Bring the ‘snow’ and fun indoors while your children work on their fine motor and counting skills!

Materials

• 12 cotton balls per child
• 1 marker
• 1 egg carton per child

Instructions

• Label each egg carton cup 1 through 12.
• Hide the cotton balls around the room (12 cotton balls per child).
• Have the children walk around the room, looking for the hidden ‘snowballs’.
• Encourage each child to put the ‘snowballs’ in order when they find them (1 through 12).
• Once all the ‘snowballs’ have been found, count them together!

Some thoughts to help us manage:

• When children first bite, it is often their mother while breast-feeding, and their motive is most probably curiosity – not aggression. Mothers should send the following message to their infant: “Ouch, no and if you bite, you lose the breast – end of discussion.”

• Biting often begins as exploration, but may be quickly associated with out-of-control feelings or feelings of being overwhelmed – with excitement, fear or curiosity. Parents should manage these feelings by staying as calm as possible and firmly saying:
  • “No one likes biting, especially me.”
  • “You just cannot bite.”
  • “I’ll help you stop until you stop yourself.”

• Parents often fear biting at school most. Peers, especially close ones, are fascinated by each other’s aggression, and the dramatic reactions it evokes. Adult overreaction just makes things more exciting! Experienced teachers have radar for when ‘the chompies’ are in the air and become particularly vigilant.

• If all adults involved in a biting incident are convinced that it was not an isolated but willful, premeditated event, both children should be kept safe.  Adults should explore the language of what went on and be able to offer alternative responses.

Finally, it bears stating – parents should never bite children back. Believe me, I understand the impulse, but all you accomplish is establishing mutual violence as an acceptable value in your family, embarrassing yourself, and degrading the natural authority you have with your children.  They want your help with this stuff, not your indulgence.

Your own ideas about how to integrating emotion and learning in everyday moments with your child are probably better than anything I could advise for you personally.  But here are some ideas and suggestions that might help you customize those ideas.

• Talk with your child. Hopefully, you have been doing that since the moment she was born.  Chat with her about what you and she are doing.  She’ll become part of the conversation sooner if you express to her what you love about being a parent.

• Encourage curiosity and understand that repetition is a good thing for him, boring though it might be for you.  The neurological basis for the insistence on the familiar lies in the fact that when synaptic connections are repeatedly activated by the same stimulation, they become immune from elimination during the brain’s pruning process.  They survive to become permanent neural connections that enhance learning.  So go ahead and do what your child likes – over and over.  This is a good rut to be in.

• Simply being nearby and available while your child plays on his own is so important, as is your willingness to interact.  So get down on the floor and stay awhile.  Of course, this is hard for working parents, but the effort is worth it.

• Nothing beats reading. Children don’t learn interactive, conversational language from TV because it does not respond to them. Language and eventually reading are learned from being actively engaged in speaking and reading with others – hearing parents and caregivers talk to each other and waiting for the child to respond.

• Children learn best in the context of their daily lives and when the amount and kind of stimulation fits their temperament, level of development, interests or preferences, and mood.  Pressure to perform or conform to high expectations can lead to stress that can sabotage learning through burnout and confusion.

• Young children do not need to be taught how to think.  Science is careening ahead pursuing fascinating findings and ideas about how, even whether, children this age actually do think.  But our ignorance dominates our knowledge embarrassingly.  We are still understanding why they even want to think in the first place.  It is like walking or talking, unfolding in due course when the maturational timekeeper tells the mind-body duality, “Johnny: it’s time?”

• The five-second check-in. Since most of us don’t spend our days staring endlessly at our toddlers and preschoolers, it is important that you take a few seconds to assess the mood, or state your child is in before you join in his doings, ask him to do something or simply interrupt him.  This is the feeling state that will determine his ability to understand or comply with whatever you might need, no matter how small.  If you are not tuned in, he probably won’t hear (i.e. learn).

• Join your child. Follow her lead in activities she is already involved in.  Don’t take over – it will turn her off.  But if you want her to learn, become a partner in the exploration she has begun.  Add a ball to hide in the pots and pans scene, or move close and take her hand if she is wary of a dog on a walk.  Don’t instantly rescue (unless safety is an immediate concern) because you will lose one of those interesting moments of tension that could be mastered, leading a child to a wider, more complex understanding of the world.

• If your child balks at a “learning” moment with you, it could mean you didn’t read the five-second check-in right.  Back up and let your child know you know what she is feeling first.  (“I guess you weren’t quite through,” or “It’s hard to have to stop when you are having fun doing X.”)  When the feeling domain feels appreciated, then the learning domain is less burdened.

• If your child needs redirection after you have connected with his mood or feeling, ask softly what he might enjoy doing.  If you still have no luck make two suggestions of things he might do and help him choose.  He will probably need some pump-priming from you, since you can manage your own mood apart from his.  Remember, how you are in such moments, is as important as what you do.

