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Whole Child Development

10 Activities for Beating Cabin Fever

by Filed Under: Music and Movement, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Beating Cabin Fever Winter has a way of causing kids (and adults) to “bounce off the walls” from time to time.  Whether it’s a snow day, a sick day, an inside recess day, a bad air day, or just the “we’re-so-excited-for-the-holidays-we-can’t-stand-it” day, there are plenty of times when you need a new, simple activity to shake things up and redirect some energy into a new, positive direction.

Today’s post is sponsored by a new app called Knoala.  If you’ve noticed, I’m very picky about taking on sponsors, and probably even more picky about taking on apps.  What I love about Knoala (besides the fact that it’s FREE) is that this app is a tool, not a babysitter.  Parents can pull up ideas, organized by age, for simple hands-on activities to do with their kids, usually with supplies you already have on hand.  It’s perfect for those moments when you just need a playful nudge or a fresh idea.  You can find the app at the Apple Store here. [Read more…]

Simple Ways to Keep Little Hands Busy at Christmastime

by Filed Under: Celebrate!, Create, Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience 3 Comments

This is an exciting time of year!  And sometimes that excitement, left unchanneled, can wreck havoc on your sanity.  If you’re finding that the nervous energy in your house is being directed into whining, fighting, or general destruction, consider ways you can redirect that energy in positive, productive ways.  To paraphrase from my e- book, it isn’t enough to tell children to STOP what they’re doing.  To be more effective, you need to give them things they CAN do.  It’s like trying to stop water from running down a hill.  You can’t just tell it to stop, or even try to force it to stop with a dam – it eventually runs over the top.  But you can dig a ditch, a channel, to move it in a more constructive direction.

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Snowy Ice Cream – Perfect for a Stormy Day

by Filed Under: Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience, Snack Time 2 Comments

We’re crossing our fingers, hoping for a white Christmas this year.  Looks like we may end up with rain instead.  (We may just have to head for the mountains!)  For those of you with plenty of the white stuff in your local forecast, you might want to try this fun recipe for ice cream.  The main ingredient: Fresh, fluffy snow!  (Taken from this post appearing last year.)

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Snacks to Warm You!

by Filed Under: Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience, Snack Time Leave a Comment

There are certain winter days when you absolutely have to be warmed up from the inside out.  Warm snacks are perfect for an afternoon after sledding or as a part of a preschool winter theme.  Children learn that just as clothes keep us warm in winter, warm foods help us out this time of year as well.  Plus, sharing warm food you’ve prepared together provides many of the developmental gains mentioned in this post.  Here are a few fun snacks to warm you through during a cold winter theme!

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Wonderful Winter Books!

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

I love picture books!  In our family library, my husband’s beautiful leather-bound tomes  line one section of shelves, while my continually growing collection of children’s literature fills another section.  I’d say our respective collections take up about the same amount of real estate, but since I can fit about 20 picture books in the same amount of space as one “War and Peace”, I’d say my collection is larger.  There just never seems to be a bad time to read a good children’s book.  Start of an activity – great!  Rowdy transition time – perfect!  Bedtime – ideal!  It reminds me of the iPhone commercials (“There’s an app for that”).  Any situation, there’s a book for that.  New puppy in the family?  There’s a book for that.  Having a really bad day?  There’s a book for that.  Want to become a pirate?  There’s a book for that too.  Ate too many cupcakes and now you’ve turned pink, which you were really excited about at first, until the birds and bees thought you were a flower and swarmed you, and after one more cupcake you’re actually red, which isn’t nearly as neat as pink and now you need to know how to get back to your normal self?  Wouldn’t you know, there’s a book for that too! (If you think I’m totally off my rocker with that last reference, you need to read Pinkalicious!)

During a winter themed preschool unit, there are plenty of opportunities for a great book.  You might use one to start off outside time, an art project, a game, or a discussion.  Or you might just read one to enjoy it together with your little ones.  For any occasion, here’s a quick list of some of my favorite winter-themed books. Instead of summarizing them myself, I’ve linked each picture to Amazon, which also gives a story summary. 

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Author Study: Jan Brett

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience 2 Comments

Jan Brett  (Click here to go to Jan Brett’s website.)

Jan Brett is a prolific as an author and illustrator!  Her books are instantly recognizable, with her trademark style of using detail to draw you further into the story, weaving a story-within-a-story as she offers new vantage points in the borders or foreshadows the arrival of a new character.

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