Dinnertime Chat

       I don’t know about you, but at the end of the day, I am beat! It takes all I have to even form a sentence some times, so I can only imagine how our kids must feel at the end of their busy school days. I am sure you have already experienced, the “How was school today?” “Fine.” “What did you do at school today?” “Played.” Okay…so where do you go from here? It can be like pulling teeth sometimes to get your child to tell you about their day so why not make it interesting and fun while sitting at the dinner table tonight. Here are some great conversation starters, thanks to one of my favorite magazine, Real Simple. Love! So here you go!

• If you had the ability to transform into an animal, which animal would you choose? 

• If parents could switch places with kids for a day or kids could switch places with parents, what would you do?

• Name five places you want to go in 10 years.

• What is the one thing you wish you had discovered? This one might be for older kids or even the adults.

• Name five things you would take to a desert island.

      *Things to Remember:  Sometimes you have to think outside the box to get the conversation started.  It is worth the effort!

Grocery Store Games

      Grocery shopping with your child may not be your favorite activity, but with a little preparation and a lot of patience, you can make this shopping trip fun and a great opportunity for learning. On the way to the grocery store, create a memory game like “we are going to Publix and we are going to buy a huge piece of bread that can take us to the beach.” Make your descriptions really silly and elaborate, adding more items to the list and see what they can remember. Let your child help you push the shopping cart for a little while. Give them their own shopping list with pictures and give them clues on where they can find the items. You could play, “I Spy.” “I spy a red fruit that is round and juicy.” “Do you see it?” Have them help you take the items out of the cart or let them help you put the items away when you get home. You can even go as far as sorting the items by type or size depending on the age of your child. So when you are dreading that trip to the grocery store, just remember these simple little games and just have fun! You will be surprised how much you can teach your child in just that little trip to the store and back. 

      Things to Remember:  The grocery store is a rich resource for teaching descriptive words, reading, numbers, math, and memory skills.  It might take a little longer with the wee ones in tow, but you are accomplishing so much more than shopping.

Child-Centered Play

      Playtime is learning time! To your child, fun and play go hand-in-hand with learning. So let your child choose an activity or toy. Let her lead and resist the temptation to correct her or lead her. It is all about discovery and exploring the world around them. Children need to be able to learn to figure things out on their own and learn more complex reasoning skills as their brain develops. So get down on the floor and just play with your child. See the world from their perspective. And as you play with your child today, give them the freedom to roam and the encouragement to experience the world around them…in their own way! 
     
      Things to remember:  let your child choose the activity, follow their lead, see where it takes them!

Happy Halloween!

      Happy Halloween! Read your favorite Halloween story, and then do this fun, spooky, goopy Halloween activity. It is a great learning activity that your child will never forget...making Goopy Goo. You can talk about measuring, liquids and solids and mixing colors.

      Goopy Recipe: Pour 2 cups of cornstarch into a bowl and slowly stir in 1 cup of water until the mixture has the consistency of honey. When you try to handle the goopy goop you will find that you can roll it into a ball, but as soon as you stop rolling or manipulating it, it transforms into a liquid. For colored goopy goop, add a few drops of food coloring to make it look icky and slimy!

Let’s help your child develop a love of learning!

     Whether you realize it or not, you are always teaching your child. Scary, huh? Your child is watching you all the time and learning from you every day! Education degree or not, there are so many simple activities you can do, on an everyday basis, to offer your child an enriching day at home. From simply reading aloud to your child before rest time and at bed time, pointing out pictures, acting out the stories, to going on nature walks and finding all different types of leaves or flowers you can count and sort.

      Other everyday activities could be going to the grocery store with a picture list so your child can help you find what you are looking for. While you are rolling through the aisles, trying to keep your busy child entertained, point out the colors you see, what foods are vegetables vs. fruits and then count how many items you collected. Later, when they are ready, you can teach them money concepts. Another activity is when you are cooking, let your child help you measure dry and liquid ingredients. Talk about the steps to the baking process. Then, when they get all ooey gooey, let them play in the bath tub. This is another everyday learning opportunity where they can learn the basic concepts like whether something sinks or floats, and volume of different objects.

      Things to Remember: Consciously or subconsciously, we are always acting as our child’s teacher.

Happy Fall!

       Fall is in the air, and at our house, we love to bake pumpkin bread this time of year. The smell of the pumpkin and cinnamon baking, filling your house up with just simple goodness, is so comforting. Baking can be relaxing sometimes too, but then you add in your eager helper that wants to assist you in the baking process, like cracking the eggs and measuring the flour or cinnamon, and you just about want to pull your hair out. There is flour all over the floor, and you are tripping all over them as you get your next ingredient. Well, try to remain calm. Get to your happy place and just take this as a great teaching moment for your child (measuring, following directions in order, the science of cooking, etc.). Yes, it makes the baking process twice as long, but in the end, it is some great bonding and learning time, too. So even if you are simply cooking mac and cheese from the box, you can provide a teaching moment and have your child help you measure the water and just talk about the steps to getting to the finish product. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can even get store bought cookie dough and have your child help you count the cookies you put them on the cookie sheet.  It is easy, fun and after you are done, you will not believe how proud your child will be that they got to help their Mommy or Daddy in the kitchen.  So special! 

       Things to Remember:  Cooking is one of the easiest activities for working on pre-academic skills (even if it's not from scratch...)

Cartime/Learning time too!

Lots of area schools will be on Fall Break this weekend, so we turn our thoughts to being on the road...

Parents, let’s get out of the habit of turning on the DVD player, giving your kids your phone to play Angry Birds or just plain ignoring them while you are chatting on your phone, in the car. I know sometimes you just want some quiet time in the car, especially on a long car ride to visit Grandma and Pop, but if you are just going to Publix down the road or driving to school, why not squeeze in some learning time.  Here are some fun travel games you can play with your child.

1.) See how many things you can find that are rectangles shaped or how many things you can find that are red.  You use your own gauge for what your child might know. Again, it is the point of talking and getting some learning time in. For younger children, sing songs such as Old MacDonald to help them learn their animals and animal sounds.

2.) Draw and cut out magazine pictures of things that you might see while driving. For example, a school buses, a person on a bike, etc. Glue the pictures to individual index cards and cover them with contact paper for durability if you want. While you are driving, let your child pick three cards. Once she has spotted all three items, tell her she has won! And I am sure by this time you are at your destination.

3.) On your way back home, as you are going down your street, practice your address. You can say as you are pulling into your driveway, “Here we are! 1012 Market Street!”

4.) Another idea while driving is making up stories. You can start your child off by saying, “Once upon a time, there were”… and then have your child fill in the blanks. You can get as elaborate as you want or just make it simple. The idea is developing your child’s vocabulary all the while, sparking their imagination! When you get home, you could even make a book with your original story. You could dictate as your child retells the story. Again, a great teaching moment as it helps build your child’s vocabulary. Then, after you write the story in your own child’s words, have him illustrate each page. I know it sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t. You already made up the story as you were driving, you get home, write down the story on construction paper, have your child draw the pictures and then staple it together and there you have it! You not only made up a story with your child, but most importantly, you gave him your time. That is what they will remember and cherish the most.  

Things to remember: Kindergarten readiness is a journey, not a destination, so use your "journeying" as an opportunity to build skills through games and creative activities in the car.