Healthy Eating for Infants and Toddlers

I think the way we present new foods to Infants & Toddlers is very important in the development of life long eating habits. Food should never be used as a reward for good behavior or as a way to soothe emotional or physical hurts. Withholding food as punishment also gives food on an emotional connotation that may lead to bad eating habits later in life. The older a child is before they know about the existence of fast foods and sweets the better chance they have of not being hooked on these high calorie but nutrient barren foods. Teaching kids that food is only needed for energy to grow and stay healthy would go a long way toward keeping food in the proper perspective in life. A young child's diet should be lots of fruits and vegetables. "Feed Me I'm Yours" by Vicky Lansky is a great book for parents and caregivers to learn about the proper feeding of young children. I highly recommend it. Some other observations:

1. Kids go through cycles where they eat very little and then eat everything in sight. Pay attention to these cycles and let the child's appetite rule the amount of food they eat. Don't force them to eat when they are not hungry and don't worry about it if they skip a meal or two. They'll eat when they're hungry.

2. Avoid fruit juice....it's highly processed, has concentrated sugar and usually the processor adds more and most of the nutrients and all of the fiber has been removed. Better to drink water.

3. Follow the child's lead for introducing meats. Most toddlers and many preschoolers don't want or need meat.

4. Offering young children a wide variety of fresh, healthy food is the best way to insure that they get the nutrition they need. Avoid everything that is highly processed.

If you want to improve your own health and your relationship with food, read "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Furhman.

A question to ponder: How can we decrease the emphasis on food for holidays, celebrations and other social occasions?

Instead of TV

Maybe one of your New Year's Resolutions is to cut down on the amount of TV you and your kids watch. Here are some ideas from "Instead of TV" for using all those extra boxes we have around from the Holidays. Enjoy!

Diana says that her kids enjoyed playing with cardboard boxes.Have you ever seen a kid pitch a new toy aside to play with the box?I know I have!
She says: "We played in the living room in large cardboard boxesfor hours -- making them into "houses", covering them with blanketsetc. and taking toys in there to play."
My friend Esme, author of How To Get Your Child To Love Reading,recommends using a large cardboard box to make a special TimeMachine to encourage reading.
Esme's book is a treasure chest of info for parents who want to raiselifelong readers. I loved reading it!
You can get her book here:http://www.insteadoftv.com/lovereading.html
Or, get just the instructions to the Time Machine:http://www.insteadoftv.com/flight.html
Oh and I foun a nifty cardboard firehouse that you can buy fromAmazon.com for only $20! Check out: www.insteadoftv.com/playhouse.html

Infants & Toddlers

I've been facilitating the currently running PITC series of classes and have been reminded how much I loved Stanely Greenspan's work and his book "First Feelings" when my kids were babies. I'm even more thankful now that I read it then because of the recent data showing how critical emotional development in infancy is to the long term success of the individual -- -more important than anything else kids learn in the first 3 years of life! From my first hand experience I'd have to say that it is true.

The book is available from Amazon for under $5 and although the copyright is 1985, infants are still arriving in Version 1.0 no add ons or technological advancements. (Perfection can't be improved!) Our world is not the same as in 1985 but how infant's perceive and interact has not changed one bit (thank goodness!). Establishing a strong emotional foundation will serve the children well in coping with the world as it is today and however it will be in the future.

http://www.amazon.com/First-Feelings-Milestones-Emotional-Development/dp/0140119884/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

You won't be sorry if you add this to your professional or parenting library.

Turn off the TV

I've been doing some research on the effects of TV watching on the brain development of infants and toddlers. It reminded me about the national "Turn off the TV" . Here are the dates for 2010 --mark your calendars ---or choose any week you want...anytime is the good time to turn off the TV as far as your brain is concerned. When I talk about turning off the TV , I'm talking about the DVD player too. A flickering image is a flickering image as far as your brain is concerned. Here are some resources for helping you get away from the steady TV diet that you're feeding your brain.

