Playing games seems to be a basic human instinct.  From Senet in ancient Egypt to Monopoly in modern America, every culture and every age has games that are taught to children and enjoyed by people of all ages.

Fine motor skills have to do with using the hands to do tasks.  A baby has a whole-hand grasping reflex at birth but can’t flex individual fingers until about six months.   When a baby starts picking up peas with her thumb and forefinger, she has just made a giant leap in fine motor skill development.  Throwing a spoon on the floor is also a big step because deliberately letting go of something takes a lot of coordination of will, nerves and muscles.   Fine motor development becomes ever more important as children move into the school years and beyond.   Fine motor skills are used in every kind of work from building bridges to brain surgery.

Fine Motor Skill Activities for Preschoolers

• Cutting with scissors
• Using crayons and pencils
• Painting and sculpting
• Holding and manipulating small objects, for example, stringing beads
• Holding and using eating utensils
• Sewing, pasting and other craft activities

How Parents Can Help Children Develop Fine Motor Skills

Parents can encourage young children to work on these important skills by providing lots of opportunities to practice the activities listed above.  Writing or painting on a vertical surface, such as a blackboard or easel, is especially good because it helps strengthen the arm and shoulder muscles, which are also important for fine motor development.

Many toys are specifically crafted to encourage fine motor development.  Construction sets, puzzles and sewing activities like ImgiPLAY’s LacingScapes are great for practicing this essential set of skills.

Finally, encourage children to be active participants in daily life.  Let them dress themselves, even if it takes longer for them to do up buttons and zippers and tie laces and hair ribbons.  Involve children in everyday tasks such as setting the table, folding laundry, spreading jam on their toast, stirring pancake batter–anything which involves grasping and letting go and requires precision.  Keeping little hands busy is fun for everyone and vital for children’s optimum development.

When Do Babies Start to Crawl?

It is important that babies and young children do a lot of crawling, specifically “cross-crawling” where they move opposite arms and legs—left arm and right leg forward, then right arm and left leg.  Most babies start getting mobile at around 6 to 10 months of age.  Not all babies crawl, however.  Some scoot around on their bottoms or roll or even shove themselves around on their back.  Some babies skip crawling altogether and insist on walking as early as 7 or 8 months.

Why Is Crawling Necessary?

Crawling affects the growth of the brain in a very specific way.  The cross-body movement of crawling stimulates both sides of the brain at the same time.  Among other things, good cross-brain development strengthens a child’s eyesight and impacts how easily he will learn to read and write.

How Can Parents Encourage Crawling?

A baby should crawl for at least 5 to 6 months before starting to walk.  Don’t worry, though, if this isn’t the case with your little one.  Parents can help children who didn’t do enough early crawling to fill in the gap.  Encourage kids to get down on all fours and pretend to be animals.  Toys that can be pushed along the ground with one hand, such as small cars or ImagiPlay’s pushtoy series, also get them down on their hands and knees.   Make a crawling obstacle course in the living room or back yard, using low pillows to crawl over and interesting things to crawl around, and challenge your children to see how quickly they can complete it.

Other Activities for Cross-Brain Development

Activities such as marching while vigorously swinging the arms, yoga, tai chi and brain gym exercises stimulate the brain in much the same way as crawling.  These activities are not only good for your children but for you, as well.  Cross-body exercise helps people of all ages stay physically limber and mentally alert.  So, get down on your hands and knees, get set and GO!

What are Open-Ended Toys?

According to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the University of Washington, open-ended toys are those “that have the potential to be different every time [children] play with them.”  In other words, open-ended toys get children’s creative juices flowing.

Fixed toys, on the other hand, are so specific, or so complicated—or both—that there is little scope for the imagination.   An “Elvis” gopher that sings “Blue Suede Shoes” when you squeeze its paw is one example of a fixed toy that I saw recently.  Children presented with such a toy generally end up playing longer with the box it came in.

