Celebrating the New Year

With the New Year just a few days away, you can plan a fun New Years bash with your kids that’s fun and educational. Kids can feel left out of New Year’s celebrations because they can’t stay awake until midnight. But with a little planning your kids can have a New Year’s bash that they will remember for years to come.

It’s always midnight somewhere, so plan your party around the world clock and ring in the New Year like you are in another part of the world. This is a great teaching moment to learn about other places in the world and maybe reinforce geography. Another option is ring in the New Year at noon.

Pick activities that the whole family can participate in, make sure you take lots of pictures. Have them make a scrapbook, or make cards welcoming in the New Year. Even have them help bake a cake for the birthday of the New Year.

Play a game like balloon volleyball" with several silver and gold balloons. You'll want a large space, with no breakable items. Don't let the balloons touch the floor. -- Then after midnight you can all sit on the balloons until they pop!

Another activity is to help each other think of resolutions. Make posters or collages that represent the resolutions as motivation for sticking to them. This can help your child learn how to follow through with something they say they want to do.

A great family craft would be to make a family time capsule filled with photos from the last year, letters from each family member and pictures drawn by the kids. Save it for the next New Year's Eve party.

Camp out in your family room and enjoy each other's company. Make a tent in the living room big enough for everyone to sleep in.

Make noisemakers by filling a toilet paper roll with rice or dry beans. Covers both ends with paper and decorate the tube. Shake it as the ball drops to welcome the New Year.

Whatever you decide to do have a safe and wonderful New Year from your friends at the Goddard School.

Learning Another Language

December is Foreign Language month and it’s the perfect time to introduce a second language to your child. Experts agree that toddler-age children are very receptive to learning a second language.

There are many benefits of teaching a toddler a new language. Some of them include:

• When children learn a second language they often develop a thirst for knowledge of other cultures, history and an appreciation for diversity.

• Learning other languages can actually help children improve their primary language. Many words are shared between languages helping children to understand the structure and origin of words.

• And children who learn a second language are more likely to achieve higher scores on standardized tests.

In fact it’s easier for young children to learn two or even three languages. This is due to their ability to compartmentalize each language. They can keep each language separate to avoid confusion. This allows them to grasp both grammar and pronunciation more easily then grownups.

If you can find the time, dedication and resources to start your child on learning a second language they will receive long-term social and academic benefits.

Fun Things to Do With the Kids Over Holiday Break

With the kids off from school next week many parents may be looking for activities to do with the kids and here are a few ideas:

Cooking– Involve your child in the holiday cooking. Under supervision, letting them help you in the kitchen can be a great learning experience. Reinforce counting and measuring as they help you measure the ingredients. Let them help pour the ingredients in a bowl to practice coordination and fine motor skills.

Science Experiments – You can do some really interesting home science experiments with household items. Teach them about static electricity by rubbing your feet on the carpet and touching each other to see if a static shock develops. Mix some baking soda, vinegar and raisins and see if you can get raisins to dance. Search on the Internet for some more interesting science experiments you can do at home. Just use your best judgment to determine what’s safe for you and your child.

Pen Pals– teach your child how to send a good old fashioned letter. Let them create their own holiday cards and send them to relatives or even classmates. Your child’s friends will be excited to get mail and your child will have fun creating their own holiday cards. It will just cost you some stamps.

The holidays are a special time for children. Take the time off to slow down, spend quality time with the family and enjoy the special moments.

Play Isn’t Just Play

Parents often sit back and reminisce about the care-free days of playing on the playground or with friend in the backyard. But play is an important step in the learning process. You would be surprised at how different types of play help with your child’s development. Let’s take a look at some types of play and what they really do for your child.

Blocks
What do blocks and math have in common? Believe or not, several studies have shown that playing with blocks at a young age result in kids having higher math scores and better problem solving skills.

Pretend play
Pretend play ultimately helps children start to comprehend abstract thought. In addition, language, movement, emotion, and thinking are all critical skills that can be exercised while your child is playing out their favorite fairytale in their head.

Playing outside
Remember when your mother said, go outside, the fresh air will do you good. Well she was right. Studies all show that children who spend time playing outside have better test scores. And in a stressful world, children who spend time outside often show lower levels of stress.

Board games
You remember board games right? That’s what kids did before gaming systems and cell phones. Well, you should think about dusting them off because board games are great learning tools. They help reinforce the importance of rules, develop math and counting skills and they demonstrate the importance of working as a group.

So don’t let playtime go to waste. Look for opportunities for your children to learn and play and give them a head start toward the future. At Goddard we emphasize the importance of learning through play.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things Part 2

Earlier this week in the post Kids Say the Darnedest Things, we talked about tips on responding to behaviors at home. We are going to continue that theme in this post.

Situation: You ask your child to do a task like putting toys away and you get “You are not the boss of me”.

Ways you could respond: Your child is testing boundaries. They are trying to show that they can be independent but they are expressing it in the wrong way. Validate their feelings by acknowledging that you understand they don’t want to comply with your request. Tell them why you need them to put their toys away. And remind them that you are the parent. Explain that actions have consequences and not completing the task will result in consequences.

