Kids, Social Media Use, and Cyberbullying: the Role of Parents

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Lori Day In Child Development, Gurus Tagged child development, cyberbullying, social media Comments 5

cyberbullying danger

Last April, as I was up to my eyeballs in cyberbullying among my middle schoolers, a New Jersey middle school principal told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he had emailed his students’ parents stating that “there is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site.” He urged all parents to prohibit their children’s access at home, and he was met with tremendous resistance.

While the rash of suicides attributed to bullying on FaceBook, MySpace, YouTube, and texting have been concentrated in high school, there have been younger teens in middle school who have also taken their lives. The downward trend towards younger and younger students finding ways to aggress electronically towards peers has grown, now becoming common in elementary school, with students as young as fourth grade creating FaceBook pages for the sole purpose of attacking a targeted classmate.

The risk of harm to kids from adult online predators is far less than the danger posed by peers who emotionally torment via status updates, wall posts, “de-friending,” photo tagging, and texting. Preteens and young teens simply are not psychologically ready to handle the potential weapon of social media any more than they are ready to handle guns, cars, alcohol, and other items that our society properly withholds from children until they have the maturity to use them in a safe and healthy manner. Twelve-year-olds have a hard enough time dealing with puberty, refining social skills, and developing self-confidence. They don’t need FaceBook in their impulsive hands.

Most parents have no idea how disruptive to schools this new wild west of social media ambush among students has become. Parents of children who have been either bullies or victims are well aware of the pain involved in their own circumstances, but have little concept of the collective tsunami of cyberbullying reports that face school administrators every day.

A personal anecdote from my days of running a school: Monday mornings sometimes involved the routine of arriving on campus around 8:00 a.m. to find lines outside each of my two office doors. One line in the hallway might contain three or four distraught students. The second line—ready to pounce on me from the front office if allowed access by my administrative assistant—consisted of parents holding stacks of paper and cell phones.

Talk about triage! The crying students had many tales of weekend persecution to tell, and were trying to get ahead of each other in line to see me first. The parents held cell phones with saved text messages and voicemails, and FaceBook printouts of dialogue between their child and other children. All wanted to see me immediately to “prove” what was going on.

If there are comic undertones in this description, forgive me, for I do not take the issue of cyberbullying lightly. However, dark comedy was indeed how it played out at times, especially as I looked at my watch, the to-do list on my desk, the appointments on my calendar, and the number of people outside my office in crisis. There were days when I knew I would get nothing done beyond a futile effort to unravel, defuse, referee, assuage, discipline, teach, and in myriad other ways simply cope for yet another day with the destruction wrought by social media on youngsters, their concerned parents, and the primary mission of schools—teaching.

My parents never visited my school Head to complain that during a sleepover another child had been mean to me. That is essentially what is happening today, but in high-tech format, which often makes it harder, not easier, to unravel the social tangle that does not belong in the principal’s office in the first place. In instances of threats to a school or threats of physical harm to self or others, schools must act quickly. Most bullying, however, happens outside of these parameters and outside of school—fully in the domain of family.

Children are in loco parentis at school for approximately 35 hours per week; they are the responsibility of their own parents for the remaining 133 hours. Even with the new (and highly flawed) anti-bullying legislation, our society will get nowhere with this problem without parents bearing the primary responsibility for raising their children. As I once told a group of parents, “I can’t help you until you help me. Please take FaceBook and texting away.” I was amazed at how few parents would stand up to their kids and follow through. Sadly, until more do, things could get worse before they get better.

By Lori Day. Lori is an educational psychologist and consultant with over 25 years experience in various positions within the educational field. You can learn more about Lori and her practice, Lori Day Consulting, by visiting her website, www.loridayconsulting.com, and by reading her blog, “It’s Your Day,” at http://loridayconsulting.com/wordpress/. Lori can be reached at lday@loridayconsulting.com.

Redshirting in the Age of Academic Kindergarten

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Lori Day In Gurus, Learning styles Tagged learning, learning style Comments 0

academic kindergarten age

Every September, the incoming group of kindergarteners becomes ever so slightly older. When I had my daughter almost twenty years ago, I remember a friend of mine exclaiming, “Oh, you’re so lucky, she’s birthday-blessed!” The term referred to her fall birth date, and the fact that she would automatically be one of the oldest students in her class. But in this high-octane world of parenting, we are seeing an increasing wave of academic “redshirt” decisions, especially for “Summer Birthday Boys,” in an effort to give them an academic, social, and athletic advantage by orchestrating their position among oldest and biggest in their grade.

What is Redshirting?

Redshirting borrows its name from a college sports euphemism for athletes sitting out a year, prolonging their eligibility, so that they will be older, larger, and stronger when they finally do take the field.

The term stands in stark contrast to the definition of kindergarten, which is German for “children’s garden.” I bet many parents my age remember school days in that children’s garden of morning rest times, snacks to be savored, pet hamsters to be fed, and terrariums created in peanut butter jars. Gone is that version of kindergarten: “Kindergarten is the new first grade!”

In this new academic kindergarten, math stations have replaced sand tables, and fitting in time for recess is an ongoing struggle. Focusing less on the development of social skills and more on the development of academic skills represents a seismic shift in the traditional purpose of the kindergarten year, and one that can prove harmful to some students, perhaps to be explored further in a future article.

