Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten During the Covid-19 Pandemic

By: Katie Kwiatek, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher at The Lily Garden Child Care

Will your child be five years old before September 1st, 2020? If so, get ready to send them off to kindergarten this Fall!

But, wait!

Since schools and day cares have closed, I’m afraid my child will have a tough time transitioning back to a school setting. What skills do they need in order to be kindergarten ready? There are so many new procedures for children to learn too! How can I help?!

Here’s what you can do to prepare your little one!

Create a daily schedule that mirrors the average school day.

It can be a rough transition from quarantine life to a school schedule. It’s so easy to fall in to the habit of staying in pajamas all day, being a couch potato, eating right when you feel hungry, etc. Once your child goes back to school, they will have to follow a schedule of: when to eat, when to play outside, when to sit still, when to be silly, and when to be serious. For everybody’s sake, create a structured schedule for the typical work week and keep weekends open and fun!

To mirror your child’s average school day, contact the teacher! They’ll be more than happy to send you an outline of a typical day. Make sure to keep your schedule consistent! Children need structure and consistency! They like to know what comes next and what is expected of them. If your child tends to feel nervous/anxious, having a consistent schedule will help ease them. Let your child know before you implement a new schedule- explain the new routine, make a chart together! Here is a resource for parents about creating structure and rules.

For all children’s success in this current pandemic, practice wearing masks at home and getting comfortable with wearing them for extended amounts of time. Practice frequent, good hand washing and reminders to limit touching of their face. We know this is easier said than done! Check back on our blog and social media for upcoming tips and resources around mask/face coverings and remote learning.

This is a challenging time for families and it is hard to know what the school environment and year will be like for your child. With some careful preparations and conversations, your child can have success. By sharing a positive attitude surrounding school, the new rules and the big change to Kindergarten for your child, it will help him/her feel ready to learn and ease some anxiety.

Work on social and emotional skills at home. 

Social and emotional skills are a key ingredient for kindergarten readiness. Your child needs to learn how to express and cope with their emotions appropriately and form healthy relationships with their peers and grown-ups. How can you work on social and emotional skills at home? Its very simple! Do your best to keep your own emotions in check and talk, talk, TALK!

Remember, your child is always observing your behavior. Think out loud, show them your thought process when you’re upset. When your child is upset, describe their face & body language, label the emotion, and provide a solution,  “I see your body is tense and your eyebrows are drawn. You are frustrated. Lets take 2 deep breaths and do 3 hand squeezes together.”  While reading a book or watching a TV show, describe the characters and ask questions, “That man is yelling at that girl and his face is red. He is very angry. How do you think she feels?”

Here is a resource about building social & emotional skills at home:
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Click this link for a list of books about emotions:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/books-emotions-preschool/

Encourage your child to be independent! 

Being independent and having self-help skills is another key ingredient for kindergarten readiness. Your child will likely be in a classroom with over 20 students and 1 teacher and keeping distance between each other. This requires your child to be as independent as possible.

 

Here is a resource about self-help skills:
https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/self-care/self-care-skills/

Click this link for the self-help development chart:
https://childdevelopment.com.au/resources/child-development-charts/self-care-developmental-chart/

To promote independence and improve self-help skills at home, work on these tasks:

• Picking out clothes for the day

• Getting undressed and dressed independently

• Putting dirty clothes in a laundry basket

• Brushing teeth & hair

• Take off & put on shoes

• Put on a jacket and zip/button it up

• 100% bathroom independent (potty trained & wipe independently)

• Properly wash hands

• Hang up a jacket & a backpack on a hook

Allow boredom 

Why do you want your child to be bored? From boredom comes imagination and creativity! Its essential for every child to have a lively imagination, to think outside of the box, and to express themselves creatively. They’ll be able to carry this trait through school to adulthood. Keep your child’s imagination alive! Provide them with art materials and encourage open-ended art, have them express themselves through music with pots & pans (put on headphones if you’re working from home 😉), encourage them to create puppets and put on a puppet show! Even chores can provide great lessons in executive functioning.

Here is a parent resource to fire up your child’s imagination:
https://www.parenting.com/activities/kids/10-easy-ways-to-fire-your-childs-imagination-21354373/

Make learning fun!

Each kindergarten has different standards and academic requirements prior to starting. Contact your local school district to get more information. Typically, your child should be able to copy upper & lowercase letters, recognize some-most letters, know numbers 1-10, classify objects by shape & size, and be able to use scissors & glue with ease.

