Corvette or Carriage?

When you imagine a very young child, you might imagine a child that manifests the cliché of the terrible two’s (and three’s). My middle child did things that my oldest son never did (e.g., throwing temper tantrums, refusing to sit while eating, standing up in the cart at any given store and screaming at the top of his lungs). I remember vividly the time I was 8 months pregnant pushing him in the cart at a store. He refused to stay buckled and SCREAMED at me while I was trying to pick up a few items from the store. One woman looked at me and rolled her eyes while another woman asked me if I could “Get him under control!” Aggravated, defeated and very pregnant, I rolled my eyes and walked out of the store, leaving the cart on some random aisle (I’m sure that I am not alone). My oldest son is sweet, mild mannered and easygoing; my second child proved to be the cliché we all know so well. My second child has proven to be head strong- he has a charismatic and magnetic personality that so many people are drawn to. They both love every second of life, but the second will suck every last drop out of life. At his 2-year-old check up, pushing everything I know as a professional aside and feeling somewhat defeated by this little charmer, I remember saying to the doctor, “I don’t know what to do with him. The other one never did this. Please help me. I can’t take him anywhere without a fight and I feel defeated!” He laughed with me and reassured me that everything was very normal and reminded me of what I knew about brain development in the first three years of life. Humor me: if you will, imagine for a second a horse and carriage. Not the lavish kind from fairy tales but one that might help to tend a field. It isn’t slow, but it isn’t very quick either. Nevertheless, it gets the job done because it has been trained to do the job. Now imagine a shiny red Corvette. This baby is as fast as lightning and sometimes might prove to be a little erratic because it’s fast. Now imagine the adult brain and the 2-year-old brain. Imagine the adult brain as the horse and carriage and the 2-year-old brain as the Corvette. Sure it seems silly, but read on! The first three years of life prove to be a period of incredible growth. When babies are born, their brains are ready to learn. They are born with all of the brain cells they will have in their lifetime. As we age, we lose brain cells. Brain cells are only good if they are being put to use and are connected to one another. After birth, these brain cells begin making connections with one another, and we call these connections synapses. These connections are made when a child has experiences that make him think. When a child thinks, he uses brain cells, which allows for the connections (or synapses) to get stronger. A 2-year-old’s brain contains twice as many synapses and consumes twice as much energy as an adult brain. Dr. Jack Shonkoff, director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, says, “A baby forms 700 new neural connections per second in the first years of life. This process of building the architecture of the brain is dramatically influence by life experiences. It is not genetically hardwired. Literally our environment shapes the architecture of our brain in the first year of life.” So maybe the cliché should be less about being a “terrible two” and more about their brain working “faster than you, two”. So what does this mean for the parent staying at home with or living with this amazing little mass of brain cells? There are several things you can do to nurture healthy brain development. First, provide a consistent, loving, safe and caring environment along with balanced and nutritional feeding. A healthy attachment to a caregiver is both necessary and beneficial in order to accomplish these next suggestions. Next, listen and talk to your child about the world around him/her. This is key to supporting language and communication development. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, there are several ways you can support this development in young children. For birth to age 2: Encourage your baby to make vowel-like and consonant-vowel sounds such as “ma,” “da” and “ba.” Reinforce your baby’s attempts at vocalizing by maintaining eye contact and imitating vocalizations by using different patterns and emphasis on letters and words. Expand on single words your baby uses: “Here is Mama. Mama loves you. Where is baby? Here is baby.” For ages 2-4: You should model the use of good speech your child can understand. Repeat what your child says indicating that you understand. Build and expand on what was said. “Want juice? I have juice. I have apple juice. Do you want apple juice?” Sing simple songs and recite nursery rhymes to show the rhythm and pattern of speech. Ask questions that require a choice. “Do you want an apple or an orange?” “Do you want to wear your red or blue shirt?” For ages 4-6: When your child starts a conversation, give your full attention whenever possible. Make sure that you have your child’s attention before you speak. Acknowledge, encourage and praise all attempts to speak. Show that you understand the word or phrase by fulfilling the request, if appropriate. So, next time you see that sweet little 2-year-old and the struggling mom or dad in the grocery store, give them a reassuring smile and remember how that little Corvette is just revving his or her engine. Making connections and literally firing on all brain cells! I always want to pat mom or dad on the back and say, “Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. You are well on your way to having a well-adjusted, charismatic child!”

