School will be starting in a few short weeks. Some parents are wondering if their child is ready for preschool. Below are a some readiness cues given by a preschool director, to help you with your decision.
Level of separation anxiety. Most children experience separation anxiety now and then. However, if your child consistently goes through extended bouts of crying when you leave him with a caretaker, he may not be ready for the extended separation from you that preschool entails.
No more diapers. Most preschools require children to be toilet trained; however, some daycare centers that offer preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds do not. Be sure to ask your prospective school.
Interacting with others. Three-year-olds love to play with other kids, and while preschool is one environment where they learn to master basic social skills, it's important that your child has a fundamental understanding of sharing, taking turns, and cooperating, and is able to exhibit self-control.
Ability to focus. Children will need at least a small attention span to stay focused on activities, story time, and lessons from the teacher. Notice how long your child can stick with a task. If he can work independently for 5 to 10 minutes, he can probably handle preschool.
Observe your child. Take your child with you to visit one or two local preschools (be sure to check with the teacher in advance to know what day and time work best). Before you go, tell your child where you are going. While you chat with the teacher, watch how your child responds to the environment. Is she hiding behind you in fright or eager to explore?
Pray for the right decision. Ask God to lead you to the most suitable learning environment for your child.
Home Preschooling
Parents are a child's first teachers, and homeschooling can be an alternative to preschool. Here is some advice for those thinking of Homeschooling your preschool child.
Attend a homeschooling seminar on getting started.
Attend a state convention and curriculum fair.
Spend the day with a homeschooling family.
Attend a support group meeting.
Subscribe to a state newsletter and other homeschool periodicals such as Homeschooling Today or Practical Homeschooling.
The following Web sites are specifically designed to help you with a home preschool curriculum:
www.members.tripod.com
www.preschoolcurriculum.com
www.homeschoolcentral.com
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Summer reading.....
Tips for sharing books with Preschoolers
*Choose books that have themes your child will understand.
*Ask questions: Why do you think he did that? What do you think is going to happen next? What would happen if...?
*Be dramatic in your reading. Use different voices for different characters.
*Let your child read to you.
*Read slow enough to let the story soak in.
*Every once in a while, run your finger along the words as you're reading them.
*Let your child turn the pages for you.
*Give your child plenty of time to look over the pictures.
*Share books with your child every day. Even just a few minutes a day is important.
Here are some Preschool favorites!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert (Simon and Schuster, 1989).
Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? by Barney Saltzberg (Candlewick Press, 2005).
I Knew You Could by Craig Dorfman, illustrated by Christina Ong (Grosset & Dunlap, 2003).
Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae, illustrated by David Wojtowycz (Tiger Tales, 2001).
Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Harold and the Purple Crayon By Crockett Johnson
Jamberry By Bruce Degen
Bunny Cakes (Max and Ruby) by: Rosemary Wells
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise
Homemade!
Here are some recipes you can make at home. Have fun!
Nutty Butter Playdough
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup honey
1 cup oatmeal
Mix together and play.
Nature's Playdough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
beet, spinach, or carrot juice
Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the playdough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.
Best Bubble Solution
1 cup water
2 tablespoons light Karo syrup or 2 tablespoons glycerin
4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
Mix together and have fun!
Fancy Bubbles
1 cup water
2 tablespoons liquid detergent
1 tablespoon glycerin
1 teaspoon sugar
Mix all ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Enjoy!
Ice cream made in a bag
What you'll need:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons rock salt
1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
Ice cubes
How to make it:
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!
Tips:
1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don't increase the proportions more that that -- a large amount might be too big for kids to pick-up because the ice itself is heavy.
Nutty Butter Playdough
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup honey
1 cup oatmeal
Mix together and play.
Nature's Playdough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
beet, spinach, or carrot juice
Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the playdough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.
Best Bubble Solution
1 cup water
2 tablespoons light Karo syrup or 2 tablespoons glycerin
4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
Mix together and have fun!
Fancy Bubbles
1 cup water
2 tablespoons liquid detergent
1 tablespoon glycerin
1 teaspoon sugar
Mix all ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Enjoy!
Ice cream made in a bag
What you'll need:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons rock salt
1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
Ice cubes
How to make it:
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!
Tips:
1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don't increase the proportions more that that -- a large amount might be too big for kids to pick-up because the ice itself is heavy.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Summer Activities
Looking for new ideas to entertain your little ones? Here are a few ideas that you can do with items that you probably already have around your house.
Outside Spray Painting:
Fill old spray bottles with coloured water (food colouring or tempera paint). Have the children spray the coloured water on paper or sidewalk.
Watermelon Plants:
Plant one or two watermelon seeds in a foam cup. Water daily or when needed. Soon the seeds will grow into little watermelon plants.
Worm Tracks:
Have the children dip a piece of string or yarn into water or paint and drag it across paper or sidewalk. The children can make their strings wiggle like a real worm.
Sun Prints:
Place items such as a pencil, block, eraser, coins, or rocks on a dark piece of construction paper and place it in direct sunlight. Remove the items at the end of the day.
Making Rain:
Boil some water in a pot or a kettle until steam forms above it. Fill a pie plate with ice cubes and hold it above the steam. When the steam comes in contact with the cool air from the pie plate, drops of water form and fall back into the pot like rain.
Fun Straws:
Cut out a simple shape (leaf, heart, etc.) from construction paper. Cut two slits in the middle of each shape, about one inch apart and slide the straws through the slits.
Ice Skating in the Summertime!
