and interests, such as picture books, easy readers, etc.

Sit down with your child and read a book together. You can take turns reading the pages or have your child read the whole book to you.

Books for toddlers should be short and have many pictures supporting the story. This will help keep their attention span, and they will be more likely to understand the concepts in the book.

Read word by word, pointing to each word with your finger, and ask inferential questions based on how, why, what, when, and where to encourage the thinking skills in kids .

Language skills, sight words , attention span, comprehension, memory, imagination

3. Making Up Stories

Children love to listen to and tell stories, and this is an activity that can be done anywhere, anytime. It’s the perfect thing to do in a car while traveling, at bedtime, or even while waiting in line at the grocery store.

None! Just your child’s imagination

Have your child make up a story, either on their own or with your help. Encourage them to use their imagination and be as creative as they want. If they get stuck, you can prompt them with questions or ideas. You may also correct their grammar along the way, but it’s important to let them be creative and have fun with this activity.

If your child is stumped, set an example by asking them for three or four words and make a story that uses all of them. For instance, if they give you the words “cat,” “green,” “ball,” and “tree,” you could make up a story about a green cat that climbs a tree to fetch a ball.

Eventually, you can give words to your child and have them make up a story using those words.

Creativity, imagination, storytelling, communication

4. Playing a Number Game

Offline and online, math can be fun for kids if it’s taught interactively and creatively. Playing the number sense games is one such activity that will help your child learn numbers, counting, and basic arithmetic operations in a fun and engaging way.

A whiteboard or a chalkboard, some colored markers or chalk. You can also use games focusing on numbers and counting, such as board games, card games, etc. Online math games are also available.

There are many games that you can play with your child to help him learn numbers and math concepts. One such game is the “guess the number” game. Write down a number between 1 and 10 on the board, and ask your child to guess it. If he gets it right, give him a point. If not, give him a clue and let him have another try.

You can also play the “greater than or less than” game. Write down two numbers on the board, such as 3 and 5, and ask your child which number is greater. If he gets it right, give him a point. If not, give him a clue and let him try again.

Numbers , counting , and basic arithmetic operations include addition , subtraction , multiplication , and division .

5. Sorting Activities

Sorting is a fun activity that helps children learn about different attributes such as size, shape, color, etc. It also helps them develop problem-solving skills.

Various objects can be sorted according to size, shape, color, etc. You can use blocks, balls, toy cars, berries, buttons, etc.

Let your child choose a few objects and ask him to sort them according to size, shape, color, etc. For example, they can sort blocks by size or toy cars by color. As they sort the objects, help them identify the attribute they use for sorting.

Sorting, categorizing, and problem-solving.

Check out the best sensory activities for 3-year-olds you can try!

One of the favorite preschool activities for 3-year-olds is drawing. At this point, the artistic skills of a child are not really important. Drawing is a fun activity for toddlers to express themselves, work on their fine motor skills, and have fun!

Paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils

Sit with your child and encourage them to draw whatever comes to mind. You can also give some drawing ideas to kids , such as “Draw a picture of your family,” “Draw a picture of your favorite animal,” etc. You may make a drawing and ask your child to trace it or copy it.

Creativity, fine motor skills, imagination, attention span

7. Building with Blocks

One of the easy, no-mess activities for 3-year-olds at home is to let them build with blocks. It is amazing how much fun and creative they can be with this simple activity.

Blocks are also a great way for children to learn about shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns.

Blocks of various shapes and sizes

Let your child play with the blocks freely or give him or her some challenges, such as “build a tower as tall as you can,” “make a house for your favorite stuffed toy,” etc.

Creativity, imagination, problem-solving, eye-hand coordination, shapes, colors, patterns

8. Paper Cutting with Safety Scissors

Children feel empowered with a tool in their hands. And they are so proud of themselves when they can cut the paper!

Paper, safety scissors, craft supplies like pom poms, googly eyes (optional)

Give your child a piece of paper and let him or her cut it any way they want. If you like, you can also give some challenges, such as “cut out a circle,” “make a snowflake,” etc. You can help your child decorate the cutouts with craft supplies if desired.

Fine motor skills, creativity, imagination, attention span

*Please note that only safety scissors should be used for this activity. Regular scissors are too sharp for little ones.*

9. Doing Daily Chores

You’ll be surprised at all the things your toddlers can do if only you let them try. Giving them some simple chores to do not only helps them learn some valuable life skills but also makes kids feel proud and accomplished.

