Making Choices

All children need to feel they can make choices, no matter how old they are. Just think of the 2 year old that already knows what she wants to wear to school. Without being given a choice, the parent has taken away one of the things they can control. So they will take control of something else, whether it is what they eat, when they eat, when they go to bed, or when you go to bed, children that need that control will find it.

A simple way to help your child to feel in control is to give them choice. This does not mean an open ended questions with unlimited possibilities. This is two choices, both of which the parent can live with, in order to give your child some control over a situation.

Which of these two shirts do you want to wear?
Do you want to take a bath before or after the show?
Are you going to have a bagel or cereal for breakfast?

Simple choices can make life a whole lot easier for everyone. And when you do not give them choices, you can have a morning like mine!

Developing a Sense of Self

Allowing your child to be what they want to be is important when they a young. We want our children to be free to express themselves, appropriately, and to discover and explore. This helps them develop their own idea of who they are. By allowing them to be silly, laugh, dress up, get dirty, and have fun, they can feel safe to be their own person. We do not want to make little clones that are the "perfect child." We want them to learn to respect, to obey, and to use their brains, but we also want them to develop the sense that they have choices- good and bad, have some say in what they do, and have consequences if they make a wrong choice. We want them to be able to think through a problem without someone saving them. We want them to eventually be independent!

Think about this when you are guiding or directing your child. Maybe, ask them for their opinion!

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Outdoor Fun- Go To The Park

We love going to the park. We have missed the park these past few months where it has been too hot to go. But now, the weather will be nice for months and we can make up for lost time.

The park is a great place for preschoolers. Not only are they working those large motor skills climbing, jumping, swinging, and running, they are also developing social relationships by learning to talk and play with people they don't know.

The park closest to us is a neighborhood park. There is a large piece of equipment shaped like a boat and a village. Both of mine can navigate almost all the equipment without me, so it is a nice time to sit back and watch them. There are many neighbor kids that are always looking for the friend of the day. My son is not so used to rambunctious little boys, so it is a learning experience for him to interact with them.

And my kids love it, until it is time to go home. Then we have to fight all the way to the car. How soon they forget what a joyous time they were having when they are screaming in the car seat!

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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!

Preschoolers Need to Socialize

Preschoolers need friends. Moms that stay at home sometimes take the staying home literally! Your children need to get out and play with others. They even need to get away from the family and play by with their friends without you around.

Social development is important. Make sure your child is getting plenty of child related activities with friends of similar ages. Even if they go to preschool, find activities to do with friends outside of school. Playgroups, different classes, story time at the library, or even playing at the park can give your preschooler opportunities to play with others.

For some ideas on activities, visit Heartland Moms. It is a site for local moms and tells about some activities we have in our local area. You may not be able to participate, but it gives some ideas of what to look for in your area. Plus there are tons of tips for parents of children of all ages.