Archive for August, 2008
After I Did Everything Right
Aug
Last spring, it became clear that we were going to have to figure out a different preschool for Anya. She turned four in January, and by late April, she was reading and doing basic addition and subtraction. This was not expected. Dylan held out on us and refused to even try to read until 8 weeks before he turned six. Honestly, I really didn’t want her to learn to read, and I’d been stalling it. I know, I know…it makes me a horrible parent to not rejoice at my child’s growth. But we had just finished up an awful experience with my son being ahead of the game in kindergarten. I was loathe to have another uber-prepared child in kindergarten.
So, I started researching options. I was looking for a private kindergarten experience for her, since she would miss the deadline for enrollment in public school. With my hoity-toity college degree and all that research on what “good” early childhood centers are, I have a few opinions on the matter. I made a list of preschools, talked with other parents, assessed for developmentally appropriate curriculum, toured centers, interviewed directors and teachers, and (finally) made a choice that appeared to fit Anya’s needs and our financial constraints. Turns out it’s possible (maybe even probable) that you will to spend more on private kindergarten than your child’s first year of college.
Anyway, the point is: I did everything you’re supposed to do when choosing a preschool for your child. Everything!
Last week was Anya’s first week of kindergarten. It was a little rough at first as parents and kids and teachers figured things out. There were only three kids in her class which was not exactly what I was hoping for when I chose “small class size.” She hates not having enough friends to really play with. I figured we’d make it through the first week and then hopefully things would settle down. But I was wrong, sadly wrong.
On Monday of the second week, we arrived at the school to find (drum roll, please), no teacher there. In fact, nobody was there. Apparently, the kindergarten teacher quit without letting anyone know. For most of this week, Anya’s kindergarten has been combined with the 4-year-old class. Technically, that’s where she belongs age-wise, but it’s definitely not providing the kindergarten experience I had so carefully selected.
The good news is they’ve hired a new teacher that I like a lot more than the old teacher. Things do seem to be resolving and straightening out. Right now there is at least a 50% chance I’ll keep her there…though I did spend several hours this week figuring out what to do if it doesn’t work out.
Moral of the story:
Murphy’s Law still applies even after you do everything right.
Don’t ever assume it’s ok drop off your level of involvement in your kid’s education.
So what did you do perfectly right only to be thwarted by “circumstances”? Make me feel better…tell me your story.
Cooking with Children
Aug
These are my favorite child-friendly cooking websites. If you think I’ve left one out please leave a comment and share your favorites with us. Or if you have a great recipe to make with kids, share that as well.
Tags: early elementary, math, preschool, sensory activities
Art Supplies for Kids
Aug
August and September are a great time to refresh your art supplies for the year. Most stores are having back-to-school sales that make supplies quite economical.
For younger children, the most important rule is that everything is washable! My favorite brand for washable supplies is Crayola. In my experience when Crayola says, “washable,” it really is. And this matters to my couch. I have found this to be true of their markers, crayons, paint, and glue, etc.
For my youngest artist, I start out with crayons with scratch paper and coloring books and paint-with-water books. The paint-with-water books were a major hit when my kids were 2 1/2 to 3 years old.
Carina mentioned allowing older children interested in more advanced art techniques to explore with water color pencils. Older children may also be ready for art classes offered through your local community college or university. Sometimes local museums have kids programs as well. Some elementary schools offer before or after school art clubs. If yours doesn’t, consider asking the art teacher if you can assist him or her with starting one.
So what’s in my basic art supply kit?
Paper: I have scratch paper from the printer, construction paper in the standard size and the bigger size, and coloring books. Also, I like to keep the big long pieces of paper that are often crumpled up and used as packing material. I smooth that paper out and hang in on the wall in the kitchen. Over the next several weeks, my kids work on making a mural.
Color: Washable crayons, washable markers, and washable paint. I start the kids out with finger paint. As they get older I buy Kids Paint. For younger children, be sure to buy fat crayons, fat markers, and fat paint brushes to help them out as they develop fine motor skills. At some point in the preschool years, I introduce colored pencils, but my kids have never really loved them. Be sure to also provide regular pencils.