Chores that are appropriate for your child’s age and abilities, such as making their bed, dusting furniture, setting the table, etc.

Choose a chore that you would like your child to help with. Then, show them how to do it and let them try it themselves. Some of the chores that a 3-year-old can do may require some assistance or supervision, but it’s important to let them explore their capabilities and try new things.

A toddler can easily be overwhelmed with too many chores, so it’s important to start small. Choose one or two simple tasks that you know your child can handle. As they get older and more capable, you can give them more chores to do. Remember to praise them for a job well done!

Daily living skills, responsibility, independence, pride, satisfaction

10. Role-playing

What’s funnier than seeing a tiny toddler acting like a fat aunt or an old grandpa? Role-plays are one of the best activities for 3-year-olds as they help them learn about different emotions, people, and situations.

None! Just your child’s imagination. A few props like a walking stick, a hat, a lady’s purse, or a wig could come in handy to help set the scene.

Have your child choose a character that he or she would like to play. It could be anyone—a family member, a friend, a cartoon character, an animal, etc. Then, encourage them to act out the part. They can speak differently, use props, and do whatever they want to bring the character to life. Children learn to observe people around them and understand their emotions in this way.

Creativity, imagination, emotional intelligence, communication, problem-solving

Check out the best outdoor activities for 3-year-olds here!

11. Playing Dress Up

Dress-up games are not gender-specific. Most children love them! This activity helps 3-year-olds use their imagination, learn about social norms and roles, and have lots of fun!

Old clothes, hats, scarves, jewelry, etc., can be used as dress-up items. You can also use old sheets or towels to make capes or skirts. You can also use actual costumes if you have them.

Let your child choose what they want to be, and then help them get dressed in the appropriate clothing. If you like, you can also act out a play or story together with your child in their new costume.

Creativity, imagination, role-playing, problem-solving

12. Making Music with Household Items

This is one of the fun activities for 3-year-olds that can be done with items that you already have around the house. It’s a great way to introduce your child to music and help them develop a sense of rhythm.

Household items that can be used as musical instruments, such as pots and pans, plastic containers, wooden spoons, etc. You can also use actual musical instruments if you have them.

Let your child choose what he or she wants to use as an instrument. Then, encourage them to make music with it however they want. You can also sing along or dance to the music!

Music skills, sense of rhythm, gross motor skills, creativity, imagination

13. Making Art with Thumb , Hand, or Foot Impressions

Most toddlers do not know how to go about making an art piece. But they love to play a role in helping make one! This activity allows them to do just that, resulting in a beautiful piece of art that you can hang on your fridge or wall.

Non-toxic paint, paper, and something to use as a stamp (such as potato, carrot, or eraser)

Let your child choose what paint color he or she wants to use. Then, help them make a thumbprint, handprint, or footprint on the paper. You can also make patterns with stamps by carving a shape into a potato, carrot, or eraser. Once the paint is dry, you can hang up the artwork!

Creativity, imagination, fine motor skills, color recognition

14. Creating a Collage

A collage is a great way for toddlers to express their creativity. They can make amazing birthday cards with photo collages, make wall-hanging art, or have fun tearing up paper and gluing it back together!

Paper, safety scissors, glue, and any other materials you want to use for the collage (such as tissue paper, construction paper, feathers, buttons, ribbons, etc.)

Let your child choose what they want to use for their collage. Then, help them cut out the paper or other materials into small pieces. Once they have a good pile of pieces, they can glue them down onto another piece of paper. You can help them with this if needed.

Creativity, imagination, fine motor skills, color recognition, pattern-making

15. Drawing with Chalk on the Sidewalk

If you live in a safe neighborhood, your children can display their artistic skills outside the home by drawing with chalk on the sidewalk or driveway. This activity is great for gross motor skills and allows you to teach your child about shapes, colors, and patterns.

Chalk in various colors

Let your child choose what color of chalk he or she wants to use. Then, help them draw a picture or make patterns on the sidewalk. You can also join in and create your own chalk masterpiece!

Educate children about different cultures where making art to decorate entrance gates and doorways is a tradition. Indians make rangoli, Chinese make a dragon or zodiac animal drawings, while in the Philippines, it is common to see people painting on bamboo mats called banig . In this way, you can introduce your toddlers to other cultures.

