December 2019

-
Batteries Not Needed
        
We’ve all seen it happen.  A child unwraps a gift and becomes more interested in the box than the toy!  A big box can be a boat, a car, a gingerbread house, a cave, or whatever a child imagines.  It is not only typical but also important for preschoolers to play make-believe. 
Here are a couple of short articles about the importance of pretend play for 3-5 year-old children and choosing educational toys:
          
Some of the best gifts for children are imagination-powered rather than battery-powered.
Listed below are a few toys that encourage pretend play and creativity and are loved by preschoolers:

  • Animal figure sets
  • Art supplies (blank paper, paint, markers, etc,)
  • Balls
  • Dolls
  • Dress-up clothes/costumes
  • Lego DUPLO blocks
  • Magna-Tiles or Magformers (magnetic building blocks)
  • Magnetic/toy letters, numbers, and shapes
  • Play-dough
  • Puppets
  • Puzzles
  • Rainbow stacker building toys
  • Tricycles/riding toys
  • Wooden blocks
From all of us at Don Earl Early Childhood Center, have a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creating the perfect environment to improve behavior

-
Image
Welcome to another school year!  Each month we will post a new topic on our blog. At open house we handed out PBS Parent Packets.  Some of you might be thinking, what is PBS?  PBS is short for Positive Behavior Support.  We have been implementing PBS in our building for 10 school years.  PBS is a proactive approach to systematically teaching and responding to behavior in a positive and consistent way and providing support and interventions as needed.  This is a 3 tiered model.  This year for our blog topics, we are going to dive into Tier 1- our universals and give you tips on how you can incorporate some of this at home.  The first tip of the year is the quote (there is a visual below): “The goal of Positive Behavior Support is not “perfect children”. Rather the goal should be creating the perfect environment for enhancing their growth.”- Randy Sprick. For example, in a classroom setting if there is a book shelf right next to the circle time rug and students are pulling books off the
Read more

February- Stress Management

-
Stress Management Stress is a normal reaction to challenges and changes and an inevitable part of all of our lives – even our kids! Some stress can be a good thing, but overwhelming stress can be damaging to your health and have negative effects on parenting skills. It’s good to have some tricks up your sleeve for trying times! https://adrenalfatiguesolution.com/parenting-stress/ http://www.parenting-ed.org/handouts/stress_management.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJiUUbxyZ78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJiUUbxyZ78 FUN FACT: Parents who are more sensitive to their infants’ needs and respond quickly to emotional cues tend to raise children who are better at regulating their own emotions. Successfully managing your own stress is vital to being responsive to your children! DID YOU KNOW? There are free programs available for parents that provide counseling, resource linkage and hands on training to help ensure healthy children and healthy families. For m
Read more

March

-
Hi all!! While we are all stuck inside, we thought we could share ideas and resources on how to build fine motor skills in our little learners! Enjoy and stay safe and healthy! Fine Motor Skills in Preschool The words, “fine motor skills” is a phrase we hear often. It is something that has been around for a long time, so what’s the hype about now? What’s the big deal? The term, “fine motor skills,” refers to the coordinated use of the small muscles in our hands and fingers to perform everyday tasks. If you think back to when you were a kid, you may remember going outside, playing with toys, drawing, doing puzzles, etc. While kids today still do those things, there is one big difference…technology.   Technology is a wonderful invention, and iPads provide wonderful resources for learning as well as accessibility. However, it is now more important than ever that we be intentional about providing kids with opportunities for fine motor skill development. Recent research shows an
Read more