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Activity 3: I Can Do It Myself!

Children increase in ability to do things for themselves as they are given opportunities. Celebrate your child’s growing abilities and independence.

Health & Safety: Activity 3

Benefits for Your Child:

• Realizes what he/she can do independently
• Builds confidence in his/her abilities
• Accepts more responsibility for his/her self

Children increase in ability to do things for themselves as they are given opportunities. Celebrate your child’s growing abilities and independence.

Kindergarten Connection

In kindergarten, your child will be in school without you. Along with a classroom of other children, your child will need to have the confidence and ability to work alone or in groups, use materials independently, use the restroom independently, ask questions, follow directions, and many other independent activities.

Activity: I Can

Talk with your child about the things that he/she could not do as a baby. Talk about how he/she is much bigger now and can do many things independently. For instance, he/she can now speak and get dressed. Have your child think of some things that he/she can do all by himself/herself. As your child names an activity, write it on a slip of paper and put it in the container. Continue until your child has named as many as possible. Throughout the day, observe your child. When he/she does something independently, point it out to him/her. “Look, you got a drink of water all by yourself! Let’s add it to the ‘I Can’ jar.”

More Ideas:

• Add new slips of paper as your child learns to do new things.
• Make an “I Can Do It” book. Have your child draw pictures of things he/she can do independently. Offer to write what he/she says about the pictures. Fasten the pages together with staples or brass fasteners into a book.
• Take photographs of your child doing things to include in the book you are creating.

Tip:

• If your child wants to include things that cannot yet be done independently, make an additional book of “Things I Want to Do.”

Activity Card

Download Printable Activity Card

Video