Learning Path Stones

First Words

First Words
Infants string sounds together to imitate language. Later they use these sound strings to represent things in the world (baba for bottle). As toddlers they progressively build vocabulary and begin to learn the principles of word order (red ball, not ball red).

Language Sounds

Language Sounds
Language sounds lay the foundation for both the spoken and written word. Hearing spoken language introduces babies to the patterns, sounds and rhythms of speech and provides them with a model for producing language.

First Words in World Languages

First Words in World Languages
Children are born ready to learn any language. Early and continued exposure to language sounds from a variety of cultures may enhance a child's ability to speak more than one language.

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect
Children progress from a simple observation of action and reaction (spin the wheel to hear music) to a deeper understanding of cause and effect (germs make you sick). Cause and effect is important because it signals that a child can perceive hidden or abstract forces on objects.

Colors

Colors
Learning color names and matching them consistently to the right color develops by around the age of 2 to 3 years. When children eventually come to understand the concepts of color they can then use that information to categorize shapes, patterns and other visual information.

Sorting and Classifying

Sorting and Classifying
Children actively arrange their blocks, cars and dolls, using visual discrimination to sort objects around them. Essential for math and science, classification is the logical reasoning ability to identify and group objects by attributes such as color, size, number, function, length, volume, weight, area, time and other familiar characteristics.

Music

Music
From birth, children love music and even prefer it to speech. Apart from the obvious joy of music there are a number of surprising benefits to listening to music: it helps develop language, problem solving skills, memory, and physical coordination.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine Motor Skills
The development and coordination of small, refined muscle movements allow infants and toddlers to use their thumb and forefinger to grasp small objects, paint and eventually learn to write.

Sensory Exploration

Sensory Exploration
Infants and toddlers experience the world using all of their senses. However, vision is by far the main sense that they use. As they explore their enviroment babies examine objects, recognize people and learn about depth and movement. Taste and touch are also important senses for babies.

Early Number Sense

Early Number Sense
As early as 6 months, babies begin to understand the concept of numbers, noticing small groups of one, two or three things. As children develop number sense they learn to count by ones, skip count and count backwards, gaining the foundation for operations. Children who have good number sense find learning operations like addition and subtraction much easier.

Awards

• 2006 Excellent Products Award, iParenting Media