Preschool is an amazing place where your little one can grow, develop and learn all day long. Your kiddo is getting the chance to build critical thinking skills, learn about new concepts, explore and much much more. Even though she's getting in plenty of learning during the day, it doesn't have to stop there. You can keep your child's preschool education going at home by implementing a few fun learning activities. Check out these content area-based activities and get a few ideas for an at-home pre-k education.

Science

You don't need a fancy set-up or loads of costly materials to do science at home. You probably already have plenty of items at home to use. Combine one tablespoon of baking soda (not powder) with one teaspoon of white vinegar in a bowl to make an erupting volcano. If that's too messy for you, go outside on a nature walk. Take a pad of paper and a few crayons for your child to "take notes". She can draw pictures of what she sees, including plants, animals and insects.

Art

Don't stress over providing your creative kiddo with museum-worthy art lessons at home. Give her an open-ended art experience, and let her play with finger paints, modeling clay or papers (with markers or crayons). Instead of directing your child to make "something," invite her to experiment with the materials. This helps her to use her imagination, problem solve and discover the artistic process.

Math

No worksheets are needed here. Gather together a few small toys and have your child count them. After she counts them, she can group them into piles based on similar characteristics or add them. For example, she can add two toy sheep and three race cars to get five toys total. Using actual items to do math equations makes the ideas more concrete and can help her to better understand the concepts at hand.

Literacy

This is one of the easiest activities to do at home. All you need is a book and a voice. Read interactively with your child, asking her questions about the content and the pictures as you go along. You can even have her "read" to you. If she can't read the words (which she probably can't – at least, not yet), she can make a story based on the pictures. Another option is to create your own book. Have your child draw pictures that tell a tale, and then staple them together in order.

Your child learns every day in pre-k. But, preschools aren't the only places where young children can learn. Take your kiddo's education home with a few fun learning activities in content areas such as science, art, math and literacy. For more information, contact a business such as Sammamish Montessori School.