Balancing Research with Each Child’s Development and Needs

Blame it on No Child Left Behind, but we now have a kindergarten arms race where school and state obsession with test scores, parental competition and anxiety, and teacher preferences for older students have changed the very nature of a child’s first year of elementary school. There are many variables that parents should consider in determining the optimal year for enrolling their individual child in kindergarten, as well as many collective pros and cons that we all should ponder. The research is both contradictory and inconclusive as to whether redshirting works and for how long. While analysis of the research is both interesting and important, it is far less important than looking at one’s own unique child and ascertaining what is best for him or her.

What is Best for Students and their Learning?

There seems to be agreement among educators that younger children given another year to mature enter kindergarten with greater confidence, social skills, ability to focus, and readiness to learn. There is a documented initial boost in reading skills, math skills, and general knowledge. I would also add that the movement away from half-day kindergarten towards full-day kindergarten—while I think driven as much by the needs of working parents and working teachers as by the needs of students—is better managed by six-year-olds than five-year-olds. Personally, I’m glad that my daughter went to kindergarten when it was still a half-day program. Even though one of the oldest in her class, she still needed to nap, and did not yet have the energy for a full day of school. Redshirted children (and those used to a full-day preschool program) will be more likely to successfully face this demand, although I continue to question its appropriateness.

There are also several factors that most researchers agree call into question the efficacy of redshirting. If children with late birthdays are very bright, they may be bored if held back simply because they are chronologically young. If older upon entrance, they may also have difficulty relating to younger classmates, and may be found intimidating by them.

It is debatable whether the initial leg up a child receives by delayed entry is maintained over the long run. I have noticed that by grade 3 or 4, much of the benefit has faded away as children shift from learning to read to reading to learn.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of redshirting, at least in my experience, is that, in retrospect, it is often done disproportionately to children with undiagnosed special needs who at the time were judged to be developmentally behind, but in fact were in need of special education services, not another year to mature. Children with learning disabilities who are redshirted or retained in Kindergarten lose any accrued benefit very quickly and are then simply older children with special needs that still must be addressed.

How Do Parents Decide?

Parents who want to avoid possibly needing to hold their child back during a later year in school when it would be socially devastating are the first to redshirt their children, especially boys who tend to develop more slowly than girls. Parents of girls often make the opposite decision, fearing that their daughters will hit puberty and begin menstruating while younger female classmates are still playing Hello Kitty games.

Other factors parents should consider include whether they can afford an additional year of child care; how easy or difficult it would be to arrange for their child to skip a grade if redshirting turns out to have been a poor decision; whether they are comfortable with the idea of their child driving before his or her peers, and being 19 years old while still in high school; and whether they support delaying their child’s ultimate college and/or workforce entrance by a year. Some families also have concern about changing the spacing in school years between siblings, especially when the older child is only one grade ahead of the younger child and a redshirting decision would place them in the same grade.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Teachers and Schools

Any kindergarten teacher will tell you that it is easier to teach more mature students who are socially skilled, well-behaved, can focus, sit still, and acquire basic academic skills. Older students are more likely to meet these expectations than younger ones. However, teachers will just as quickly tell you that the vicious cycle of kids being older upon entrance, needing more rigorous curriculum, edging out younger students, and thus increasing the incidence of redshirting is not a productive situation. Someone needs to be the youngest, and someone always will be, regardless of the amount of jockeying. The common 18-month age-span in kindergarten classrooms resulting from redshirting also makes it difficult for teachers to manage group behavior and differentiate instruction.

But schools enjoy the higher averaged standardized test scores achieved by older students. This is troubling because the more affluent middle- and upper-middle-class school districts have parents who can financially afford the extra year of childcare that comes with the territory of redshirting, while districts comprised of poorer families have parents who can’t afford to make the same advantageous decisions for their children. This obviously increases the achievement gap between wealthier and poorer school districts, a divide that also often falls along racial lines.

Suggestions for Parents

While I wish that the culture of education would shift towards kindergarten being ready for kids rather than kids needing to be ready for kindergarten, it is incumbent upon parents to decide when to initiate their child’s school journey. The current parental climate of anxiety, competitiveness, and keeping up with the Joneses is not helpful to this process. For most children, kindergarten entrance is not complex, but for at least 10% of them, it can be tricky. In these instances, parents are best served by consulting with their child’s preschool teacher and potential kindergarten teacher, as well as by considering the results of kindergarten screening and the advice of a school psychologist or educational consultant. There are no hard and fast rules. Most importantly, the anxiety this decision can cause for parents must not be projected onto the child. For the most part, young children are remarkably resilient and will buy into any decision their parents make that is expressed with confidence. The self-fulfilling prophecy works in both directions!

Learning Styles

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Sarah Lipoff In Child Development, Educators, Kids, Learning styles, Parents Tagged learning, learning styles Comments 0

A reader recently commented in response to this post about learning styles that he’d like to know more about learning styles such as what is a learning style, what is the definition of this term, what are the different types, what is the method to determine your learning style, and what tools can be used. This article was written in response to his questions.

Each person is different and special in his or her own way. Part of what makes an individual unique is how she learns and discovers new things. We use our senses to understand the world around us, and each of us finds one sense to be stronger in that assessment than another. Different learning styles are all about the way learning is approached and optimized individually.

Learning styles can be defined as an individual’s unique approach to learning based on strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. Once a person connects with a certain style of learning, it provides the opportunity to tap into the brain and learning. There are three styles of learning – auditory, visual, and kinetic.

