A fun and meaningful way to learn about letters

Kindergarten and grade one students engage in many letter learning activities at home and school, and this video is an excellent example of a fun and meaningful way to do so. By using photos of family members and tactile letter stickers, kids will have fun doing the activity and learning about letters at the same time. The book used in the video is similar in structure to the alphabet book used in the Reading Recovery program and kindergarten and primary classrooms to help children consolidate what they already know about letters, and add to as they learn more.

In the attached video, this fun activity was done in alphabetical order as a gift for a child. It can be an interactive, instructional, letter learning activity as well. This activity works best with one child at a time, but can be done in pairs or small groups.

Creating a personal alphabet book:

Preparation:

• Get the book ready ahead of time, with a page dedicated to each letter, and the upper and lower case version of that letter written on the page before beginning the activity
• Have ready access to a large collection of images, whether it be photos, clip art, flyers, coloring books, stamps, stickers or the internet, or be prepared to do some drawing! It is helpful to have a photo of the child, mom, dad, siblings and a pet prepared ahead of time
• Materials such as scissors, glue stick and markers should also be handy

Explaining the process to the child:

• making a book takes time, and it will take a number of different days to create this very personal alphabet book
• the first letters to do are the ones the child knows best, perhaps his or her name, then some others
• when the child sees the letter, or hears that letter sound, the word that pops into his or her head right away is what the picture should show
• this book will be special because no one else will choose the same pictures for each letter, the pictures are individual to the child who creates the book
• the pictures that go into the book have to match the sound of the letter on the page (for vowels, the short letter sound, and try to avoid combination sounds and exceptions)
• once all of the known letters are finished, it is time to stop and ‘read’ the story so far

Following the initial creation of the alphabet book, the adult and child will read what is in the book, and select another one to three pages to add a picture to each day. There may be a letter that is too difficult, or unrecognizable to the child at that time. Name that letter and sound for him, give a couple of quick examples, then leave it for another day.

Children learn best when they are happily engaged in what they are doing, and when they have their own sound alphabet that they have created from the words and names most meaningful to them, they gain confidence in their memory of letter sounds and using these sounds, with and later, without, their alphabet book. It is the ultimate reference guide for the early readers and writers of the world!

A letter learning book filled with photos of family members, stamps, stickers and drawings of one’s favorite things, can you think of a more fun and meaningful way to learn about letters?

Do you remember letter learning from your own childhood? How are things different for your own child(ren)?

Source: https://himama.com 

Locomotor Skills: basic but essential

Locomotor Skills
Every youngster Deserves to Master Them

If you watch your own child at play, keep a mental checklist as you observe their basic skills:

1.  Can they hand from a safe bar with both hands?
2.  Can they climb a ladder suing both hands and feet well?
3.  Can they hop, on one leg, for 15 seconds?
4.  Can they jump, using both feet/legs evenly, to an APART position and stop there, in balance?
5.  Can they roll, on the floor or grass, while keeping their body long and straight, like a log?
6.  With feet side-by-side, can they move forward, for three JUMPS and freeze then?
7.  Can they sit on the floor, supporting their body with hands on floor behind their 'bottoms' and lift both straight legs 24" [60 cm.] off the floor and HOLD for 3 seconds?

This short list is just a start for you to shift from nurturing parent to gentle guide as children play before your eyes.

The basic locomotor skills are those 'steps' that get us from 'here' to 'there'! These movements include:

•  Walking
•  Running
•  Hopping [one leg lifted-non-weight bearing]
•  Jumping [two legs in use]
•  Galloping: shoulders squared to the direction of motion: one foot forward constantly
•  Sliding: coordinated steps to 'side': one shoulder leads to one direction: feet close together, briefly, then 1 foot steps to side.
•  Leaping: 'air move' taking off from one foot and landing on the opposite foot.
•  Skipping: a combination of a step forward and a hop on that lead foot.

Next time you make time to get your youngsters to the playground or just out in the yard: watch for these movements and IF there are a few that need a few words of suggestion: Do it!

