How To Teach Preschoolers Their Address & Telephone Number

Memorizing addresses and phone numbers comes easily to most adults — but to a preschooler, the information may seem like random numbers and letters. Preschoolers need to know their address and phone number for their own safety. Give them practice via games to help preschoolers learn their address and phone number.

Provide pictures and other visual reminders to help the preschoolers memorize their address and phone number. For the address, give them a magazine picture of a house or a piece of paper shaped like a house that they can cut out. Write the house number and street name on each paper cut out. Or, ask each parent to send a photo of the house number and street sign. Glue the pictures to a strip of paper. Create a cell phone cutout to practice phone numbers. Print the phone number you want the child to memorize on the screen of the phone. Include number buttons on the phones so the kids can practice dialing the numbers.

Give older preschoolers get a chance to practice their address. Collect old envelopes, or print an envelope template on plain paper. Write the address of each child on a piece of paper that the child can use as a reference. The preschoolers can write their addresses on the envelopes. For younger preschoolers, make dotted lines on the envelope for the preschooler to lay their markers on when writing the address. To write the address, have them trace over the dotted lines. To make a reusable version, laminate the envelope so the kids can use dry-erase markers. If you're using real envelopes, let the kids draw pictures that they can then insert into the envelopes to send home.

Collect old phones that you can use to practice, if you have old phones available. Give each child a copy of his phone number. Ask the kids to push the corresponding buttons to "dial" the number. Have them say the numbers aloud as they push the buttons. The kids can then have make-believe conversations on the phones.

Ask any preschooler if she knows the words to her favorite song, and she'll probably say, yes. Instead of asking preschoolers to memorize their address and phone number, turn these into a song or a rhyme. You can use any tune to practice. Another option is to make up a rhyme. For example, to remember the street number, you might say, "By my door is 104." For the street name, you might say, "I am really fine, I live on a street named Pine."