Here is a resource of more skills your child should know:
https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/school-life/grade-by-grade/preparing-kindergarten.html

With many kindergarten screenings cancelled this summer, you can use the Easterseals FREE child development screening tool, the Ages & Stages Questionnaire, to help measure and keep track of your child’s growth and development. This is a great tool to provide your teacher and child’s doctor on areas they may need assistance to grow.

How to make learning fun?

Create a pretend classroom for your child to play teacher and you play student! This area can serve as your child’s remote learning area too. This is an opportunity to grow your child’s love of learning. Give them assorted classroom materials: clipboards, pencils, paper, books, alphabet & number cards (use whatever you can find in the house or find free printables online). Are there certain letters, numbers, or shapes they have trouble with? Don’t focus so much on worksheets- instead find fun hands-on activities!

Click this link for letter activities:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/alphabet/
Click this link for number games & activities:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/counting-games-activities-preschoolers/
Click this link for shape activities:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/shapes-activities-preschoolers/

We know how agonizing the decisions for the next school year are for your family. If your child receives school therapy services, is unable to wear a mask, or if remote learning is not an option for your family, it can feel especially challenging. Whatever decision you make, we are here to support you. Contact our Social Services team for support and resources at socialservices@eastersealsdfvr.org. We will have more information on our blog around these important subjects in the months ahead.

We remain committed to providing the highest quality services to improve the lives of children and those who love and care for them. We understand that a child’s needs to succeed look different for each family. For over 75 years, our clinical team has provided individualized therapy plans to best achieve a child’s goals and support healthy families. This pandemic only solidifies our commitment. Let us know how we can help you in the comments.

Simple Strategies for Picky Eaters

By: Mandy Glasener, Lead Preschool Teacher and Danni Drake, Teacher Assistant

As pre-school teachers, we are all too familiar with this battle. How do you get a 3-year-old to try something new or eat their vegetables? We will share with you some of our tried and true secrets!

The key is to disguise it!

We managed to get a whole classroom of preschoolers to eat their peas and want more! Crazy! Right?

We made pea pancakes.  A savory treat full of fiber, protein and fun!

Focusing on the aesthetics makes it fun for all kids to eat. Can you eat the nose? Who will eat his eyeballs first?

Not only are you making it a learning experience, you are eating healthy right along with your child.

Also, we LOVE Pinterest. We have found many easy recipes that are quick and healthy that the children love and ask for us to make together. Some of our favorites are below!

1. The rice cake face.  You can change it up and use fruit and yogurt too! The possibilities are endless!
2. A favorite pre-school activity is mixing and making zucchini bread is a winner to make for snack time every time!
3. Dips are popular too! This ranch hummus dip is a winner!

We use the hummus as “glue” and go fishing for goldfish with our veggie stick rods! Not only are you eating an amazing, fiber, protein packed snack, you are also having fun playing a game!

Growing a garden (even a few small containers) is a rewarding experience even for the youngest of gardeners. Everything is more delicious when you grow it all by yourself!

We grow our own vegetables here at “The Lily Garden” and harvesting is always a very exciting time. We have tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini and broccoli  growing this year. In the past we have done rainbow carrots, kale and potatoes too!

Involve your kids in the food preparation and it will make them want to try it too. Research shows that if your child is involved with the meal prep they are much more likely to eat it. Also be a role model and show them that you like to eat your fruits and veggies too!

Please share your favorite healthy snacks in the comments.

Happy snacking!

The Lily Garden Child Development Center incorporates a play-based program philosophy. We understand that children learn best when provided with experiences in an environment that is positive, nurturing and developmentally appropriate. Learn more about the Lily Garden Child Development Center here.

 

 

How to Promote Reading Awareness in Young Children

By:  Kelly Lopresti, Director of Child Development & Christopher J. Lopresti, Reading Specialist

Each year at the beginning of March, school children kick off National Reading Month by celebrating the birthday of the beloved Dr. Seuss. Teachers design contests, family literacy events, and even pajama and pillow days to provide cozy mornings of uninterrupted reading. With help from Read Across America, the goal is to motivate kids to read every day of the year.

What about the little ones? Some think young children can’t participate. With a little help, they can enjoy National Reading Month too.

Literacy skills begin to develop at birth. At the Lily Garden Child Care Center we know how important early reading can be to help a child’s later success with reading and writing.

Skills closely related to later success with reading and writing:

• Writing letters or one’s own name—the ability to write single letters in isolation, or write their own name
• Alphabet knowledge—the ability to name letters and the sounds they make
• Phonological awareness—the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds of spoken language (such as hear the beginning sound of a word)
• Rapid letter or number naming—the ability to quickly name letters or numbers
• Phonological memory—the ability to remember spoken information for a short period of time
• Rapid object or color naming—the ability to quickly name random series of colors or objects

One way to develop these skills, give the gift of reading aloud to your child.

