Recording Your Child's Play with a Purpose

Do you have seemingly endless footage of video and pictures of your children?  Baby’s day out, things they have built using blocks, how messy they have gotten using paints?  Most parents do.  And since the common use of digital cameras, hand held devices and smart phones, these images are taken more frequently and shared more readily than ever before.

Early Childhood teachers have begun using such media as a form of recording observations.  Many quality care programs require teachers to observe and document children’s progress in the classroom.  In some cases, these observations are used to plan lessons and pick units of study.

As parents, we should think of videoing and photographing our children’s play the way early childhood educators do. Ideally, the parent records the child without their knowledge, or videoing becomes so common place that it does not disturb the play.  For proper documentation, the parent should record the process of what the child is doing, and not the product.  For example, recording your child while she colors, including the words she uses when she asks for crayons, if she holds the crayon in a fist or pencil style, uses her right or left hand, and recording what she says about her picture while she draws, will tell you so much more about her thinking process and physical development than just asking her to hold up her finished product and say “Cheese!”

There are a variety of ways you can use your new recordings besides keeping them as precious mementos.  First, you can create a blog of your child to share with far away grandparents or your deployed spouse and to also organize your observations.  Second, you can show your children your observations allowing them to see how they have grown and developed over time, or even to help them master a current skill.  This comes in handy when for instance, you are teaching your child how to ride a 2 wheel bicycle and he insists the bike is tipping for no reason.  Showing him a video of himself leaning to one side gives him a chance to see how he can correct his movements and assist in his learning process.

Finally, and most importantly, you can use your new documenting skills when speaking to professionals about your child’s development.  It can be difficult to explain concerns you have about your child, especially if you do not fully understand the behaviors you are concerned about.  But showing documentation you have recorded over time regarding your child’s development will make your discussion with a professional more efficient and make you a better advocate for your child.

KinderJam’s philosophy is that parents are child’s first and best teacher.  Thinking like an early childhood educator will benefit your child and better prepare you for the times you will have to advocate for your little one.  Plus, having extra video of your child’s growth will give you something to watch when he’s a teen ager!

What to Do About Separation Anxiety

http://life2getherblog.com/2010/09/16/on-separation-anxiety/

Separation Anxiety is what your baby may be experiencing if she suddenly begins crying when you leave the room.  This phenomenon, common among children ages 10  to 18 months, correlates with your baby's achievement of the object permanence milestone.

First observed by Jean Piaget, object permanence is when a young infant realizes that an object currently out of view has not disappeared and therefore can be searched for. There are many stages to this milestone.  Your child is showing signs of object permanence when she is interested in games like Peek-A-Boo, Jack-in-the-Box and dropping a ball down a tube.

As exciting as it is to know your young one is reaching milestones, separation anxiety is stressful for parent as well as baby.  There are a number of things you can do to ease the anxiety, such as staying close to baby, leaving baby with a well known caregiver and transitioning her into childcare by taking frequent visits to the facility before your first big day.

When your child shows signs of anxiety, it is very important that you do not sneak out of the room.  This seems to be the easiest fix however, it is counter productive in that it enforces your babies misconception that you have disappeared.  Eventually, your baby will learn that Mommy and Daddy always come back and she is in good hands until you return.  Separation Anxiety is considered a normal stage of development and most children pass this stage by 24 months.

But what to do when the parent is the one with the separation anxiety?  For many mommies, leaving baby behind is a kin to leaving an arm with someone while going out to get some fresh air.  Many adults do not understand this feeling and give advice like, "Leaving the baby is good for her and you," or the not so helpful, "She's in good hands, go relax and have fun."  Separation anxiety in mothers can cause physical symptoms such as shortness of breath and agitation.  Some mothers even report hearing baby cries, making the goal of relaxing very difficult.

No matter what anyone tells you, remember that you are the parent and therefore you know what is best for your child.  If anxiety in either you or your child is causing unwanted stress in your family, it is not "good" to be unnecessarily separated.  This stage will not last forever, in either you or your child, so if staying close to baby is right for you right now, then by all means, cuddle away.

However, if your goal is to have anxiety free outings away from baby, and especially if your goal is to go back to a full time job outside the home, be sure to easy your way into it.  If your or your baby's anxiety is sever enough, you may have to start with a 10 minute walk around the block as a type of dress rehearsal for the big day out.  Ideally, leave baby with a permeant care giver like a grandparent or the babysitter you plan on using for longer outings (leaving your baby with your spouse will not help your anxiety if your goal includes having a date night).  As the anxiety decreases and your able to leave for longer periods of time, plan on doing something you can't do with baby in toe like going dancing with your spouse, taking a Zumba class or getting a massage.

Young childhood will go by so quickly.  Soon your baby will barely hug you in public let alone scream when you leave the room.  Have peace that this phase will pass and be sure to make the most of the time you spend with your little one!

