Archive for December, 2009

Is Your Child a Picky Eater?

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

At The Goddard School of Cedar Park, parents have a choice of providing a packed lunch or using a hot catered lunch service.  Having the flexibility of packing your child’s lunch for preschool is important for the reasons noted below.  While we all understand the importance of good nutrition during early childhood, a few of us are blessed with extraordinarily picky eaters. What’s a parent to do?

goddard_nutrition_infant_toddler

Children who attend preschool are better served when their parents pack their lunches. Why?  Because the process of choosing, packing and providing healthy meal choices is in the hands of parents; not a caterer or packaged meal plan provider. This is especially important if your child is a picky eater.

The Strategy:

  • Let your child be a part of a healthy food conversation.  Discuss the week’s menus and the specific ingredients.  Read cookbooks and magazines – or just look at the interesting pictures.
  • Engage your child while at the food store and give them choices. For example, “Let’s pick a fruit to pack in your lunches.  Would you like to bring strawberries or apples?”
  • Add a little sous chef to your dinner preparations. Ask your children to bring two lemons to you or put them in charge of stirring cold items. This may delay dinner, but consider the reward – quality time!
  • It is normal for toddlers and young children to be picky eaters. They may refuse food based on its texture or color – do not fret, keep trying!

Parent Tips:

  • Offer new foods on multiple occasions. Many children need to try a new food up to a dozen times before they like it.
  • Set a good example and try new foods yourself.
  • Encourage healthy food portions. Never insist that children “clean their plates.” Rewarding a clean plate may lead to a distorted idea of food, such as ignoring feeling full or eating for a reward.
  • Make healthy snacks available. Make fruits or veggies convenient to your child.
  • Encourage your children to serve and feed themselves. Independence boosts self-esteem which leads to better food choices.
    Make ‘dining out’ a special occasion – even if it’s at the local burger joint. Children can practice manners and food choices in any dining experience.
    Reward children with praise, hugs and kisses. Resist rewarding children’s good behavior with sugary treats.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Sign Language and Literacy

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

At the Goddard School of Cedar Park, we begin sign language with babies in our infant suite.  We do this because it accelerates speech development and promotes early childhood literacy.  Today’s article is by guest contributor, Tara Kendrick, mom-entrepreneur and owner of My Smart Hands Austin, which teaches sign language to hearing babies, toddlers and their families.

baby_sign language_infant_goddard

I think one of my favorite things to do with my boys is to read and sign books. As babies my boys started out enjoying turning pages, pointing out pictures and lifting flaps. Then it was reading a story and them memorizing the words as a read the book for the hundredth time. Now that my oldest is 3 year old, he wants me to use his finger to follow the words as I read to him. It is so amazing to see their love of language at such a young age.
I have also seen huge jumps in language development with my 3-year-old and my 17-month-old because I taught them sign language as babies. Communicating with ASL has allowed us to understand each other more quickly, and has given them confidence in their surroundings. The boys love to learn and are excited when you are able to understand what their needs are.

Now, put reading books and signing together, and you have a double dose of language development! Not only can we empower our children by giving them the opportunities to share what’s on their minds, but also we can help develop their imagination, verbal and language skills.

In a study conducted by Marilyn Daniels, she showed that signing with books increases reading readiness, develops literacy skills, and enhances comprehension. When we sign while reading, we teach children to read and scan the most important words in a sentence.

When I teach parents how to sign a book to their child, I tell them to pick the important words on the page. The words that the child will best understand, such as the noun or action word. For example if you read “ The truck stopped at the house where the big dog sat.” You would sign truck, house and dog because these are the words the brain is focusing on.

The more the child can understand, the more he will be excited about reading with you and learn to love reading on his own!

SIGNING WITH BOOKS
Start with simple board books or touch-and-feel books that have simple, bright, and “touchable” pictures. I always like ones that have one picture and word per page.
When reading a story, remember you do not have to sign every word. Just pick out key objects or pictures that are important to you and your baby. You will be amazed at how meaningful and enriching reading combined with signing can be.  This is a great way to practice signing using repetition because babies love to hear the same book over and over.

The other benefits of signing with books include:

  • Increased imagination of the child.
  • Adds rich meaning to reading, making it a fun and inviting experience.
  • Associates reading with positive experiences and opportunities for a shared experience for mom, dad and siblings.
  • Encourages the child to be an ACTIVE participant: the child is involved in the PROCESS of reading while you point out words and they SIGN along with the book.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Bonding With Your Infant

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

At The Goddard School of Cedar Park, infants as young as six weeks are cared for in our infant suite. Bonding with your baby is a natural and ongoing process and will become a precious part of parenthood to be cherished. Let’s explain by giving some examples and insights.

The bonding between parent and infant will always unique is one of the most intimate type of interactions that can take place. There is first the sense of discovering each other and then becoming familiar with one another. Your baby will depend on you because he knows that his needs are being met by you in the most simplest of ways.

