4 Grown-Ups

A Grandma Connects!

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Today a fellow educator, friend, and most importantly a grandmother to two very young children and one on the way, described to me how she is using the activities from Creative Connections for Kids.

1) She reads the blog. 🙂

2) Being a teacher, she has several of the books that are mentioned and sometimes has more than one copy. Teachers love books! (Books can also be purchased used on Amazon.)

3) She purchases the prepaid mailing envelopes or boxes at the post office; gathers the book, supplies and mails the activity to her granddaughter.  Her granddaughter (who is around two years) happily recognizes that the packages are from Grandma when they arrive.

I love how she is staying connected to her grandkids!

That is the point of this blog, connecting with the little people in your life: your children, your grandchildren, the kids you babysit, your nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbor’s kids.

Grandparents ~ Today it is likely that you do not live near your children and grandchildren. I encourage you to make the effort to develop and maintain a relationship with your grandchildren. Take a moment to pick up the phone and call them, text them, send them a card, email them, Facebook them (We know some of you are on Facebook!) or send them a package of goodies like Sue. It is up to you to begin and maintain the effort. I encourage you to take initiative.

Grandparents sometimes say, “I don’t know what to say”. Ask them questions about their life and what they are doing. When grandkids are older, grandparents say, “I don’t want to bother them.” If you don’t ‘bother them’ every few weeks it can be misinterpreted that you don’t care. Just a few minutes on the phone to ask them what is happening in their life shows concern and caring for them.

Our world is complex, and often our family relationships are complex and difficult. I understand. But again, I encourage you to connect with the children in your life.

Sue ~ Thank you for sharing your story with me and with others!

My wonderful daughter and awesome grandmother…connecting!

Baby Myth Busters

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John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist. He is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University.

I have read his book Brain Rules.  While I don’t agree with his basic evolutionary premises, I thoroughly enjoy reading the research and the practical application of his findings.  I will soon be ordering his book Brain Rules for Babies.

Here is John describing some Baby Myth Busters:

For the birds!

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Is it cold and snowy where you live? If so, this winter post is for you:

It is another snow day! Seven inches. 13 degrees. I know that isn’t much snow nor is it very cold for some parts of the world. But in our neck of the woods, school has been canceled. Making a bird feeder is perfect way to pass the time on a snowy day.

To make a bird feeder take a quick look around the kitchen and see what you have on hand. This is what I found at our house:

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A great read for grown-ups: “Mind in the Making” by Ellen Galinsky

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Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs is a practical summary of seven researched based life skills that children need to be successful and to reach their full potential. Ellen Galinsky describes in-depth research and provides simple activities that support the development of these skills. The seven skills are: 1) focus and self control; 2) perspective taking; 3) communicating; 4) making connections; 5) critical thinking;  6) taking on challenges; and 7) self directed, engaged learning.

This books encourages me to reflect on my practice as a parent educator. Activities can’t be just ‘cute’. They need to teach a skill or concept that will support learning. A component of my role is to explain to parents how and why a certain activity is important. Mind in the Making is a reminder that the ultimate goal is for a child to become a well-rounded and productive adult. The great thing about children is that they learn from independent play and interacting with others. Providing simple activities and time together are building blocks to learning.

Added 1/9/11

Focus and Self Control

This video of Walter Mischel’s The Marshmallow Test is an example focus and self-control. Studies show that if a child can delay gratification and manage frustration at 4 years they are less likely to become involved in drugs, bullying, have a higher level of education, and have a higher self-esteem. More details can be found in the video.

Mommy post…My Girls Painted Their Bathroom

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When my girls were in high school. I came home and they had painted their bathroom without consultation or supervision. It was crazy:

Here is another wall. I’ve been told that I can get $30 on ebay for the 1970s switch plate.

Here is another wall.

Being conservative, organized and minimalistic, I was very tempted to have a coronary, scold, and say “Go buy some Kilz!”.  But I managed to keep my rantings to myself.  I am so glad I did!