10 Strategies to Build Fundamental Movement Skills in Preschoolers

1. Create opportunities. This can include field trips, looking for playgrounds to explore, finding open fields for free play.
2. Weave words into physical activities: directions, qualities of movement [like a bear, be light on your feet, slow motion]. There are the names: of body positions, parts of the body, names of play equipment to be learned.
3. Play dumb: when your child asks for something or needs a supporting hand, ask them be name the help they need or the place they want to go: slide, ladder, swing. This will encourage their use of more words to try and express their needs with precise terms.
4. Give choices: It a child is not very talkative, a great way to evoke expressive language is to give two choices. It the child still stumbles on selecting a choice, say: "OK, I will choose for you!". Then pick a choice the child may not prefer. Next time the child will likely state his choice quickly.
5. Ask Open-ended questions: Yes/no questions only get one-word responses. Example, don't ask, "Did you have fun today?" Ask, What did you do today?"
6. Acknowledge the communication you like: Lots of positive feedback will keep them motivated and trying to move in new ways!
7. Give them some responsibilities with directions: Move right now. Little kids want to be treated like BIG kids! For example, let them set up a yard game: baseball, or ask them to get a piece of play equipment: frisbee, hoop, jump rope. Describe where the piece is stored.
8. Occasionally change the WAY a game is played: Don't do this all the time because kids thrive on routine. However, it is a great way to spark some input from kids when you change the way you normally do things.
9. Use Humor and be SILLY! the work of children is to have fun! When they have fun, they are more likely to take in and retain new information. They will also be willing to try new things in new ways: exploring movements: how can you climb over this object.
10. Allow natural consequences to occur but with caution: This works on building cause-and-effect awareness. The awareness of heights, speed and hazards can be easily pointed out in playground settings.

Source: https://blog.himama.com

Play Times Plus Preschoolers: A Magnetic Connection!

10 Strategies to Nurture Movement Development

New brain development research gives caregivers and parents insights into the many connections between playing and the opportunities for learning.

We also know that the terrific benefits children gain during their play times:

• Improves fitness and health
• Allow developing friends
• Offers great tools for social skills development: taking turns, sharing, and working together.
• Encourages satisfying experiences to develop self-confidence.
• Practice fundamental movements to embed these tasks to a subconscious, automated motion.
• Improve coordination and ability to control body both in place and in motion.

The studies show that there are "prime times' during which the brain is efficient at specific types of learning. For the preschoolers, those observable changes in movement we call fundamental movement skills are so important.

Those set of abilities:

1. Body management: balance in place, landing in control, stretching
2. Locomotor steps: run, skip, leap, hop, slide, gallop, jump
3. Controlling objects: swing, toss, catch, strike, targeting

These abilities provide satisfaction and self-confidence for youngsters, as well as contribute to their physical development AND cognitive development.

With some early guidance and gentle feedback, this educational path happens:

Learn to Move Move to Learn Learn to LEARN

Children do NOT pick up fundamental skills naturally as part of their normal growth and development. Instruction, formal training and informal modeling, facilitate gains in motor skill development.

Importantly, the training and teaching yields growth in the underlying mechanisms of the brain that results in movement behavior changes. This is motor development, based within the individual's neurological system.

Parents and caregivers can regards these teaching methods, scientifically and educationally:

The more guided practice times a child has the stronger the motor patterns will e embedded into their neural circuitry. The off-loading of conscious movement performance to a subconscious or automatic execution of a simple task then allows new tasks to be chosen and integrated into movement skills.

Kids love to move. Seek recognition from others through their skill displays, as well are able to join with other children in enjoyable activities, when they have some degree of movement competency.

Fundamental movement skills enable physical activity. Quality education [not fancy] can teach these skills to youngsters~ best in the ages between 3 and 7 years old.

Try to use these strategies to integrate PLAY and learning! Many of the best learning experiences come when children [and adults] are engaged in activities that they enjoy and care about.

Preschoolers: Move to Learn!

Kids need nudging to master basic movement abilities.

The simple and fundamental skills:

• locomotion
• body control
• handing by hands
• support by hands
• swinging
• leaving the ground and landing well

must be trained by a series of progression and successful experiences. A youngster's trial and error experiences with moving their body: from Point A to Point B, builds a connection between body and mind.

Each moment forms a link in that child's brain and muscles. Creating a storehouse of successful "I Can DO That!" physical activities cultivates the habit of enjoying movement.