Decorations: Cheap stickers, beads, buttons, tinsel, raffia, ribbon, fabric, wrapping paper, lace, beans, lentils, pasta, glitter, pom-poms, confetti, etc. This category is often just whatever I’ve saved. I usually only buy the stickers, and I just look for big multi-packs for cheap at Wal-Mart.
Miscellaneous: I usually have glue sticks or glue bottles and tape for the kids to use. I also tend to keep old office supplies like file folders, post-it notes, and sticker labels. The kids like to use paper clips and staples, too, so I try to be generous sometimes. I also keep some shaving cream around to mix with finger paint for a different feel. Old sponges are also fun to play with.
What’s a must-have art item for your kids? Are you aware of any great deals on art supplies? Leave us a comment and let us know!
Practicing in the Car
Aug
Part of the reason that practicing in the car can be effective is that car trips are of a limited duration. Kids know that it’s going to be over when the trip is over. So they seem to be able to focus and get some of that boring drill practice over with.
Making Car Practice Successful
- Keep it short
- Pay attention to your child’s mood
- Make it a routine to practice while driving
- Involve singing or chanting, if possible
- Turn practice into a game
- Provide reinforcement and rewards
- Take turns or practice with your child
- Don’t just listen; you participate, too
- Practice different things throughout the week
- Keep flash cards in the car
- Keep oral reading books in the car
Things to Practice in the Car
Names: Help your child learn his full name, how to spell his name, and the full names of both parents. Use daily repetition for a few days and then periodically do a little “Facts About Me” quizz on names, phone numbers, address, etc. to make sure that your child is maintaining the information.
Phone Numbers: For safety reasons, the first phone number your child should learn is the one that is most likely to get her in contact with a parent (or parent-figure). Once you’re confident your child knows that number, you may want to add in a back-up phone number. Also, it may be wise to start out teaching your child the ten-digit phone number even if that is not required in your area. We have to reteach our kiddos ten-digit numbers by next summer.
Address: I chose to teach our children our address using single digit numbers. For example, I taught them our house number as “one two five six” instead of “twelve fifty-six.” I did this for safety reasons. They are more easily understood by others who may need to know their address and Emergency Operators (9-1-1) are trained to use this format to help prevent miscommunication.
Seasons of the Year, Months of the Year, Days of the Week, Child’s Birthday: I know little songs that teach these concepts. You can usually find examples online. If you ask nicely, maybe I’ll get around to making a video of the kids and me singing for you.
Flash Cards: You can make or buy inexpensive flash cards to teach colors, shapes, numbers, letter names and sight words. Let your child hold the deck and practice while you drive.
Quizzing: Do little quiz-style activities for colors, shapes, counting, rhyming, and letter sounds: What color is your shirt? What does the letter “A” say? What rhymes with “ball”? How many toys are in your car seat? Playing “I Spy” also reinforces color and shape concepts. Quizzing can also be used to teach opposites and synonyms, simple blending (C-A-T), spelling words, vocabulary words, foreign language vocabulary, math facts, states & capitals, and many other assignments. This often works better if you and your child take turns being the “asker.”
Chanting: Chanting is the method I used to teach rote counting (1, 2, 3, 4), ordinal counting (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th), skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, and saying the alphabet. This can also be an excellent way to work on memorizing parts for programs or presentations.
Storytelling: Ask your child about her day. Prompt with “What happened first, next, last?” if you need to. You can also ask her to tell you the story of a book she read or a movie she watched. Sometimes it’s fun to retell memories of fun activities with friends and family.
Oral Reading: If you keep a few books in the car, this can be a great time for your son to read out loud to you.
What else can we teach our kids while driving around town? Leave a comment below and share!
Tags: drill, early elementary, homework, preschool
Baby Led Weaning
Aug
These are our favorite links related to baby-led weaning.
Rapley Weaning: Fuss-free Solids
Baby Led Weaning Blog
Baby Led Weaning at Everything2
Wikipedia: Baby Led Weaning
Have you used this way to teach your child about solid foods? Share your stories with us. Leave a comment below.
Tags: sensory activities