The Power of Play

I recently read a blog about our children and how they do not “play” anymore. The author suggested that children are so busy, “Their schedules would rival that of any CEO.” She further suggested that we keep our children so busy, telling them where to go and what to do when they get there, that we are creating a group of helpless individuals who do not understand how to do things on their own, for themselves. By children, she wasn’t just talking about adolescents and younger. In fact, she was also speaking about those children who are in high school and college. You might be wondering why play is so important in the younger years or assume that playing a team sport is the same as the type of play the children do in the backyard. However, the term “play” means to “engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.” Play is what you see your child do when he or she gets to choose what to do when given the freedom, independence and time to determine their own free time. The Importance of Playtime Playtime assists children in developing social, physical, cognitive and language skills. Socially, children learn how to cooperate with one another, take turns and play by the rules. Physically, children develop their gross motor skills as they run for balls, reach for dolls and grasp their bottles. Younger children develop their fine motor skills through handling smaller toys like Legos, while also developing their language skills by having to communicate. During playtime, they learn the terminology for certain games or toys, for example, and they also learn to effectively communicate with their peers to get what they desire. Finally, play assists in developing cognitive skills because children learn how to problem-solve. They also enhance their memory skills, learn colors, numbers, sizes, etc. Play does so much more than one might realize! What Does Play Look Like? Play allows children to learn about the world around them through exploration, which develops their imagination and creativity as well as problem-solving and social skills. Children’s play might seem illogical and random, and it oftentimes might not seem like there is a purpose. However, children’s play is a right and is actually the essence of early childhood and later childhood. Think back to early childhood and some of your favorite childhood memories. Are they centered around play? Are you playing with your best friend in the backyard? Children’s play can be happy or sad, loud or quiet, calm or rambunctious. When children play, they can move from one activity to another. Children’s play does not resemble adult play behavior. I oftentimes find my preschooler playing superhero: he dresses as Captain America or Superman and zooms through the house saving the day. He holds swords and tells me about the pirates he met on deserted islands just over by the couch. He has recently become an expert on “Spinjitzu,” which is apparently a Ninja move that he learned about from his Ninjago books. My older son enjoyed playing with Thomas the Train. He would make his trains chug around the rails to meet the other trains and be “very useful engines.” He would use his fine and gross motor skills to maneuver the trains around his train table. He would make miles of track only to break it apart to make it again. We talked about words like cow catcher, steam and what is meant by “to be cross with someone.” This was all thanks to our days loving Thomas the Tank Engine. Our youngest is interested in having tea with her babies or with her brothers. She carefully swaddles her baby and then carries her around the house. We talk about holding the baby upright and laying her down in her cradle. Each one of our children has learned powerful skills during playtime. Stages of Play Screen Shot 2014-01-31 at 10.43.51 AMFrom birth through the age of four or five, young children go through four main stages of play: solitary play, parallel play, associative play and cooperative play. It is important to note that children travel through these stages at different rates. While these stages give milestone ages, they are not exact. Solitary play begins in infancy. Babies explore their environment and learn about their world. This stage lasts through toddlerhood. During this stage, children play on their own and pay no attention to anyone else around them. The next stage is parallel play. Parallel play typically begins in toddlerhood, but it can occur at any age. During parallel play, children will play in the same room as other children with similar toys, but they do not interact or play with one another. They may copy one another, but they do not interact with one another. The third stage, associative play, typically occurs around the age of 3 or 4. During associative play, children play together in an organized manner. Finally, cooperative play happens around the age of 4 or 5. During this type of play, children play together in an organized structure. This happens because their emotional and social development has matured. They will play well together, show a willingness to share and communicate with one another. How to Help As a parent or caregiver, you have a role to play. Children tend to become more creative when parents get involved in their child’s play. First, you should start by observing. Observe what your child does well and what your child struggles with during playtime. Learn what your child loves to do during his or her playtime. Follow your child’s lead. You get to be the boss all day, either at home or at work, so let your child lead you and determine what to do during playtime. Most importantly, have fun! There doesn’t have to be a right way to play with your kids. Try to expand their vocabulary while having fun, but also make things fresh and exciting for both of you. The more fun you have, the more fun and exciting it will be for them to interact with you.

