The Left and Right Game

It's hard being 3 almost four. You are expected to be a little sponge taking in everything pre school and parents lovingly teach you. When September comes, Sammy will be in the '4 rising 5' bracket and whilst I love that he is a Spring/Summer baby, the difference between him and his peers may be quite daunting.

He loves to learn and I aim to try out a different game at east once a week that challenges him and teaches him something new. It usually involves a crafty idea and if possible, gets us outdoors. (I normally post these ideas on a Tuesday if you want to follow them.)

This week he's been questioning his left and right when we put his shoes on at the door. Your left and right is something you just, well know. I don't think there are many tricks, you can contort your right hand 180 degrees to resemble an 'r' and your left makes an 'l' with an outstretched thumb, but it's basically something that just clicks at some point. Although my Mum did teach us a song "Left left, I had a good home but I left. Tis right I left I left last night." You time the words to your footsteps. I remember this as a happy childhood memory but the words are a bit sad really!

I was cleaning up the wooden kitchen from the wendy house over the weekend and needed a pair of rubber gloves. The only ones I had were a novelty Christmas pair, complete with marabou trim, but inside was a cardboard pair of hands! Perfect for my left and right game.

Cut your own hands from cardboard, draw round your hands for an extra bit of fun, make a spy hole, get your little one to write a few L's and R's and away you go!

We spied all sorts in the garden. Sheep, Little Nan's wendy house, Dada cutting the grass and a beautiful sunset. First we tried both eyes then he covered one eye and we talked about what we could see from the left eye then the right.

Simple but fun.

Any tips for teaching left and right?!