Auditory Learning Style

Auditory learners connect with listening and hearing when learning. Lectures provide a wealth of information, and auditory learners enjoy listening and paying attention. According to FamilyEducation.com, auditory learners benefit from traditional teaching techniques in the classroom. Teachers can aide in learning by adding extra auditory interest by using voice fluctuations during lectures, reading directions, and using verbal clues often.

Visual Learning Style

Visual learners find seeing information demonstrated, observing charts and visual aides, or watching a movie or video to be beneficial to learning. Learning often takes place in large visual chunks for visual learners. Within the classroom, educators can include charts, diagrams, and other visual aides to help the visual learner see the big-picture and understand new concepts.

Kinetic Learning Style

Kinetic learners are doers and learning takes place through movement and action. Touching, feeling, exploring and experimenting through the sense of touch is essential for the kinetic learner. Kinetic learners are active, which is sometimes misunderstood within the classroom. Offer hands-on activities within the educational environment to provide the kinetic learner the opportunity to learn while doing.

How to Determine Your Learning Style

There are several simple questionnaire tests you can take to help determine your learning style. Some can figure it out by paying attention to how they learn, but for others, it can be a bit more challenging. Once a learning style is identified as dominant, it can help the individual excel in learning and understanding of the surrounding world. And, some individuals have two learning styles that may benefit knowledge.

Consider how you enjoy learning. Visualize yourself in an educational situation. Which do you prefer – lectures, visuals, or activities? If you prefer listening to a lecture on a topic you are interested in, you are probably an auditory learner. Those that enjoy watching a demonstrative video can be considered visual learners. And, if you’d rather be doing a hands-on activity, like a dissection, you probably connect best with kinetic learning style.

Many have a gut feeling which style fits their personality and abilities. Along with learning what learning style fits you, you can find out more about how your brain works and utilize that information to encourage better educational experiences in the future. This is a great opportunity to explore learning activities with children to enhance learning style abilities, encouraging whole-brain learning.

Understanding Your Learning Style

Now that you have an idea what style of learning best fits you, you can begin using it to your advantage. While learning, tap into your knowledge and use what you have learned to advance how you gain knowledge. If you are a visual learner, observe, look at pictures about a new subject matter, and create charts and graphs. Auditory learners can search out lectures and discussions about topics they find interesting. And, kinetic learners can engage in activities and hands-on projects.

Within the classroom, when an educator understands the different learning styles of students, learning can be created to accommodate students with some simple adjustments, which is called the meshing hypothesis. When individual learning style preferences are accommodated through instructional teaching, academic achievement and individual attitudes towards learning improve.

Auditory, visual, and kinetic learning styles are essential concepts to aide in the educational process, although some studies disagree. Understanding that the concept of learning styles is a theory that assists with the learning process is key, and that tapping into that knowledge is beneficial to the individual as well as the educator.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent. Visit Sarah’s website here.

David Kolb, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.

Carl Jung, Psychological Types.
Name Your Link

Gordon Lawrence, People Types and Tiger Stripes: A Practical Guide to Learning Styles.

The content on this page was written by On Purpose Associates.

Digital Games and Learning

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Sarah Lipoff In Child Development, Learning styles Tagged constructivism, game-based learning, technology in the classroom Comments 0

kids teaching

This is an amazing time we live in. Technology is advancing every day leading to new ways to do things, problem solve, and educate ourselves. As well as being extremely entertaining, digital games are also introducing youth to new concepts and areas of learning. In fact, playing video games may have great benefits for the educational system when used correctly.

Video games came onto the scene in the 1970’s through the rudimentary Magnavox Odyssey, but when Atari Pong was introduced in the mid 1970’s, Atari started a video game movement that is still going strong today. Currently, Sony Playstation and Nintendo Wii dominate the gaming market. With much evolution from the original Magnavox Odyssey, games are now interactive, where the player actually does movements while playing a game.

Video Games for Learning

Digital game-based learning (DGBL) is an instructional method that incorporates content and learning principles in a video game format with the goal to engage and educate learners. The concept draws from the constructivist theory of education and can be applied to all subject areas and learning levels. With the understanding that each child is different and learns in her own individual way, constructivist thought encourages the child to follow her inner instinct and make decisions through trial and error. When playing video games, a child is exposed to entertaining material, but not all games are designed the same. There are several organizations and companies striving to create classroom, as well as home friendly games that are not only fun, but quite educational.

Tapping into a child’s desire to play video games is key. On the average day, many children spend as much time playing video games as they did learning in school. Although many assume spending all those hours behind a joystick is just promoting violence and bad health habits, video games do encourage kids to problem solve, hone reflexes, and build vocabulary. With the advancements seen with interactive games and games including movement and moveable controllers, those couch potato habits are also being broken.

Augmented Reality Based Games

Video gaming is advancing every day, with the newest educational and entertainment games heading to virtual reality. PBS Kids is exploring using “augmented reality” or computer-generated content combined with real-world images for games. The hope is to engage kids through the exciting aspect of wonder, hooking them in for the learning component. Games are being created for kids as young as four or five, along with smart-phone applications appropriate for preschoolers. The PBS Kids’ creations are being supported and backed by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, proving that video games are not just about fun and games, but also the advancement of our youth.

