Early Stimulation

February 10th, 2010 by Dr. Kyle Pruett

Infant Girl Clapping

Brain research tells us that, of the 100 billion (!) nerve cells we are born with, the ones we are most likely to keep longest are the ones that are used regularly in our interaction with the world around us. This does NOT mean that we can increase our child’s intellectual or developmental competence through so-called ‘brain stimulation’ videos or surround-sound cribs.  Infants and toddlers enjoy learning first and best the things they learn in their relationships with the people that care for them.

Some things to keep in mind for the development of theirs:

  • Children can distinguish the voice of their father from their mother at birth – and their handling styles at six weeks.
  • The most useful kind of stimulation is the kind babies can manage, learn from, and interact with. Vocalizations like the coos and giggles they initiate should be returned in kind – matching volume, pitch, and rhythm if you can. Be alert because they’ll often throw in a variation. The same is true for older children who sing and initiate games like peek-a-boo or patty cake.  Tapes or videos are no match for the joy and value of ‘live.’
  • Want to encourage a positive self-image?  For babies, tender and frequent touch makes them feel treasured, and for toddlers and preschoolers, install a (safe) full-length mirror on the back of a door and provide dress-up or ‘pretend’ clothes and just watch them feel special.
  • Keep your eyes and ears open for emerging motor skills, interests, words, emotions, and feelings. When such competencies are new, they are both adorable and vulnerable.  Remember not to overwhelm children by requesting a ‘show’ of their new tricks. This can be over-stimulating and cause quite the opposite effect – anxiety about new abilities instead of confidence.  Let children practice and enjoy their new skill.

HOW you are as a parent with your children matters far more than any particular thing you may ever DO with them.  Development is not a race; it is a process that unfolds uniquely in each child. Rushing development erodes children’s belief in, and joy of, their own emerging abilities, replacing joy with frustration and discouragement – too high a price in my book.

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40,000 Children Step Up for the Environment

February 8th, 2010 by Sue Adair

Gardening - Kids & TeacherWe are proud to announce The Goddard School has joined the Earth Hour movement for the second consecutive year.

Across 350 Goddard Schools nationwide, more than 40,000 children will help spread the message that by working together, each one of them can make a positive impact toward a sustainable future. The Goddard Schools will launch an entire week of activities and lesson plans beginning March 22 leading up to a big celebration for the Stepping Up for the Environment event on March 26 at 10 a.m., when schools will turn off any non-essential lighting for one hour.

“We want children to think about how we all impact the environment in our daily lives and how each one of us can make a difference. Earth Hour provides a great opportunity to accomplish that,” said Joseph Schumacher, CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc. “As educators and as parents, we want to help children understand that how they care for and protect the earth will affect future generations.”

In preparation for Earth Hour, Goddard Schools will integrate the environment into a number of engaging learning activities including art projects, science lessons and even snack time! Classes will build musical instruments out of recycled materials and hold newspaper fashion shows using costumes that students create from old newspapers, magazines and paper bags. Schools will also nominate an official “Lightning Bug,” who will be responsible for always turning off the classroom lights when the children exit the room.

This year, Goddard Schools will get global. Classes will team up with preschools in sister cities across the globe and exchange drawings and ideas for helping the environment. Then the children will “green” their own communities, by planting trees and picking up trash around school grounds. They will also create invitations asking parents and neighboring buildings to join them in Earth Hour, as well as city officials and environmental leaders, to join them in the week’s Earth Hour activities.

On March 26, a day before the global Earth Hour event, Goddard Schools will celebrate Earth Hour with the Stepping Up for the Environment celebration. Goddard Schools across the country will create a large banner and students will decorate it with handprints and footprints, leaving their own little “carbon” footprint. Then, at 10 a.m., schools will turn off any non-essential lighting for one hour.

Participation in Earth Hour supports Goddard Systems, Inc.’s ongoing efforts and commitment to the environment.  Recently, Goddard has become involved with Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) which give schools the option of purchasing wind energy credits, offsetting 100% of a schools electricity usage with clean, renewable wind power.

