Helping Your Child Learn to Share!

Sharing -- Help Your Child Learn

        ~ Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Discipline Solution

Does your child have a hard time sharing her toys with others? Children get very attached to their possessions, and they don't understand how sharing will affect them or their toy. In order to get a better understanding of these feelings, think for a minute about one of your most prized or important possessions - perhaps your computer, camera, cell phone, or car. Now think of having a friend take it away to use for a day... That feeling of apprehension and uncertainty, (plus a child's inexperience) is at the root of reluctance to share. Sharing is a complicated social skill that takes guidance and practice to develop.

What to do?

Demonstrate how to share.
Share things with your child and point out that you are sharing. For example, "Would you like a turn on my calculator? I am happy to share it with you."

Encourage your child to share with you.
It's easier for a child to share with a parent, since you'll be careful and you'll give the toy back when you're done. It makes for good sharing practice. When you hand her toy back, explain what happened, "You shared nicely, thank you!" That way she has a good feeling about what it means to share.
 
Give your child choices.
Instead of demanding that your child share a specific toy, give her some options. For example, "Sarah would like to play with a stuffed animal. Which one would you like to let her play with?"

Create situations that require sharing.
Your child can get good practice with sharing when given toys or games that require two or more people to play, such as board games, sports equipment or yard toys. Also look for activities that have plenty of parts for everyone, such as modeling clay or art projects, or building with blocks.

Let your child know what to expect prior to a sharing situation.
Before a friend's visit let her know how long the friend will be there, and reassure her that all her things will still be hers after the friend leaves. Allow your child to put away a few favorite things that don't have to be shared.

Praise good sharing moments.
Watch for good things that happen - no matter how briefly - and praise your child for sharing nicely.

What not to do

Don't shame your child for not sharing.
If your child isn't willing to share he needs to learn more about the process. Teach, rather than punish.  

Don't embarrass your child with a public reprimand.
Even if you've given lessons, prepared your child, and set up a good situation for sharing, your child might still refuse to share. When this happens, take him to another room and discuss the issue privately, and then set a plan.