Here are the dates for upcoming National TV/Screen Turnoff Weeks:
April 19-25, 2010September 19-25, 2010
Unplug TV Websites
American Academy of Pediatrics
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
Instead of TV
Center for Screen-Time Awareness
Don't Buy It - Get Media Smart (For Kids & Teens)
Kid Source
Kill Your Televsion
LimiTV
Playing for Keeps
PBS Parents: Children & Media
The TV Project
Trash Your TV
TRUCE (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment)
TV Smarter
White Dot
TV Smarter Blog
Trash Your TV Blog
White Dot Forum
Alliance for Childhood
Parents Television Council
TVFreeLiving.com
TV StinksTags: Everything Else!, TV Turn-Off Week

Coming soon to Parks & Playgrounds near you!

October 19-23: Take It Outside Week. To increase outdoor play while celebrating the environment, preschools and daycare centers are invited to join Head Start centers across the country in participating in the Inaugural Take It Outside! Week. Presented by Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS), the national initiative is sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR). Its purpose is to get children outside, connect with the natural world, and increase physical activity. HSBS will provide programs with everything they need to celebrate Take It Outside! Week including activity ideas, tips for facilitating play, and suggestions for enhancing the environment. From Books That Move You to 15 Simple Ways to Get Moving, the activities are designed to increase physical activity for young children and promote family involvement. Head Start Centers serve over 900,000 children and their families. For a wonderful array of free resources about Take It Outside! Week, visit Head Start Body Start.

ScreamFree Parenting: How to Keep Your Cool

ScreamFree Parenting: How to Keep Your Cool

Summer is winding down

Driving to work this morning I could tell that summer is on the downhill side; the cool morning air has just a little sharper edge to it, telling us that fall is just around the corner. I don't know about you but I really enjoyed the weather this summer... enough rain to keep things green and growing, just a few really hot, humid days and lots of days that it was just perfect!
It was a very busy summer to be sure. I spent 1 week in June in California and 1 week in July in Florida taking the Program for Infant and Toddler Care training. It was 2 weeks of very intense work in PITC content as well as adult education strategies. When I complete my papers on each content area then I will be a certified PITC trainer. I have 1 paper completed and 3 to go.
Check out the PITC link and the Zero to Three link to find out more about these 2 important resources in infant and toddler care.

KinderArt Resources

This is a great site for all kinds of art projects and crafts.
http://www.kinderart.com/sitemap.shtml

Here is the link for August special days and craft projects
http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/aug.shtml

and for those who plan ahead and are really organzied here is the link for September crafts http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/sept.shtml

"Teaching in the Key of Life"

I'm reading "Teaching in the Key of Life". Some colleagues were raving about this author (who has been around for quite awhile but had escaped my radar somehow). I'm raving now too. It's always a boost to find an educator who really understands education! (and agrees with your long help principles to boot!) Enjoy this except and then go check out her books at the library or the book store. The link by her name under "My Child Development Heroes" will take you to her books sold online by Red Leaf Press. "Take it away, Mimi!"

Excerpt from an essay titles “I’m Worried About Our Children” by Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld in her book “Teaching in the Key of Life”

When teachers and parents discuss ways of enriching the lives of young children- ways of helping them to learn to love learning- the best suggestions are the oldest, most natural, most obvious, most simple. They are so easy that we forget that we already know them:

Hang loose and relax.
Talk with your children. Share and compare observations, questions, experiences, wishes, wondering. Laugh together.
List to music of all kinds. Enjoy the music. Let it inspire movement, art, stories, quiet times.
Read to and with your children. Surround them with stories, poems, riddles, plays. Read to yourself. (What books to you love? If you want children to love reading, show them by your example.) Discover the delight of creating your own stories, your own writings. Children already know about this. Keep the flame burning.
Walk with the children. Walk with awareness. Stop! Look! Listen! Be a person on whom nothing is lost. Martin Buber believed that everything is waiting to be hallowed by you. What do you hallow? A walk around the street with an aware, responsive, sensitive, involved adult is more enjoyable and valuable to a child than a trip around the world with a rigid, closed-minded, authoritarian tour leader.
Encourage imaginative responses, original thinking, freedom of expression, new experiences. Don’t be a critic or a judge. Be a person who rejoices in your own works and the works of others.
Use the resources at your doorstep: libraries, museums, art galleries, parks, playgrounds, construction sites, gardens, zoos, bakeries, fruit stands, orchards, street signs, parking lots. The word boring should not belong in the vocabulary of any child.