Mother and baby
Image by ECohen via Flickr

They will feel your face and get to know your individual scent as you do theirs. They’ll start recognizing your shape, your voice, your sounds and many other things that are new to their world. They trust you from the start because they have no choice but soon they look forward to your voice and know they want your love. They know they depend on you not just for their needs but for interaction and affection.

Some time after you start bonding with your infant, you may experience an epiphany. It’s the realization that this baby is a part of you and in fact is an extension of yourself yet will grow to be their own person. You are everything to this infant’s world as they are to yours. Other than the baby’s everyday needs, they need interaction and the more they get the more chance they have of being a self-assured and well-adjusted individual.

In addition to physical contact, eye contact is important for many reasons to the emotional bonding with your child. They learn from your eyes – when they see them twinkle when you laugh, for example. It helps to teach trust and to gain trust, it helps to identify each other and it helps to establish an unspoken familiarity seen in the eyes of each other. It will start with you but will extend on into their lives and continue to benefit them as they grow and mature.

Bonding with your infant at first is usually strong and can be overwhelming but most wonderful at the same time. Talking to your baby and looking into their eyes often while being gentle, being funny and being affectionate gives them that positive emotional connection with a parent that will be with them for the rest of their life. Trust, needs, wants, appreciation, emotion, comfort, familiarity, confidence, security, self-worth and self-esteem and many of life’s lessons all start with the bonding that occurs in your infant’s first months.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Foreign Language at Goddard School

Friday, December 18th, 2009

At The Goddard School of Cedar Park, English is not necessarily the primary language for a child! Here are some suggestions on second language development for young children.
To start out with you begin easily when they are born speaking and singing to them in both English and the second or even third language of our choice. As you continue to do this you will notice your infant paying close attention to both languages and soon it will become very natural for them to hear this.

As the baby continues to grow you can start to associate words with actions or items. For example, if you are playing with a stuffed dog you can say the word in English as well as Spanish and do it repeatedly. You can do with just about anything you do with your baby and toddler. As you feed them you can tell them what they are eating and say the words “spoon” or “fork” in the foreign language as well.

Shiny and colored objects usually attract Infa...
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Exposing an infant or young child to a learning environment, such as The Goddard School, that makes learning languages fun and exciting without being rigid like other learning methods can also be beneficial. Besides becoming accustomed to the new language they are also getting social interaction with other babies and children their age.

There are so many advantages that come with your infant and toddler learning a second language! It is very important to give them the chance to learn early in life – this will make it easier when they begin more formal language classes in school and expose them to the richness of other cultures in the world around us.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Toddlers and Infants Reap Benefits with Learning Second Languages

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

At The Goddard School of Cedar Park, it’s not unusual to hear languages other than English spoken by our children. Like most parents when we first have our children and they are small infants and toddlers we often get caught up in all the emotions of seeing their adorable faces and marveling over the little things they do like clapping their hands together for the first time or taking those first steps. However we often forget that their little minds are like sponges and how beneficial it is for them to learn more advanced things such as second languages. Some homes are naturally bilingual but for other homes they often leave learning second languages up to the school or something for the instructors or teachers to do. Let’s take a look at all the advantages that come with teaching infants and toddlers second languages at home while they are still little.

A picture of a young child
Image via Wikipedia

Studies have been going on for many years that show how beneficial teaching a new language to babies and young children can be. From the second they are born up until they are five years old children are able to absorb new materials very easily. This short window of opportunity is often overlooked. Instead of focusing on the simple things your child is likely to learn on their own one should consider trying to teach them a second language. It is not very difficult to do and there are many small steps you can take to get a head start.

You can begin teaching second languages when they are just small infants. Babies can understand a great deal even before they are able to communicate. Just as a baby first learns to speak and say the basic words like “Ma-Ma” and “Da-Da” they are also able to learn words of other languages just as easily. As their brain develops they are able to track certain sounds, contours and rhythms of words and languages.

I’ll continue with some more ideas on second languages in my next blog. Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Top Ten Eco-Friendly Toys

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

We tested these toys with children at The Goddard School of Cedar Parkpreschoolboy and they were a hit! For more details, read the following press release that has a full description of each toy. And all are easy on the pocket book – $30 or less!

Click Top Toys for more information.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Potty Training Tips

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

At The Goddard School of Cedar Park, potty training is a frequent topic that comes up with parents. So Are you ready to throw out the diapers for good? Common signs that a child is ready to start using the potty are showing interest in the bathroom, letting you know when it’s time for a diaper change, and making funny facial expressions when he goes in his diaper. Another sign that he’s ready is waking up from a nap with a dry diaper. This shows that he is making a subconscious decision not to wet himself. If your child is showing any of these signs, it may be time to start potty training. Potty training can be a rocky road, but here are some potty training tips to make the ride go smoothly.