What Kids Learn From Open-Ended Toys

The reason open-ended toys are educational for children, as well as fun, is because they engage the whole child.  Blocks, for example, not only engage a child’s imagination, they also help hone eye-hand coordination and encourage social interaction.  Dress-up accessories help children practice tying and buttoning at the same time that they develop empathy and imagination by pretending to be someone else.  Stuffed animals and dolls are portable, comforting and great props for all kinds of make-believe.

Parent Guidelines for Open-Ended Toys

Look for toys that are sturdy and simple in design.  The more detailed a toy, the less scope it leaves for a child’s imagination.  Choose toys that are designed for more than one type of play, such as ImagiPLAY’s Puzzle Play Sets,  and/or can be played with in a variety of ways and settings, such as Planet Pixie dolls.  Give preference to playthings that have withstood the test of time, such as puzzles, blocks, dolls, trucks, dress-up clothes and basic art supplies.  Before getting a new toy, ask yourself two questions:

1. Can  this toy be played with in more than one way?
2. Will this toy help my child exercise her muscles, practice her social skills and use her imagination?

If you can answer yes on the first question and yes to at least two out of three on the second question, great.  If not, keep looking.

Of course, the best open-ended toy you can give your child is yourself.  The dishes can wait.  Put on a silly hat and join the fun.  Your little one will be thrilled, and you’ll both have some great memories to treasure.

Woo hoo!  It’s almost spring!  Tulips will be popping up soon.  It’s time to make hummingbird food and get the grill cleaned up.  And an even bigger event… 5 and 6-year-olds are getting registered for kindergarten!

Parents, friends and preschool teachers are all talking to children about, “When you go to kindergarten….”  So, let’s talk about Kindergarten Readiness.  No, not the academic variety of readiness, the social kind.  The kind of readiness that says children can walk into a classroom of 22 children and not burst into tears; clinging onto daddy’s trousers, or grabbing mommy by the pinkie and holding on for dear life!  That’s the hard part of kindergarten, social preparedness.  But, how do we prepare them?

Many times after a parent has taken the child to school for registration, anxiety sets in.  It’s actually quite common for children to act out, cry at preschool or become clingy during the time spent at home.  The interesting thing is that children don’t know that they have anxiety.  And a parent may not realize this either.  But you might pick up on some clues.  You may hear some random remarks like, “I don’t think kindergarten has blocks and cars.”  Or “At kindergarten they don’t let you go to the bathroom.” I’ve also heard, “Kindergarten teachers are mean and don’t let you talk.”  Children start to form their own idea of what kindergarten is, because they don’t know what to expect.

• Keep communication open: Make sure your child knows that you DO know what kindergarten is all about and you can answer questions.
• Take a field trip: Set up a time to visit the kindergarten class where your child will be going to school.  Talk about any questions before you go, and then make sure they’re answered during your visit.
• Encourage independence:  I can’t stress this enough!  Make sure your child can tie his shoes, zip his coat and open her own applesauce.  It gives the child a feeling of empowerment and they will carry this feeling with them while at school. 
• Help alleviate worries:  Teach your child how to ask for help if needed.  If they feel confident about having their needs met, they won’t worry as much. 

Most importantly, make sure your child understands what’s going on.  Get some library books about kindergarten. Try to down play the phrase: “You have to know “this” for kindergarten.”  If you’re teaching your child to zip his coat, tell him it’s to help keep him warm.  Make sure your child knows, they can always come to you with a problem.  If you develop that relationship now, you’ll have it for a lifetime!

-Patti

    It’s that time of year ~ preschool registration time!  No, it’s not college.  And… yes, it is the educational foundation for the rest of your child’s life.  But although it may seem like it’s the most important thing at the moment ~ It’s not something that should cause you stress. There are so many choices out there, that the pursuit of the right match for your child can be daunting.  Montessori, Play-based, Waldorf and Structured Environment; These may be terms you’ll hear when you begin your search.  It can seem overwhelming, but you can be armed and ready if you prepare ahead of time.

