I have found that it is easy to make an every day chore in to a fun-filled learning activity for a four year old.
Something so simple such as folding the laundry has turned into a game of retail store in which we neatly fold the clothes and place them on display in our rooms for customers. Just the other day we made a game out of shoveling a rock pile from the front yard in order to level out the front a bit better. As we "played" in the rock pile she was rewarded with picking a few rocks out that we would be able to keep.
Unfortunately each and every one of the "games" I came up with were short-lived. Although she's four, my daughter is a skill-full player the constant game of life we have going on. About three minutes into playing store she got up, declared herself manager and took off for a "coffee break".
When it came to shoveling the rocks, I fastened a brand new shovel of her very own out of an old juice carton so that she could "play" but instead she took it upon herself to inspect the rocks. A little while later I noticed that I had spilled rocks onto the sidewalk. Excited about my new found discovery, I told her that I had I noticed some of the rocks "trying to escape" the yard. As I called for her help to gather them she calmly explained to me that the rock swere merely trying to get a bit of fresh air outside of the gate.
Again, I enjoy changing these every day chores into fun-filled learning experiences for my four year old; it's just her perception that we need to tweak.
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