Outline a carpeted area with masking tape. Give each child two large pieces of waxed paper. Fasten the waxed paper to their ankles with rubber bands. Play music and let the children skate. (This is a fun indoor activity when it is storming.)
Need more ideas?
Don't forget to check out your local library's calendar for free story times, puppet shows, and special guest that my be visiting.
Check out the Zoo and Children's Museum websites for summer discounts.
How about a kid swap? Give a follow mom a break for a few hours and have them return the favor in the near future. It's always exciting for kids to go play with other children's toys!
How about investing in a children's cookbook. Let your child help you make lunch or dessert and invite a friend over to enjoy your delicious masterpiece.
How about a pool party? Have the children decorate foam or plastic sunvisors or flip flops. Enjoy homemade popsicles after a refreshing swim.
No pool? How about water games that include cups of water, sponges, water guns, buckets of water, eye droppers or turkey basters. If you provide the items for the children, they will come up with their own games.
The internet has plenty of ideas for beating the summer heat! Find an activity and share it with friends!
Outside Spray Painting:
Fill old spray bottles with coloured water (food colouring or tempera paint). Have the children spray the coloured water on paper or sidewalk.
Watermelon Plants:
Plant one or two watermelon seeds in a foam cup. Water daily or when needed. Soon the seeds will grow into little watermelon plants.
Worm Tracks:
Have the children dip a piece of string or yarn into water or paint and drag it across paper or sidewalk. The children can make their strings wiggle like a real worm.
Sun Prints:
Place items such as a pencil, block, eraser, coins, or rocks on a dark piece of construction paper and place it in direct sunlight. Remove the items at the end of the day.
Making Rain:
Boil some water in a pot or a kettle until steam forms above it. Fill a pie plate with ice cubes and hold it above the steam. When the steam comes in contact with the cool air from the pie plate, drops of water form and fall back into the pot like rain.
Fun Straws:
Cut out a simple shape (leaf, heart, etc.) from construction paper. Cut two slits in the middle of each shape, about one inch apart and slide the straws through the slits.
Ice Skating in the Summertime!
Outline a carpeted area with masking tape. Give each child two large pieces of waxed paper. Fasten the waxed paper to their ankles with rubber bands. Play music and let the children skate. (This is a fun indoor activity when it is storming.)
Need more ideas?
Don't forget to check out your local library's calendar for free story times, puppet shows, and special guest that my be visiting.
Check out the Zoo and Children's Museum websites for summer discounts.
How about a kid swap? Give a follow mom a break for a few hours and have them return the favor in the near future. It's always exciting for kids to go play with other children's toys!
How about investing in a children's cookbook. Let your child help you make lunch or dessert and invite a friend over to enjoy your delicious masterpiece.
How about a pool party? Have the children decorate foam or plastic sunvisors or flip flops. Enjoy homemade popsicles after a refreshing swim.
No pool? How about water games that include cups of water, sponges, water guns, buckets of water, eye droppers or turkey basters. If you provide the items for the children, they will come up with their own games.
The internet has plenty of ideas for beating the summer heat! Find an activity and share it with friends!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Summer
Our Halftime program has come to an end. We had so much fun working with your child this year. We hope to see you this summer. We will have a few activities this summer as well as our regular Sunday morning classes.
June 7th is Promotion Sunday. Many of our children will be moving up to the next class. Our classes are divided as follows;
Preschool House -room 14 (also known as the fish room) ages 3 & 4
Little House -room 8 k-2nd grade
Big House - room 15/16 3-5th grade
Middle School 6-8th grade
High School 9-12th grade
Call Jeni Gibbs at the church(602-866-0889 ext. 108) if you have any questions about Promotion Sunday.
Grand Prix
For our entire church family
Date: July 18th!
Call or e-mail Jeni Gibbs or Carla Crossman with any questions you may have.
June 7th is Promotion Sunday. Many of our children will be moving up to the next class. Our classes are divided as follows;
Preschool House -room 14 (also known as the fish room) ages 3 & 4
Little House -room 8 k-2nd grade
Big House - room 15/16 3-5th grade
Middle School 6-8th grade
High School 9-12th grade
Call Jeni Gibbs at the church(602-866-0889 ext. 108) if you have any questions about Promotion Sunday.
Grand Prix
For our entire church family
Date: July 18th!
Call or e-mail Jeni Gibbs or Carla Crossman with any questions you may have.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Halftime 5/6/09
Tonight will be the last store night for this year. Be sure to come ready to review verses so you can earn extra bucks to shop in our store. There will be gifts that you can "buy" for mom for Mothers Day!
Don't forget to bring in a baby picture and a recent picture of yourself. This will be for a slide show that Mrs. Orr is putting together for next week. You can also send your leader a special message. If you did not bring a little card home to fill out, you can get one from the registration table tonight. We need it tonight!
Next week will be the last time we meet for the school year. We will have a pizza party and a slide show to celebrate a successful year! I hope you had as much fun as I did!
Don't forget to bring in a baby picture and a recent picture of yourself. This will be for a slide show that Mrs. Orr is putting together for next week. You can also send your leader a special message. If you did not bring a little card home to fill out, you can get one from the registration table tonight. We need it tonight!
Next week will be the last time we meet for the school year. We will have a pizza party and a slide show to celebrate a successful year! I hope you had as much fun as I did!
To make you smile......
A first-time dad was taking a turn at feeding the baby some strained peas. Naturally, there were traces of the food everywhere, especially all over the infant. His wife came in, looked at the infant, then at her husband, shook her head and asked, "What in the world are you doing?" He replied, "I'm waiting for the first coat to dry, so I can put on another."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