Using Game-Based Learning

Until these educational and interactive video games are available to the public, parents and educators should take an active role in observing what types of games children are playing, and if they are age appropriate. It is estimated that ninety-seven percent of teenagers currently play video games regularly, many starting before the age of ten. With some kids leaning toward engaging in violent or inappropriate game choices, taking a role in playing games with children aides in education and understanding of the potential hazards of certain games.

Some schools are taking an active step in integrating game-based learning within the classroom by providing game-based instruction that has not been included in traditional teacher training of the past. When an educator integrates technology successfully within the classroom, students are engaged and introduced to new material in an interesting way they can relate to. Games are a way to challenge and motivate a player, and since the beginning of time, have helped entertain and educate.

Colleges, such as Idaho State University, are taking an active role in introducing College of Education undergraduates to the power of technology in the classroom. Not only are students playing Wii and testing out new games, they are creating lesson plans to correlate with playing the games and learning. The main goal is to encourage future teachers to educate the 21^st century learner through advancements in technology. And that is not just through playing video games, but participating in podcasts and other Web 2.0 technologies.

Because digital-based learning is still such a new phenomenon, the verdict is still out on whether digital-games can be truly beneficial in the classroom as a teaching tool, but for now, educators and parents are finding playing educational games to be a fun and exciting way to bring technology and learning into the classroom and at home.

Sarah is an art educator and parent. Visit Sarah’s website here.

Your Brain and Food

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Sarah Lipoff In Brain, Child Development Tagged brain development, child development Comments 1

child development

You are what you eat, and what you eat helps your body grow and develop in amazing ways. Even adults can continue developing and growing, especially when it comes to your brain. Several foods are extremely beneficial in aiding the brain to develop healthfully from birth through adulthood, and also assist with the aging brain, too.

The brain thrives on several elements, mainly glucose, vitamins, minerals, and other essential chemicals, with glucose, or a simple sugar that is one of the main components in carbohydrates, being the most essential. Glucose encourages the brain to create new connections and add myelin, or the fatty sheath to axons. Axons are long threadlike parts of nerve cells where impulses are conducted from cell body to other cells. If the brain receives too much of one component or not enough of another, it is not able to function properly or create new connections.

Brain Development

From birth, the brain is ready for rich nutrients to aide in the healthy development of the central nervous system. At birth, the brain contains 100 billion neurons, the most the brain will ever have. Along with all those neurons, synapses, or connections between brain cells, are also rapidly developing. And, once born, infant’s that are breast-fed have a slight cognitive advantage over formula-fed babies. Diet is not the only thing essential to an infant’s developing brain. Those raw brain cells are ready to soak up as much information as possible, and engaging in interactive play and providing lots of physical affection aides in healthy development, too.

Once a child hits adolescence, the brain undergoes another big growth spurt – correlating with the body’s development. During these essential years, the teenager begins making more and more decisions for herself, including what she likes and dislikes eating. Through MRI research, it has been found the teenager’s brain goes through a “use-it-or-lose-it” phase where if certain neurons have not been exercised they are lost. The frontal lobe goes through great developments during this time and encouraging healthy eating habits aides in the brain’s development as well as the teenager’s day-to-day functioning. There are even fun ways to sneak those healthy foods into school lunches that will not cause teens to toss their lunch but actually enjoying eating brain-boosting foods.

In older adulthood, memory can be boosted through various exercises, even meditation, but is greatly enhanced through proper diet. The adult brain continues to grow and develop and is greatly expanded by outside stimuli. Participating in new and different activities, staying social, getting a good night sleep, and exercising play a role. But, eating a healthy diet and maintaining proper hydration is what keeps the brain ticking. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be a main part of any adult’s diet.

Brain-Food Diet

No matter what your age, there are simple ways to change your diet to include brain-boosting foods the whole family will love. As adults, enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables models positive eating behaviors to children and encourages them to try new things. Other foods rich in healthy brain boosters include:

-Salmon: Not only is this fish full of flavor, it is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which helps brain cells function at their best. Tuna and sardines are also fishy options high in omega-3. Adding salmon into a family meal is as easy as broiling fillets, or adding canned salmon to your favorite pasta.

-Blueberries: These small sweet and tart berries are full of antioxidants and are rich in Vitamins C and E. Antioxidants fight aging as well as the effects of free radicals, which are unstable molecules found in everyday items and are also created in the human body during metabolism. Without antioxidants to fight them, free radicals can reek havoc on the body and speed the aging process. Adding blueberries to your morning cereal or even to a fresh salad adds a touch of sweetness as well as lots of brain-boosting power.

-Nuts: Along with seeds, nuts are full of fiber and lots of beneficial fats. A handful of nuts or seeds provides the body with long-term energy through their high concentration of complex carbohydrates and Vitamin E. The healthy carbohydrates found in nuts boost the brain productivity and alertness. Offering nuts or seeds as a snack keeps hunger away and is a healthy option instead of chips. Almonds are the best choice, with peanuts offering the least amount of healthy fat than any other type of nut.

-Green vegetables: Although not everyone’s favorite, green, leafy veggies are an essential component for a brain-boosting diet. Fresh vegetables are full of antioxidants, which along with fighting free radicals also reduce the risk of developing cognitive impairments. The best bets are spinach, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. Even if you are not a fan, adding chopped fresh spinach to pasta creates a healthy meal, and creating a purée of steamed broccoli makes a fun and different side dish for any meal.

