Mini preschool everyday.....totally Do-able!

So, we all know that we should read to our kids 20 minutes a day, which is soooo important, but there is so much more that we can do to raise intelligent and healthy kids and to prepare them for a good start in Kindergarten. At Head Start my job was to help families get their kiddos ready for K. So, here are just a few tips. These are just some broad topics for things you could be doing. If you could fit in one activity (it can be something you were going to do anyway) in each of the areas every day, you would be a ROCKSTAR mommy and so will your kid. If we all have issues with the school systems these days, we need to do some supplementing.

1.Social/Emotional (dealing with others and feelings)

2. Motor Development (large motor: jumping, kicking, physical stuff; fine motor: small muscles like fingers)

3. Arts/Music/Rhythm

4. Math/Science (shapes, numbers, cooking)

5. Literacy/Language (ABC recognition, vocab, rhyming)

I will do each one more in depth and give ideas for things you could do, starting with social emotional.

It's okay to be sad!

Social/Eotional: K- so this one is the area that is going to help you keep your kid from being the bully at school or from being the one getting bullied. It will help your kid to be self aware and well liked by other kids. It will hopefully prevent your child from being the one that shoots up a high school (I am so sad that I am actually serious about that one). This will help your kid build healthy relationships now and in the future. So....ideas.

-SOOO many things can be incorporated into a weekly family night!!

1. Draw (or print off a website) a bunch of different emotions on paper and put them on popsicle sticks or whatever you have. I like to also do them on magnets so the kids see them often. Talk to your kids about what the emotions are based on the faces. Ask them times when they have felt: mad, sad, angry, frustrated (so many kids don't know what frustration is), uncomfortable, nervous, scared, shy etc.. Make a deal that if the kids feel one of these emotions and want to talk...or don't, they can grab one and show you, just so you know. It is amazing how letting them tell you they are angry helps communication around the house. Little ones can do it too. You can also do it with hubbies!

2. Play charades and act out emotions.

3.Help your child learn the steps to problem solving. YOu will have to guide them through it. (THis is from Love and Logic...LOVE IT!!)

Love and Logic Step One: Empathy.
“How sad.”
“I bet that hurts.”
Love and Logic Step Two: Send the “Power Message.”
“What do you think you’re going to do?”
Love and Logic Step Three: Offer choices.
“Would you like to hear what other kids have tried?”
At this point, offer a variety of choices that range from bad
to good. It’s usually best to start out with the poor choices.
Each time a choice is offered, go on to step four, forcing
the youngster to state the consequence in his/her own
words. This means that you will be going back and forth
between Love and Logic steps three and four.
Love and Logic Step Four: Have the child state the consequences.
“And how will that work?”
Love and Logic Step Five: Give permission for the child to either solve the problem
or not solve the problem.
“Good luck. I hope it works out.”
Have no fear. If the child is fortunate enough to make a
poor choice, he/she may have a double learning lesson.

4. Whenever you help your child share or be nice to a sibling, you cover this one, so take your time when opportunities present themselves and really teach them the way you want them to treat others.

5. When you do something you regret (spank, yell, grab, mean comment PS-you should regret all of these :)) apologize to your child so they learn that it is not a bad thing and it will become easier for them.

6. Communicate with your hubby in a way that you would want your child to emmulate and if you don't, let them see you apologize to him.

7. Talk through traumatic or new situations....just because they aren't talking doesn't mean they aren't feeling stuff.

8. Try not to tell them, "you are fine" when clearly they aren't, "stop crying", anything that will make them feel like they can't express emotions. ( I know some of these things sound a little like the stuff that the therapist only does with her kids, but they seriously help your kids be emotionally solid) You don't have to be dorky about it.

9. Self esteem-Oh how there are a million things we need to do to improve our kids' self-esteem. That wil be a post of it's own later. Start by guessing what your ratio of positive to negative attention your child is and bump it up!! (aim for 7:1)

10.********************SO IMPORTANT********************* validate their feelings always. Kids (and adults, another thing that works wonders on communicating with hubbies)NEED to have validation for things they feel. Whether you think they should feel it or not, if they are feeling it it needs to be validated. EX-I bet that makes you feel really ________fill in the blank with a million different things. You will be blown away how that simple phrase can stop fights, crying, and can cure a sad little kid pretty quick.

Okay, so there are some ideas. You are probably already doing all of these every day, but I think it helps to remember that these are things that need to be learned so not to just push them aside when they come up in life, but to really make them teaching experiences. Good luck....post any other ideas or questions in my comments.