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Music and Child Development

February 4th, 2010 by Dr. Kyle Pruett

Excerpt from Me, Myself and I

Music_boy-2Children have an innate appetite for music.  Music is the superb para-language between emotion, expression, and imagination.  Here in the musical world, feelings come together with play, movement, and memory in a way that is not ultimately dependent on language.  And that is precisely why it is so indispensable to the young child across culture and class.

All young children, even those with only minimal hearing, have a powerful, almost riveting affinity for music.  Research has shown that the fetus responds to musical cues from the middle trimester onward and never stops attending to it afterward.  And infants are the same.  Watch an infant’s face as you sing or play music.  Even words rarely elicit such a complex reaction.  The desire to move and bounce to, kick feet to, rock back and fourth to – even match the mood of – almost any musical stimulus is powerful in most children.

By the era we are discussing, play with music is so complex and rich, it probably teaches more economically than any formal kind of instruction.  The neurobiological processes underlying the appreciation and facilitation of music-assisted play and interaction involve the brain pathways for memory, hearing, balance, motor control, hormonal secretion, cognition, and, of course, emotion.  Talk about a big bang for the developmental buck!

Take the simple circle song “…all fall down” (I grew up with the version, “Ashes, ashes, we all fall down,” at which point everyone collapses to the ground while still trying to hold hands).  What is the expression on the child’s face as he anticipates the collapse, knowing exactly what is about to happen, evoked repeatedly by the senseless musical cue?  What role does cooperation play?  Motoric competence?  Interpersonal interest?  Memory?  Emotion?  Shared emotion?  Imagination?  Which element is primary?  What else in our world can stir such a mutual response across generations and cultures?  I can’t think of a thing.

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Benefits of a High-Quality Preschool Program

February 2nd, 2010 by Sue Adair

Children writingAn estimated five million children are in preschool programs, and the number is growing.  According to the Families and Work Institute, children benefit from quality programs with competent staff and good ratios. They suffer fewer behavioral troubles, have larger expressive vocabularies, feel close to their teachers, and enjoy more complex, less aggressive play with peers.

A high-quality preschool curriculum sets specific goals and uses learning and developmental standards that are age-appropriate. The curriculum builds on each child’s interests and natural curiosity and also allows them the opportunity to direct their own learning. Whole-class and small group activities as well as opportunities for individual interactions with the teacher are encouraged.

Preschool benefits children, their families and their communities. Children in quality preschool programs show improvements in the development of social skills and are more proficient in areas such as following directions, waiting turns, problem-solving, joining in activities and relating to teachers and parents. These advanced skills improve efficiency in classroom settings which allow teachers to spend more time working directly with children and less time on classroom management.

Studies have shown children that have attended preschool are more likely to do better on standardized tests, graduate high school and earn higher wages as an adult than their peers who did not attend preschool. They are also less likely to repeat a grade, to be arrested for a violent crime or to become teen parents.

At The Goddard School®, children are encouraged to explore learning centers including art, math, science and computers; to ask questions; and to take time making friends and socializing. The school focuses on building a strong and balanced foundation for each child and encourages them to develop at their own pace while supported by a team of dedicated teachers.

The Goddard School FLEX Learning Program™, based on the latest research in how children learn and designed with the assistance of experts, provides the optimal environment for the development of young children. The program’s foundation is the learning continuum that encompasses developmental guidelines with formative assessments, child-focused lesson plans, a creative and fun environment and a personalized child-centered approach that meets each child’s needs.

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Playing With Your Child

January 29th, 2010 by Dr. Kyle Pruett

Excerpt from Me, Myself and I

The best way to know what your child thinks about his world before he can tell you directly in words is through playing with him.  It is right there, in their play sequences and manipulations that we see and hear what they understand and think about the world we share.

Remember, however, that this is his play, not yours.  You are a partner and a facilitator, occasionally a “go-fer,” but you are not playwright, producer or director.