Creativity, imagination, gross motor skills, shapes, colors, pattern-making

A study on Chinese children found that organized extracurricular activities (EAs) are strongly associated with early reading, math, and social skills. Another study indicated that the involvement of parents in preschool children’s learning activities at home during the COVID-19 pandemic was beneficial to kids’ learning behavior and emotional health. 

These studies seem to suggest that any activity that encourages learning, socialization, and creativity would benefit our little ones and shape them into more confident, woke, and aware individuals. 

Some benefits of educational activities for 3-year-olds are:

• They help develop cognitive skills, including problem-solving, memory, and attention span.
• EAs also nurture social skills such as cooperation, empathy, and communication.
• These activities can also boost self-esteem and confidence in children.
• Fun and educational activities are also great for developing gross and fine motor skills.

So go ahead and try out some educational activities with your 3-year-old today! You might just be surprised at how much they enjoy it—and how much they learn from it too.

Explore more online educational resources for kids to aid their learning experience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to choose a good educational activity for my 3 year old.

When choosing an activity for your 3-year-old, it is important to consider their interests, abilities, and attention span. You also want to ensure the activity is developmentally appropriate and safe. If you are unsure whether an activity is appropriate for your child, you can always consult their pediatrician or a child development expert.

How can I get my toddler to sit still and focus on an activity?

This can be a challenge for many parents! One tip is to try to find activities that your child is interested in and that they enjoy doing. Also, make sure you provide plenty of breaks during the activity so that your child doesn’t become overwhelmed or frustrated. Finally, praise your child when they display good behavior so that they know that you are pleased with their efforts.

How to help my toddler express their creativity?

There are many ways in which you can help your toddler express their creativity. One way is to provide plenty of opportunities for them to explore different materials and mediums, such as crayons, paint, clay, etc. You can also encourage them to sing, dance, or act out stories. And finally, make sure to praise their efforts and creativity, no matter what the outcome may be.

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Is your child a picky eater? Here's how you can make fruits, veggies and other food more appealing to him

Do you worry that your child is not getting enough nutrition because of his picky food habits? Here are some simple ideas to make food look appetizing so that mealtimes are fun for your little one

Does your dining table resemble a mini battlefield every time the family sits down for a meal, only because your toddler starts throwing tantrums? You may find it exasperating that your child refuses to eat specific food groups or is finicky about certain vegetables put on the plate. Yet, it is not an uncommon scene in many households — mealtimes can be a stressful affair for this very reason.

But, there is no cause for panic — a 2011- study published in the journal Acta Paediatrica revealed that children prefer colors and lots of choices on their plates. Researchers at Cornell University found that the way children and parents perceive food is very different: children are tempted by plates featuring a variety of food that is colorful and arranged in an appealing way.

So, with a little ingenuity and a lot of patience, you can get your little one to slowly consume various fruits, vegetables and other foods. And, have fun while doing it too!

Some tips on feeding finicky toddlers and preschoolers

Be creative and make it fun: Fashioning food into different shapes; using colorful vegetables cleverly; arranging them in designs or in their favorite crockery, could do the trick!

Do not force feed: Let your child make a choice; forcefully feeding the little one can make matters worse as she might develop a complicated relationship with her food.

Give time to try new foods:  Whenever you introduce a new food to your finicky toddler, give him a little time to open up to the new food. If he refuses it the first time, re-introduce it after a few days.

Use your imagination: Make noodles out of zucchini and cucumber; make wraps with dosas and whip up a delicious smoothie with a medley of fruits. Be imaginative when giving food to a fussy child.

Involve your kids in the preparation and plating of food: When children are involved in selecting the different ingredients for a dish, they are likely to taste what they prepare and therefore take a step towards eating the dish too.

Here are some amazing ideas to present vegetables, fruits and food to children.

1. Fruits in a variety of shapes

Many toddlers are fussy about eating fruits when mixed together and given in a bowl. But fruits are an essential part of our diet, as they are packed with loads of nutrients. Why not use cookie cutters to cut them in different shapes and make them look attractive?

1. Wash and peel the fruits.

2. Cut them in thick slices in such a way that you would be able to cut out different shapes from them.

3. You can use cookie cutters in star, moon, house, flower, heart and other different shapes.

4. Once you have got an assortment of fruits in different shapes, arrange them neatly on a serving dish or plate.

5. Your little one will finish them up in a jiffy.

2. Whole wheat dosa/pancake with a smiley face

Does your four-year-old turn up her nose at the mention of dosa or idli at breakfast time? Making the dosa/pancake look pretty may entice her into trying some.