Our kids don’t need expensive gimmicks, shiny educational tools, designer jigsaw puzzles, video games, and heavy-handed adult intervention in their daily education. Let’s not just rely on machines, no matter how great is their potential in the learning process.
Our children need an environment sweetened with tender loving care, encouragement, inspiration, role models, and time-time to play, pretend, explore, experiment, and wonder; time to develop at their own pace and in their own special rhythms. When children learn in such save, supportive settings under the gentle, constant guidance of loving adults, they prove over and over again that they are among the most creative members of this gifted and talented human family of ours.
Be ready for astonishment. Those of us who have spent most of our lives working with children know that, when we let them, they teach us about looking at everyday, ordinary miracles with fresh eyesight and insight. Children take us on a journey to our own beginning when the world was new and waiting to be discovered again.
We have a lot to learn.

Great Expectations

"Cherish your children for what they are, not for what you'd like them to be." unknown

As I was paying for my gas at the Kum & Go the other day, the clerk noticed that I was wearing my name badge from work. She catches her co-worker's eye and says, "Look, this is an "Infant-Toddler Specialist". The co-worker raises her eyebrows and says "Boy, I need one, I have a three year old that is a demon." So I went into my spiel about how 3 is a hard age because it's the transition from being a baby to being a kid and it's hard for the child to know from moment to moment which one he wants to be. She nodded in agreement and the proceeded to tell me what an angel her 6 yr.old is ;has always been and will always be and what a little hellion her 3 yr. old is and how she can't do anything with him. I told her that we get what we expect from kids and that she would do well to begin accentuating his positive qualitites or he'll would be out roaming the streets raising cain when he's 18. She admitted that he was doing better since he has been attending Headstart. And hopefully I started her thinking about how she talks about that child.

You know she probably tells lots of people what a "demon" he is and some of the time it is probably within the child's hearing. She might even say it to him directly. It doesn't take too many times of hearing us say it for a child to believe that what we say about them is the absolute truth. So soon Mikey "the little demon" is behaving like the best "little demon" he can be; reinforcing (proving) that you are indeed correct in your assessment that he is a "little demon". That's why it is soon important to never discuss a child's faults or bad behavior where they can hear you. Every young child has some good qualities; things that they are good at, even early evidence of future talents can be noticed. Be sure to let them know that you notice when they are kind, loving, helpful, cheerful, courteous, honest, any behavior or quality that you want to see more of and I guarantee that you will begin to see more of those qualities and less of that "demon" child.

Digging Holes and other Spring Activites

These ideas came to me in the "What Do You Do With the Mad that You Feel?" newsletter sent out by Family Communications Inc. You can use this link to sign up for the newsletter to be delivered to your inbox. http://www.fci.org/madfeelings/signup.asp . Also check out the article "What Else Can You Do?" It makes the point that kids aren't born with anger management skills. They need us to help them find alternatives to hitting and other aggressive anger responses.