  • When you play make-believe with your child using simple dress-up (hats alone are great), narrate her play: “And now you get on your hat.”  Describe what you think she is feeling: “Don’t you feel fancy (snazzy, cool…)?”  And listen for when you are not quite on track: “So, then what?”  Children often love to have you with them in these imaginary explorations of role and role-play and usually will do their best to keep you from getting lost along the way.
  • Use reflecting surfaces (mirrors, windows) as you play peek-a-boo with your child’s image and then yours, or add a little face paint or make-up as he explores what happens to his face as he, or you, add a dot here or a line there.  It helps him define who he is by enjoying the reflection of his face and feelings back and forth between you.  Doing this together just feels different and better and usually more important.
  • Sit together in the dark with a flashlight and give your child a sense that he has some control over what appears, reappears, and disappears into the darkness.  Narrate the experience with him, and match his level of emotional interest, as you share the job of turning the flashlight on and off together.  Sara, at 22 months, loved this game and called it the “good-bye light game.”  She seemed to be sorting out the comings and goings of important things and people as the lights went off and on.

There are countless other ideas available from books and magazines.  Borrow, invent, and reinvent games just for the two of you.

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Let It Snow

January 27th, 2010 by Sue Adair

Whether you have several feet of snow or are dreading a flurry, your children are sure to be excited about SNOW!  Here are a few ideas to help you see the magic they see in the cold and wet precipitation.

TIPS:

  • When using glue with young children:  Pour the glue into a shallow container (egg cartons are great for this!) and allow your child to use a paintbrush to apply the glue to a surface.
  • Be prepared for messes.
  • Cover your work areas with newspaper.
  • Use your kitchen or a tiled area to make clean-up less stressful.
  • Put your child in a smock or an old t-shirt to avoid costly messes.
  • Remember your own childhood and relish the FUN!

Icicle Painting

  1. Freeze a tray of ice cubes with a popsicle stick in each cube.
  2. Cover a table with newspaper.
  3. Use either watercolor paper or wax paper as your surface.
  4. Let your child rub their icicles across the surface.
  5. Let your child sprinkle dry paint over their icicle painting.
  6. Watch your child enjoy the art that appears.
  7. If you actually have icicles, your children can use them instead of ice cubes.  Make sure they wear their mittens for this project.

Snow Painting

  1. Accumulate a few inches of snow.
  2. Prepare paint (watercolor, tempera, or food coloring) in containers for outdoor use.
  3. Bring the paint, paintbrushes, and children outside.
  4. Let your children paint the snow freestyle.
  5. Build a snowman and paint him too!

Snow “Spritzing”

  1. Accumulate a few inches of snow.
  2. Fill empty squeeze bottles with a combination of water and food coloring.
  3. Bring the spray bottles and children outside, and let the “spritzing” begin!

Snow Art

  1. Spray shaving cream on a table or placemat.
  2. Let your child finger-paint with the shaving cream.
  3. When your child has completed a design, press a piece of dark construction paper over it.
  4. The result is a snowy scene!

Snow Balls

  1. Prepare a workspace with construction paper, markers, glue, cotton balls and scraps of paper or fabric.
  2. Ask your child to draw a winter hat or mittens on his/her construction paper.
  3. Let your child warm the picture up with cotton balls and fabric or paper scraps.

*Children should have adult supervision throughout all activities.

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Read to Me

January 25th, 2010 by Sue Adair

It is generally agreed among educators that one of the best things adults can do for their children is to read to them.

Parent Tips:teaacher_girl_pink

  • During early infancy, reading helps babies build neural pathways that will eventually provide language development and acquisition.
  • Reading aloud to children encourages association with happiness, love and enjoyment. All of this can lead to children’s greater interest in reading and can result in larger vocabularies and better literary skills.
  • Choose a childcare environment that encourages storytime as an important aspect of the school’s routine.
  • Reading aloud to children also helps them with pronunciation and phonetics. Some children are able to recognize letters and numbers before they can speak, but if they are left to this without guidance their weaknesses can lie in pronunciation and sounding out words.
  • When children speak incorrectly they should be gently corrected so that they are encouraged to use proper grammar and pronunciation. Reading books can help children learn the proper format of sentences which they often mistake in late toddlerhood.
  • Children who are read to regularly, are more likely to continue reading throughout their lives.
  • Children who read are more likely to have better writing skills and be placed in higher level classes.

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TV Time

January 21st, 2010 by Dr. Kyle Pruett

Are you surprised that the American Academy of Pediatrics says no television before age two?  This standard alerts parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers that their children are strongly affected by the talking tube and that they need to consider the way their children are exposed to its powerful influences.