So, what are you waiting for? Start adding some healthy brain-boosting foods to your diet today.

Sarah is an art educator and parent. Visit Sarah’s website here.

Art Projects for Kids

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Sarah Lipoff In Activities, Child Development, Parents Tagged art activities, child development Comments 1

art activities

Scribble, scribble, scribble, what does it mean? The moment a child figures out how to pick up a crayon, she begins an adventure through art from scribbling to realistic creations. Just like with learning how to read or write, children go through levels of development in art – and it is a fun and educational journey.

The Scribble Stage

Viktor Lowenfeld, an art education professor at Pennsylvania State University, published Creative and Mental Growth in 1947, detailing the development of art in children. His writing teaches the Stages of Artistic Development, which tie together the intellectual, emotional, and aesthetic growth of art in children. According to Lowenfeld, the first stage of a child’s art development is the Scribble stage. Youngsters, from birth to the age of four, explore their abilities to make marks using various materials, including that pen you left out on your home’s walls.

Lowenfeld breaks the Scribble stage into four sub-stages titled the Disordered, Longitudinal, Circular, and Naming. During the Disordered sub-stage, a child creates light or dark scribbles with little or no control over her motor skills. Longitudinal scribbles show the beginnings of controlled repeated motions and understanding of movement. During the Circular sub-stage, a child further explores her control over mark-making implements. In the Naming stage, she begins to tell stories about her scribbles along with naming them, even though they are non-representational.

Innate Learning Instincts

Marvin Bartel, a retired professor of art at Goshen College, finds the Scribble stage to be about how things sound and feel, along with the pure joy created for children when drawing. Bartel calls scribbling a child’s “job” which, “grows out of their innate learning instincts.” This means those unsuspecting walls are at risk of being covered with scribbles, as a child does not understand, that the family’s walls are not for her mark making. Bartel suggests placing pads of paper on easels, or directly on walls, for a child to comfortably, and wall harming-free, create scribbles when she so feels inclined.

The early desire to scribble enforces Lowenfeld’s thoughts that a child’s brain is developing and learning from their first artistic creations. Dr. Susan Sheridan finds scribbling to be “ an artifact of the evolutionary connections between speech and literacy.” These simple marks are a way for the brain to synchronize activity in the multiple layers of the brain tissue for language processing and problem solving. When a child is concentrating on her mark making, she is training her brain to be attentive, encouraging her brain to visualize shapes and forms, and organizing patterns of thought.

Scribbling Activities

The Scribble stage may seem to continue for years. But, this stage eventually turns into the Preschematic stage. Those looping round circles will become somewhat representational potato-head bodies with small protruding lines for arms and legs. While a child is so fanatic about scribbling, do engaging art activities that show interest in her artistic expression, along with creating some wall-worthy art, even if it is a bunch of scribbles.

Tape and Crayons

During the scribbling stage, a child is experimenting with grasping, holding, and pressing objects, which develops the small muscles of her hands. Use masking tape to create an artwork that boosts fine-motor skills and expressive line making.
Offer the child small strips of masking tape and encourage her to press them onto a white piece of paper. This encourages her hand to grasp and press the tape.
Once she’s positioned the tape and is ready to move on, give her a selection of crayons and have her cover the entire paper. While she is coloring, test her color recognition skills by holding a crayon and asking her what color it is.
When the child’s finished, have her remove the lengths of tape and discover what lies underneath.

Watercolor Markers

Allow a child to scribble using washable markers on a piece of white paper, inviting her to use the markers on the paper and not in her mouth.
Although it looks like a lot of scribbles, ask the child about her creation. Susan Lemons, Child Development specialist, reminds parents that the Scribble stage “isn’t about the product, but the process.” Encourage her to make big looping scribbles and small round scribbles, motivating her to explore the way she can create marks.
Give prompts, when necessary, about holding a mark making implement or how to use it properly, such as reminding her that markers belong on the paper. This benefits her understanding of different art materials.
When she is ready, remove the markers and provide her with a wet paintbrush, showing her how to paint over her scribbles. Re-wet the paintbrush as needed as she continues to cover her marks.

Edible Finger Paint

Separate a prepared batch of vanilla pudding into small cups, adding drops of food coloring to create a selection of colors.
Touch is one of the five senses and doing art activities that allow a child to explore how things feel benefits her early sensory development. The five senses are how a young child learns about the world around her.
Place spoonfuls of the pudding finger paint onto a white paper and invite the child to use her fingers as line making tools, and enjoy tasting them while she works.
Along with exploring her sense of touch, assist the child’s understanding of her sense of taste. Do a taste test with the pudding finger paint, asking the child if the different colors of finger paint taste similar or different. Ask her about words she feels describe the taste of the pudding.

No matter the activity, allowing children to explore their budding creativity during the Scribble stage encourages brain development and builds self-esteem. Spend time creating with children – you might find yourself enjoying some scribbling, too.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah Lipoff is an art educator and parent.

Clever Ways to Teach About Giving

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Heather Larson In Activities, Child Development, Educators, Kids, Parents Tagged charitable giving, child development, learning Comments 0

children generosity

We all want our children to be charitable and give back in some way, but telling them they have to tithe (the religious precept of giving 10 percent of their income) or hold back one-third of their allowance as a donation probably won’t make the concept stick when they get out on their own.As it turns out, much more subtle and even fun ways exist that make children think they came up with the idea of giving all on their own.

