Celebrating the New Year with Kids

Today is New Year’s Eve and you can plan a New Year’s bash with your kids that’s fun and educational. Kids can feel left out of New Year’s celebrations because they can’t make the late night. 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 way to learn about other places in the world and maybe reinforce geography. Another option is to ring in the New Year at noon.

Try activities that the whole family can participate in. Look through pictures taken throughout the year. Have your child make a scrapbook, or make cards reflecting on the fun that was had during the past year. You can also bake a birthday cake with your children, to celebrate the birth of the New Year.

Another activity is to help each other think of resolutions. Make posters or collages that can provide motivation for sticking to resolutions for the whole year. This can help your child learn the importance of following through with things they say they want to do.

A great family craft would be to make a family time capsule filled with items gathered on trips, events and activities completed last year. You can include letters from each family member and pictures drawn by the kids. Save it to open at next year’s New Year's Eve party.

Make noise makers by filling a toilet paper roll with rice or dried beans. Cover 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.

6 Holiday Safety Hazards

A few weeks ago we talked about keeping our kids safe during the holidays.  This week we are talking about keeping our home safe from holiday hazards that can come from candles, lights and decorations. Parents.com offers tips on keeping your home safe this holiday season.  Click here to read the tips.

Fun Things To Do With Kids Over Holiday Break

With the kids home from school next week parents will be looking for activities to do with the kids.
Here 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. Education.com has some 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 specialtime for children. Take the time off to slow down, spend quality time with the family and enjoy the special moments.

DIY Giving: 8 Gifts Kids Can Make Themselves

Children like to make gifts for those important in their lives too. With the holidays fast
approaching, Education.com offers some great ideas on gift ideas kids can make. Click here to check them out.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Every parent has had their child say something that isn’t nice. It makes you want to step behind a tree or hide behind playground equipment. Here are a few tips that could help your child learn and grow from the experience.

Experience: Your child yells “this is my toy” and grabs the toy away from another child.

The learning opportunity: This could be a great opportunity to reinforce sharing with others. Concentrate on the benefits of sharing. Correct your child and then go one to tell explain the benefits of sharing:

• it helps others feel good about themselves
• it helps to make new friends
• new friends might share new toys with you

Experience: You ask your child to do something and they scream “it’s not fair”

The learning opportunity: 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 clean their room they can’t watch TV when they get home. This will help your child make the connection between actions and consequences.

12 Days of Fun (and Cheap!) Christmas Activities for Families

With the holidays quickly approaching there are plenty of family fun activities to help create wonderful memories that can last a lifetime. Family Education offers 12 ideas on celebrating the holidays with the kids without spending a small fortune. Read more on FamilyEducation

Picking out books for Preschoolers

Parents and caregivers wonder 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. Books about superhero, fairytale, television or comic book characters are great for preschoolers.

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

• Find books with subjects that match your child’s interests like trucks, baseball, and dance. You can also choose books about characters they may experience in everyday life like doctors, firefighters, or police officers. 

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.

Making the Holiday’s Safe

The holidays can be an enjoyable and fun time for your family, but there are also hazards every parent should be aware of. KidsHealth.org offers tips to help keep children safe and avoid a trip to the emergency room this holiday season. Click here to read the article.

Preschool Cliques

It is not unusual for preschool children to form cliques. They tend to pick a few children 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 children navigate their way through this time.

If you are a parent of a new or shy student, it may be difficult for them to break into existing cliques in the class. If you are concerned about your child making new friends, you should work with your teacher on ways your child can foster friendships and break through cliques. Talk to your child’s teacher to find out how they are behaving around other children. They may be shy or acting out which can cause other children to shy away.

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

• Grouping your child with a variety of 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 over time will benefit them as they experience cliques throughout their lifetime.