     First you need to ask what you actually want for you child.  Do you need all day care?  Is it important for your child to experience a multi-cultural environment?  Maybe you’d like your child to excel in arts?  Think about your needs and beliefs.  Only you can make the decision as to what situation is best for your child. 

 No matter what philosophy you choose, keep these things in mind:

• How long has the school been there?  If they are brand new, you may have to deal with some ‘new-business quirks’
• Does the school philosophy agree with your convictions?
• Check online to find reviews from previous students/families
• What is the turnover rate of staff?  High turnover may mean poor management/directorship
• If you’re observing during a class time ~ do the children seem happy?
• Discipline policy?  Does it agree with what you believe?
• Does the school have educational toys and manipulatives that will encourage your child to grow and learn?  i.e. books, puzzles, blocks, kitchen center, easel and art supplies available
• Check the daily schedule.  Is it balanced with activities that support gross/fine motor, literacy and language, math and science?
• Preschool classrooms tend to be a little messy when activities are taking place.  But look for cleanliness… it’s very different from messy.

 Still aren’t sure?  It’s okay if you make the wrong choice. Unless the school has put your child in danger, your child is not going to suffer from a brief stay at a school that doesn’t supply playdough!  Just keep looking until you find a school that gives you that “ahhhhhh” feeling.  When you find it ~ you’ll know!