ScienceJam: Bones

Skeletons! They are more than silly Halloween decorations. They are Science! If you celebrate Halloween or not, the overwhelming presents of skeletons around your Exchange, neighborhood or school can be a great opener to discovering Human Anatomy with your young learner.

Children are natural scientists.  They are programed to be curious and discover through play and daily observations.  To “show” your child the bones inside of him, take a moment to examine a paper skeleton you see while walking around.  Have him squeeze his arms, legs or face and ask if he feels something hard.  Explain that the skeleton is what we all look like under our skin.  If your child is interested in the discussion, go on to explain the squishy parts are our muscles and you can even introduce the vocabulary word, “cartilage” by squishing noses and comparing that feeling to the stiffness of bones and the squishy feeling of muscles.

Search the Usborne book site for some great nonfiction books about the human body.  If you feel these books are to high content for your child, try a puzzle.  Both Melissa and Doug and Learning Resources have great floor puzzles for the curious young mind.

Finally, culminate your Halloween home lesson with handmade decorations for the holiday. Check out Family Fun Crafts for some great idea.  Or, for more scientific study about bones, go to Science Kids for games and activities.

AuthorJam: Tomie dePaola

In honor of Halloween, this AuthorJam is dedicated to the creator of my favorite witch, Strega Nona.  The Strega Nona books are a series about “Grandma Witch” a local healer in a small Italian village.  This lovable character brings traditional customs, Italian language and elderly wisdom to American youth through the writings and distinctive illustrations of Tomie dePaola. 

Tomie dePaola is an American children’s writer with Italian and Irish ancestry,  who dreamed of becoming an artist at the age of 4.  He has illustrated over 200 books for children starting with the scientific book Sound in 1965.  These books include board books and Nursery Rhymes for babies, religious, cultural and fantasy picture stories for young readers and autobiographical chapter books for elementary age children.

The artist credits his family for encouraging his talent.  Reading to him at a young age, giving him art supplies as gifts and even converting half the family playroom into his art studio were all supportive ways his extended family helped him to be one of the most recognized illustrators in children’s literature.

About reading, Tomie says that, “reading is the most important thing a parent can do for their child, besides feeding them.”  He goes on to state that parents should read to children as soon as possible and allow them time to observe the illustrations.  He believes that when parents read to their children, there should be physical contact such as sitting on the lap, and that complex stories are the most motivating ways to encourage reading.

For more information about dePaola and access to his work, visit the Tomie dePaola page on amazon.

In this month of goblins and ghosts, remember the words of my favorite witch,

 "You must blow three kisses and the pot will stop.  For that is the Ingrediente Segreto, Love. . . It is the same with all your magic. Always Love!”

Using Environmental Print in Your Teachable Moments

“S-T-O-P spells Stop!”  Repeating this sentence every time you pass a stop sign will help your children learn the rules of the road, and help to create a teachable moment.  Eventually, when your child sees the sign and recites the sentence, you will have your chance to point out the letters, practice the sounds separately and possibly even pick you little one up to touch each letter.  Expanding his learning in this way will allow your child to fully experience the letters and sounds in meaningful way.

Environmental Print is the practical application of print in a child’s daily life.  It is the logos and the street signs  children see each day. This is not reading in the sense that your 2 year old could recognize each letter individually and sound them out. But it is emergent reading because your child is recognizing the picture and associating words with the letters that make that picture.

Use KinderJam’s environmental print scavenger hunt to see just how much environmental print your child can already "read".  What can your child recognize just from the logos on the page?  If the logos used here are not regular occurrences in your daily life, make your own poster at home using wrappers and pictures of things you come across often.  Make sure the whole word is on the wrapper (example: The word Boston Red Sox and not just the trademark B) so the child gets used to seeing the entire word.

After getting into the habit of pointing out print in your daily life such as observing stop signs and over pronouncing the J in Jamba Juice, your child will be ready to learn more. 

Here are some ideas:

When you come across an S while reading a book, say to your child, “That is the same letter on the stop sign! What letter is that?”  

You can cut out all the J’s from the used Jamba Juice cups and glue them on a paper.  You and your child can think of words that start with J and write those words on the page, using the cut out J’s as the first letter.  Make up a tongue twister or use random words.

As your child’s reading skills grow, cut out the letters from logos in chunks or individually.  Use the CH from a Cheerios box and the IN from a Wheat Thins to spell a new word.  

Encouraging reading in daily life is a great way to bring letters and their sounds to life.  Happy Reading!

Using Technology to Keep in Touch

Family separations are never easy. Unfortunately, they are a regular part of military life. Be it deployment related or living 3 time zones away from the closest relative, military kids know the heart ache of long distance relationships.

