Intellectual Development means being able to communicate, to think both creatively and abstractly, to pay attention, solve problems, and develop keen judgment and a lifelong readiness to learn.

Comfort Through the comfort and responsiveness of an adult, preschoolers will learn how to handle their emotions and how to seek help when needed. Parents Can: Read their preschooler his favourite book before bed Child Will: Enjoy a special shared time of reading Use words and sentences he has memorized to be an active participant in this experience Parents Can: Encourage their preschooler to ask questions Child Will: Feel her curiosity is supported Expand her own ideas and accounts of events Parents Can: Interpret when their preschooler has difficulty expressing himself Child Will: Develop a sense of trust that he can turn to adults when help is needed

Play Through opportunities for play, preschoolers will experience joyful, free, spontaneous moments of fun while learning about themselves and others. Parents Can: Play word games with rhymes Child Will: Further develop her understanding of language, as well as building her vocabulary Parents Can: Play guessing games that encourage their preschooler to think about functional relationships (for example, "What do you need for cleaning your teeth?") Child Will: Practice thinking about objects and their functional characteristics Have to use his memory rather than relying on concrete objects Parents Can: Set up an area for imaginative play with puppets Child Will: Develop her own stories and act them out Experiment with new phrases and descriptions

Teach Through routines and emotionally and physically safe and secure environments, preschoolers can learn how to think, solve problems and communicate. Parents Can: Read stories that have a clear beginning, middle and end, and use new words Child Will: Begin to incorporate the structure of stories into his own descriptions and accounts of his experiences Parents Can: Ask their preschooler to tell them about the stories that go with the pictures she has drawn Child Will: Begin to understand how the written word can represent her thoughts and ideas Parents Can: Visit the local library or bookstore to explore books with their preschooler Child Will: Begin to develop an interest in the written word Be encouraged to love the activity of reading books