The Business of Being a Preschooler

Robert Fulghum wrote the book, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” but I disagree. I think everything you need to know, you likely learned in preschool. As a parent of three young children — and with a background in education — I feel like I am constantly doing everything I can to support them. My husband and I talk with them to expand their vocabularies and we read to them at every opportunity. When our oldest was very young, we enrolled him in a Mother’s Morning Out program so he could develop emotionally, socially and, in many ways, academically — but not in the way most people think of when they think of education and academics. “Preschool” and “academics” may seem like two words that really do not go together, when, in fact, they do. I do not mean that Tyler was learning his ABCs and 123s; Tyler was learning about the world around him through meaningful communication between his peers and his teachers; he was learning through book reading (dialogic, interactive and shared book-reading experiences) and through developmental play. Highly qualified preschool teachers understand these things because it is their job to know about your child. At playgroups, parks, and outside of elementary classrooms, I hear parents who want the best opportunities for their children to succeed. I also read every day how people want to prevent high school dropout rates or how there are not enough students attending college. I’ve also had parents ask whether or not that preschool tuition bill is worth the money they are spending each month. For all of these questions, I can hear Julie Andrews singing, “Let’s start at the very beginning / A very good place to start / When you read you begin with A-be-see.” This line from “The Sound of Music” illustrates nicely the importance of early childhood education in the lives of young children and the impact it has on our community. High quality early education benefits children by preparing them for later academic success. Research has unequivocally demonstrated that learning starts in infancy, the time before any formal school begins. The earliest years of the child’s life are the most crucial for brain development and later academic success. However, not all experiences for children are the same. Research shows that by age 3 children from professional families will have heard 30 million more words than children from high-poverty homes. These early differences can last a lifetime. Research has demonstrated that scores on tests at age 9 showed a strong correlation with their word use at age 3. High-quality preschool programs can support and promote social and emotional skills affecting children’s IQs. The Economics of Early Childhood Education Did you know that quality early childhood education programs do quite a bit to boost our economy and support the vitality of our community? High-quality preschool programs offer lasting effects on our economy by strengthening our human capital and our future economic and fiscal outcomes. Economist Rick Harper said that for every dollar invested in a high-quality early learning program, it returns $7 to $10 to the local economy. Several outcomes occur when children do not attend a high-quality preschool program. Those children are: 25 percent more likely to drop out of school; 40 percent more likely to become a teen parent; 50 percent more likely to be placed in special education; 60 percent more likely never to attend college; 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime. With our growing economic competitiveness, and with our need to be able to compete globally, our community will need a highly skilled and educated workforce — and our youngest population of children can be ready to meet those challenges if we support them now. When considering a high-quality learning center for your child, consider these criteria: The Child’s Learning Environment. High-quality learning environments are free of clutter, have a range of experiences or centers for the children to engage in and a great deal of books and/or words. Outstanding Teachers. High-quality teachers have supporting relationships with children. They interact with the children often by modeling acceptable language and communication techniques while supporting the children socially and emotionally. Partnerships with Families. High-quality programs involve the parents and value them as partners in their child’s emotional and social development.

Making Connections with you and some good books!

