Posts Tagged ‘Child Care Centers Ballantyne’
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
An estimated five million children are in preschool programs, and the number is growing. According to the Families and Work Institute, children benefit from quality programs with competent staff and good ratios. They suffer fewer behavioral troubles, have larger expressive vocabularies, feel close to their teachers, and enjoy more complex, less aggressive play with peers.
A high-quality preschool curriculum sets specific goals and uses learning and developmental standards that are age-appropriate. The curriculum builds on each child’s interests and natural curiosity and also allows them the opportunity to direct their own learning. Whole-class and small group activities as well as opportunities for individual interactions with the teacher are encouraged.
Preschool benefits children, their families and their communities. Children in quality preschool programs show improvements in the development of social skills and are more proficient in areas such as following directions, waiting turns, problem-solving, joining in activities and relating to teachers and parents. These advanced skills improve efficiency in classroom settings which allow teachers to spend more time working directly with children and less time on classroom management.
Studies have shown children that have attended preschool are more likely to do better on standardized tests, graduate high school and earn higher wages as an adult than their peers who did not attend preschool. They are also less likely to repeat a grade, to be arrested for a violent crime or to become teen parents.
At The Goddard School®, children are encouraged to explore learning centers including art, math, science and computers; to ask questions; and to take time making friends and socializing. The school focuses on building a strong and balanced foundation for each child and encourages them to develop at their own pace while supported by a team of dedicated teachers.
The Goddard School FLEX Learning Program™, based on the latest research in how children learn and designed with the assistance of experts, provides the optimal environment for the development of young children. The program’s foundation is the learning continuum that encompasses developmental guidelines with formative assessments, child-focused lesson plans, a creative and fun environment and a personalized child-centered approach that meets each child’s needs.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, boredom, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Charlotte, Child Development, Child Vacations, Choosing a Preschool, Controlling Worrying in children, Fathering, Fun in the Sun, Goddard School, Learning through Play, Literacy, New Place, Pacifier, Phonics, Preventing Biting, Role of Fathers, Sleeping, Staying Cool, Summer Games, Sun Protection, The Goddard School, The Goddard School-Ballantyne, The Goddard Schoolol, Thumbsucking, Worrying in Children
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There is an important distinction between picky eaters who are children and picky eating by children.
Labeling children as ‘picky eaters’ implies that we think of picky eating as a core identity issue, not just a behavior they’re passing through. Whereas, calling the behavior ‘picky eating by children suggests that it’s a natural developmental phase and something to work through.
I’ve yet to hear of, or know, a child that has never hit a food bump. Maybe the same could be said of us parents. In fact, there may be some evolutionary sense to not trusting all the food nature has to offer. Familiar, sweeter and bland foods are less likely than the exotic to poison or make us sick or destroy our appetites. From a more specific perspective, we’ve begun to understand genetic influences leading toward and away from particular food preferences. Certain children carry genes (which they may not share with their parents) that intensify the reaction to bitter foods, leaving these children with a preference for sweeter foods and drinks in general; not to mention a different palate than their parents.
A few years ago, many nurses and pediatricians noticed a parental ‘bump’ around the introduction of ‘staged’ food menus for prepared infant foods; parents worried that their children weren’t transitioning well from the younger to the older food stages. The source of this reluctance was difficult to verify. Was it hard for children to progress from one stage to the next because of the newer food’s taste, consistency, or was it simply its ‘newness’? This brings us back around to the picky eating versus picky eater distinction…
Picky eating is common, especially in girls, and can occur with both familiar and unfamiliar foods. Picky eaters are less common, and tend to be reluctant eaters around new foods. Some clinicians are trying out the label ‘neophobia’ to categorize picky eater behavior in younger children as a way of improving research and communication about the phenomenon. For instance, some researchers have found that pickiness was predicted primarily by environmental or experiential factors subject to changes; neophobia was predicted by more enduring and dispositional factors. (Galloway, A. T., Lee, Y., Birch, L. L. (2003). Predictors and consequences of food neophobia and pickiness in young girls, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103(6), 692-698.).
There are some things that you can do to help your child’s food bump from becoming a pothole:
1) Your infants and toddlers are such social beings; they are pre-wired to be interested in how you treat your food. New foods will be more acceptable to your toddler if they’ve seen you or another adult they care about eating it regularly. And that positive effect is increased if your talk (with feeling) about what you like about the food. Interestingly, if you eat more fruits and vegetables, even when your child is not watching, your child will be more likely to accept food.