• If it’s important for you to initiate an activity that will bring you pleasure and you know it could be good for your child, like reading or going for a walk, stabilize your own mood first.  Only then can you help your child regulate hers.  Once done, then she can crawl up on your lap or get out the door and learn.  For some kids, it’s the other way around.  But for the majority, in the feeling and learning dance, it isn’t always possible to say who is leading.

Avoid brown bag boredom and try the following healthy, easy and fun options.  Bonus – your children will want to eat these choices!

Turn lunch into an adventure:

• Cut sandwiches into playful shapes with cookie cutters.  Children are more excited about eating a star- or dinosaur-shaped sandwich because it makes the experience fun!  Choose cheese or deli meats to replace breads and cut them into fun shapes, too.

Make lunch fun by including a dip:

• Yogurt is a great dip for fruit.
• Provide hummus for veggies.

Use a variety of ‘sandwich’ options:

• Bagels, pita bread, wheat wraps or crackers.

Consider packing applesauce or yogurt as a treat in lieu of a ‘sweet’ dessert.

Materials:

• Clear dishwashing liquid
• Pre-mixed tempera paints in a variety of colors
• Aluminum foil muffin pan
• Paint brushes

*Children should have adult supervision throughout this activity.

Directions:

1. An adult should mix about 1 Tbsp. of dishwashing liquid with 1/2 Tbsp. of paint. The mixture should have a creamy consistency, like house paint.
2. Pour various paint colors into the wells of a muffin pan to create a pallet.
3. Children can paint ’sunny day’ scenes on windows and sliding glass doors. Use a different brush for each color.

TIP: Keep paint away from windowsills and woodwork. To remove the artwork, or to fix a mistake, wipe with a moist paper towel.

To encourage children to “Get Active,” here are some simple and helpful ideas that you can do at home with your young child:

1. Take It Outside – Limit “screen time” and encourage your child to go outside and PLAY. Have a relay race, set up an obstacle course or bring back one of your favorite childhood pastimes like hopscotch or jump rope.

2. It’s In Your Nature – Take your child on a nature walk. Use this great opportunity to talk to your child about plants and animals you see while getting fresh air and exercise.

3. Get Dramatic – When you’re transitioning a child from one activity to another – like play time to dinner time – ask them to move like their favorite animal. Hop like a kangaroo, slither like a snake or waddle like a duck.

4. Be a Good Sport – Preschool age children love to learn the basic rules of popular sports and games. Take this opportunity to talk about sportsmanship.

5. Be Free – Remember free play? Let go of some structure, and encourage your children to use their imaginations in their indoor and outdoor play.

6. Stretch It Out – Preschoolers love basic yoga moves. Take a few minutes each day to stretch with your little one.

7. Put Some Movement In Your Music – When you sing songs or listen to music with young children, encourage them to dance with scarves, make up movements to go with the lyrics or just DANCE and move their bodies to the music.

Children exercise all the time without even knowing it.  Running, jumping, dancing, touching their toes, crawling, playing sports or outdoor games; all of these are forms of exercise. Exercise can also be a great way for families to spend quality time together. Research has shown that families who regularly eat dinner together are happier and their children have more self-confidence; this also applies to families who participate in activities together. Going hiking or playing games together is a good way to exercise.

Keeping children’s muscles and bones healthy is especially important because they are growing. A healthy combination of diet and exercise in childhood generally leads to adults with healthier lifestyles. Although children should never be told to “watch their weight,” parents should ensure that that their children are eating well-balanced diets rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits and lean protein.

An added benefit of exercise?  Children who play sports and are physically active develop higher self-esteem and do better in school.

Worries all mean something, and we let our children down when we ignore and belittle, not to mention waste opportunities to master, so let’s spend a minute to understand them better:

• Fears appear like clockwork in childhood. The adrenalin fears stimulate heightens learning of vital lessons, like when to run in the face of real danger, when to cry for help, and eventually to distinguish what is really dangerous (speeding cars) from what is not (family dog).
• Fears only seem to emerge ‘from nowhere.’ Actually, they typically surface during periods of accelerated development – when children lose their old equilibrium while looking for a new one. Actively toilet- learning toddlers are often more afraid of the dark than before or after they get the potty thing solved.
• Stranger anxiety begins when children start to crawl around and need to be more aware of who knows them and who doesn’t.
• Other common fears which emerge and fade with predictability during preschool years may be insects, animals, loud noises, the dark (and its imagined inhabitants – monsters, witches, ghosts), high places, and parental loss to name a few.

Listen thoughtfully to your children as they describe their fear.  Their fears have their reasons, though they may not be instantly clear to you. Reassure your children that you’ll help them feel better- get your flashlight out and check under their bed.  Cuddle them a little extra during such times, and let them slip back toward babyhood a little.  Finally, when children work it out, remind them that they worked it out.  This will help them as new fears emerge.

Cultural and lifestyle differences are common in everyday life, and may be confusing for young children. To help your children become more familiar with differences, start on a small scale. A solid understanding at a young age will encourage acceptance as they grow.

Teach your children about their family history.
Make a family tree together and explain customs or traditions your family practices. Dress up like your ancestors and cook an ethnic meal to help your children understand their family’s culture in a fun way.