-Patti

Stop and think of your favorite one.  Is it bringing back memories of your childhood?  Maybe you’re picturing something your child got on his last birthday.

~~~~~

Dolls… action figures… animal figurines… board games.  Well, these are things that have been around for thousands – yes, thousands of years!  What can we learn from finding toys that were played with that long ago?  Of course they have changed.  We’ve taken them from sheaves of wheat and cobs of corn to modern day wood and plastic.  We’ve changed the stuffing from dried leaves to good ol’ manmade polyester. Balls have been made from pig’s bladders, leather and now synthetic materials. 

 But a carved elephant from an old tree provided just as much enjoyment to a child 1000 years ago, as a fluffy elephant filled with factory-made polyfil does today.  The excitement of a child grew just as much with a ‘bladder ball’ after the slaughtering of a pig… as the excitement grows today when a child gets a new soccer ball for her birthday!

Action figures and dolls of long ago probably had the same function as today.  They were used for role-playing.  The only difference may be that the roles have changed.  Daddy doesn’t grab his spear and go out to hunt dinner anymore.  Mommy doesn’t gather berries for the morning meal…… or does she? Thirty years ago the grocery store was our leading choice for gathering berries.  But families are getting back to the basics and there is a resurgence of fruit and vegetable gardens!  (But that’s another blog… Back to toys!)  Based on artifacts that have been found, prehistoric children could only base their limited imagination on the small world around them.  Most likely, there wasn’t a lot of time for play.  Days were spent looking for food and shelter.  But role-playing was still: mommy, daddy, grandparents, pets and friends; much like today. As history progressed, more artifacts have been documented.  King Tut was a lover of the board game Senet; which was found in his tomb.  Egyptians were great inventors of many things, and toys were very important to them.  Dolls have been found in remote areas of China and also in Ireland that date back 2000 years.  Children in ancient Greece played with spinning tops and model horses.

 But lets look at more than the appearance of a toy.  What did toys mean?  Even the prehistoric families knew that children needed entertainment, so to speak.  Although they didn’t give it the priority we do today.   In the present day we also look at toys as entertainment, but we also want our toys to ‘make children smarter.’  Computer and video games, puzzles, memory card games, just to name a few.  But, sometimes we forget one important factor:  IMAGINATION.  We take away a child’s ability to think for themselves and we tell them ‘how to play’ the game.  As you’ve learned from previous blogs, that’s not exactly helpful for a child’s development.  ImagiPLAY is a company coming full circle.  The toys allow a child to pretend, use their imagination and develop creativity.  Now, I’m not saying toys shouldn’t be educational.  A toy can always provide different educational value for each child.  Puzzles were first invented in the 1700’s to teach geography.  Wow, 350 years of educational puzzles!  Puzzles are fun, educational and appeal to a variety of learning styles.  Read a previous blog called “Becoming an Observer” to refresh your memory on the different intelligences.  We all need toys.  Make sure your child has toys that inspire the imagination and develop his or her own intelligence and individuality.  How many of you have ever seen the joy on a toddler’s face when she is playing with a pot and wooden spoon?

Yes, toys have come full circle.  They started as wood and clay, embellished with natural fibers.  And they’re back: connected with nature and made from eco-friendly sources.

Until next time… your toy-playing blogger,

Patti

You’re in the kitchen baking with the kids and it’s been great fun.  You’ve measured, stirred, rolled, cut. The cookies are in the oven.  Frosting and sprinkles are ready to top those treats.  Looking around the kitchen you see the result of the heavenly aroma wafting through the house.  The kitchen is a disaster!  Time to clean but the kids are underfoot, waiting impatiently for those yummy cookies to come out.  Let’s think of something to do while they’re waiting…

Homemade play clay!  Okay, you’re thinking you just can’t make one more thing.  But hey – the flour, rolling pin and cookie cutters are already out and this will take five, yes five, minutes.  You cook it on the stovetop and the kids can be entertained and easily watched while you whip that kitchen back into shape.  The play clay is non-toxic, so no worries if your little ones put it into their mouth.  And it’s fun for just about all ages.  Even adults can become a little addicted to what you can roll out and make with a pile of dough.  And trust me ~ you’ll be hero of the day!

MIMI’S HOMEMADE PLAY CLAY

1 cup white flour
¼ cup salt
2 tablespoons Cream of Tartar (find it in the spice section)
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water
Food color ~ 2 to 10 drops

Mix flour, salt & cream of tartar in medium saucepan.  Add water, food color and oil.  Cook over medium heat while stirring continuously; about 3-5 minutes.  It will look like a big, blob of nothing – and you’ll think you did something wrong.  Then, surprise!  It forms a ball in the middle of the pot and you’re ready to plop it out on the counter.  Knead it lightly and add a little flour if it’s sticky.  Keep it in an airtight container or zipper bag.

The fun part of making this is that you can color it whatever you like or spice it up depending on the time of year.  How about Peppermint Magenta? 

• Peppermint: Add 1 tablespoon peppermint extract after you mix in the liquids
• Your favorite flavor:  Add one package of unsweetened Kool-Aid to the dry mix.  It colors and flavors it.