2) Match up familiar with the unfamiliar. Hummus or yogurt dips that your child already likes can be paired with the new zucchini slice or broccoli floret.
3) Never pressure or rush to introduce new foods, and only introduce one new food at a time.
4) Introduce new foods when your child is actually hungry – forcing a new food on a diminished appetite is going to be less successful.
5) Give it time – most children, and their parents, grow through this phase.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Add new tag, Back To School, Biting, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Child Care Centers in Charlotte, Child Care Charlotte, Child Vacations, Choosing a Preschool, Controlling Worrying in children, Pacifier, Preventing Biting, Thumbsucking
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Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
Experts estimate that 80% of total lifetime sun exposure occurs before age 18. Children who learn preventative practices early in life may reduce the unhealthy effects of sun exposure.
A = Away
- Avoid long periods of direct sun exposure between 10 am and 4 pm.
- Play indoors or enjoy shaded outdoor activities, especially when your shadow is shorter than you are tall.
- Reflection from water, white sand or snow increases the sun’s damage.
B = Block
- Use a sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.
- Apply sunscreen every morning; reapply every two hours.
- Apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before sun exposure.
C = Cover Up
- Use hats and light-colored clothing to protect skin.
- Sunglasses protect eyes and eyelids from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
- Cover up after swimming.
S = Speak Out:
- Practice sun safety and show family members how to apply sunscreen.
- Discuss sun safety with coaches, camp counselors and teachers.
Information provided by ABCs of Fun in the Sun,” offered by the American Academy of Dermatology. To learn more about sun protection, visit www.aad.org.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, boredom, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Child Care Charlotte, Child Development, Child Vacations, Choosing a Preschool, Controlling Worrying in children, Fathering, Fun in the Sun, Preventing Biting, Saving Money, Staying Cool, The Goddard School-Ballantyne, Thumbsucking, Transitions, water Play, Worrying in Children
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by Kyle D. Pruett, M.D
Are you surprised that the American Academy of Pediatrics says no television before age two? This standard alerts parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers that their children are strongly affected by the talking tube and that they need to consider the way their children are exposed to its powerful influences.
- If you chose to allow your children to view television, consider limiting the amount of “watching time” in their first three years to 30-90 minutes per day. This is more than enough for their young brains and eyes. Children prefer, and benefit from, interacting with people far more.
- The programming you chose should be specifically directed at the age of your child. Most good parenting magazines regularly publish guidelines that tend to be more objective and reliable than an advertiser’s suggestions.
- Commercial-free is far better for eyes, ears, and minds. Fewer interruptions and a generally higher level of intellectual and emotional content are the benefits.
- A child’s room does not need a television. Television may inhibit a child’s desire to read and play imaginatively for years.
- When your children watch television, watch with them. They may need your help to decipher the barrage of messages, and only you know when they have had enough. Occasional babysitting by means of television so you can get something done is understandable, but may be a waste of your child’s time and mind.
These guidelines should be discussed regularly by all adults in your household. The evening news may matter to the grown-ups, but it is frequently incomprehensible and somewhat frightening to your little ones. Media-literate parents are great blessings to their children.
Suggested resource: Coalition for Quality Children’s Media www.cqcm.org
Kyle D. Pruett, M.D. is an advisor for The Goddard School®. Dr. Pruett is an authority on child development who has been practicing child and family psychiatry for over twenty-five years. He is a clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale University’s Child Study Center.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Charlotte, Child Care Charlotte, Child Development, Child Vacations, Fun in the Sun, Goddard School, New School, Pacifier, Phonics, Preventing Biting, Reading, Saving Money, The Goddard School, Thumbsucking, water Play, Worrying in Children
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Students at The Goddard School® located in Charlotte, NC, benefit from early exposure to language and literacy.
Cozy Corner™ is an innovative early language and literacy resource geared toward young learners. This research-based program builds on the rich tradition of story time by sharing children’s books including award-winning classics as well as new and multi-cultural titles.
The Cozy Corner curriculum engages children and heightens curiosity through music and active learning to build the foundation they will need to succeed in school.
