Nature Helps Develop a Speaking and Listening Vocabulary

We all know the wonders of nature and how exciting these can be for children. We can encourage and support this love for Planet Earth by taking children on neighborhood walks and playing “I Spy.”  You can begin by saying, “I spy with my little eye something that is green.” Continue by describing the object you see. Children are sure to have fun playing this game. But it is more than a game as it also gives children valuable practice with listening and speaking skills. When it is the child’s turn to guess, important practice in listening to details results. When it is the child’s turn to give clues by saying, “I spy with my little eye…” he or she must find appropriate vocabulary to describe a chosen object.

You can extend this game by encouraging children to look for the most unusual environmental object around. If you feel comfortable, let the child take a photo of the “treasure.” When the walk is over, your child can look at the photo and use the visual to remember details about frogs, eggs, or beehives, etc. They can point out features in their photo and share with other family members or friends. The photos below, taken on nature walks with young children, show how vocabulary can be developed as you remember these “finds” and discuss them.

This child found part of an eggshell from a hatched bird. He asked for his photo to be taken and used the picture to describe his treasure. He described the color of the shell, the size, and repeated the word half when retelling the story of his "find." This made math vocabulary concrete. 

This section of a hive was found. It resulted in guesses about what the cells were made from and ideas about how it was constructed.

As you can guess, this creature ended up teaching the word, camouflage. Ideas about how animals use camouflage were discussed.

You can also encourage children to look at websites such as those offered by Explore. Their cams show a variety of wildlife and children enjoy watching and can even snap a photo using the camera icon. These photos can be printed and shared with others. See their many offerings that allow a window into nature here.

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.D.04, 2.D. 06, 2.G.07.

Head Start - IV.A., VIII.A., VIII.B.

Helping a Child Overcome a Fear of the Dentist

Many children have a fear of visiting the dentist. What can you do to make this visit less stressful and even enjoyable for your child? Following are some steps that we have found worked for children, even those who seemed terrified at the prospect of walking into a dental office.

We suggest a family member visit a children’s dental office to talk with the office staff about their child’s fears. Often the receptionist is happy to greet the child by name when he or she takes a tour. This puts many children at ease.  Take note of the waiting room for items that will catch your child’s attention. Are there special books, trucks, games, or stuffed animals that will appeal to your child? These can be discussed when you describe the office to your child. Often pediatric dentists will offer small prizes, balloons, etc. This will often be an incentive for your child.

Next, make plans with the office staff for your child to simply tour the facility. Your child can play for a bit in the waiting room, see the special chairs, and hopefully note that other children seem happy.  Often just experiencing the office, without the stress of having to open their mouth, will help many children. 

Playing with an oversize toothbrush to clean a stuffed animal's teeth is a fun experience!

For those children who are exhibiting extreme fear, begin by scheduling an appointment where a hygienist simply brushes their teeth. Your child can understand what it feels like to sit back in the chair, perhaps wear silly sunglasses as the light shines in their eyes, and hopefully gets a choice in toothpaste flavors.   Letting children have choices makes them feel empowered and helps lessen fear. 

Although scared, this child agreed to sit in the chair because he could put on silly sunglasses.

When the appointment is over, play dentist with your child at home. You can be the patient and your child role-plays as the dentist or hygienist. You can set up a pretend dental office with stuffed animals as patients.

We have seen these simple suggestions turn a terrified child into one who asks, “When can I go the dentist next?” And that is what we want!

We encourage preschools, daycare centers, camps, etc. to share this post with families.

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC – 2.K.01, 2.K.05

Head Start – I.A.1, I.B.1

Healthy Holiday Treats!

When holidays roll around, it's easy to forget our healthy eating habits. But you can help children see that good nutrition can be fun! One child-friendly snack preschoolers can help to make and eat is a Fruit Pizza!

Remind children that fruit is a food that is good for us. Families can involve children in food shopping by encouraging them to look at the fruit section of the store to choose favorite fruit. Classrooms and summer camps participants could fill a bowl with fruit from a "salad bar" set-up outside or in the classroom.

Then give each child one or two slices of seedless watermelon, cut in a triangle, like a pizza. Let each child plan the creation of his or her fruit pizza slices.

Children can practice saying the name of different types of fruit and describing them as they place pieces on the watermelon.

Finally, comes the best part - enjoying a healthy summer holiday treat!

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.03, 2.K.01, 2.K.02.
Head Start - I.B.5, I.D.2, VIII.B.2&3.

Making Math Meaningful: Numbers to 20

Numbers are important for children as they enter school. While it is necessary for our preschoolers to count in sequence to 20, we also need to help them recognize numerals and understand numeracy. This goal can be meaningful and fun.

One “game” you can play to help children is to use (recycle!) old plastic eggs. We used a permanent marker to write numerals on each egg. Note that we put a line under the numeral so children would know which way to look at the egg. This is especially important for 6 and 9.

