Archive: Early Education

5 Ways You’re Probably Already Prepping Your Child for Preschool

It’s never too early to start preparing your little one for the big transition into preschool. It’s important to stimulate their minds so that they’re ready to jump in and start their schooling. You’re probably already prepping your child, even if you didn’t realize it.

Play outside.

Exploring the outdoors not only creates adventure, but it’s your child’s first science class. Digging in dirt, feeding birds and rolling around in the grass sparks his or her interest in the natural world. Think of it as a basic bio lab.

Read a bedtime story.

There’s no better way to promote literacy than reading out loud to your child. Try choosing two bedtime books. That way, one can be an old favorite that they’ve probably memorized, but the other can be a new story with unfamiliar, stimulating sentences.

Set play dates.

Play dates are socializing practice for the real world. In preschool, your child will be surrounded by other little ones. He or she will have to play, share, take turns and interact with their classmates so learning these skills in a more one-on-one environment is a great start.

Play dress-up.

Running around in a pretend princess dress isn’t just a good time. It’s helping shape your toddler’s thought process. Playing pretend is your child’s first attempt at abstract thinking.

Finger paint.

Or draw. Or color. Or use watercolors. Art allows for expression, creativity and color recognition. And who knows, maybe you’re painting with the next Picasso.

Sources:

Fliess, Sue. “How Playing Dress-Up Shapes Your Child.” Education.com <http://www.education.com/magazine/article/How_Dress_Shapes_Your_Child/>

Rabkin, Rachel. “Prepare Your Toddler for Preschool.” Parents.com. <http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/starting-preschool/preparing/activities/>

Teaching Toys for Tots

As technology advances, teaching toddlers gets more engaging, hands-on and involved. What we learned with an old-fashioned pencil and paper, our children are learning on computers. While kids beginning elementary school often come to mind when we think of educational technology for children, toys for even the youngest munchkins have caught up with the 21^st century. Check out some of the highest-rated techy toys for babies and tots:

Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Letters Mailbox

For babies 6-36 months

Price: $30

Highlights:

• The mailbox’s flag uses songs and phrases to help babies learn opposites.
• The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Letters Mailbox features more than 20 songs for your baby to sing along to.
• Let’s face it- the goofy mailbox calendar is just plain cute. Who can resist that grin?

Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Boppin’ Activity Bugs

For babies 6 months+

Price: $15

Highlights:

• Babies push, slide and turn the toy’s brightly colored bugs to learn basic motor skills.
• The different bugs keep little fingers busy and different noises keep little ears engaged.
• The varied textures help babies differentiate bugs and motions, making movement learning a breeze.

Letter Factory Phonics

For ages:2+

Price: $20

Highlights:

• The Letter Factory Phonics teaches sounds and letters through songs to build early literary skills.
• It’s both portable and durable, ideal for toddlers on the go.
• It’s sounds are repetitive enough to teach tots, but not so repetitious that the songs get stuck in your head for hours.

LeapFrog My Own Leaptop

For ages 2+

Price: $25

Highlights:

• This imitation computer teaches the alphabet, music, animals and computer literacy through the laptop-like model.
• It connects to the internet and comes with eight different email messages that can be personalized.
• Make your child a custom playlist by downloading songs of your choice to the LeapFrog Leaptop.

Why We Love PBS

Sure we love Arthur and Clifford, but TV shows with cute animals isn’t the only reason we love PBS. PBS has perfected fun education by producing interactive activities and even developing it’s own learning initiative program.

Ways PBS is helping tots and preschoolers:

Early learning for children through the Ready to Learn Program
The Ready to Learn (RTL) program’s goal is to narrow the achievement gap in education. RTL, a partnership between PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Congress and the U.S. Department of Education, uses media to promote math and literacy education, especially for at-risk kids.

While a lot of the RTL program is geared toward older kids, PBS dedicates a special commitment to early education. The program uses educational content in its media to make learning fun. Both math and literacy skills framework, based on state guidelines, help direct RTL television content, such as Curious George and Sid the Science Kid. The framework also influences RTL educational video and computer games.

Educational computer games
Computer games on PBS Kid’s website are engaging for kids, but also promote learning. The Cat in the Hat’s Sketch-a-Mite teaches shape recognition through drawing, while the Hermit Shell Crab Game demonstrates measurement by having the kids match crabs into the right sized shells. Dinosaur Train Camera Catch’s flying dinosaurs instill pattern recognition in children 3 to 5 years. With scores of free, educational games, and a large portion of them for preschoolers, PBS makes learning more fun than ever.

PBS Parents
PBS doesn’t just cater to the tots. It has its own section for parents, filled with recipes, game ideas and crafts. Read up on how to make yummy (and simple!) chocolate bark. Learn how to make crystallized snowflakes out of pipe cleaners. But it’s not all crafts and treats in PBS’s parent corner. The site offers helpful advice on everything from building confidence in girls to helping your little ones eat healthier.

Sources:
–PBS.org
–PBSkids.org

Attached Image License: Some Rights Reserved image source

Lack of Early Education…a National Security Issue?

Lt. Gen. Norman r. Seip has a very interesting take on the need for early education. He believes that the lack of focus on early education is a national security issue. His reasoning?  National security isn’t about aircraft carriers it’s about having enough qualified women and men to fly them.  He says that “75 percent of young Americans are unable to qualify for military service, primarily because they are too poorly educated, physically unfit, or have a criminal record”.  That’s stunningly high.  Check out the article here for the full story.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/education/270897-prioritize-investments-n-early-learning

Our Latest Preschool Activities

We’ve had a lot of fun lately doing activities with the kiddos and wanted to share them with you. Try our latest preschool activities with your kids this weekend or after school!

Learn how to draw your hand in 3D using this simple optical illusion technique.

Painting with balloons gives your child a new squishy, flexible tool to work with.

A bunch of ideas for teaching your child about the five senses.

Recipe for how to make flubber.  This stuff has an amazing consistency and isn’t as messy as it looks. :)

This is an adorable printmaking idea that your kids will love.  I want to try this on canvas next time!

Fun little science project that’s easy, you probably have everything you need on hand, and the kids get to keep their experiment to play with.

We made this as a gift for my mother’s garden.  She loved it and was surprised at how easy it was to replicate this project.

I am totally fascinated by spin art.  My kids could do it for hours because each piece turns out different.

Cute printable coloring page for your little friendship bracelet makers.  Just in time to start the school year.

Looking for a gift idea for grandparents?  This one is perfect.  Click through to see how to make this reverse hand print artwork.

Also be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest to get your daily preschool activities!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday – Highlands Recreation District Early Education

Last Friday, Chaz and I visited Highlands Recreation District’s Early Education Center in San Mateo, CA.  Here are a few of my favorite things from the day.

Little Minds, Big Development

Early Childhood Brain Development

We believe early education and care is important – that’s pretty obvious. But, even with all the time we’ve spent around early education and care, we are still amazed at the power of a child’s mind. It is what makes early education so important. The Harvard Center on the Developing Child has a great graph that reminded me how truly amazing these little minds are if we nurture them right.

Early education matters

How are you fueling your child’s development?