Play board games or online games

Kids not only identify with games and find them fun to play, but games get kids thinking about the choices they make and the consequences of those decisions.

Some games that have a charitable giving component include:

Bank It! www.Simplyfun.com for ages 6 and up
Thrive Time www.thrivetimegame.com for ages 13 and up
Cash Flow 101 www.cashflowboardgame.com for ages 14 and up
Stage Coach Island http://blog.wellsfargo.com/stagecoachisland/ for ages 14 and up

Parents can play the board games with their children and ask questions about the giving components. “Why do you think the game wants you to give back to the community?” “How do you feel about that?” And whatever other questions might be appropriate or come up during game play.

Introduce books about giving

Reading a book that conveys the benefits of giving is another subtle way to introduce philanthropy to your child. Books can be fiction or non-fiction, but screening them first is a good idea and you don’t want to promote a book that tells a child they “must” do something. That’s the surest way to get them to rebel.

Here are some suggested titles:

One Hen by Katie Smith Milway for ages 7 to 11
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein for ages 4 to 8
Meet Genna & Russ, the Generous Kids (www.gennarusskids.com) for ages 2 to 6
Kathleen’s Story by Lurlene McDaniel for young adults

You can read aloud to younger children, ask them to predict what is going to happen in the story, which will open up opportunities for discussing the why’s and how’s of being charitable. Ask older children what they thought about the story and what was the message they perceived.

Teaching by example

Kids watch what you do even when you’re not always aware of it. They tend to follow your example, at least early in their lives. However, if you’ve forced them to do something like tithe, in later years, they are likely to revolt.

How to be a role model:

Talk about what charity means and how organizations help others
Donate items to your local food bank or to places that pick up used household items
Tell your children why you put money in the collection plate at religious organization or write out a check to a disaster relief organization
Help an elderly neighbor with yard work, cook dinner for a family in need or do some other random act of kindness
Participate in your school, town or your religious institution’s community service projects such as serving food in a soup kitchen, cleaning up a park for Earth Day, making meals for the needy
Save change in a jar and donate it to a specific charity

Be sure to mention to your children that charity can come in many different forms and isn’t always about giving money. Sometimes giving of your time can help someone more.

Tell them you don’t perform charitable works because you expect something in return.

Educating children about giving back to others should never include a lecture and absolutes like “you have to.” Make them want to do it. Playing a game, reading a book or watching their parents’ actions will make charity fun, not a chore.

By Heather Larson. Heather Larson, a writer in Tacoma, Washington, frequently writes about
finances and parenting for Creditcards.com, bankrate.com and ParentMap.

Easy Recipes for Kids: Cooking as a Learning Experience

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Sarah Lipoff In Activities, Child Development, Parents Tagged child development, cooking with kids Comments 2

Recipes for Kids

The idea of kids cooking in the kitchen may terrify adults with concern about those sharp knives, potential food poisoning, and the resulting messy kitchen. But, there are simple and easy recipes for kids which they can accomplish without causing a big fuss. According to WebMD, cooking with kids has many benefits, from encouraging picky eaters to helping children learn about healthy food choices.

Eating a balanced meal is an important part of helping children develop strong bodies and healthy minds. Having family dinners is one way to encourage kids to make good food decisions and for adults to model positive eating habits. By cooking a meal with kids from start to finish they use basic math skills, hone their fine-motor skills, and learn about how to create a complete and nourishing feast.

Getting Started: Salad

Combine spinach and strawberries to create a simple salad that may entice picky eaters to try something new. Not only does this salad include healthy spinach, which contains folic acid, but the sweet taste of strawberries along with a tart dressing.

Start by having the child rinse two bunches of fresh spinach in a colander to remove any residual dirt. She can also remove any long stems remaining on leaves.
Along with giving the spinach a good clean, she can rinse 2-cups whole strawberries. Both the spinach and strawberries can be gently dried using a paper towel.
The child can then tear the spinach leaves into bite-size pieces and put into a medium sized salad bowl.
She can then use a butter knife to remove the tops of strawberries and slice. The sliced strawberries can join the spinach.
Using measuring spoons and cups, along with a glass jar with a lid, the child can create the sweet and tangy dressing. First, measure 1/2-cup vegetable oil and 1/4-cup white wine vinegar and add to the jar.
Now she can add 1/2-cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds, and a pinch of salt. Once the lid has been put back on the jar, she can shake the dressing vigorously and then pour over the spinach and strawberries.

Learning Aspect – Tearing the spinach and cutting the strawberries helps hone a child’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, promoting the use of the small muscles of the hand that help with her writing skills. While the child is cutting the strawberries, she can put her fine motor skills to the test by seeing how many slices she can cut from each strawberry.

Main Dish Cooking

A main dish that is fun makes the whole family happy, and encourages everyone to eat everything on their plates. Turn spaghetti and meatballs into a true treat by adding a special surprise to meatballs. When cooking with raw meat, share with children proper ways to keep their bodies and the kitchen safe from food poisoning.