Just like Daddy...
Image by nmoira via Flickr

Transitioning from diapers to the potty chair can be a scary time for a toddler. Anything new has the tendency to frighten toddlers, so you should do your best to ensure your child that this is not a bad thing. Make it fun. One of the best potty training tips is to present the potty chair like it’s a special gift just for him. Wrap it up in pretty paper, with a big colorful bow, and let your child open it like a present. You’d be amazed at how excited a toddler can get over a potty chair. This will make his introduction to the potty a happy experience, instead of a frightening one.

Another great potty training tip is to make it a point to sit your child on the potty several times a day, even if you’re not sure he needs to go. Toddlers don’t yet know their bodies well enough to decide whether they need to use the potty, so you will have to take some control over this until your child is able to recognize when he needs to go. If you need to, set a timer to go off every ten or fifteen minutes.

I know you’ve heard it a thousand times over, but you can never go wrong with lots, and lots of praise. Kids love to get special attention from their parents. Before he’s even gotten the hang of it, tell your child he did a great job just for trying. The first time he actually goes in the potty make a huge deal out of it. Clap your hands, and excitedly say “hooray! You went pee pee in the potty like a big kid!” You can even make up your own potty song. There are some hilarious potty songs on the web. Just search youtube for potty training tips, and potty songs.

The reward system is tried and true. Using special prizes is the easiest, and most obvious way to motivate your child to use the potty. You can use stickers, candy, or even something unique that he shows an interest in. If your child loves cars, go to the dollar store and buy a variety package of matchbox cars. Just use what you know about your toddler to make him want to use the potty.

The most valuable potty training tip I can give you is to stay consistent. Don’t get discouraged. If you’re on the go a lot, you may want to purchase an extra potty chair to keep in your car. Remember, toddlers are creatures of habit, and keeping up with a routine is very important to them.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Yoga for children

Friday, December 11th, 2009

At The Goddard School of Cedar Park, parents of our infants and older children often comment on the yoga included in our curriculum. Here’s a video of local news coverage of our baby yoga program.

There are many different ways you can begin teaching your child yoga even at an infant age. To start out with as soon as you have been given the okay by your doctor there are certain yoga moves that are safe to practice with your baby. You can find these moves in different yoga baby books as well as some special videos and DVD’s you can purchase at a number of different places. Taking a class is also beneficial. Besides giving the advantage of getting back into shape after having your baby you are slowly teaching them those important yoga techniques.

baby yoga work by Judy at birthlight.com.
Image via Wikipedia

As your baby grows and becomes a toddler, you can then show them how to physically do the yoga moves themselves. You can also practice some of the important breathing techniques that are essential to doing yoga the correct way. As your child grows they will begin to perfect these moves and breathing exercises and start to do them on their own.

There are also DVD’s and shows that are designed just for children of this age. They will reap the most benefits by being in a yoga class with other children their age. Not only will they get the opportunity to practice yoga that is taught by a trained professional but they will also get social interaction which is very important at this age. Besides being taught yoga they can also learn about eating healthy and how all of it links together to affect them. They will see their peers practicing the same moves and try to mimic them.

The most important benefit that comes of teaching your child yoga is of course how it will affect their health. Your child will not only be physically healthier but they will also feel better inside and boost their self confidence helping them along their way of growing up.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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Benefits of Teaching Infants and Toddlers Yoga

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

The Goddard School of Cedar Park incorporates yoga as a regular part of the curriculum. Here’s some background why we do so! As parents we only want the best for our children which include teaching them ways to be healthier both physically and emotionally. While most adults are aware of the benefits that come from practicing a daily yoga routine they are not aware that they can also share these benefits with their children even as young as infant, toddler and Pre-K ages. After your infant is born and up until they are five years old they have a great opportunity to really soak up knowledge and learn new things. Yoga is of course the practice of physical moves that connect both the mind and the body and help one learn how to reach a new level of relaxation.

Yoga Girl
Image by tiffanywashko via Flickr

How can these relaxation techniques help an infant, toddler or a Pre-K age child? Much like the same way they help adults. We adults often take for granted that certain circumstances and every day events do not effect children, even infants, toddlers and Pre-K age kids the same way they affect us. That notion is false. Studies have shown that stressful atmospheres can have an effect on infants moods and make them appear anxious and more fussy. Toddlers and Pre-K age children will also act out more and may even regress. By practicing yoga techniques with them they will learn from an early age to how relax and calm themselves in a healthy way.

Another benefit that will come of teaching your infant and young child yoga is that you are teaching them how important exercise is to both your physical health and mental health. Every year more and more Americans are becoming obese with an alarming number of them being our children. By starting out early and teaching them the importance of staying physically fit your child will have a decreased chance of becoming obese later on in life.

I’ll share some more ideas on yoga for children in my next blog.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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