Situation: It’s an hour before dinner and your little one wants a snack, you tell them no and they have a full blown tantrum.

Ways you could respond: It’s very difficult to find a teaching opportunity during a tantrum. In many cases ignoring a tantrum and not responding can be the most effective action. After the tantrum is done explain that tantrums are not appropriate. Explain the consequences of their actions and how others perceive them during a tantrum.

Situation: You overhear your child saying “I don’t like you” to another child.

Ways you could respond: Realize that your child doesn’t understand the impact of their words on others. In many cases there may be something else driving this behavior in your child. For example, they aren’t getting their way or they are feeling left out during play. Teach your child to use words to express their real feelings instead of acting out and being angry. Teach your child how to walk away and compose themselves. Let them know how they are making other children feel by using hurtful words. Keep the lines of communication between your child and you open.

In the end each child is different. The key is to keep working to find what works best for you and your child.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

It’s happened to most parents at least once, your child says something that is not so nice. As parents how do you use these opportunity’s to teach your child. Here are a few tips:

Situation: Your child is playing with another child at the playground and they yell “Mine” and grab a sand toy from the other child.

Ways you could respond: You could jump behind the nearest tree at the playground and reprimand your child on the way home. But to enhance the learning opportunity, try telling your child about the benefits of sharing (it makes others feel good, it’s a good way to make friends, they will share things with you). If the children can’t share the item try removing it from the area. When your home, remind your child of the incident and role play the appropriate way to respond and share with others.

Situation: You ask your child to get ready for school and they say “Not Fair” and storm off.

Ways you could respond: Explain why you’re telling your child to do the task. Give them consequences for not completing the task. For example: if they don’t get ready for school they can’t watch TV when they get home. This will help your child make the connection between actions and consequences.

In the second post of the week we will give some additional tips on how to handle behaviors at home.

Picking out books for Preschoolers

Earlier this week we talked about ways to help your little one develop a love for reading. But what types of books are best for young children. Today we are going to give you some tips to consider when picking out appropriate books for your child.

• Preschoolers love a good storyline. Books with a simple storyline are great. You can even buy a longer chapter book and read one chapter at a time. Your child will anticipate how the story will develop each night.

• Stories about characters and objects tend to hold the attention of a preschooler. Trains, boats and storybook characters are great for preschoolers.

• Let your child express their imagination. Let them make up a story to go with a picture book or photograph album. This can be a fun way to get your child engaged in books and storytelling.

• Try to find subjects your child will relate to like school, friends, or people they may experience in everyday life like firefighters, police officers or mail carriers.

• Really concentrate on what your child is fascinated with like trains, trucks, astronomy and construction. These topics provide extra incentive for your child to pick up a book.

Good reading habits can make a big difference in developing your child’s love for learning. Any time you can spare to spend reading with your child is an investment in their future.

Preschoolers and Reading

We all have heard the importance of reading to our children and preschoolers know a lot of things they didn't know as babies. As parents and guardians we read lots of different books to build your preschoolers vocabulary.

The most important thing to do is try to have set times to read together. Before bed works well, as do other "down" times in the day, like first thing in the morning or after meals.

Here are some tips:

* It’s ok to read the same book over and over again, your little one is building some great skills. They can even help to read the story with you when you read parts that the know or are repetitive lines.


* When you are looking at a new book, introduce it. Look at the cover and talk about what it might be about. Mention the author by name.

* Ask your child why a character did something.

* Ask what part of the story your child liked best and why.

* Talk about the parts of the story — how did it begin? What happened in the middle? What did your child think of the ending?

* Move your fingers under the words as you read to demonstrate the connection between what you are saying and the words.


Keep in mind that reading is fun and keep it fun for your child, make it a game to change the ending of a story that you have read over and over or make the sounds that the animals might make in the story.

Source: http://kidshealth.org

Preschool Cliques

It is not unusual for preschool children to form cliques. They tend to pick a few peers that are similar to themselves to be friends with rather than the whole class. Because preschoolers are still learning the concept of friendship it’s important that parents and teachers help them navigate their way through this time.

For new students or particularly shy children, it may be difficult for them to break into existing cliques in the class. Working with your teacher can help break through the boundaries that are formed with cliques and help your child to make friends with their classmates.

Talk to your child’s teacher to find out how your child is behaving around other children. They may be shy or acting out which may cause other children to shy away from them.

Here are a few tactics your child’s teacher might use to help your them develop new friendships:

• Grouping your child with different children during small group activities
• Working with a "buddy" to complete a task (e.g., handing out snack)
• Making suggestions about fun things to do with different children during free play


Here are a few ways you can help:

• Try role playing situations and ways your child can approach other children during school to make them comfortable with the act of making friends.

• Approach a parent of an outgoing child. See if they are open to a play date or other ways your child can be paired up with their child inside and outside of class. This may help your child learn from a peer how to make new friends.


Keep in mind that your child might simply be shy and don’t expect them to develop friendships overnight. Teaching them the skills to make friends overtime will benefit them as they experience cliques throughout their lifetime.