• Conversation Hearts: Those little candies would be fun to decorate those clay creations!  There’s a bunch available in the clearance bins right now at your local grocery store.  Plus it’s great for literacy development.

Be prepared for some great exploration to take place.  Adding in some plastic knives, Popsicle sticks, and other kitchen items can help produce some unique creations.  Plastic straws may become the legs of a horse and toothpicks can turn into birthday candles. Whatever you celebrate this season… it’s all about making memories.

Whew!  Clean kitchen and happy children!

-Patti Moody

Oh, rats!  We just missed him!  “I think he escaped out that window!” says Zach.  We take our treasures, leaving some for our other friends and we head back to our classroom.  Oh, no!  That tricky leprechaun has crept into our room and emptied our toys all over the room!  Our tables and chairs are upside down and our jackets are on the floor!  Where is that sneaky little green guy?  He is now… very, very real.

The Leprechaun Hunt is one of the highlights of our school year. It’s  amazing how a story and the attitude of an adult can transform a child’s imagination into something so genuine and real.

So – why is this pretending so important?  Toddlers and preschoolers are in that prime time for developing the area of the brain for creativity and imagination.  I often tell parents that we can teach a 10 year-old to read or use a computer.  But teaching “imagination” to a 10 year-old
would be much more difficult.  That window of opportunity is almost closed.

St. Patrick’s Day can mean many things:

* Parades and Green Beer *Corned Beef and Cabbage * Leprechauns, Shamrocks and Pots O’ Gold at the End of the Rainbow * And of course, the religious aspect of St. Patrick himself who helped establish churches in Ireland in the 5^th century.  With a name like, Agnes McGuinnes in the family…   our house usually means all of the above!  There’s a lot of Irish under our roof!

Using holidays is an easy and fun way to teach children and encourage creative development.  The holiday is already there – go with
it!  Use your own beliefs, values and ideas to make it work for your family.

The Leprechaun Hunt can easily be done at your home on March 17^th.  Have it ready when your child wakes up!  It’s amazing that some green construction paper footprints leading to the “pot o’ gold” can be transformed into a genuine Leprechaun sneaking through your home and making silly messes as he goes.  Make sure you have a playful attitude, so children don’t become afraid.  Use words like: Silly, goofy, kooky or tricky.

Holidays are also a great time to introduce new foods.  Try some corned beef and cabbage on St. Patty’s Day; have green Jello for dessert.  Color the milk green for their Lucky Charms! They’ll love it.  No, I’m not a fan of ingesting food dyes and eating sugar for breakfast… but, hey… all in moderation as they say!  And don’t forget to reinforce that color green everywhere. It’s great for those toddlers learning colors.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!
Erin Go Bragh! (Ireland Forever!)

Patti

P.S.
Parents: Feed your relationship with each other…date night on St. Patty’s Day.  After dinner, watch “The
Quiet Man” with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.  VERY fun and romantic!

* Hickory, Dickory, Dock ~ time, opposites/position words (up/down)
* Jack Be Nimble ~ position words (over); Letter J
* Little Boy Blue ~ position words (under); Color: blue; Farm
* Humpty Dumpty ~ opposites/position words (on/off); (eggs); Letters H, D, E;
* Jack and Jill ~ Letter J; opposites/position words (up/down/after)
* Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star ~ Space; position words, (above/in), diamond shape
* Baa, Baa, Black Sheep ~ Farm; Color: black; Letter B; Counting to 3
* Hey Diddle, Diddle ~ Letter D; position words (over)
* Little Jack Horner ~ position words/opposites (in/out); Fruits; Color: Purple       
* Little Miss Muffet ~ position words (on); Halloween; Spiders; Letter M;  Color: Black
* Mary Had a Little Lamb ~ Farm, Back to School; Letter M; Color: white

• Three Little Kittens –
  • Numbers: 1,2,3
  • Emotions: Crying – why were the kittens crying?  Why were they crying when the found the mittens? Happy vs. Sad
  • Responsibility – Lost mittens = no pie
  • What is pie?
  • What’s your favorite kind of pie?
  • Can pie have fruit?  Can pie have veggies?  Can pie have meat?
  • What else do you think goes in a pie

• Mary Had a Little Lamb
  • What is fleece?  Did you know that fleece is shaven off and then turned into wool?
  • What is made of wool?   Sweaters, scarves etc…
  • What if a lamb followed one of your friends to school?
  • What would the children do?

• Little Boy Blue
  • The sheep is in the meadow?  What’s a meadow?
  • Why would the cow be in the corn?
  • Why do you think the little boy is asleep?
  • Do you think you could find a pencil in a haystack?  How about a crayon?
  • What kind of horn do you think Little Boy Blue Had?

Teaching children nursery rhymes is a great way to get them to learn about imagination, creativity and word play.  Babies and toddlers are easily entertained with nursery rhymes.  Preschoolers are curious, and by engaging them in a creative story such as “Jack and Jill,” you get their minds working. The children soon want to learn more and more nursery rhymes. Simply put… nursery rhymes are an amazing pre-reading activity.

The most important thing to remember is that these should be fun!  Nursery Rhymes also help stimulate the adult imagination.  Think of games you can play along with the rhyme or even art projects or crafts.  And there is always something you can cook to go along with a rhyme!  i.e. The Queen of Hearts, made some tarts;  Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, eating a Christmas Pie; Little Boy Blue?  Make some cornbread!  Think of these things as conversation starters too – and trust me, your house will never be boring!

Until next time….

“Old Mother Hubbard”…  signing off!