Before cooking with ground turkey, have everyone wash hands.
The child can help add seasonings to 1 pound of ground turkey placed in a mixing bowl by measuring 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried garlic, 1 teaspoon dried onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of sugar.
Next, she can add 1-cup of plain breadcrumbs and use a mixing spoon to combine well.
Before making the meatballs, have the child decide what she wants to be the secret surprise inside. Options include her favorite cheese, half a mushroom, or half a black olive.
She can use a butter knife to cut her secret ingredient and then begin rolling meatballs by gathering a spoon full of meat, pressing her secret ingredient into the center and then rolling into a ball.
Have her place the rolled meatballs on a cookie tray covered with a sheet of parchment paper and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Once she’s finished working with the meat, wash hands thoroughly.
While the oven preheats, she can begin making her sauce and pasta. She can heat up her favorite store bought pasta sauce in a medium pan along with boiling a large pot of salted water for her favorite kind of pasta.
Once the oven has heated, it is time for parents to step in and place the meatballs in the hot oven for 7 to10 minutes. The child can be in charge of setting a timer to keep track of cooking time.
An adult can check the meatballs, turning them after 7 to10 minutes, browning meatballs on both sides. Place the pasta noodles in the hot water to boil so everything is finished at the same time.
Remove the meatballs from the oven. The child can help transfer them from the tray using tongs carefully placing them into the hot pasta sauce to let cook for an additional 5 minutes. Also, an adult can drain the pasta when it is cooked through.
Now the pasta can be placed on plates, the meatballs and sauce can be ladled, and the surprise meatballs can be enjoyed with garlic bread and a sprinkle of fresh basil.

Learning Aspect –While using measuring spoons and cups, a child is learning math concepts such as fractions. Put her math skills to the test by figuring out how many different combinations of measurements she can find that create 1-cup or 1 teaspoon. She can write out her computations on a sheet of paper.

Dessert Creation

Dinner isn’t complete without dessert and using yogurt is a healthy option and also beneficial for good digestion. These treats need to be made a day in advance to freeze properly, but can also be enjoyed freshly made (although a bit messy)!

Gather ingredients for the child to use including graham crackers, 1-cup plain vanilla custard-style yogurt, and a jelly flavor of her choice.
She can tear several squares of plastic wrap for wrapping her treats.
Start by placing a half a graham cracker on the plastic wrap and have the child use a butter knife to spread a layer of jelly on the cracker.
She can then place a scoop of vanilla yogurt on top of the jelly.
Now she can spread another half a graham cracker with jelly and gently place on top of the yogurt.
Carefully wrap the graham cracker in the plastic wrap and she can continue making sandwiches so each family member has one. Place the finished treats in the freezer for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

Learning Aspect – When creating a frozen treat, a child is learning science concepts dealing with how materials change in different temperatures. She can create a chart to help her track how the cold temperature of the freezer affects the yogurt treats. After each hour, she can document how the ingredients in the treat have changed along with using a cooking thermometer to track its internal temperature.

No matter if you are an experienced cook or barely know your way around the kitchen, cooking easy recipes with kids encourages their self-esteem and cooking skills – and it is a great way to spend quality time together.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent. You can visit her website here.

Fun Reading Comprehension Activities for Kids

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Sarah Lipoff In Activities, Child Development, Educators, Kids, Parents Tagged child development, learning, reading activities Comments 3

reading comprehension activities

Learning to read is a breeze for some kids, but can be challenging for others. The whole process starts with children using descriptive language for story telling and progresses to the ability to comfortably read alone. Working with children throughout these stages supports their development and allows for their own self-learning. Finding fun ways to entice and challenge readers through reading comprehension activities can make the process enjoyable – and encourages kids to enjoy reading for years to come.

Reading Comprehension for Beginning Readers

Young children just getting comfortable sounding out words and starting to read on their own can learn more about story structure by changing the ending of a story read together. Reading with children is the first step to helping their budding reading skills. Kids can explore their new reading abilities by figuring out what happens next in a new story.

Take a trip to your local library for a couple books the child is not familiar with. This way, when doing the reading comprehension activity, it will be a bit more challenging.
Discuss with the child that you will be reading the story together but stopping before the end of the story. Explain that it will be her job to come up with an ending for the book. Talking through the process encourages the child’s rational left-brain to get jumpstarted before beginning the reading activity.
Read the story with the child until there are only a couple pages left asking questions along the way about character and plot development. Making predictions and asking questions while reading encourages interest and active learning.
Once the end of the story has been reached, close the book and encourage the child to create an appropriate ending on her own. Provide her with paper and crayons to create an illustration along with a pencil to write the text. Younger children may need assistance sounding out and writing words, so offer help as needed.
Now read the actual ending of the story and compare and contrast it with the ending the child created. How is it similar or different?

Reading Comprehension Activities for Learning Readers

Sequencing a story involves understanding that a book takes the reader down a path with characters, a setting, some sort of activity or a conflict, and a resolution. Once budding readers start understanding parts of a story they learn more about grammar, sentence structure and story construction – encouraging their ability to read.

Allow the child to select a book she enjoys or a new book from the local library they would like to use for the reading comprehension activity. Read the story with the child or allow her to read it on her own.
Once she has finished reading, help her to create a chart detailing the four parts of a story, which include the characters, plot or activity, conflict, and resolution.
She can select parts that had the largest impact on the four parts of story to use for creating a four-cell comic strip. Drawing and writing a comic strip lets her re-create the story in a fun and interesting way.
Learn more about comic strips and how they are mini-stories by looking at examples. She can check out her local paper or find comic strip examples Online.
Provide the child with a 9 by 12-inch sheet of drawing paper, pencils, eraser, and ruler to create her four-celled comic strip. She can measure out a long rectangle 12 by 4-inches and then divide the 12-inch length into four 3-inch cells.
Now she can create her drawings for her cartoon showing the four parts of the story. She can add text using a black felt tipped marker. Once she’s finished drawing and writing, she can use colored pencils to finish her cartoon strip.
The child can share her finished cartoon with others, seeing if they can figure out what story the cartoon strip is from.