Activity Ideas for Child Care
Digging a Hole From the Mad Feelings Activity Book Stage 3 Finding Release through Physical Outlets
Here’s a springtime outdoor activity that gives children a constructive, physical way to release their feelings.
Materials:
old spoons or plastic shovels
small metal shovels or garden tools
plastic containers or pails
Is there a place in the yard where the children could dig a hole? Or is there a park nearby with a sandbox? The children can use plastic shovels and metal spoons if the ground is loose, or they could use small metal hand tools and a small shovel to dig in earth that is hard. Many children may want to dig just for the fun of it, or the digging could have a purpose such as:
digging a garden in the spring or early summer;
pretending to dig for hidden treasure;
digging a home for a pretend animal.
If you’re comfortable with mud play (and if extra clothes are available), you could let them use water to mix with the earth to make mud pies or mud sculptures. You could point out that shoveling earth or digging in a sandbox or snow is one thing people could do when they feel angry…something that doesn’t hurt them or anyone else.
All Kinds of Exercise From the Mad Feelings Activity Book Stage 3 Finding Release through Physical Outlets
Just as some adults walk, jog, or swim to release their stress or anger through all kinds of exercise, this activity can help children find a physical way to release energy that can be caught up in angry feelings.
Materials
none
music (optional)
See if the children can tell you about ways they exercise. Can they pantomime how they:
ride a bike;
push a wagon;
run hard and fast;
climb;
throw or catch a ball?
Then you could do some exercises with the children:
stretch your hands and arms high in the air, stand on your toes and reach for the sky;
jump up and down on two feet;
hop on one foot;
Repeat each exercise three or four times. If you can go outdoors, you’ll have lots of fresh air and room to move. When you have to stay inside, try exercising to music. It can help to calm the children at the end of this activity if you give them slower movements to do as you’re finishing.
Sometimes physical exercise can make people feel better when they’re frustrated. See if the children can show you some exercises they could do at times like that.
©2009 Family Communications, Inc.

Unit Studies for Preschool

Unit Studies is a hot topic among "homeschoolers" and I just learned at a recent child care conference the the term in early childhood circles is "project curriculum". In the "old days" we called them "themes". The teacher introduces information and materials related to the subject and then child(ren) lead they way in how the topic will be explored. (The teacher selects the theme based on interests of the children that have been observed in the children's play or questions the children have asked. There are some great FREE online resources to help you get started with unit studies. I'm getting "spring fever" and I bet some kids are too... so wouldn't this be the perfect time for a unit study on Plants . I'm sure that you will be talking to the kids about the grass turning green and the tulips coming up and the trees starting to bud....now just expand those conversations into the whole specturm of your learning activities. (That's unit studies!)

Go deeper by documenting your unit studies with photos and drawings and stories by the kids (dictated) and make it into a class book....(Essentially a scrapbook made with a 3 ring binder and page protectors). The kids will love looking at and reading about things that they participated in. And what a great tool to share with parents and others who support your program!

I'd love to hear about your ideas for "unit studies".

A couple more links to help you with unit study resources:

http://www.squidoo.com/takehomebags#module5969132

http://www.easyfunschool.com/

My Considered Opinion

Thought I might start adding my "considered opinion" to the information that I share with you.

Many of you may know that I'm somewhat of an "educational renagade" and I'm sure some of my opinions will be controversial and hopefully make for stimulating conversations.

In my considered opinion early childhood education programs should be more like "home school" than like public school. However, if you meet a homeschooler who is trying to do "public school" at home (and there are many) know that they have missed the point!

Some Learning Resources that you can use.

Nature Education: http://kindernature.storycounty.com This is really cool.

http://www.highscope.org/ A developmentally appropriate curriculum

http://www.rie.org/ infant & toddler resources
http://www.zerotothree.org/ more infant toddler resources

Life Long Learners

Are you one? I'm so glad I am! It makes life so much more interesting. In the past week I've had 3 learning opportunities that have sparked my interests in a number of different areas.

The first was at a group I facilitate for Center Directors. I always learn new things when I gather with people who are doing important work like improving programs for young children. Second, I attended a training on NAEYC accreditation. This is a topic I haven't really spent a lot of time on but the training gave me a good picture of the documentation needed to show that a child care program is on a path that pursues the highest quality standards! A huge undertaking but necessary if we want to walk our talk about valuing the growth and development of young children. And finally I attended the Kaleidoscope Conference in Omaha. I enjoyed the keynote speaker, award winning illustrator and author, Brian Pinkney. I love how his art conveys physical movement and evokes emotions too. Check out his books and art at http://www.brianpinkney.net/. My favorite book was "Max Found Two Sticks". Kids would love it too! My breakout session at the conference was about Using Observations to meet the needs of children in our programs. This is something that I did naturally in my head when I was in the classroom. In my observations of teachers and caregivers I find that they don't pay enough attention to what each individual child is saying and doing. Only through observation (just plain paying attention) can we begin to understand a child's unique personality, way of thinking and viewing the world. We need to listen, laugh,sing,play and live with children not just do custodial care. It's about relationships and conversations so that we can guide and encourage children to feel confident and competent to be themselves in the world. I believe this is the foundation needed to be able to live life happily and successfully.

