As the weather gets warmer, and parks and outdoor activities become more plentiful, your family will likely spend more time outside. Opportunities in Danbury are never ending, with many play and water spray parks, hiking trails, books, and activities at the Danbury Library and other community groups that offer child-centered activities.

We know that children learn about the world around them through their sensory systems: hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and sight. They also develop their sense of imagination by playing and interacting with the world around them—with friends in playgroups, at the park, and on playdates. Many activities can be done at home with a few props.

Use the Danbury Library to borrow books and attend library programs. The staff does a great job ensuring that there are multiple programs for all ages. Get a library card and enroll in a few programs.

Children are active investigators. Explore your yard, seeing the trees and flowers blooming, changes in the height and shape of plants, and the sounds birds make. Play outside games. Dig a small area to look for worms or other dirt-loving bugs. Simple games like Hopscotch, I Spy, and Red Light, Green Light all develop coordination and spatial awareness.

Provide a tub filled with sand or water, along with large spoons, bowls, and turkey basters (for the water), for hours of entertainment. Add items that float (lids, small plastic toys) or that sink (rocks and heavy items) to do science experiments.

A tub of chalk has many uses. Writing names and numbers, drawing the Hopscotch pattern, or drawing pictures all develop fine motor skills. When traveling or going to the park, take small bags of items to experiment with in a different environment, perhaps a park’s sandbox.

As your children become aware of the space around them, they ask questions about what they see or hear. Write down these words in a notebook to define later or to extend their vocabulary. Learn the difference between a bug and an insect and identify different birds or plants through free downloadable apps. By reading or listening to the information from these apps, your children can develop their phonological and print awareness, and develop their listening and comprehension skills by learning new concepts. Any opportunity where your child can listen helps develop more vocabulary and language skills necessary for emergent writing and reading skills.

These activities all help prepare your child for school. Speaking about school, if you have a child born between January 1, 2020, and Sept 1, 2020, it is time to register them for kindergarten at Danbury Public Schools. Start the process by going to https://www.danbury.k12.ct.us/ and looking for school registration. All initial registrations are online, followed by a visit to the Registration Center at the Family and Community Engagement Center at 49 Osborne St. to present required paperwork. For more information on the process, call 203-797-4753.

Anne E. Mead, Ed. D. is the director of Family, School, and Community Partnerships for Danbury Public Schools. She can be reached at 203-830-6508 or by email at meadan@danburyu.k12.ct.us.