Reading Comprehension Activities for Advanced Readers

Just because a child is able to read chapter books on her own does not mean she is not in need fun and creative ways to actively encourage their brains to continue honing reading comprehension. Although most kids might feign indifference over playing games or creating brainteasers, making a crossword puzzle that might challenge friends and family may entice them to revisit their favorite book.

Have the child select a book she would like to use as the base for her crossword puzzle. A crossword puzzle uses clues about a topic to help players figure out words to horizontally or vertically fill in a grid.
Encourage the child to select vocabulary words from the book to use for creating her crossword puzzle. Reading is not just about sounding out words, but includes vocabulary, word recognition, and language concepts. Crossword puzzles are a fun way to encourage active learning and reading comprehension.
Offer the child a 9 by 12-inch sheet of drawing paper, a pencil, and a ruler. She can begin to create a grid that fits her chosen vocabulary words into an interesting form, linking words together through selected letters.
Now she can create questions to help others figure out the correct word for the space designated. She can use clues from the book or use descriptive words to encourage players to put the correct word in each position.
Along with creating an empty puzzle for others to complete, she can create a master puzzle on another sheet of paper with the answers for each of her questions.
Once her crossword puzzle is complete, she can use a black felt tip marker to outline her pencil grid and then create copies of the finished puzzle for others to fill in.

No matter the age of a child, doing fun reading comprehension activities together is a special way to spend quality time with kids and encourage a future full of the wonders of reading.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent. You can visit Sarah’s website here.

Stages of Child Development

Apr 26, 2011 Posted by Kelly McLendon In Child Development, Stages of Child Development Tagged child development, piaget Comments 0

child development

At twenty four months, your baby can remember the faces of the people closest to him or her. Often, this is why a child will cry when separated from their primary caregivers. This visual stage is very important to future development. “The ability to see and hear forms a crucial part of brain development in children. At this stage, parents must introduce the child to various colors, shapes and sounds to stimulate this area of brain,” according to Buzzle.

There are many other ideas you can use to introduce your child to other influential factors.

Influential factors

There are a few different types of brain-related development happening during childhood. How children learn and grow with these factors depends on a few different things.

“These important factors include genetics, food and nutrition, responsiveness of parents, daily experiences, physical activity and love. In particular, parents should be aware of the importance of furnishing a healthy and nutritious diet, giving love and nurturing, providing interesting and varied everyday experiences, and giving children positive and sensitive feedback,” the North Dakota State University Extension Office supplement on Understanding Brain Development in Young Children said.

Four types of childhood learning

Each interaction a caregiver has with a child is important for fostering childhood learning. The following are four different types of learning experienced in childhood:

Motor skills

The ability to move and walk encompasses motor skills directly. “Activities like rolling over; crawling, walking, running and jumping are gross motor skills. These skills usually involve using the entire body or several parts of the body at one time,” Esther Boylan Wolfson, Director of the Early Childhood Development Center said on Wholefamily.com.

Muscle strength and tone are also vital areas to evaluate when assessing your child’s motor skills.

Specific activities: Gymnastics and tumbling classes, drawing, learning to tie shoes and using scissors.

Visual capabilities

Visual skills are gained over time.

“Most children, when born, have limited visual development. They may be able to see shapes or contrasting colors like black and white, but most can’t see primary colors like red or blue before they are a month or two old,” according to EyeDoctorGuide.com. Therefore, it takes awhile in the development of a child for visual capabilities to begin to appear.

Specific activities: Learning colors and shapes, sorting and folding laundry and looking at pictures are main elements of visual child development.

Emotional capacity

Helping your child become a social and appropriately emotional individual is something he will carry the rest of his life. In Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development, from The Child Development Institute, there is much to be acquired. Attributes such as hope, will, competence and others make up the list, among others.

Specific activities: Learning appropriate responses like “thank you” and “please,” playing with other children and helping your child make friends at play-dates and other events.

Language

Doing sign language with your baby or child may help them develop better motor skills, a PBS report states. Another technique, fingerspelling, is also being used. “Fingerspelling is the use of hand positions to represent letters of the alphabet,” the report said.

Learning such a thing could lead to early reading skills.

“Sign language and fingerspelling deliver additional clues for learning to read. Reading is an acquired skill that requires a planned sequence of skill development. The use of sign language and fingerspelling is a strategy that can be integrated into almost any existing reading program,” PBS said.

Specific activities: Singing songs and rhymes, reading books and encouraging storytelling exercises, no matter how simple.

More on Early Child Development

Renowned Swiss biologist and psychologist Jean Piaget developed a theory based on the idea that the developing child builds cognitive structures, or mental “maps” or schemes for understanding and responding to physical experiences within his or her environment. These schemes increase in sophistication as a child develops. Piaget’s theory identifies four developmental stages which you can read more about here on Funderstanding.

By Kelly McLendon. Kelly is studying Environmental Policy and Journalism. She can be reached at mclendon.kelly@gmail.com.

Review Category : Child Development