You can put the eggs in a bowl or bag and have children pull out an egg and say the numeral on it. Celebrate when it is “read” correctly.

We also like to encourage children to collect small items while on a walk or playing in the yard. These can be used as part of the “game” and they help to show children that we don’t need to buy things to learn and have fun.

Small pebbles were collected and put inside the eggs. The child chooses an egg, says the numeral, and then opens it. The pebbles are put in a line for the child to count, as shown below. This gives number meaning to the numeral.

Note that we include 15 as this seems to be one of the most difficult numerals for children to say and recognize.

Be sure to have children point and count from left to right, the direction we read.

Finally, have children choose an empty egg and fill it with the stated number of items. This is the highest order of mathematical thinking. The child must recognize the numeral and match the number of items to the numeral.

In this seemingly simple “game” there are 3 necessary learning objectives: recognizing and saying numerals, meaningful counting , and matching items to a numeral.  This helps children develop number sense! 

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.F.02, 2.F.04, 2.F.11.

Head Start - X.A.1,  X.A.2, X.A.3, X.A.4, X.A.5.

School Readiness: Text Features, Concept of Word. Fluency, and MORE!

Read, read, read to children! We know that is the best way to encourage literacy and a love for books. But as you read, can you help prepare for literacy concepts they will encounter in school? These short videos based on the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr., illustrate what we can do to promote school readiness as children copy what we do as we read.

Be sure you show children the cover of the book, the title page, and read the title and author. As shown below, this child has heard the name of the author and knows to "read" it with just a little prompting.

We love that he ALMOST got the name of the author correct. This shows that children do not have to say everything exactly right. At this age, the goal is to understand the meaning of what an author does and to acknowledge an author's importance. 

The next clip shows this child has seen family members point to words as they read. You will notice he also points to words. This helps develop a Concept of Word, a key school readiness skill.

The child is also familiar with how the text is read and mimics that expression. This helps develop fluency skills. 

Finally, note how this child tracks the animals the children see at the end. He moves from left to right on each line and makes a return sweep at the end of the line to the next line. This is another important readiness skill. 

You can see that when adults read with expression, point to words, and show features like the parts of a book and the name of an author, this helps children develop school readiness skills. 

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.B.04.; 2.E.03.; 2.E.04.;2.E.08.; 2.E.09.

Head Start - II.A.; VII.A.; VII.D.

The Library: A Perfect Preschool Visit!

Libraries are the perfect summer “field trip” for families, neighborhoods, and even for childcare centers and day camps. Getting a library card is free and easy. This provides our children access to a wealth of reading material. We all know the studies that show children with greater access to books are better readers. What better way to give children books than to visit the library on a regular basis?

And remember, libraries have lots more than books! They are places that parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other friends can take children on a hot or even rainy summer day for added fun. Most libraries offer computer time, even to our youngest children. Special programs invite children to explore book characters, read-alouds, and plot related games. Quiet corners provide space for children to cuddle with a much-loved book.

Libraries want children to feel welcome and often offer puzzles and blocks that stimulate the mind and make children feel this is a place just for them.

So, “check-out” your local library this summer. We are sure there will be lots to experience!

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.E.04; 2.H.03; 2.L.05

Head Start - II.A.; V.A.; VII.A.

The Difference Between Wants and Needs for Preschoolers

“I need a Popsicle!” How many times do families hear about these kinds of needs from their young children? You can help children understand the difference between a need and a want, yes, even at their young ages!

First, be sure you are always modeling the correct use of the terms. A need is something like water, nutritious food, a place to live, comfortable clothing, clean air, along with proper heath and dental care. We can all make a difference by saying things like, “We need food that will make us strong.”  When it comes to that Popsicle or ice cream, use words like, “This is not something that we need. It will not help our bodies. It is a something we want.” Of course all children have wants and we can allow these but you will have fewer tantrums in stores if you help children understand the vocabulary.

One age-appropriate way to do this is to use animals in your activities and in your discussions about needs. Walking outdoors can be helpful when learning the difference between a want and a need.  You can point out birds that are looking for earthworms. Having a discussion about birds that NEED to eat worms is a way to help children understand needs. Talk about other animals that need to eat other food.

Show children pictures such as the ones below. You can print these and have children add the needs of each animal such as food, shelter, and proper habitat. This invites children to think about what animals really need. Not to mention, it stimulates critical and creative thought. They have the opportunity to consider the needs of various animals. 

You can then ask a child, “Do you really need a Popsicle or do you want a Popsicle?” the next time he or she is on the verge of a tantrum!

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC – 2.A.10; 2.B.02; 2.B.03; 2.D.06; 2.G.06; 2.L.10.

Head Start – I.B.4; II.A.1; VI.A; XI.B.1.