The 21st century's pace and limited exposure to the out-of-doors and play opportunities almost makes a caregiver for a youngster wonder: how can I help my child build those great moments of achievement?

In the process of moving a child learns and stores valuable information. The movement skills are essential but larger, the establishment and further stimulation of the pathways between mind and muscle create neural pathways.

Later, in school, as well as in daily living, those pathways can be reused for transmitting information along the early established roadway. The wealth of the brain depends on lots of brain cells being engaged by the: under five population.

• Learn to Move
• Move to Learn
• Learn to LEARN

Today, consider using this simple movement lesson Manual: 

Making Muscles 5. The simple task builds those body-mind connections and offers a lifetime of enjoyment of physical activity.

Task 22: Snake Slither!

During this activity, you child will try to isolate motion. With placing weight on their arms, they will shift body support from bend arms to extended arms as they 'slither' on the ground. This idea will encourage good body control as well as build coordination and strength. In the 6 Kidskills Manuals, a teacher or parent can follow simple progressions to encourage fundamental movement abilities for preschoolers.

Source: https://www.himama.com

Early learning meets summer fun

Summer is an ideal time to promote coincidental early learning through fun activities. Instead of being concerned about the dreaded ‘summer slide’, parents are wise to find purpose in play with life skills developed naturally, given the right opportunities.

All year at school, kids have been given leveled books for their group to read, and a once-a-week trip to the school library. Now they have an opportunity to choose the stories they want to enjoy themselves. There is time to dwell on the pictures, find Waldo, listen to a favorite storyteller or simply daydream about how the book might end.

Children have spent ten months practicing words for spelling tests, writing what they have been told to write about in various subjects in order to cover a demanding curriculum, and having to edit their work. Now they have a chance to be free of writing rules for a while.

Math has been done in a busy classroom, in a specific time frame, each unit ending with a test. What if there were other activities that used these same skills, outside of the classroom?

How many lemonade stands are in business today? The iced-tea stand run by an Aurora, Ontario second grade student has steady business on the weekends it is open, and for an eight year-old, his ability to identify, add and make change with coins is impressive. Recently he has been graphing the sales to work out the most popular flavors of iced tea so he’ll have enough stock on hand for the holiday weekend. He takes great pride in his business because he’s got a job like his dad (on his own terms).

Check out the attached list for some more examples of how reading, writing and math get a fun summer workout without feeling like school.

Welcome to summer, everyone!

Reading

Summer is a time to forget that there ever was such a thing as reading levels. It’s a time for browsing in libraries and bookstores, flipping through books and magazines outdoors and losing track of time.

Perhaps there will be an opportunity to share family tales passed from down through generations over a campfire, or at the cottage. Maybe some classics of yesteryear have been republished (or packed away) and it’s time they make their comeback. The important thing is that the reading time is fun, and does not feel like homework.

Writing

Writing gets easier with repetition, and more difficult with neglect. A child who writes regularly and for real purposes gets motivated practice without being conscious of the fact he ‘practicing’ at all - especially when he is engaged in a fun activity. Communicating on a computer is still considered writing.

A child who is composing an email to a friend or relative still has to formulate a message with a purpose, have a writer’s ‘voice’, ensure that what she is writing makes sense, sounds right and is spelled in a way that looks right (phonetically). She will probably be aware of the need for spaces between the words, and possibly punctuation. A child who sees her parents using a computer or phone to send texts or emails will be very interested in mimicking this ‘grown-up’ behaviour.

Imagine all of the activities that involve writing for fun: role-playing, planning adventures, making up games. The possibilities are endless!

Math

There are all kinds of ways to slip math concepts into a child’s day in the name of fun. Lego and video games such as Minecraft and Flow come to mind. Cooking and baking introduce fractions and measurement. Building with blocks and talking about the structures and shapes is geometry. Consider the geometry in art. To draw a house, start with a square or rectangle, add a triangle for the roof.

Counting activities are fun when they include treats, especially treats to be shared equally. If a child is looking forward to an outing, that child will be motivated to learn about time by watching the clock. Kids who are saving their money for something learn much the same way. Monopoly Junior is excellent for learning about money, while Snakes and Ladders presents an opportunity to practice counting, and having conversations about addition and subtraction.