Don't force your child to share special toys, gifts or lovies.
Some things should be exempt from sharing rules, such as a favorite doll, a stuffed animal he sleeps with, a fragile toy, or a gift recently given to him.
 
~~~~ 

       
               Excerpted fromThe No-Cry Discipline Solution (McGraw-Hill) by Elizabeth Pantley

Fun Activities to Help Your Child Learn, Say and Write Their Name!

Your preschool is on their way to kindergarten within the next year, can they recognize their name? Can they identify the letters in their name? Can they write their name? These early learning concepts will give your child a fantastic jumpstart to their school career! But where do you start? Keep reading!
The key word throughout this blog is encourage, try not to force or put pressure on your child, ensure that this is fun or you can possibly teach your child that learning is not fun and this can create a more difficult learning process in the future.

Introducing their name by sight

• Wooden Letters for the wall
• Label snack containers, cups, etc. with their name (alphabet stickers are a great way to do this and your child can help you by placing them on the item)

Saying the letters of their name

• Write your child’s name in sidewalk chalk and get them to say the letter as they step on each one
• Sing the song ‘Bingo’ and replace the letters with the letters of your child’s name

 Recognizing their name as individual letters

• Looking in a book ~ ‘Can you spy the letters of your name?’
• Driving in the car ~ ‘Can you spy the letters of your name?’
• Sitting in the grocery cart ~ 'Can you spy the letters of your name?'
• Have activities easily accessible and in various ways, allowing your child to become familiar and comfortable with the letters and be able to place them in the correct order
• Refrigerator magnets
• Foam Bathtub letters
• Cut letters out of magazines and have your child glue them in the right order
• Paint rocks with the letters of your child’s name
• Wooden alphabet blocks – have more than what’s is in your child’s name, this allows them to seek out the letters they need
• Alpha-bits cereal or alphabet soup, moving the letters around to create name
• Letters cut out of felt, you can use a felt board to stick them on or simple a rectangle piece of felt placed on a table or sometimes a couch will work too!
• Alphabet stickers

Writing the letters of their name

Make it fun! Not work! Have their own very special pencil, maybe allow them to pick it out at the store, or surprise them with a fancy one. There’s just something so great about a brand new, freshly sharpened pencil! Make this time quality time, ensure that when your child is first starting out that there is no pressure to be perfect, it’s all about the process of learning at this stage, not the final product.

• Write the letters on a piece of paper and encourage your child to trace over them
• There are many educational websites for preschoolers that allow you to type in your child’s name and it will print out their name in dot form, for great tracing practice
• Write the letters clearly at the top of a piece of paper with lines on it, encourage your child to copy the letters and continue to copy them until they reach the bottom
• Encourage them to write or create their name in a variety of ways, not just with pencil and paper
• During a shower write with soap on the shower door
• Use bathtub crayons to write it along the tub
• Sidewalk chalk outside
• Form letter shapes using play-dough
• Write out their name across a piece of cardboard or stiff paper and encourage them to use buttons and glue them along the shape of their name letters

This list is just the starting point, a little motivation to help you get going. The possibilities of fun letter and name activities is endless once you get started! Soon, you will be finding many new creative ways to inspire your child to recognize and write their name, they may even surprise you with discovering new ways to practice!

It's Raining, It's Pouring, the Kids are Saying 'Boring!'

It’s raining. It’s not just drizzling or sprinkling… it’s down right pouring! Welcome to the fall season on the west coast!
The question is… what do you do with your children when cabin fever is setting in?
Sure, you could dress them head to toe in slickers n’ boots and hope they don’t get lost in some giant mud puddle outside, as you try to get a little bit of sanity in your day. By ‘day’, I mean days, weeks, months, you just never know when the rain will end on the west coast!
Or… you could check out this list of ideas and links, staying warm and dry, and get started on some amazing and fun quality time! Soon, you will be looking forward to these rainy days when you can hibernate inside together and really enjoy some treasured experiences.
Now, I know what you are saying, ‘it’s pouring rain and I’m not going out to get a bunch of crafty supplies,’ no worries! Our first list is a 'No-Craft' list! If you are, however, a crafty parent, we have a second list of some fantastic ideas for crafting with your little ones.
 
• Turn on music! Easy! Music always brightens the day and drowns out the sound of the rain. Once the music is on…
• Dance around together! If you have some scarves, they are a perfect prop for children to dance with. Play ‘follow the dancer around the house’, up onto the beds, down the hall, under the table, where ever you choose!
• Make some hot chocolate or tea and get busy baking your favourite treat! (And dancing of course! No one said you can’t dance with a measuring cup in your hand!)
• Play cards, or make a card house!
• Do a puzzle together ~ hope you are still groovin’ in your seat!
• Get a bowl for each child and fill it up with their favourite snacks. Find pillows and cozy blankets. Turn down the blinds and turn on your favourite family movie! It’s the middle of the morning? No big deal! The kids will love it!
• Play board games! You know the ones that have been sitting and collecting dust all summer? Yeah, those ones!
• Snuggle up in the blankets with some favourite books to read together! Spy Books are fantastic, they are super interactive and create some great early learning opportunities!
• Let your little one have a warm bath with some shaving cream (you can color it with a tiny bit of food colouring) and a paintbrush and let them ‘Picasso’ the bathtub!
• Go online and send e-cards to people, just because! Let them know you are thinking of them. Often we get so busy to remember to let people know how special they are to us. This is a great activity to model caring and giving to others. Making others feel good, just because. And making others feel happy makes us feel good!

Ok, here’s the ‘Let’s get Crafty’ list!

• Tis the season to start thinking about a few new Christmas decorations!
• Gingerbread houses!
• Christmas tree decorations! This is really endless in possibilities!
• Glue sparkle on small pinecones
• Use a baker’s clay (see LittleHands link below for a recipe) and cut out shapes and paint them
• Use white pipe-cleaners and make snowflakes
• Lace red and green buttons onto ribbon or pipe-cleaners
• Lace red, white and green beads on to pipe-cleaners and make candy canes
• Popcorn and cranberry garland!
• Handprint felt wreaths! And so much more! (See LittleHands link below for instructions)
• This is a fantastic facebook page with links to many ideas to keep little ones entertained and craft ideas to do together! Ideas and Inspiration for Crafty Parents
• Here’s is a website that is absolutely endless with ideas! Printable games and pages, crafts, etc. FamilyFun
• Looking for gifts to make together for loved ones? Or just some easy crafts to do together? Little Hands Lots of Love Blog
  
  Whichever activity you choose, take a deep breath and just enjoy this precious time. The rain helps us slow down and ensure we spend much needed time together.

 

 

Toddlers, Preschoolers and Essential Social Skills!

Are you concerned about your toddler or preschoolers social skills?

Research suggests that a child’s social skills by age three could predict his or her future social and academic performance.*

