The Importance of Art and Children

At Goddard we often make art the focus of activities and creativity in the classroom. You might think that art itself is the subject of lessons, but art offers other opportunities for teachable moments.


You can expand the lessons of art outside of the classroom by visiting museums and reading old art history textbooks with your children. Not only will they learn an appreciation of the most famous works of art, they will also learn the following:

Counting – play games with your children to count each color in a painting

Shapes –find hidden shapes in paintings and sculpture

Colors – teach the concept of texture through sculpture and paintings

Observation – I spy helps make a day at the museum even more fun

Computer skills – tour the most prestigious museums online and see world class art all around the world with the click of a button

Visit and support your local art museum. Many museums offer ½ price days so that you won’t break the budget on admission. Try a family membership that will let you access multiple museums throughout the year.

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6 Brain-Boosting Playground Games for Kids

With the warmer weather hopefully arriving soon, the kids will be on the playground much more. You can turn a trip to the playground into exercise for their brain. Education.com offers 6 brain boosting playground games to play with the kids. Click here to read the article.

 

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Interaction is Important for Your Baby’s Development

The first three years of life are extremely important in the long-term development of young children. You can jump start your babies emotional and intellectual development by providing the right kind of stimulation.
 

• Facial expressions, like playing peek-a-boo, or smiling can begin to stimulate your baby’s brain from a very early age.
• Reading to a baby can provide stimulation and the basic building blocks of speech and language development.
• Touching various types of fabrics, shape blocks and even playing with water during bath time can help develop a baby’s motor skills as well as stimulate their brains.
• Hugs, kisses and other positive interactions can help stimulate your baby’s brain and provide emotional support so your baby feels secure.

There is a fine line between providing enough stimulation to your baby and too much. Soothing music is a great way to stimulate your baby’s brain while at the same time calming them before they go to sleep.The best way to make sure your baby is getting enough stimulation is to fill their environment with books, colorful objects and pay toys of all different sizes and shapes.

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5 Ways to Stop the Fears

 

Toddlers have very active minds and their active minds. Their minds are on overdrive learning about new places, things, and skills.  Sometimes those new things can create fears.  Parents magazine offers 5 ways to help navigate your little one through this potentially fearful time.  Click here to read the article.

 

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The Benefits of the Nutritional Snack

 

Toddlers and young active children grow rapidly. They need good nutrition through plenty of healthy meals and snacks, but kids can also be very picky eaters. Here are a few basic tips that can help you establish healthy eating habits from the start.

 

Balance Is Important
Meals should contain a balance of fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy and grains. The USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid should be used as a guideline, it says meals should contain at least six servings of foods from the grain section daily, three servings of vegetables daily, two servings of fruits daily, three servings of meats daily, and three servings of dairy products daily.

 

Snacks Can Help
Many parents find it difficult to prepare and serve complete balanced meals all the time. Snacks are very important for growing children, especially those picky eaters who don’t eat much at meal times. Nutritious snacks like fruits and vegetables, especially green vegetables, which are high in iron and fiber, vitamin C and potassium.

The key is to keep snacks readily available around the house. Food that are quick, easy to prepare and nutritious include microwave popcorn, graham crackers, fruits, frozen fruit juice on a stick, trail mix, pretzels, low-fat yogurt, and low-fat milk. Encourage plenty of milk and water rather than sodas that have low nutritional value.

 

Eat a Rainbow
A good strategy for having a balanced diet is to try to include foods of every color throughout the day.Here is a great example of including color variation in your child’s meals:

Breakfast

Milk (white)
Banana slices (yellow)
Apple (red)
Orange juice (orange)

Snack

Blueberries (blue)
Whole Wheat Crackers (brown)

Lunch

Cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread (brown)
Celery sticks (green)
Peach (peach)

If your child is an overly picky eater or their diet continues to cause you concern, seek out the assistance of a registered dietitian who specializes in working with children to develop strategies to provide for the good nutritional health of your child.

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How to Practice Preschool Letter and Name Writing

Preschoolers are eager to learn how to write their name and other words. Parents can help teach their child to write by using a more tactile approach to forming letters. Education.com shares some ideas on this topic. Click here to read the article.

 

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Are you Ready for Kindergarten?

With kindergarten registration underway, many parents wonder if their child is ready for this new frontier. Here are some basic signs that your child is ready:

 

• They have sufficient oral communications skills.
• They have the desire to be more independent.
• They have a curiosity about books and learning new things.
• They can dress themselves without assistance.
• They can take care of bathroom responsibilities.
• They can listen to instructions and follow them.
• They can recognize numbers and letters.
• They demonstrate sufficient motor skills (holding a pencil, coloring within the lines)
• They function well in a group environment (they can share)

If you are questioning if your child is ready for kindergarten, you can gather more information by talking to their preschool teacher. If you are concerned about your child’s overall development, contact a your healthcare professional for more information.
 




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8 Ways to Enjoy Eating at Restaurants With Kids

On the weekends, or during the week, you deserve a break from the kitchen. But going out to a restaurant to eat with the kids can be stressful. Parents.com gives 8 suggestions to help you enjoy going out to dinner with the kids. Click here to read the article

 

 

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Moody Toddlers

Some parents get concerned about their toddler’s mood swings. In most cases a mood swings are normal. Here are a few causes and some tips on how to deal with them.

* Inability to communicate feelings, wants, and needs. It’s very frustrating for your toddler to be so limited by their vocabulary and understanding. Until your toddler develops their vocabulary expect that they will be emotional as they try to communicate.

What you can do: Tell your child to take their time when trying to express themselves. Give them enough time to get their point across. If they still can’t get their point across, give them hints to help them along. However, try not to speak for your child as this can lead to confidence issues with communication later on.

* Testing boundaries – Your toddler is experiencing more independence than they ever had before. It’s natural for them to begin to test the rules you have set for them. This may cause some emotional outbursts of defiance. Your child may say “no" they don’t want to go to school” or “no they don’t want to go to bed”.

What you can do: It’s important to reinforce the rules. Toddlers need stability in their lives. It might seem like the easier road to give in to your toddler to avoid an emotional outburst, but this could lead to more moodiness and behavior problems later. This defiance might just be your toddlers attempt to understand rules. Try explaining the reasoning behind each rule. That may be all they need.

* New feelings – With new experiences (like school) comes new feelings for your toddler. Feelings like fear of separation are new. This could lead to moodiness.

What you can do: Reinforce to your child that you will always be there for them. Try to explain that change is a natural part of life. Give your toddler more attention during times of change.

Moodiness is normal for toddlers, but if you have any question about what’s normal and what’s not, see a qualified healthcare professional.

 

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