Teach your children about other cultures.
Ask your children’s friends or classmates to teach them about their cultures (e.g., holidays, celebrations) and lifestyles. In turn, encourage your children to do the same.

Lead by example.
Make diverse friendships and encourage your children to do the same. Show your children the most positive way to interact in the world.

Make diversity a part of everyday life.
Fill your home with multicultural art and literature. Take your children to museums and libraries to provide them with as many multicultural experiences as possible.

Infant to Six Months: Everything is a baby’s first. For example, the first time a baby opens his eyes in his bassinet, he discovers something new – an animal on his mobile. The next morning, there it is again. Will it be there tomorrow? Yes, and then baby learns to trust that when he opens his eyes he will always see the mobile’s giraffe looking back at him. Babies will engage in play first by responding to sounds, then by following objects and people with their eyes. Your baby will demonstrate his memory by repeating an action that made you laugh yesterday. Once infants can hold a rattle a whole new world opens up – you will watch them turn it over, bang it, shake it and even taste it. Rolling over also widens a baby’s world from what is placed before him to 360 degrees of eye-catching curiosity. The new world is fun.

Six Months to One Year: Baby is now his own driving force to play. He no longer needs an adult or older sibling to spark his interest. Rolling over and sitting up has created choices and as he discovers how to move from lying to sitting, he is covering ground and taking aim at his own source of interest. Place toys within and outside of your baby’s reach to encourage self-discovery and motion. Your child is brilliant and will look at a familiar object when called by name. Babies not only want to turn objects around, they want to talk to them and use them the way you tell them to use them. See my hands! You say “clap” with a smile on your face and baby wants to clap and smile, too.

First Steps (12 to 18 months): No longer a baby, a First Stepper “steps” into everything. A First Step child will play with water, smell a flower (which is not as easy as you think) and recognize animals like the ones from the mobile. He will join in the conversation with simple words and phrases and respond to “bye, bye,” with an unsolicited wave. One-year-olds love to demonstrate their knowledge – they will point to anything you name and find body parts, like their ears, when they cannot even see them. They have learned to trust their own experiences with their ears. Your one-year-old will play with you and imitate your actions. Watch your child reflect your love a baby doll with “hugs and kisses” and help you the way you have guided him.

Toddler (18-30 months): A toddler’s world is all about ME – “Me do it”! This demonstration of independence is an exercise in trusting the child’s own limits. A toddler will speak on a play phone and answer questions such as “Why?” and “Where?” Playing is on his terms – when and how. Toddlers love new experiences, too. They have graduated from ‘turning it over and tasting it’ to doing it right. A toddler will put a puzzle together, hold crayons in his hand, hum and sing as he plays, and join activities without prompting. Give your toddler plenty of opportunities to join in imaginary play – pour from one cup to another and manipulate play dough.

Get Set (30 to 36 months): Just like the name states, get set for more play. The Get Set child is truly developing an identity. He knows his own name – first and last – and can tell you where his friends are playing. Get Setters know ‘they can do it’ and want to be like adults. They will share and wait turns, communicate in short sentences and demonstrate their personal understanding of the world around them in their play. Get Set children will soak up any information you share with them. They can understand words like “under” and “over” and the description of how a plant grows. Art is no longer about exploring the material itself, but rather what they can do with the material. They will even paint with the opposite side of the paint brush just to see what it will create. Get set for your child to amaze you with his knowledge of good hygiene and specific book choices. A Get Set child can also multi-task now; try singing and doing the motions to the song or have a conversation while he paints.

Preschool (36 months +): This is the age of expectations. The preschool child’s play looks like going to work. As he mingles among the Interest Centers he is also playing out a role. Preschoolers have a large vocabulary and understand the intonations of language. As they act out a role, they will try on different emotions and see how they fit into their own personality. Preschoolers have begun to connect the spoken word to written language and can orally retell a favorite story. They are interested in cause and effect and can identify their colors, shapes, sizes and weights; and they want to explore what happens when they change them. A preschool child may remain in a particular Interest Center for long periods of time until he has exhausted his curiosity. Don’t forget to stand back because the preschool child also needs his space to move. Watch as he develops rhythm and tempo as both an individual or group learner. Either way, preschoolers are movers and shakers.

Pre-Kindergarten (48 months +): Complexity is the nature of the Pre-K classroom. Pre-Kindergarteners are complex social beings wanting to play with specific friends and still identifying when they want to do it alone. They can recognize how objects and people are the same and different simultaneously, and they can appreciate those attributes. Playing is beginning to turn into concepts. For instance, all of the exploration at the water table develops into an understanding of water – floating, sinking, absorbing, dissolving, etc. Pre-K children use their four years of play experience to develop an identifiable knowledge – they can match by relationships and verbalize invisible concepts, such as time and calendars. They no longer need to see or hold the toy to play; they can recall previous experiences and use the knowledge. While listening to music they can name the instrument, move to the beat and sing along. In Pre-K, phonemic awareness and the written word are magical – writing words is play.