It's been so long since I have had the time to write. However yesterday I heard from a dear friend. She said, "Sarah, I love when you post things about reading. It gives me ideas!" It was a thoughtful message but something resonated with me. She is probably one of the most well read friends I have the pleasure of calling a friend. She has an upbeat personality and works hard to provide enriching experiences for her two kids once they come home from school. Yes Karin, I am calling you out. I have had the pleasure of knowing this woman for several years, since out first borns were in diapers. Her comment got me thinking..... I love to teach reading. I can't explain it to you, I just do! I love to work with struggling readers and fluent readers. They all have something to learn and ideas to share with me. I love watching a kid "get it" and see their smile when they realize they are successful and feel successful. I oftentimes share things on facebook so that my family can keep up with the kids or so that I can share something interesting that I think one person might like or need. I liked knowing the Karin was the one person who liked or needed what I was sharing. But, then I started thinking.... other mom friends have asked me questions and it made me think that I wasn't giving enough of myself or my knowledge. Maybe I could share myself and my knowledge with other parents, maybe I could give them the tools they needed to make them begin to LOVE teaching reading too! But, then I thought, there are enough blogs out there for people to use, why would they care about mine? So, I thought again.... this time for a while.... and today, it came to me.... I will write for Karin and my other friends like Karin. I have an obligation to pay my knowledge forward. I shouldn't keep it inside.... what use is it to anyone if I keep it inside? I don't pretend to know everything but I certainly want to know more. So, maybe the more I share, the more I will learn because interested people will ask me questions and I have expertise to research their question and help guide them toward success. So, here is my first post since 2010- for you Karin! Most of the parents I know have kids around my kids ages. They are somewhere between 9 and 2 (some a little younger and some a little older) and they can't seem to find the right book to read aloud to bridge the gap between their ages. During the last month, in my spare time, between teaching my kids, cooking dinner, working with my students, reading for pleasure, and getting kids to whatever enrichment activity (I don't prentend to be the busiest mom, we are all busy so we gotta find free time somewhere)I started searching for books to read aloud (FYI: Reading aloud is widely recognized as the single most important activity leading to literacy acquisition. Among other things, reading aloud builds word-sound awareness in children, a potent predictor of reading success.) to both boys (ages 4 going on 15 and 8 going on 8). I needed to find something that would captivate and hold both of their attention. This is never an easy task because chapter books can be overwhelming to JP and picture books can seem too immature for T. And, truth be told, I am having a difficult time finding recent chapter books that I even want to read aloud to my boys. So, I simply googled (yes, google is a verb in my vocabulary) classic chapter books. I searched probably a million sites, reviewed probably double the number of books. The first ones I settled on ordering were two chapter books by Alice Dalgliesh. Maybe you have heard of them, maybe you have not... maybe you have read them and treasure them and maybe you forgot all about them.... the two books we have read are "The Courage of Sarah Noble" and "The Bears on Hemlock Mountain" both were written in the 1950's and both are considered Historical Fiction (Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the action takes place in the past.) First, there was something romantic about reading wholesome books written in the 1950's. Something romantic about reading books that have stood the test of time... something our parents and our children's grandparents might have read. So, I "Amazoned and Primed" those chapter books and got them in 2 days (yep, again with the verbing of two words that are not verbs). Wow! What great books to read aloud. They were perfect to bridge the gap between the boys and I absolutely LOVED the central theme of both books. The "Courage of Sarah Noble" is a story about an 8 year-old girl named, Sarah (yes, I loved her from the start) who sets out into the wilderness with her father, leaving behind her mother and siblings and her treasure baby doll because their is no room in order to help her father build a new home (year: 1707 in Connecticut). Her task is to keep house by cleaning and cooking. Her biggest fear is crossing paths with "Indians" who might hurt her. She learns what it means to "keep up her courage" and the truth behind the Native Americans who live in the wilderness down the hill from her home. The story is filled with figurative yet simple language to accompany the simple but exciting story. Questions to ask while reading: Do you think Sarah is brave? Why does she need to keep up her courage? Why do you think Sarah's dad is nervous to bring her with him? Why does she keep her cloak with her? Why does it make her feel better? What things frighten Sarah? When Sarah's father left, why did she try not to cry? How are Sarah and Native Americans different? How are Sarah and the Native Americans the same? Why did Sarah's mother think a "squaw" couldn't keep house like she could? Vocabulary: settlement, cloak, valley, kindness, courage, wilderness, brave, comfortable "The Bears on Hemlock Mountain" is a story about a young boy named Jonathan who has to travel over Hemlock Mountain, a place that is to be inhabited by bears! EEK! Jonathan has to be brave to get over the mountain to retreive a pot from his Aunt Emma and then use quick thinking to get back over the mountain and steer clear of possible bears. This story, similar to "Sarah Noble" talks about courage and bravery. Questionst to ask while reading: Do you really think his mother like feeding all of those people? Why? Why not? How does Jonathan build his courage on the mountain? Why is he worried when he hears the dripping sound coming from the mountain? How do you think he felt when he was under the pot hiding from the bears? Why didn't his mother just call his Aunt Emma and ask her to drive the pot over the mountain? What would you do if you saw a bear? Vocabulary: scamper, courage, munched, truthfully, comfortable, wilderness chattering, muffler, Figurative language: drip, tick-tock, Purr-rr-rr, crack, crunch Both stories have the central theme of keeping up your courage and being brave. So, we used a few strategies to help us Make Connections (Schema is the background knowledge and experience readers bring to the text. Good readers draw on prior knowledge and experience to help them understand what they are reading and are thus able to use that knowledge to make connections.We used Text-Text connections and text-to self connections. These are easy to talk about, just start by asking, "What did this story make you think about? Have you ever experienced having to keep up your courage? Or have you ever gone on a trip by yourself? And then you can have them make connections between the book by using a Venn Diagarm to compare and contrast the stories and the main characters.

