Happy New Year! As we welcome a new year, we often think about how we can improve the quality of our lives. If you would like some tips about what you can do to help your children in 2011, I want to offer some suggestions of ways you can work on essential skills while getting quality time with your children...without them knowing it!
"Are we there yet?"
The car is your friend.
1. For a short ride offer the approximate countdown of how long until you arrive. Count with your child up to 60 to see if it took more/less than a minute. Or, if you can concentrate while driving, see how many times you need to count to 60 before arriving.
2. Count backwards as you pull into the street of the destination like a shuttle countdown, from 20, 10, or 5. It makes the arrival very exciting.
3. For longer rides, do an Alphabet Scavenger hunt: See who can spot their ABCs first, take turns finding letters, or play as a team of letter detectives.
4. I spy: Try to give clues that describe the attributes (e.g. size, color, shape) of the object or features of the word (e.g. starts with sound/letter, rhymes with _ ) or how you use it.
5. For rides around town, point out traffic signs and practice reading the words, noticing the shapes/colors, and and why they are important in the community. Talk about landmarks that are close to your home (library, store, park, street names, etc.) that might allow your child to recognize when they are close to home.
6. Sing! Music is loaded with rhymes and candence that is helpful for kids to practice and is just fun. Try to guess the next line to each other's songs. Make up your own words that rhyme to change to song into a silly family favorite.
The more entertained the kids are, the less trouble they will be for you. You just might enjoy the ride, too!
*Special Requests for winter: Please send in boxes of tissues. In the cold season, we are going through lots of them. We would love any donations you can offer. Please bring in extra clothes for your children in the event that he/she has an accident or gets clothing wet during outdoor recess.
Thanks!