In the recent years, technology has made many gains that military families greatly benefit from. Here are a few ways you, your little ones and your loved ones can keep in touch using these new advances:

1. Skype and FaceTime:

My favorite use of Skype was watching a Dad participate in a KinderJam birthday party while on deployment in Afghanastan.  Thanks to his wife's iPhone 4, he could watch his little girl Tooty-Ta and she could hand clap while he Woo-Hoo-ed.

Bringing a wifi accessible tablet like an iPad to KinderJam classes, the dinner table or even the first day of school, will allow grandparents and other relatives to meaningfully participate in the lives of your children.

Some go-to Skype conversations we commonly use in our house are: 

A) What was your favorite part of the day?

B) A game called, "I'm thinking of an animal." One person thinks of an animal and everyone  
     else has to guess.

C) How big is the plant? One family planted seeds the day Mommy deployed.  During
     FaceTime conversations, the children showed mom how big the plant was getting while
     she was gone. That way, the kids always had something to talk about with Mom.

2.Video Emails

Because of strenuous work schedules and varying time differences, we can't always Skype when Dad is away. When this happens, I take short messages of the kids during daily activities or special events and email them to our service member. He sends us messages just to say hi and has a special message for each kid (and me).

3. DrawSomething and other drawing apps

My kids love to Play DrawSomething with their aunt. My oldest really tries to guess and create pictures with accuracy. My youngest just likes to make circles. Either way, my sister loves playing and seeing what the kids do. And we all huddle around the iPad to see what she draws.

There are other drawing apps like Doodle Buddy, that allow you to email your drawings to others and apps that let you decorate and email family pictures like Disney's Totally Tangled. 

4. Pre deployment videos:

These are nothing new. Videos of parents reading books before leaving home are a staple of pre deployment preparedness. With recent advances in built in cameras, personal videos are easy to record on a laptop, smartphone or tablet. 

Because of its recent incline in popularity, the video message isn't just for deploying active duty anymore.  One mother recorded grandparents blowing kisses to her baby.  She showed baby the messages over and over and when they were reunited, mother reported that her little one did not show the stranger anxiety that is common for one year olds around new adults.

5.  Record-your-voice toys:

Personalized dolls and toys are more accessible now as well. Hallmark carries recordable books that allow people to record themselves reading.  The book plays the recording as the child turns the page and the reader can add personal messages to the child.

You can also order a personalized BuildABear using a "say it with sound" chip.  These chips can even be ordered over the internet. The person making the recording just needs to call in the special message.

These recent advances in technology have been nothing short of a miracle for the separated family.  Creating strong bonds with the important adults in a child's life is curial for later development in self esteem, social emotional well being and academic success.  For the child, keeping in touch with family members brings a smile to their face and memories in their hearts.  And that deserves a big Woo-Hoo!http://imgur.com/gallery/PjtBd

Play, Learning and Intentionality

Play is the fundamental way children learn, but it is not automatic.  Play itself is learned.  Young children observe others, such as siblings, neighbors or classmates. In the absence of playmates, children rely on adults for opportunities to interact with the world.  This observation, made by Deborah Leong, professor of Emertia of Psychology at Metropolitan State College in Denver,  is illustrated when a younger sibling attempts skills the older sibling just acquired.  Similarly, the parent who reports, “He doesn’t really know how to play with other kids.  He spends most of his time with us.”

So now that you know your child has his little scientist glasses on, observing you and others around him, making sense of the world and how to interact in it, how will you fill your day?  What opportunities for learning will you introduce in your child’s play?

Of course, many sources discuss “teachable moments.”  These are the times when your child is quiet and interested in what you have to say.  When you can pour knowledge directly onto your little one’s sponge of a brain.  Moments like these are found at the grocery store when a child asks, “Where does milk come from?” and you can actually answer him because he is sitting in the cart, attending to your every word. 

But you can’t count on teachable moments to appear out of no where.  What if they never come? What if I’m changing the baby’s diaper the moment my daughter wants to discuss quantum physics?  As parents, we must plan for teachable moments.  The National Association of the Education of Young Children refers to intentionality as the processes in which the teacher sets up her environment, curriculum, schedule and playtime with the intentions of instructing a particular topic.

When using intentionality in your parenting, children will of course take the lessons beyond what you had planned. That is the marvel of the creative mind.  An example of intentionality is when a parent takes her child to KinderJam.  You intend that the KJ class will include letters and numbers in an exciting way.  You are prepared to help your child count the 5 monkeys on his finger and to search letters on a letter mat.  The teachable moment  is when, for the first time, your child finds the letter G and says, “G is for Grandma.” You will be there to add, “That’s right! G has 2 sounds.  G in Grandma and G in Giraffe.  Do you remember going to the zoo and seeing a giraffe with Grandma?”  

Always remember that you are your child’s first and best teacher.  The bond you have with your little one qualifies you in a unique way to customize every learning opportunity just for her.  Treat playtime as learning time and have as much of it as possible!