My final session at Kaleidoscope was on the revised Developmentally Appropriate Practice from NAEYC. I am a "developmentalist" 110%. It's the only way that true learning takes place. And in my opinion until we make the whole educational system developmentally appropriate from "birth to career" we're going to be losing many of the best minds and ideas that we need to get the world back on track.

March 20th "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Day

To celebrate Fred Rogers birthday....wear your favorite sweater or organize some other neighborly activities. Check out the toolkit at http://www.fci.org/neighbor/ or

http://www.fci.org/neighbor/toolkit.pdf

and here are a couple more surprises for you:

http://www.ratzenberger.com/

http://www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org/

Take some time to tinker in March too!

Great Resource- "Great Preschools"

I've been getting a monthly e-newsletter from a group called : The Search Institute. I think I found it from a link from the Child Care Information Exchange's, "Daily Exchange" email. What first attracted me was some information called "The 40 Developmental Assets" . The Search Institute has identified these developmental building blocks that help children grow up healthy, caring and responsible. They have identified 40 assets for early childhood, middle childhood and adolesence. You can get these lists at http://www.search-institute.org/assets/forty.htm . Now there is a book called "Great Preschools". "Written by experts in early childhood education, this practical, easy-to-use guidebook provides preschool educators with information and a plan to promote healthy development in a body- and mind-nurturing environment. Explanations on what young children need from their families, teachers, and caregivers teach adults how to help preschoolers develop the social, mental, and emotional competencies they need to succeed and thrive." You can download some sample pages at

http://www.greatpreschools.org/images2/GPS_sample_pages.pdf

I think it is worth a look. Some of the latest research I've been reading says that the most successful people in the 21st century will be those that excel in the social & emotional areas.

Here are a couple of quotes that I really appreciated.

"Early childhood is a confusing time for children because
they are making huge leaps in all areas of development—
cognitive, physical, social, and emotional—but
not necessarily in equal degrees. Although it is important
to help a child progress through each of these developmental
areas, it is most vital to build the strong
social and emotional skills that directly affect healthy
cognitive and physical growth and are the foundation
for future success in school and in life."

" Undirected play is initiated among peers. Play
with peers is extremely effective and helps
children learn important lessons about self-regulation
and problem solving, and develop a
host of interpersonal skills. It typically takes
about 20 minutes for a preschooler to settle on
and engage in a particular activity. It is
when they are engaged that they learn
most effectively. As you plan your students’
day, be intentional about building
in adequate time for undirected play."

Of course we are always attracted to things we agree with and things that reinforce our long held beliefs. It feels good and powerful to know you are right! lol

I think teachers will find the resource pages and the home link activities very useful. You are probably already doing many things that promote the 40 assets in young children and this book will also allow you to feel good and powerful in the rightness of your cause! Play on!

Commit Yourself to Play Each and Every Day

Busy schedules, longer work hours, sports practice, homework, dance lessons -- does this sound familiar? Growing up, do you remember a simpler time, when every night was family night? A tradition that you cherished, like spending time together with no goal in mind other than pure enjoyment of playing a game, sharing good times and just having fun.
Play of any kind should always feel like time well spent. It ought to be engaging, entertaining, personally rewarding and enormously fun. Through play, we are reminded to relax, and spend special time with loved ones and friends. Play fosters essential lifelong skills like sharing, learning to win and lose gracefully, understanding risk and rewards, and much more. It enhances our well-being and lifts our spirits, whether you are 3 or 103.We invite you to start a family tradition and rediscover the simple joy of play with the people in your life. Make a commitment to set aside a regular time each week to share a game, put together a puzzle, or just play. The traditions you start today will create a lifelong legacy of memories for your family.
5 Steps To Your New Tradition:1. Make a firm commitment. For one month have everyone agree to play games once a week. Keep this play time and stick to it! You will thank yourself as the fun becomes an anticipated part of everyone's week.2. Set the date and time. Mark your calendar for your weekly game time. Spread the word and get everyone involved. 3. Find something for everyone. Each week have one person choose a game (or puzzle) that allows everyone in the group to participate, regardless of age.4. Turn off the noise. Make a joint agreement to ignore the phone, turn off the TV, and put aside other distractions during your special time. 5. Traveling? No problem. On the road or on vacation? Choose a game and take it with you. Don't forget your camera to capture your fun memories!

