Whole Child Development
Here’s a song the children love! It’s perfect for reinforcing phonemic awareness and a great reminder of their classmates’ names. I learned it way back in my university days, so I really don’t know who to credit for it. Whoever you are, many children send an enthusiastic “Thank you”!
If you haven’t heard of Signing Time, you should check it out. It has an inspiring background story, and the research behind preverbal signing in hearing children can be quite compelling. Though they are oblivious to all of that, my boys just really enjoy it, and that’s why we’ve watched many episodes at our house. It’s a fun and dynamic mix of vocabulary, song, and sign.
Do you remember how excited you were to get mail as a child? The mail system seemed magical and mystical. You might get a package from Grandma, an invitation to a birthday party, or a letter from a secret admirer. The possibilities were endless! In these days of email and text messages, children still love to get mail! Here’s a great mail activity that will give them the opportunity to get and send mail while also getting some practice with recognizing and forming their written names.
Do you remember how excited you were to get mail as a child? The mail system seemed magical and mystical. You might get a package from Grandma, an invitation to a birthday party, or a letter from a secret admirer. The possibilities were endless! In these days of email and text messages, children still love to get mail! Here’s a great mail activity that will give them the opportunity to get and send mail while also getting some practice with recognizing and forming their written names.
Sorry for the delay in posts! It’s teething time again around here, and I’ve been spending a lot of time snuggling a certain 10-month old. You’d take snuggling him over writing too if you saw those eyes!
So, while I was planning on giving you plenty of heart art ideas here, I’ll finish the write up of the ones I had ready and link you to some great ones I’ve found on another site by a blogger I assume doesn’t have any teething ten-month olds.
Looking for a tasty treat to make for or with your kiddos on that special day of love? Here are five treats that will make the day memorable!
Heart Biscuits
Here’s a fun math activity that combines counting, one-to-one ratio, numeral recognition, color recognition, sorting, graphing, number comparison, and well, sugar! That’s a lot to do in one activity, but I promise, your kiddos will enjoy it nonetheless. And it’s only partly because of the sugar part.
Charles Barkley is notorious for saying he is not a role model. While this provided for an interesting campaign, and has the best intentions (implying parents should be a child’s primary role models, not athletes) it’s still a bit flawed. (Sorry, Chuck.) The truth is, any adult in view of a child, is to some degree a role model. I mean, break down the word. A role model is someone who demonstrates how a role is filled. They are modeling behavior. This is contingent upon a child being able to observe you, not upon your willingness or objection to being considered such. Children are watching all around them and picking up cues on how to navigate social situations. They are looking for social behavior to emulate as references for navigating their own social situations.
I have a friend who has made a tradition of giving books to her children on Valentine’s Day. (No, she’s not the one named Stinky Face.) She tries to find some kind of love themed book to give to each of her children. I love this idea, and as I thought about my favorite love themed children’s book, particularly from the perspective of a mom, my hands-down favorite is “I Love You Stinky Face” by Lisa McCourt.
This is a great story about a child who keeps asking his mother “what if” questions to test how much she really loves him. Questions like, “What if I were an alligator with big, sharp teeth?” or “What if I were a green alien from Mars and I ate bugs instead of peanut butter?” Of course the mother answers in perfect, funny, unconditionally loving fashion
Ahh, February! The kiddos have just gotten over the withdrawal symptoms caused by the sudden drop in blood sugar levels after Christmas, so of course it’s the perfect time for another confectionary holiday!
Now, I’m a middle of the roader when it comes to holidays and preschool. I don’t quite agree with the notion that they should be completely abolished from school. They are what kids are interested in, and I believe curriculum should emerge from the child’s interests. Though, I also don’t agree with the idea that a holiday is an appropriate curriculum theme in and of itself for an extended period of time. So I like to take the holiday and find connections to other social or science based themes. As I think of Valentine’s Day, I think of friendship and writing and sending notes and letters. I think of the social skills involved in creating and maintaining human relationships. These are skills children need to develop. (While we’re at it, there are plenty of adults who could use a course on those skills as well!)
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