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: Respond to their preschooler when she shows an interest in using numbers Child Will: Feel she can experiment with how numbers are used in a safe environment Engage in number play with an adult knowing she can make a mistake without negative consequences Learn to use an adult as a person to ask for help when she has a question or want something checked Parents Can: Introduce the concepts of sorting and classifying in daily routines (for example, "Let's put your socks in this drawer and your shirts in this drawer") Child Will: Begin to understand that any group of items can be sorted into groups Begin to classify common events and objects in his life (This can be as simple as events that make him happy or sad.) Begin to categorize and sort the emotions and responses of others in his environment

Play Through opportunities for play, preschoolers will experience joyful, free, spontaneous moments of fun while also learning about themselves and others. Parents Can: Provide play opportunities where their preschooler can use different forms of measurement (for example, put measuring cups and spoons in the bathtub) Child Will: Begin to understand that measurement can take different forms (for example, "We can measure how tall you are and how much you weigh") Begin to experiment with different measurements in her play (for example, while playing with blocks, you may find your preschooler measuring - often incorrectly - the height of her tower) Parents Can: Sing number and counting songs and rhymes Child Will: Begin to confidently repeat number sequences Begin to understand the concept of more or bigger (usually birthdays and age are the most relevant opportunity to use this concept - preschoolers with siblings will know who is older) Begin to count during his play, especially when he is playing with others and sharing toys

Teach Through routines, and emotionally and physically safe and secure environments, preschoolers can learn how to think, solve problems and communicate. Parents Can: Use coloured beads or buttons in play as an opportunity to explore different patterns, shapes and sequences Child Will: Begin to recognize patterns around her Begin to recognize and label shapes Begin to explore patterns she can make Begin to understand how sequences are made up of patterns Parents Can: Include their preschooler in cooking activities, and use these opportunities to explore different measures Child Will: Further understand that measurement takes different forms Begin to understand how numbers and measures relate Parents Can: Introduce books and puzzles that illustrate numbers with a direct correspondence to a group of objects Child Will: Begin to understand that objects can be represented by printed symbols (2 objects look like the numeral two) Begin to master her ability to correctly count a group of objects, demonstrating one-to-correspondence and numbers