Cozy Corner:
- Focuses on social and emotional development
- Encourages literacy through reading and sharing;
- Helps develop children’s capacity to form close and secure adult and peer relationships.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Child Care Centers in Charlotte, Child Care Charlotte, Controlling Worrying in children, Goddard School, Learning through Play, Pacifier
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Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Teaching your child how to garden is a fun, hands-on learning experience that encourages patience, imagination and environmental awareness. The best part about learning to garden is that it’s something your family can enjoy together, indoors or out!
Before you begin, talk with your child about the whole gardening process to peak their interest and help them become excited about the experience. You could also pick up a children’s book about gardening or visit a children’s gardening Web site.
When you’re ready to start, gather a few supplies and child-appropriate tools—soil, seed cups, watering cans, etc. Take a trip to the garden center together to pick out your supplies and seeds or seedlings for planting. Some great plants for children to start their gardening experience with include sunflowers, snow peas, cherry tomatoes and strawberries. Read seed packets and plant tags—anything with easy care and a short growing season are perfect for little ones to plant! Be sure to acknowledge that some non-edible plants can be poisonous. Check the National Capital Poison Center Web site for a list of some poisonous plants and always supervise your child while gardening.
Now that it’s time to plant, choose your location. If you have a large garden, section off an area or, if you don’t, use an old sandbox filled with soil as your child’s own special garden. Encourage your child to care for their plants throughout the entire process—from seed, to seedling, to mature plant, to harvest. How exciting it will be when the whole family is enjoying the fruits and vegetables they raised all on their own!
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, boredom, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Child Care Charlotte, Child Vacations, Choosing a Preschool, Phonics, Saving Money, Sleeping, Worrying in Children
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There is an important distinction between picky eaters who are children and picky eating by children.
Labeling children as ‘picky eaters’ implies that we think of picky eating as a core identity issue, not just a behavior they’re passing through. Whereas, calling the behavior ‘picky eating by children suggests that it’s a natural developmental phase and something to work through.
I’ve yet to hear of, or know, a child that has never hit a food bump. Maybe the same could be said of us parents. In fact, there may be some evolutionary sense to not trusting all the food nature has to offer. Familiar, sweeter and bland foods are less likely than the exotic to poison or make us sick or destroy our appetites. From a more specific perspective, we’ve begun to understand genetic influences leading toward and away from particular food preferences. Certain children carry genes (which they may not share with their parents) that intensify the reaction to bitter foods, leaving these children with a preference for sweeter foods and drinks in general; not to mention a different palate than their parents.
A few years ago, many nurses and pediatricians noticed a parental ‘bump’ around the introduction of ‘staged’ food menus for prepared infant foods; parents worried that their children weren’t transitioning well from the younger to the older food stages. The source of this reluctance was difficult to verify. Was it hard for children to progress from one stage to the next because of the newer food’s taste, consistency, or was it simply its ‘newness’? This brings us back around to the picky eating versus picky eater distinction…
Picky eating is common, especially in girls, and can occur with both familiar and unfamiliar foods. Picky eaters are less common, and tend to be reluctant eaters around new foods. Some clinicians are trying out the label ‘neophobia’ to categorize picky eater behavior in younger children as a way of improving research and communication about the phenomenon. For instance, some researchers have found that pickiness was predicted primarily by environmental or experiential factors subject to changes; neophobia was predicted by more enduring and dispositional factors. (Galloway, A. T., Lee, Y., Birch, L. L. (2003). Predictors and consequences of food neophobia and pickiness in young girls, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103(6), 692-698.).
There are some things that you can do to help your child’s food bump from becoming a pothole:
1) Your infants and toddlers are such social beings; they are pre-wired to be interested in how you treat your food. New foods will be more acceptable to your toddler if they’ve seen you or another adult they care about eating it regularly. And that positive effect is increased if your talk (with feeling) about what you like about the food. Interestingly, if you eat more fruits and vegetables, even when your child is not watching, your child will be more likely to accept food.
2) Match up familiar with the unfamiliar. Hummus or yogurt dips that your child already likes can be paired with the new zucchini slice or broccoli floret.
3) Never pressure or rush to introduce new foods, and only introduce one new food at a time.
4) Introduce new foods when your child is actually hungry – forcing a new food on a diminished appetite is going to be less successful.