  • If you chose to allow your children to view television, consider limiting the amount of “watching time” in their first three years to 30-90 minutes per day. This is more than enough for their young brains and eyes.  Children prefer, and benefit from, interacting with people far more.
  • The programming you chose should be specifically directed at the age of your child. Most good parenting magazines regularly publish guidelines that tend to be more objective and reliable than an advertiser’s suggestions.
  • Commercial-free is far better for eyes, ears, and minds.  Fewer interruptions and a generally higher level of intellectual and emotional content are the benefits.
  • A child’s room does not need a television. Television may inhibit a child’s desire to read and play imaginatively for years.
  • When your children watch television, watch with them.  They may need your help to decipher the barrage of messages, and only you know when they have had enough.  Occasional babysitting by means of television so you can get something done is understandable, but may be a waste of your child’s time and mind.

These guidelines should be discussed regularly by all adults in your household. The evening news may matter to the grown-ups, but it is frequently incomprehensible and somewhat frightening to your little ones. Media-literate parents are great blessings to their children.

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True Toys and Their Positive Effects on Children

January 20th, 2010 by Sue Adair

truckboyTrue toys have no bells or whistles, they do not do anything and you do not turn them on. Most toys today have taken the fun out of imaginative play. Manipulating toys and giving them life develops reasoning and problem-solving skills as well as creates a base of simple knowledge of how things work.

Infants

Rattles – Fine motor development toy of the century. Grasping, repetitive motion that creates a desired outcome, music, hand-eye coordination and focusing visually on a moving object are all part of infant learning. Have rattles handy in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes and sounds.

One-Year-Olds

Blocks, blocks and more blocks – Spatial relationships, size and shape discrimination leads to early math skills, fine motor control as well as cause and effect. This true toy is fun at any age! A child may spend hours building and knocking down blocks while developing science skills including balance, gravity and concepts of weight.

Two-Year-Olds

Paint and play-dough – It is messy and that is why they like it so much. This tactile experience will open the doors of creativity and thinking. Let them mix the colors, use different tools and add to the experience by playing some music in the background. Finger paint, paintbrushes and textured paint can be mixed with a variety of painting surfaces for further explanation.

Three-Year-Olds

A ball – Look at everything you can do with a ball – kick it, catch it, sit on it, bounce it, dribble it, play alone or with someone. A ball develops gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination and encourages healthy practices. A child needs to learn to handle a ball before they can handle a pencil.

Four- to Five-Year-Olds

Dramatic Play – Dramatic play is more than dress-up. It is a shovel, a whisk, a pad of paper. It is a pile of dirt, an old tire and a cardboard box. The sky is the limit – if your children have seen it, they want to explore it. Cut the cord off an old landline telephone and let them look inside as the telephone repair man. True toys for a four year old are simply real life items. These toys will allow children to try on new personalities and play out roles.

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National Geographic Society Selects Goddard Systems, Inc. for Development of an Intriguing New Book for Families

January 18th, 2010 by Sue Adair

The Goddard School — its teachers, children and parents — will play an integral role in developing the look, feel and content of a new book from NGS and award-winning author Susan Magsamen. Filled with magical science and nature adventures, the book will offer unique and memorable multi-sensory experiences for children to enjoy in the classroom and at home.

“The Goddard School was selected because of its commitment to providing the best in early childhood education,” said Jennifer Emmett, Executive Editor for Children’s Books at National Geographic. “Because Goddard is dedicated to cutting-edge early childhood learning, we feel this collaboration is a natural fit.”

“This is a unique opportunity for Goddard families, educators and our community to participate in the research and development of this special book,” said Joseph Schumacher, Chief Executive Officer at Goddard Systems, Inc. “We are pleased that the National Geographic Society and Susan Magsamen have recognized Goddard’s distinctive philosophy incorporating play, the arts and learning.”

The development of this project begins in January and will continue through 2010. During the assessment, our Goddard School community will help select the title and cover design, share ideas on classroom projects, test activities and contribute a collection of their own childhood memories. Our families will also get the chance to participate by providing their own input on the Goddard Facebook page.

The National Geographic Society project kicks off Goddard’s ‘Year of Community’ – a year focused on reintroducing the strong connection between Goddard Schools to its current families, friends and the communities the schools serve.

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