Joyce says: February would be a good month to start this. Even though it is the shortest month of the year, it often feels like it will never end because we are anxious for spring to come. So make a plan to play more in February.
.

Sign up for great newsletters

from Family Communications Inc. where the mission of Fred Rogers lives on helping children and the people who care for them. This month Neighborhood News has a free quote and Feb
calendar for your computer desktop.

http://www.fci.org/index.asp

http://www.fci.org/madfeelings

The Spirit of Adult Play

After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box. Italian Proverb

In her Exchange article, "The Spirit of Adult Play" Bonnie Neugebauer observes that many must relearn the joys of playfulness. To do so, she suggests, they must be willing to spend freely, to squander, to waste (if you will), to be extravagant with their:
Time — Play must exist in a context of timelessness. The process is valued beyond the outcome of the play, so it must be possible to continue the experience across blocks of time, even across days and weeks. The play must find its own end, just as it found its own beginning....
Sense of Self — Play requires that one forget oneself. If self-conscious about their play, about how others will view either their play or the products of their play, children and adults are crippled. Their play is distorted by other consciousness.
Sense of Order — Play demands a certain amount of chaos. There must be room for using things and doing things in new ways. Play equipment and space must be flexible to meet the changing needs of the players. There must be storage for uncompleted play, and respect for unfinished spaces. Players require a degree of uncertainty and support for taking risks. Play is nurtured when there is no labeling of wrong and right.
Joy — Play without enjoyment is just plain hard work. Players need to laugh, and boast, and practice. There are many choices to be made, and each is a challenge. Play brings out the best in each of us.

"Learning is a Conversation"

Bev Bos often says that "Life is not a test, it's a conversation." And that's what this article from the Daily Exchange Made me think about. Pay close attention to the RED words at the end of the article. Those meant the most to me..... I have noticed that if every moment of wonder in a child's life is made into a "teachable moment" by asking a "test question" (one you already know the answer to!) soon the child will stop sharing these moments with you and soon after that stop conversing with you altogether. Keeping the conversation going at 4, 5, and 6 is vital if you want them to still be conversing with you at ages 14, 15, and 16. It also helps if they know that you "wonder" about things too, don't have all the answers, and set an example of seeking out information about your questions.

"In her article in the January/February 2009 issue of Exchange, "Think Before you (Inter)act: What it Means to Be an Intentional Teacher," Anne Epstein provides guidance on how to support child-guided learning and when to engage in adult-guided learning. In the area of language and literacy, she provides these ideas on child-guided learning:"Children learn to listen, initiate, and respond in conversation with others. This verbal facility is a foundation of ­literacy development. To promote these essential skills:
Be careful not to dominate when talking with ­children. Lean toward more child than adult talk.
Model active listening. Wait for children to form and express their thoughts. Get down on their level, make eye contact, repeat or clarify what they say to show you have heard them.
Play games with verbal directions, such as Simon Says (but without winners and losers).
Expand children’s verbalizations. For example, if a toddler says, 'Me, banana', you might say, 'You are going to eat that banana.'
Support sociodramatic play by providing props for role playing and pretending.
Pretend to misunderstand ambiguous gestures to encourage children to add words. Use humor. For example, if a child points to his/her head for help with a hat, put a shoe there instead.
Use questions but not in excess. Ask questions that encourage children to think and expand their answers. Avoid questions that have a single brief or ‘correct’ answer.
Talk to other adults in the presence of children. Model good syntax and varied vocabulary."