My youngest now has a degree in  art and illustration. She has designed my business cards for work which are adorable.  She created the current header and logo for the blog. Someday I’ll share her bearded hat! I love it.

My eldest completed a degree in art and design. She designed many buttons and graphics for this blog and the orginal headers and logo. Here are some of her pieces from college. This one was painted with sticks and leaves:

 

The following are copies of  ‘master’ artists. They were painted to complete assignments for her classes; not for financial gain.

This one is still a work in progress:

 

 

They are both wonderful fine artists, but more importantly to this mom, both are  employed as graphic designers and make a living creating art!

So what is the moral of this ‘story’:

1) Stand back. Let your kids create.

2) Teach them to clean up their mess. This is very important to someone like me who doesn’t like messy clutter.

3) When they are older keep things in perspective. My girls weren’t out partying, they just painted their bathroom. No biggie.

To my girls ~ thanks for letting me share your story!

Have fun, make a memory because they grow up so fast!

Kristi

Wait! Don’t throw that box away! It could be a….

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I hope you have had a fabulous Christmas! Many times we buy great, wonderful gifts and the boxes gets more play time than the toys that were inside. That’s what happened to me the other day. I went on a home visit and took a box with puzzles.  My little guy emptied the box and climbed inside. He played in that box for nearly the entire visit.

Don’t throw away that left over Christmas box. Have some good, cheap fun.

All you need is: box cutter, packing tape, and wrapping paper tubes

Your children can use: crayons, markers, paper, and glue to add flowers, dashboards, hub caps, and etc…

While I have given ideas below the main point is this:

Work with your preschooler! Talk to them about what they would like to build and create. Let them guide you. Remember it’s not the product, it the process of creating the product that creates the learning.

Make an airplane.

This is a luggage box. Stand it on end and cut a flap that lifts up. Then using packing tape, tape it from under the flap, pulling it up, and fastening the tape on the top to make a wing.

Cut a fin out of some cardboard and tape it to the back.

Cut an opening for the cockpit.  Cut a propeller from wrapping paper tubes, then tape them together.

Then tape the propeller  to the front of the front of the plane.

You can make a jeep!

Here is another suitcase box. Lay it flat on the floor. With a box cutter, cut out the windshield.

Fold it back so that it will stand up.

Cut the doors so you and your friends can climb in together.

Using cups and plates add headlights and wheels.

Invite a friend to play.

Build a house!

This is a large box that 2 pieces of luggage arrived in; however, you can use a dishwasher or stove box.

You can cut doors windows anyway you like. We made windows with a capital-I cut, so there would be shutters.

On the back we made a large flap with a window. I like the flap so things can be easily inserted and removed from the house. It also gives light and flexibility.

Throw some pillows and books inside for a great place to read!

Your children can embellish, decorate all of the above creations using crayons, markers, paper and glue.

We had a great time on this beautiful snowy Christmas break day.  Here is my excellent crew!

Have fun together!

Books and Babies

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When should you introduce books to your child?  Right from the start.  Here are some ideas for using books with babies:
  • Prop a high contrast board book (such as Tana Hobin’s Black and White)  in your child’s crib so that she can gaze at the pictures.
  • When your baby is on her tummy, prop a board book in front of her so that she has something to look at.
  • Snuggle with your baby as you look at a book together. Talk to her about the pictures.
  • Have cloth or vinyl books within reach of your baby so she can grasp, mouth, and manipulate the pages.

My favorite books for babies 0 to 4 months:

Tana Hobin – “Black on White”,  “White on Black”,  and “Black and White” These books are great for the youngest of babies because of their high contrast pictures. “Black and White” is an accordion book that can be used for tummy time.

Charles G. Shaw – “It Looked Like Spilt Milk“ This is another high contrast book that is great for infants, but is also enjoyed by school age children as well. It has a predictable and repetitive story line.

Thanks for reading!