Here are a few other activities you could consider doing with your kiddo: 1. Work on having your child retell a summary by answering these three questions:Who was the main character? What was the problem? What was the solution? 2. Talk about sequencing by typing out main ideas from each chapter and have him or her put them in order. Or have them draw pictures of the story in sequence. These books would be good read alouds for ages late 4- 8 or 9 and good independent reading for ages 7-9 (depending on your child's independent reading level). Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments!

Center for Early Literacy Learning

Check out this great tool for working with your infant, toddler, or preschooler.
http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/pgparents.php#infants

Here you will find great resources to support your little one at home!!

Does your mood affect your baby?

WOW! Startling statistics came out in 2009 which said, many parents (69%) do not realize that children as early as 6 months can experience feelings of sadness and fear. While 65% do not realize that their moods can affect their babies. Children as early as 1 and 2 years of age can experience feelings of feeling good or bad about themselves. Also, only 70% of parents realize that it is important to sing and talk to their baby from infancy.

Unfortunately, parenting doesn't come with a user's manual like that shiny car sitting in your driveway. Spread the word-- talk to your baby!!!

http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/funded-projects/parenting-resources/final_survey_report_3-11-2010.pdf

Where are they now?

Have you ever wondered about your 2 month, 6 month, or 12 month old baby's brain? Definitely! As a mother or father, haven't you tried to read everything you can to learn more to support your baby? I certainly have tried! But there is just so much out there! Well, the people at the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families (www.zerotothree.org) has certainly thought about what parents think about!

This site provides you with a map of your baby's brain from birth to 36 months of age. You can click on different aspects of brain development and what your baby is doing at that certain time of their life. Quite interesting! Have you ever wondered why your 2 or 3 year old has a difficult time controlling their "aggressive" behavior? Check out this site and find out!

Let me know what you think about this site!
http://www.zerotothree.org/baby-brain-map.html