PUT AWAY YOUR TOYS!!

Okay, so it's not academic, but putting away one's toys is an important skill to learn.  It teaches organization, sorting (a school standard), responsibility, following directions, etc.

Why our kids don't understand the importance is beyond me.

Anyway, I've been battling with my 3-year-old to put away his toys for a long time.  I've tried a special song or doing it myself and hoping he'd follow.  I even gave up for a while, and let him just go to bed.  I don't like battles and tears.

Then, I realized, what an overwhelming task putting away his toys must be.  Developmentally, children see a small group of objects scattered across a space as a lot more than we do.  When I learned this in college, I recalled looking at my plate full of rice as a child, and telling my father I couldn't eat all of it.  It looked like SO MUCH.  Then he would take a fork, group it all together, and suddenly, I saw there were only one or two bites left.  Amazing how that worked!

So, I helped my son get organized.  I picked a container and told him to put all his Mr. Potato Head parts in it.  When he was done, I told him to take his little Lego bag, and put his Legos away.  Meanwhile, I picked up some toys too - working together is, after all, an important trait to master, as well.

No tears, and the toys were put away in no time.  We even had a little time to spin and dance in celebration.  I told him he did a great job, and we moved on to getting ready for bed.

If this works for a week, I'll know it's the right approach.  Right now, though, logically, I think it's the right thing to do.  There's no battle.  It's just a calm way to teach a child how to get organized. 

The Original ABC Song?

Everytime I find a CD with the alphabet song, it's not the one I'm looking for.  I've searched online too.  I really would like to find the version, which ends with, "Now I know my ABCs.  Next time won't you sing with me?" 

I did find one on YouTube, but the last letter is Zed, not Z. 

If you know where I can find the original (the one sung in the late 70s, early 80s), could you please post a comment?  I would really appreciate it.  I've been searching for years!

Thanks, in advance!!

Hot/Cold

When I was little, I loved it when my mom played "Hot/Cold" with me.  She'd have me look for a particular item; and if I'd get close to it, she'd say, "Hot."  If I'd get farther away, she'd say, "Cold."

As a kid this was fun, because it gave my mom and me a chance to play together.  She worked a lot when I was little, so every moment with her was precious.

As an adult, I see so many learning benefits to this game.  It improves focus and concentration, teaches short-term goals, helps to build a bond between parent and child, and encourages persistence.

This learning game is simple, free of charge, and fun.

Color Songs - to learn colors and build reading fluency

I came across this website with some cute color songs and rhymes.  Some are catchy and teach the different colors. 

Another way to use these songs and rhymes is to print one out that you like, and read it with your child, sitting side by side, while pointing at the words.  He/she might not recognize all the words, but this will help to build reading confidence and fluency -- the speed at which a child reads words, meanwhile using intonation.  The rhythm of the songs or rhymes help provide that intonation.

The site is:  http://www.preschoolexpress.com/music_station06/music_station_aug06.shtml

Here's one I really like. 

GREEN SONGS


THERE’S A COLOR WE ALL KNOW

Tune: “OLD MAC DONALD HAD A FARM”


There’s a color we all know,

G-R-E-E-N.

It’s the color that means “Go!”

G-R-E-E-N.


Oh, grass is green and lettuce is green,

Leaves and spinach and peas are green.

There’s a color we all know,

G-R-E-E-N.

 

Pointing Out the Obvious

What's obvious to us - common knowledge - may not be for our little ones.  This is easy to forget, as we've known basic concepts for a lot longer than our children have been alive.  There's a way to consistently ensure that our children develop common sense.

We can talk through our tasks.

It's essential to model correct language and look for teachable moments - anything that will give our children background knowledge for the real deal.  We want that transition to school to be seamless, and for the concepts to gel in their heads.  The way to do this is to give children as many real experiences with the material as possible.

One example is feeding our two dogs.  My son usually likes to help feed them.  I don't discourage this because it teaches responsibility, measurement, shapes, and right/left. 

1. Responsibility - He knows taking care of animals takes discipline and work.  When you have an animal, it's your responsibility to ensure it has food and water.

2. Measurement - My son insists on carrying the scoop of food and dividing it in half between the two bowls.  He says, "Half for Jacob and half for Rosco."  He got this phrase from me, because instead of just making sure each bowl had enough food, I had previously used my language to model and describe what I was doing.  This way, my son understood the process, and started practicing it himself.  He may not be able to do division or fractions, but when 2nd grade comes along, he'll have an idea of what the teacher is talking about when she/he introduces the concept. 

3. Shapes - The container of food is round, like a circle, and the lid has triangles on it.  Instead of just returning the scooper to the container, we point out these shapes.

4 Right/Left - My 3-year old insists on opening and closing the container.  We say the phrases, "Lefty loosy" to open and "Righty tighty" to close.

Talking through our chores can get really old, but it's essential to ensure language development and understanding of new concepts.  This way, our children go to school having some idea of how things work and solutions to problems.

Book! Book! Book!

We received a big surprise from the doctor at my son's 3-year checkup today.  She gave him a book titled, Book!  Book!  Book!  by Deborah Bruss.  Apparently, the doctor gives a book to all her 3-year-olds in order to encourage them to read at home every day. 

So, tonight, my son and I decided to read it, and let's just say, it has got to be one of the cutest stories I've ever read. 

It's about these bored farm animals who walk to the library.  Each enter and try to communicate with the librarian, using their animal sounds.  The librarian can't understand any of them, except the last animal - the hen.  The sound the hen makes is interpreted by the librarian as, "Book!  Book!  Book!"  My son got a real kick out of the animal noise I made, reading that phrase. 

The animals are finally happy, because they have something to do.  The only animal who is still unhappy is the frog.  I'm about the give away the ending.  In case you don't want to know it, I'll change the text to red.  Just skip over the red text, so I don't ruin it for you.  For those who will check out the book regardless, here goes.  I just can't help myself.  The ending is so cheesy, but at the same time, so funny.  And, again, my son LOVED it.  Here it is.  In red ink.  The frog didn't like the book, because he had already "read it read it." 

I love this book for so many reasons:  the funny play on words, the farm animal vocabulary, the animal sounds, and finally, the message it sends -- if you're bored, and have nothing to do, a trip to the library for a good book will put a smile on your face. 

There aren't many clever books out there that encourage literacy and put a smile on your child's face at the same time.

Here's the cover.  Look for it at your local library:

Letter Puppets

Want a quick art activity that could help teach letter names and sounds?  Make letter puppets!  I wouldn't recommend making puppets out of all the letters in one day, but once in a while, it could be fun to add to the puppet collection.

What you need:

1. Popsicle sticks (one or two for each letter).  These are fairly inexpensive to buy at a craft store.  Or just save them after eating your sweet popsicle treat!

2. A printout of a letter and object that starts with that letter from a website, such as:  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/letters/big/index.shtml

3. Crayons

4. Glue

5. Scissors

Instructions:

1. Print out the letter and object of your choice from the above website. 

2. Have your child color the picture.  Talk about the letter, and discuss that the object in the picture starts with that letter.  Make the letter sound together.  Make it a silly game (e.g., "S" is for ssssnake.  Ssssss).

3. Cut out the letter and the object you have chosen.

4. Glue it to the popscicle stick.  If the cutouts seem large, you might consider using two sticks to hold up the paper.

5. Have your child play with the puppet, repeating the letter name and sound. 

Once you have made a collection of puppets, your child can have them interact with each other.  They can be fun sticks to play with. 

Even if he/she doesn't grasp the concept yet, it's okay.  This still provides some background knowledge, which will help him/her understand the information taught in school.