Children with a head start on social skills and self-esteem are more likely to be able to focus on school work with out the distraction of peer conflicts and other social behavior problems.

Ask yourself these questions with regards to your child:

Do they have opportunities to build friendships, learn turn-taking and co-operation, effectively communicate with others, problem-solve, share, or recognize boundaries and social cues?

Do they have experiences in building self-esteem and independence, by successfully joining group play, learning self-control while gaining confidence in expressing their needs and wants to others?

The group childcare environment is the ideal learning space to build essential social skills that every child should be developing in their early years. Social skills are important in establishing the foundation of your child’s life experience!

Does your child know how to:

• Play effectively with others
• Build self-esteem in group situations
• Recognize peer boundaries, social cues and communication
• Successfully communicate their needs and wants to others in appropriate way
• Understand appropriate social behaviours – such as managing emotions and empathizing with others who are sad or angry, and learning how to react in these situations
• Discover leadership and following roles, determining group roles and co-operation
• Encounter sharing concepts – turn-taking and waiting, communicating and problem-solving
• Build peer friendships and determine which peers they will find connections with

Ensure that your child is receiving the upmost opportunities to build these important social skills and early learning! Ensure that your current childcare program is meeting these needs, ask:

• Do the programs and caregivers promote early social skills such as problem-solving, turn-taking and group play entry?
• How many children are in the group? Is this group large enough to create valuable group interactions such as building self-esteem in leadership roles, and discovering where they can contribute in group activities?
• Are the children the same peer age as my child? Does my child have daily interactions with children his/her own age to develop these social skills and important peer friendships and experience and manage peer conflict?
• Are there opportunities for my child to gain independence and discover self, as well as be involved in being a part of a group?
• Are they exposed to books and real situations everyday that teach them about peer social conflict situations and how to manage internal feelings, and problem-solve during these conflicts, resulting in a compromise or positive outcome?

• Our experienced educators provide these daily opportunities for your child to grow, learn and build upon all these essential social skills with their peers! We want your child to have these significant experiences! Our licensed childcare facilities provide developmentally age-appropriate programs, toys and equipment, educated caregivers, ensuring a safe and fun environment. Your child has the opportunity to play and create friendships with children their own age, be a part of co-operation activities and learn team-building skills, as well as learn self-esteem by leading groups or voicing their thoughts/ wants/ needs with in a group.

These are all fantastic skills to learn prior to the school years! Children will have team knowledge if their join sports. They will be more confident to stand in front of the class to present school projects because they have had experience voicing themselves in large groups and building the confidence to do so. They will be able to focus more on school work if they have good friendships and less peer conflicts. It’s really an endless list of positive outcomes when children learn early the social and emotional skills that will carry them throughout their lives!

Are you a stay at home parent?

Part-time care is a fantastic way to ensure your child gains important early learning and social skills. These opportunities are not ideally accessible in the home environment. Group care also offers experiences in following gentle routines, learning through play and building self-help skills, all while having fun with friends and our experienced staff!

*Michigan State University. "Childhood Social Skills Linked To Learning Abilities." ScienceDaily, 21 Jun. 2007. Web. 28 Sep. 2011.,

Is your child ready for Kindergarten?

If you have a Pre-K, you will probably be asking yourself many questions over the next year...

'Where will my child go to school?'
'Where's the best place to get school supplies?'
'How will I arrange transportation?'
'Who will my child be friends with?'

One very important question you should be asking:

'Is my child ready for kindergarten?'

Do they have the important skills that teachers want all their new students to have prior to entering their classroom?

• Does my child enjoy learning and discovering?
• Does my child have the opportunity for peer social interaction? Do they have opportunities to build friendships, learn turn-taking and co-operation, effectively communicate with others, problem-solve, share, or recognize boundaries and social cues?
• Do they have experiences in building self-esteem and independence, by successfully joining group play, learning self-control while gaining confidence in expressing their needs and wants to others?
• Are they having regular opportunities to sit in circle times? To listen and follow instructions for group games, to learn basic concepts such as days of the week, letters and numbers? Are they building confidence to stand up in front of a group and voice themselves?
• Has your child had enough experience being away from you all day, to cope with morning drop-off and sustaining independence throughout the day?
• Do they have regular experiences with fine-motor development?
• Can they effectively communicate with others?

Our qualified caregivers are educated and experienced in developing and implementing age-appropriate programs to ensure that your child has the best preparation when entering into kindergarten. We provide a fun and safe environment with ideal equipment and supplies to build these essential skills. We want to ensure that your child has the best Pre-K opportunities and experiences in our Daycare and Preschool Programs!

Preschoolers and Early Reading Skills – 5 Easy Activities!

How Can You Help Your Pre-K Learn to Read? Easy!

There are many activities you and your child can do together to build pre-reading skills. These are skills your child will need to learn prior to learning to read in their school years.

Here are 5 easy activities to do together:

• Reading out loud to them - ask them questions about the story and what’s happening. Encourage their involvement in telling the story. This activity builds vocabulary and language skills. Your child is learning new words and more ways to communicate about the world around them. When reading, run your finger across the words as you say them, to help your child understand that you are reading the printed words in the book, not the pictures.


• Ask you child ‘where else do you see words?’ Cereal boxes, road or store signs, flyers, grocery lists, etc.


• Sing phonics songs such as the ABC song or BINGO (try changing the words to use your child’s name as the letters ~ ‘There is a boy who is so sweet and ___ is his name-o…’)


• Try sound games such as rhyming or ‘starts with.’ For example, find an object in the room, what does it start with, what sound, what other things do we see that start with the same sound? Or rhyme with the object.


• Make a rhyming basket with several small objects, or pictures, that rhyme. For example: Have 10 objects in pairs that rhyme (tree/bee; boat/coat, etc) have your child find the matches that rhyme.

The most important key is to focus on fun, togetherness and quality time!

If it becomes a chore for either of you this process with not be a positive one and can be detrimental to their eagerness learn and to reach reading milestones. You want your child to love to do these activities, not dread them. Take the pressure off of you both by just enjoying the activities and forgetting about the need to make your child ‘ready’ for school.

With your support and gentle, positive encouragement, they will be. J