10 Favorite things to Have a Great Conversation with a 4 yr old

I found this on Face Book. I believe he is correct and I am going to add 5 more things to it.

Preview

1. Dinosaur

Now put some thought into it. 4 year olds these days are mini paleontologists. If you encounter a kid who knows dinosaurs.. He knows them all. The more surprising the dinosaur the more their eyes will light up and you got em.

Mine is a Longisquama. It's an absolutely ridiculous looking creature.

2. Bug

Kids love bugs. I was playing with 3 and 4 yr olds at recess yesterday and 3 girls came running up to me.. "Ms.Katie... Ms.Katie... WE FOUND A LADY BUG!!" I started asking them questions... How many spots does it have? Now these kids can't quite count right now.. So I walked over for a teaching moment.. "let's count the spots" It was a CICADA. Kids.. right? So I said oh friends.. that's not a lady bug.. it has no spots. It's a CICADA! A 3 1/2 year old ran into the sand box and got a shovel. She started waving it around and said.. " I'm going to fight the cicada.. where's the cicada". It was adorable. Kids love spiders, ladybugs, ants and worms. Another kid just played with a worm at recess..

My favorite bug is a BUTTERFLY! I talk about it all the time. I point it out if a kid is wearing it. I draw it during free time. Butterflies are just awesome.

3. Super Hero

99% of the time if a kid is asking you your favorite superhero.. the smart answer is "Spiderman". He is the epitome of all things cool right now. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if half of the boys dressed up as spiderman and the other dressed up as a dinosaur for Halloween.

Mine is Captain America. It goes back to college. I was playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance on a boyfriend's XBox. I chose him as my character because he can throw his shield and just knock out everyone and then get all the coins. He can be away from the action but still get the other characters.

4. Animal

A student of mine accidentally took a frog toy home the other day. He brought it back to school and said FROGS are awesome. I said... FROGS ARE AWESOME. Are frogs you're favorite animal? He said "Yes" and want on to describe why. I told him my favorite animal was an Elephant because they are super funny looking and BIG. They aren't little and funny looking.. they stand out and they have that weird nose/mouth trunk think and big floppy ears.

It's a great way to just engage kids to talk about other animals and use all the skills they need to learn in preschool. Categorizing.. describing.. basic conversation skills.

5. Princess

Girls love princesses and each girl has their own favorite princess. It typically depends on the color and type of hair they have or their favorite color. My favorite princess is Belle. She has brown hair like me and she likes to read books. She talks to inanimate objects. I don't love her popular yellow dress but she tells it like it is and she's awesome.

6. Food

It should really be a kid friendly food. Pizza, Candy, Chicken Nuggets, Noodles, French Fries...

I pretend every lunch time that my favorite food is whatever vegetable we are having at lunch time. My favorite food has been cauliflower a lot lately. No one is buying it.

My real favorite food I tell them are Dino Nuggets. They are fantastic.

7. Color

You need to be able to explain why it is your favorite.

Mine is Green:

1. My eyes are green.

2. Everyone wears green on my birthday.

3. I wear a lot of green because my eyes look good with it.

8. TV Show

Wild Krats is SUCH a good show. I also enjoy Bluey. Maybe it has to do with the Australian accents.. when did Australians take over the kids tv show market?? These are two very popular shows right now. I also have a favorite character in Bluey. She's not a main one but its Aunt Friskie. She's fantastic.

9. GoNoodle

Every kid might not know GoNoodle. All of my kids know Gonoodle by the time I am done with them. My favorite GoNoodle song is 'All I Eat is Pizza'. It is just the silliest song EVER!

10. Toy

Every kid has a toy that they enjoy more than the others. My favorite toy is not really a specific toy.. It's any toy with bright colors. My new school has these monkeys that you connect with these hoops. They are neon. They are my favorite. Some kids LOVE trains. Other kids LOVE cars. Some will never leave the kitchen.