Ask HN: What things can you teach to a 3 year old?

- Cars don't have eyes which means that can't see you and can hit you.

- Feelings, names of them and distinctions, all are ok, what is and isn't an ok action to take because of feeling

- Animals have feelings. They also have eyes.

- How everything ever is part of a sequence of things

- The phases of the moon

- The location of the sun in the sky based on time (or routine item like wake up, lunch, nap, dinner time).

- Any recipe (sequences)

- Songs. Anything can be a song.

- Where things live/go/sleep/etc

Recently:

Politeness, basic protocol in conduct.

Colors.

Shapes.

All about the animals. What noise do they make, what do they eat, etc...

How the tablet works. Home button, pick an app, next, back.

Mine knows how to get rid of the "your TV will turn off in x seconds" message. She found a little button, joystick in the lower left corner I did not know the thing had. One day, that popped up, she said, "I fix papa' and did!

Songs.

Dances.

Where things go.

Cooking processes. Stir, dump it in. Etc...

People, roles.

3 year olds are sponges. Think macro on most things and they are up for it.

My son is 3. While I try to teach him as much as I can keep his focus for academically, one thing that surprised me was how much he has taken to practicing soccer lately.

Over the last couple months, from refusing to kick a ball that was passed to him, to wanting to play pass from the moment he wakes up, he has made tremendous progress kicking the ball, dribbling, and aiming. I have noticed his balance and coordination improve substantially, not to mention the power behind his kick. It has been a blast and we both have a great time taking a ball to the park and working on his skills.

He has now started mimicking some moves that I do - crossovers, maradonas, back-heeling the ball. Not well, mind you, but nothing funnier than watching a 3yo trying to do a crossover with a size 5 ball that goes up to his knees.

They are in control of their actions.

"She made me spill!"

"No, she teased you, which she should not have done. You chose to get mad and you threw a fit, knocking over your glass. That was you, little one. Now clean it up while I go talk with your sister."

There is a book Teach Your Baby Math that uses a technique with red dots to teach counting, addition and subtraction that you can start at 3 years of age.

Another book by the same author called Teach Your Baby to Read shows you how to teach reading and foreign language. They recommend earlier ages as the mind is still developing and has 3x the neural connections.

Good habits like washing hands etc are something you can teach at a very early age and are actually encourage in Montessori schools. By age of 6 it is much harder to establish good habits.

I had some success in teaching my 3yo to play some board-games with me. She is more of a random-agent, but mostly makes correct moves and loves to "score many points" :-)

* pexeso

* king-domino

* carcasone (with reduced number of tiles)

Kindness, confidence, thoughtfulness, emotional stability, etc... They’re absorbing everything you do, so set a good example!

Teach them to read and to count (but do this gently - not every child can do this at the age of 3 easily and you should not force them). I was once surprised to know how many kids can't read at count as their parents don't teach them. Also introduce them to a foreign language.

Some time before five, maybe four, maybe three, you could start "skip counting." By twos, fives, and tens. Doing this and filling the gaps, by kindergarten, one of my kids could start multiplication. By first grade, she had a working understanding of fractions and the arithmetic around them.

Puzzles.

Building with legos.

Cooking simple recipes.

Washing their own hair.

Roll and Mark Pumpkin Dot Art, to make a pumpkin version quickly because Little Sister enjoyed the similar activities in the kit so much.