You are the child's first teacher. You have taught your child how to walk, to speak, to go to the bathroom and to eat, in other words, all the things your child needs for survival. You may have even begun to help your child get ready for learning. You have the confidence of your child. Your patience and understanding have been imprinted in the mind of your child. You are well positioned to assist your child in developing, or further developing, the skills needed for learning.

Following is a list of points to keep in mind while doing the Stepping Stones to Learning activities:           It is important, however, that the activities are done in an atmosphere of fun. Although the things being taught are essential, the word "school" shouldn't come up. Schools, with the classrooms and large numbers of students, are designed to a more structured way of learning. You, as teacher of your child, have a completely different situation whereby you can work one-on-one with the child in a much more relaxed and playtime atmosphere.           If you have already started working with your child, some of the activities included in this program may be of assistance to you. Feel free to adapt any of the activities to your own situation. In some instances you may wish to let the child be the teacher, for example, let the child select the items to go in the bag for "Touch and Think" and you do the touching or let the child put a button sequence together and see if you can remember it.           If your child is already holding a pencil and drawing, maybe even tracing or writing the letters of the alphabet, simply check to see if they are holding the pencil properly. If not, show them how. Please remember, trying to undo a habit is tough, but with a little patience and understanding it can be accomplished without any stress for you or the child.           You may do the activities in any order. You may wish to do both activities in a section for a length of time then move on to the next, or you may wish to do the first activity in each section. The choice is entirely yours. You know your child their accomplishments. However, remember to have patience and to have fun. Your smile will communicate that this is going to be fun.           Whenever you write for your child make sure that you use lower case letters with only capitals for beginning sentences, etc. If you happen to use all capital letters for writing, your child will have to unlearn that method. It is better to introduce them to lowercase letters early.           Whenever you talk to your child it is a good idea to use full sentences in order that the child hear the sound and rhythm of the language, e.g. rather than saying "sit down" it is better to say "I think you should sit down". This not only lets the child hear the language but also offers vocabulary that your child would not regularly hear.           Children are naturally curious about their world. Why is the sky blue? Why is it raining?