Make a resolution to teach, spend time with family 

I for one, cannot believe it’s already time to talk 2015 resolutions. Did we not just ring in 2014?

Either way you see it, it’s now time to put goals into place for this upcoming year.

For those with young children, I am going to equip you with six educational goals for the New Year (Let’s face it: one for each month can be overwhelming for any parent.) Rest assured, your efforts will pay off; a study by the Boston Fed last month found strong educational guidance in early stages of life “substantially boost students’ chances of educational and economical achievement over the courses of their lives.”

Six ways to tap into your child’s educational endeavors for 2015 include:

Learn in the Kitchen Cooking with your young one(s) is a simple approach to teaching and learning, as children have opportunities to explore science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics by way of observation and experience. Think about it: when you watch ingredients change states via heating and cooling, you’re observing chemistry. You’re also getting hands-on with texture, from soft to hard and tough, to sticky, gooey and smooth. Hypothesizing how a recipe will turn out is part of the scientific method; plus, recipes are like laboratory protocols. Taking photos before, during and after is a way to integrate technology via your camera, and using tools such as toothpicks to balance ingredients can explore engineering (or slicing homemade bread to expand, too!). As for art, well, we all know cooking is an art, so encourage your child to discuss colors and shapes while putting the dish together. Mathematics: You need to measure ingredients to cook. Use this as an opportunity to discuss number concepts. Finally, cooking uses your child’s ability to solve problems. The recipe didn’t work: how come?

Take time to read If your child already enjoys reading, move on to No. 3. For those with children seemingly uninterested in literacy, here a few tips:

• Choose books that pique your child’s interest by taking into account what he or she likes, such as bugs, animals or trucks.

• Read one-on-one with your child in a designated spot in your home. This will create a sense of security and importance for your child, and it’ll be an activity he or she will want to repeat.

• Make a family album together, while noting what activity you all are doing in each picture.

• Children like repetition. It’s OK if they want to re-read the same story; it’s how they learn.

Talk more math I know, math is hardly anyone’s favorite subject, but as elementary educator Dr. Deanna Pecaski McLennan points out, “Preschoolers are natural mathematicians.” She said while preschoolers, “aren’t yet ready to memorize multiplication tables,” they are able to explore math concepts that will be applicable to primary school. Ways to encourage math concepts at home are:

• Fill containers with small items, such as buttons, shells, pinecones and beads. Watch as your pre-schooler naturally sorts them, and ask what made him or her do that.

• Ask your preschooler how many times he or she wants you to push him in the swing. Or, how many books he wants to read before bed.

• Measure outside of the kitchen, and allow some creativity beyond a simple rule and tape measure. For example, how many shoes long is the hallway or a pet?

• Count how many plates, cups, napkins and utensils are needed to set the table.

• Visit robmadell.com.

Explore nature Humans are part of nature, so we must encourage young minds to be mindful of it as they grow and develop. Simply taking a walk outside is enough to spark curiosity and exploration. “Nature brings with it a sense of beauty and calmness,” writes Condie Ward of the Children’s Community Development Center in Westport, Conn. By enjoying nature at a young age, children are more likely to take care of it (see Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”). Plus, it engages all five senses. Ask your child what he or she can see, touch, smell, hear and (sometimes, carefully) taste. Go one step further by building a nature wall using collected items from outside and garden stakes.

Bring instruments into the mix Music offers a range of benefits for early childhood learning, including identifying different sounds, counting beats and understanding what creates sound. Make a simple shaker with your child using beans and a recycled can, and address the different vocabulary words (rhythm, melody, texture, pitch and harmony, to name a few). The tempo you create, be it fast, slow, loud, soft, etc., allows for a child’s autonomy and creativity to take place.

Make bath time learning time Water is so easy to explore, as it’s a critical part of our daily lives. One of the most popular exhibits inside our Children’s Gallery at Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center is the water table; could you imagine if your child’s bath time became one of his or her favorite times at home? It can easily become just that: use tools (funnels, tubes or pipettes) to allow your child to observe pouring, squirting and sucking so that the water responds.

Try not to take any of the above resolutions too seriously. After all, as early childhood educator and author Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld said, “For children, play is as natural as breathing – and as necessary.”

Here’s to an enlightening year with your young one(s).