Early childhood is an explosive period of development and learning.

Research is emerging constantly that shows there is a lot going on in infant and toddlers’ brains that the filters installed in our grown-up brains don’t allow us to understand. Infants and toddlers are constantly processing sensory input: sounds, smells, flavors, images and textures, at lightning speeds.KidsInSocks was born becauseit really is never too early to begin exposing children to language – aka literacy.

Inspiration where you least expect it!

As a student of Child Psychology, I would always head home for the holidays to a bunch of nieces and nephews expecting auntie to bring them presents. Like most students my budget didn’t allow for extravagance and I had to find gifts that they wouldn’t fight over. That’s when the idea hit me – KidsInSocks! A practical gift parents would be glad for their kids to receive; the question was how to get kids excited about it?

We all looked forward to school before grammar and long division!

Most young children look forward to school because from infancy they pass by school yards full of boisterous kids at play. At school kids don’t just learn information though, they also learn cooperation and how to socialize. The more that parents, caregivers and siblings interact constructively with infants and toddlers, the easier time they will have adjusting to day-care, pre-school or primary school environments and practices. KidsInSocks is all about giving every toddler a head-start towards learning, while providing caregivers and family members opportunities to engage them in meaningful interaction.

“Socks on, socks off…”

Getting little kids to want to put socks on can be a challenge. KidsInSocks’ mission is to provide you creative ways of getting little ones excited about getting dressed, one sock at a time! The secret is connection – when your little one realizes that you will interact with them and praise them while “playing” with these socks – don’t be surprised if they begin asking to put on socks several times per day.

Learning is a process.

Routines, repetition and consistency are important elements of the learning process. Current research has shown that learners need to be exposed to new information periodically at least 12 times for it to be embodied as knowledge. That is why, here in our blog,KidsInSocks will provide you “play plans” that you can implement abc song with your child to turn getting dressed into a quality interaction learning experience.

Left or Right?

KidsInSocks current line of socks features the letters of the alphabet and corresponding images, but you can also use this opportunity to help your child begin to learn left from right by consistently placing the letter sock and the picture sock on specific feet. For example:

“This is the letter -a-, it sounds like ‘ayyy’ and ‘aah’, can you say ‘ay’ and ‘ah’? Super! Now I am going to put the letter -a- on you left foot… (pick up left foot and tickle it) what foot is this? It’s your left foot. Can you say left foot? Excellent! What letter is on your left foot? The letter -a- is on your left foot and it sounds like ‘ay’ and ‘ah’!”

Then you repeat the process with the picture sock on the right foot…

“This is an apple; the word apple starts with the ‘ah’ sound! Can you say apple? Great! Now I am going to put the apple on your right foot… (pick up right foot and tickle it) what foot is this? It’s your right foot. Can you say right foot? Well done! What is on your right foot? The apple is on your right foot and the word apple starts with the letter -a-! Now let’s get your shoes on to protect the apple and the letter -a-!”

Connecting with kids.

That exchange takes less than two minutes and it can set a positive tone for the rest of your and your child’s day. It also sets the groundwork for important learning and socialization processes. The science of socks, brought to you by KidsInSocks!