Fun Activities For preschoolers

During these cold days and what feels like a very long winter a little "pick me up" activity with your child/children either at home or in a child care setting helps the February blahs!
some ideas: A favorite of mine and most children is the good ole fashion pulling out every blanket in the closet and all the kitchen chairs, stools and whatever else you can find and making a big fort. Children love this activity and will most likely play in it for most of the day.
Adding some snacks, a flashlight and a few books can also keep it interesting.
Another idea is letting the children play with their cars, or other vehicles in some flour (this is a messy activity but lots of fun!) the children can make tire tracks or use construction vehicles to pretend they are digging out snow.
Have a beach day and let them dress up in their summer clothes or bathing suit, pull out a beach ball and have a little picnic on the floor with a blanket, add a few teddy bears for fun.

These are all great opportunities for social time, language skills, and some good ole creative fun!

Dealing with aggressive children

Dealing with Difficult children is a huge challenge in today's child care field.
There are policies to follow and behavior management guidelines to abide by. The question remains are there more and more children with special needs today? Or have we taken all of the options of discipline away from the adult and therefor have run out of ideas on how to handle difficult behaviors? So it feels like there are more difficult children.
Parents alike are at a loss as to what to do with difficult children.
Years ago time out was given to children. (As seen on the Nanny show) Where you can sit a child on a time out to think about their behavior, this is no longer allowed in some centers.
I personally think there are no consequences for children anymore and they know this. On that note I must add in my experience the difficult children have in many cases been the bright children. I have had children tell me, "what are you going to do about it, there is nothing you can do".
Looking back I doubt that an extended time out harmed a child, however it became over used.
To avoid further aggressive behavior in a child during the out burst my suggestion would be do not deal with the actual problem until the child has settled down. An example would be two children having a fight, the aggressive one started the fight and hurt the other child, the teacher walks up to the aggressive child of-course feeling frustrated and using a firmer tone and the aggressive child escalates even more therefor becoming physical with the teacher or who ever is in the path. A calming period needs to be first, depending on the situation and the person, some children will calm with a hug, some will calm with changing the subject. I have found for myself the less talking the better because the child is not in the frame of mind to even listen as they are still angry and frustrated. Once the calming period is over discuss with the child and who ever else may have been involved what they could have done differently to avoid the incident.
If an injury has occurred and ice was needed get the child to hold the ice pack on the injured to help the healing, this action speaks louder then the word sorry that we usually make the child say but does not actually mean it.
Tip For The Day: Stay calm yourself, remind yourself that this is a child who needs your help to get out of a bad situation that they have put themselves in.

When arriving at work in the morning try to put a smile on your face. I find greeting people in the morning helps to put me in a work frame of mind even if I dont feel like talking to anyone. Greeting co-workers and greeting parents is important.
When a child arrives at Daycare in the morning be ready for whatever mood walks through the door because your not sure what went on at home before the child arrived. Make no opinions of the parenting skills and if you have an opinion definitely keep the thought to yourself.
Help the parent as much as you can and the child during drop off especially if the child is having a hard time, a special transitional toy may be of some use or simply taking the child in your arms. If the child and the parent are both upset suggest to the parent to give a kiss and walk away as quickly as possible (I know it is easier said then done) most children will settle quickly once the parent is out of sight. If it makes the parent feel better suggest them turning the corner and listening or calling during the day to make sure everything is fine.
It is harder on the parent sometimes when dropping off the child because the parent will think about it for the whole day while away from the child, guilt somehow always seems to take over as a parent, yet the child who is always so good at living for the moment can do just that!
Tip for the day: Greetings will make your day a better day and in some small way it may make the difference in someone else's day!

Tip For The Day

Managing children with special needs. There seems to be more and more children with a variety of needs. As a teacher I can choose to expect all of the children to be the same and follow instructions the same, this will guarantee frustration and disappointment or I can learn about each child's needs and expect only what the child is truly capable of doing, this will hopefully be rewarding for both the child and the teacher.
How will this be rewarding? Looking at each individual child will help you to learn about the special qualities that child has. The special needs that individual may have, therefore you are able to help the child succeed with what they are capable of doing rather than what the perceived "norm" is for a child.
Tip for the day: We all have individual needs, be patient, and expect only what a child is capable of doing.

How to make your child eat healthy? Model the healthy eating. For those picky eaters
involve your child in the making of the meal. Children love to feel like they are helping,
make eating fun, have a variety of healthy choices. It is amazing how a child is more willing to try a new food if they have helped to make it!
Tip for the day: Let the child help to pick out the veggies or fruit at the grocery store, talk about the colours and the different names for them. Most importantly eat at the table with your family. It is an opportunity to talk and model healthy eating. With my family we take turns saying one good thing and one bad thing that might have happened through out the day to start our conversation off.

Kidzway Tip For The Day

When dealing with children from the moment you wake up, your mood and your attitude will influence their mood and attitude.
Your rushing to get out the door, forget your keys, skip your breakfast, most likely screaming
at your children on the way out because you are running late will only make you miserable and filled with guilt while you are away from your child and your child will most likely be miserable and sad, not to mention hungry. If your dropping your child off at school or Day Care this crappy beginning will continue throughout the day causing a stressful day on the teachers as well because they have no idea why your child is acting out of sorts.
The tip for the day: Be organized and punctual, leaving yourself enough time for breakfast and a hug and kiss for your child to start the day off right.