5) Give it time – most children, and their parents, grow through this phase.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, boredom, car, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Choosing a Preschool, Controlling Worrying in children, Goddard School, Learning through Play, New School, Pacifier, Preventing Biting, Saving Money, Sleeping, The Goddard School-Ballantyne, The Goddard Schoolol, Thumbsucking, Traveling Children, water Play, Worrying in Children
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Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
Excerpt from Me, Myself and I
by Dr. Kyle Pruett
With all the current focus on accelerated learning, parents may be tempted to do too much of a good thing, jettisoning playful games and enjoyable family events in favor of boring early learning programs. As with adults, too much input from the outside can cause children to tune out.
Young children have a fierce drive to learn, and they are thrilled with their new discoveries. This is a wonderful time to strengthen the foundation for a child’s lifelong love of learning. They key is to do it in a way that respects and responds to each child’s interests, pace and temperament, and not to some external need to keep up with the Joneses or their kids.
One well-documented trait of children who do well in school is that they love to learn. Activities that build love of learning are money in the bank for a child’s educational success. You don’t want to squelch that drive to learn by substituting joyless, skill-pushing memory activities for real exploration, discovery and learning.
So what do you do? Follow your child’s cues. Other than fatigue, cues are all emotional. Children show interest or disinterest, curiosity or frustration, boredom or enjoyment, impatience or pleasure, anger or delight. Pay attention to your child’s moods and heed his cues. Sometimes parents find this hard to do. If you are engaged in some activity you think is really worthwhile, it’s easy to push the envelope until your child seriously wants out. There is no gain in this. Much better to move on to something else or just give things a rest when your child begins to show disinterest or fatigue. You know all the signs. No one is as expert as you at reading your child.
For young children, the best learning is filled with a blend of wonder, giggles, excitement, interest, concentration, a touch of manageable frustration, concerted effort and laughter – all signs of the most positive emotional states. Lessons learned and achievements mastered in these states are gilt-edged in three ways:
- The child learns something new.
- The child learns more about how to learn.
- The child enjoys learning.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Vacations, Fun in the Sun, Learning through Play, Literacy, New School, Pacifier, Preventing Biting, Saving Money, Sleeping, The Goddard Schoolol, Thumbsucking, Worrying in Children
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Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Pets enrich the lives of many children and families. While children raised with pets show many benefits, safety concerns should always be a determining factor when deciding to get or keep a pet in a family with young children.
Choose wisely from breeds or species that are a good fit for your family, your home and your lifestyle. Behavior, temperament, excitability, patience and size are important characteristics to consider in a child-friendly pet that your little one can help care for. Pets should be free of disease and regularly checked by a veterinarian. Family allergies should also be taken into account. Young children should always be supervised during their interactions with pets. Animals can be easily harmed or provoked to attack if hit, poked or grabbed by young children. Children must be taught to play gently with pets and to keep their distance when an animal is eating, sleeping or caring for their young.
Involved parents, planning and open discussion are necessary in order for a family pet to be a positive experience. Young children can help with pet care, but can’t be completely responsible. They may only be able to help you with a few small tasks when feeding, cleaning or grooming your pet. For example, your child can join you when walking the dog, but certainly shouldn’t walk the dog alone. Allow your child to help care for the family pet in small, safe ways and always under adult supervision.
There are many benefits to children raised with pets. Positive relationships with pets can encourage children to love and trust others. Bonding with a pet can also help young children develop non-verbal communication, compassion and empathy. Caring for pets teaches children responsibility and respect. Both children and animals need exercise and pets are great playmates and a fun way to add physical activity into a child’s day. A pet’s life span can also provide parents the opportunity to teach life lessons about reproduction, birth, illness, loss and death.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, boredom, car, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Charlotte, Child Development, Controlling Worrying in children, Literacy, New School, Pacifier, Phonics, Reading, Role of Fathers, Sleeping, Staying Cool, Summer Games, Sun Protection, Transitions, water Play
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Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
Students at The Goddard School® located in Charlotte, NC, benefit from early exposure to language and literacy.
Cozy Corner™ is an innovative early language and literacy resource geared toward young learners. This research-based program builds on the rich tradition of story time by sharing children’s books including award-winning classics as well as new and multi-cultural titles.
The Cozy Corner curriculum engages children and heightens curiosity through music and active learning to build the foundation they will need to succeed in school.
Cozy Corner:
- Focuses on social and emotional development
- Encourages literacy through reading and sharing;
- Helps develop children’s capacity to form close
and secure adult and peer relationships.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, boredom, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Vacations, Controlling Worrying in children, Fun in the Sun, Goddard School, The Goddard School-Ballantyne, Transitions
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