1. In a large bowl, take the whole wheat flour, cinnamon powder and honey.

2. Add the curd and water as needed to make a thick batter of pouring consistency. Alternatively, you can skip the curd and instead, add a couple of eggs and a little milk to make a pancake batter.

3. Put a griddle on medium heat and pour a ladleful of batter to make a small, round pancake. Repeat to make a few more.

4. Place the pancake on a plate. Layer the orange segments on the upper part of the pancake to represent the hair. Place the banana slices to show the eyes and put a cherry each on top of the banana.

5. Use the rest of the cherries to make the mouth.

6. Your little one might be excited to see the pancake with a smiling face!

3. Sandwiches shaped like animals, birds or flowers

Little children are fascinated by animals, birds and flowers, and love to explore their surroundings. So, a butterfly-shaped cheese sandwich is not just healthy, but also visually appealing for your toddler.

1. Toast the whole-wheat bread slices and put the cheese slice in between the two slices.

2. Put the filling of your choice between the two slices. Ensure you put a thin layer otherwise cutting into shapes will be difficult.

3. Neatly cut the prepared sandwich in the shape of a butterfly. With a sharp knife, cut the sandwich right in the middle.

4. Place these two pieces on a plate, in such a way that there is a 1/2 inch gap in the middle. In this gap, place a small baton of cucumber to represent the butterfly's body.

5. Place an olive on top for the butterfly's head.

6. Use the carrot strips to make the antennae.

7. Your beautiful sandwich is ready to eat.

4. Grilled veggies on skewers

This is a simple but sure-fire way of getting your child to eat vegetables. You will need wooden skewer sticks for this recipe.

1. Coat the veggies lightly with a little butter or oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on them.

2. Arrange the veggies neatly on the skewer sticks.

3. Grill the veggies in the oven at 200°C for about 6-8 minutes.

4. Take them out and arrange them on a colorful serving plate.

5. Alternatively, you could place the vegetables on a tawa and roast them on medium heat.

5. Favourite food with a twist

Does your picky eater only crave noodles and burgers? Well, serve her favorite food, but with a healthy twist. We show you how.

1. In a bowl, mix the tomato sauce, soya sauce, honey, vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper to make the sauce.

2. Put a large wok on medium heat and add the cooking oil.

3. Saute all the vegetables in the oil, till they are cooked but crunchy.

4. Add the cooked noodles and mix well.

5. Add the prepared sauce and saute for about two minutes. Combine all the ingredients well, so that the noodles are coated properly.

6. Place it in a serving bowl and top with roasted peanuts.

7. Cut the boiled egg into halves and place it on the noodles.

6. Banana bread with sprinkles

Does your child say that your banana bread is boring and gobbles up a pastry instead? Here is what you can do to make it look appealing.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the banana bread with a whisk, till you get a smooth batter.

3. Instead of a regular loaf tin, pour the batter into a heart, round or any pretty-shaped tin to make it look like a cake.

4. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.

5. Once cool, cover with fresh cream and arrange the banana pieces on top.

6. Add the sprinkles to transform the simple banana bread to a fancy one.

7. Make your own dish game

This is one of the easiest ways to get your finicky child to eat fruits and veggies. Ask them to play a game by making their own dish with ingredients provided by you.

1. Wash, peel and thoroughly clean the veggies. Cut them into long strips.

2. Soak the red cabbage in salted hot water for a minute to remove germs.

3. Cut onions into round slices.

4. Take any dressing of your choice such as mint chutney, yogurt, sauce or homemade mayonnaise and put it in a small bowl.

5. Place this in the middle of a plate and arrange the veggies around it neatly.

6. Give this to your little one and ask him to make his own dishes, such as salad, sandwich or stir-fry.

7. You could add other ingredients like nuts and seeds, peanut butter and anything of your choice.

8. Fruit and nut cream/custard bowl

Getting some children to eat fruits is difficult. The idea of this recipe is to layer the ingredients in an appealing glass bowl or tumbler so that it looks colorful and irresistible.

1. Layer the custard/cream and the fruits alternately inside the serving bowl so that there is a play of different colors.

2. Top with the cherries and the mixed nuts.

Getting your finicky toddlers or preschoolers to finish what is put on their plate may sometimes seem like an uphill task. But, how you present the food to them can make a huge difference. Try our ideas and say hello to peaceful mealtimes.

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