Making Memories With Preschoolers- Labor Day Ideas

My mo gave me a great book, Let's Make a Memory by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson. I have younger siblings and my mom used this book with them. It has some terrific ideas for making days special and planning simple special events to make lasting memories with your children, many celebrating God. Here are two abbreviated ideas for Labor Day (US) (you will probably see others come up as the time goes on):
1. Work: God's Perfect Plan- The first thing God gave Adam was a job. Celebrate God's plan for work by creating banners to put up in your house. There are some Bible verse's to go along with this idea: post a comment if you want some.
2. The Gift of Work: To help your child appreciate the gift of work, make arrangements ahead of time to them to your place of employment on a regular work day. Discussion questions are included. Begin the day by talking about the gift of work is to our lives and the joy we find in contributing to other's person lives by using the skills we have. If you are a stay at home mom, make sure you point out the things you do to help the family. Many children don't realize how much work moms do- they just think it is part of the day!

Celebrate Labor Day with your children and make them realize it is more than cook outs and the end of summer!

Requested verses:
Ps. 19:16 The firmament showeth His handiwork.
John 9:4 We must dot he work of Him who sent Me.
1 Cor. 3:9 We are workers together with God.
Neh 4:6 The people had a mind to work.
Hag 2:4 Be strong... and work, for I am with you.
Deut. 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect.
2 Tim 2:15 e a workman who does not need to be ashamed.

Trips to the Bathroom: Define Manipulation

I got so busy commenting on my comments yesterday, I forgot to blog! LOL!

Now that my son is attending preschool and is enjoying himself, he has now decided the bathroom is a fun place to be. His teacher has left messages that something may be wrong since he is going to the bathroom two or three times per hour. I think there are two options:
1. He has figured out he can get out of the classroom on his own. The bathroom is right next door.
2. He squeezes some out so he can wash his hands and play in the sink!

Either way, while he is at home, he hardly goes at all. I told him he was manipulating his teacher, that does not know him yet, and who is afraid he will wet his pants. I explain to him he only goes when he absolutely HAS to go and he should not manipulate the situation.

We shall see on Tuesday how his teacher reacts or if he actually wets his pants... which he has not done awake unless he waits too long after nap.

The preschool mind is a smart one...

Preschool Center Labels: Fostering Independence

When I taught preschool, I used the Highscope curriculum. One of the main ideas of Highscope is child independence. Part of being independent in preschool or at home is being able to clean up.

If you use centers at school or learning centers at home, your child needs to be able to clean up when he is done. By labeling your preschool centers or by labeling where things go in his room, you can foster that independence.

I would use old catalogs when I would label the classroom, using pictures of the toys that belonged in a certain section of the room. There was no reading involved. If you also want to encourage word recognition, write the word near the picture. Another great resource for pictures would be a preschool toy website, like Genius Babies. Find the picture you want, right click (PC users) and save the picture to your computer. Make a word processing document by inserting the pictures and print. Cover them with clean packaging tape so they stay for a while. You can also do this with clothing and household items.

Help make your child independent by teaching them how to put things away. Everyone will be happy.

The Importance of Talking to Your Preschooler

Having conversations with your preschooler is an important part of the day, especially if they are not with you all day. My preschooler attends preschool now and tells me about his entire day. I laugh because he starts talking at 4:00 pm until he falls asleep. Sometimes I have to ask him questions so he is more specific than who broke what toy and who got in trouble. But I love hearing about his day. I wish my two year old would be so forth coming.

Take the time to talk to your child. Sit down and really talk. Talk at dinner. Make sure to eat dinner together. It is a good social skill to carry on conversation and it gives the child's day validity. It also builds memory skills to review events that have past. And your child will remember the day better if he reviews it. Don't miss out!