There are several benefits of reading aloud to your children. From bonding with your children to helping them strengthen skills in writing, creativity, listening and more. According to Scholastic’s Kids and Family Reading Report, the frequency of children being read aloud to at home drops sharply after age 5.  It drops even lower after age 8.  Try these resources to keep your reading bond strong with your kids.

• The more you read aloud to your kids the more they will love reading.

• It builds their vocabularies.

• It develops background knowledge that they will need to understand the meaning of texts when they read on their own.

• It inspires a lifetime love of reading and is a great way to model making reading a part of their everyday lives.

• It’s one of the best ways to bond with your kids.

What you read aloud can vary day to day. Mix it up – short, long, funny, factual – it’s all good.    

Literacy Coach Reading Tip:  Please remember to read boldfaced headings and captions to your children in preparation for their academic careers.  The information therein is often used as source material for higher order thinking questions and can be used to expand their knowledge.

• Chapter Books: Some read alouds go on for days and weeks because you may be reading a chapter a night of a longer novel or chapter book.

• Picture Books: You may want to share a favorite picture book. Pick a former favorite of your child’s and revisit it.  They will love it just as much as they did when they were younger. Picture books are short 10-15 minutes. You can read picture books over and over again.

• Poetry: Reading a short poem in the morning (or whenever you have time) can be a great idea. Find poems that relate to the season or what’s happening in their daily life.

Try one of these poems and see if your children like it.

• Runny Babbit by Shel Silver Stein
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
• For Laughing Out Loud: Poems to Tickle Your Funnybone by Jack Pretlusky
• Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Pretlusky and Marc Brown

Visit the below websites for a list of the top children’s book of 2016 and other resources.

• Association for Library Service to Children list of 2017 most notable books! http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb
• Let your kids choose books they want to read! http://www.parents.com/fun/entertainment/books/
• Books to read to infants and toddlers!                               http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/reading-writing/great-books-read-infants-and-toddlers

Lily Garden Teacher’s Top Picks

The Little Mouse and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood -The pictures are amazing.  I also like that the big hungry bear is mentioned throughout the book but never pictured.   It is left up to the child’s imagination to picture the bear. -Jenni Moses

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long – It’s a story from a child’s perspective which the children can relate to. It’s a story about fun pirates! Every class I’ve worked with loves pirates and it’s something that holds their interest. Also, the author uses very descriptive words that really puts you in the story! -Katie Kwiatek

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crocket Johnson – Harold lets his imagination go through art and his drawing! -Julie DeSalvo

We are in a Book by Mo Williams – I love this book! Mo Williams is such a creative author and I recommend all his work. The characters come to life well if you have a crazy imagination like I do or enjoy doing voices. Piggie reminds me of myself, so doing voices for Piggie and elephant is very fun. -Melissa Gonzalez

Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly – Toddlers love this book.  The children like to point to whatever facial feature is on that page.

The Bunny Rabbit Show by Sandra Boynton  – Toddlers love to sing along! -Christy Stringini

Naughty Little Monkeys by Jim Aylesworth -This book is about what happens when you leave twenty-six little monkeys home alone.  It’s a funny and colorful book that children want to read over and over again.  My son loved this book! -Kelly Lopresti

For more information about our inclusive daycare and our program philosophy visit: eastersealslilygarden.org.

Getting Back to the Basics this 4th of July

In Memory of: Kelly Lopresti, Director of Child Development, The Lily Garden Child Care Center

The warm summer weather is perfect for a Fourth of July celebration that incorporates easy patriotic activities. Think back to your own childhood outdoor experiences in the summer months with nights playing kick the can and flashlight tag.  We can show our kids how to have a great 4^th of July celebration by adding a few throw back activities from our youth.  Below is a list of list of easy activities that will keep kids busy, laughing and having a ton of fun during your holiday weekend.

Potato Sack Race: Bring back the classic potato sack race for your Fourth of July party. All you’ll need is a handful of bags (even old pillow cases will work) and a group of people. Line up the bagged participants and send them on their way laughing toward the finish line.

Fun with the Brady Bunch kids.

Fun Tip: Choose festive bags, such as red, white, and blue pillow cases, or decorate your own potato sacks with the image of the flag or the Statue of Liberty.

Spoon Race: We named this Fourth of July game for one of our nation’s founding fathers, and it’s sure to be a hit. It’s the Abraham Lincoln Spoon Race.

1. Divide the kids into two teams and designate a starting point and finish line.
2. At the starting point, place a bowl of pennies and two spoons or ladles (one for each team); at the finish line, place two empty bowls (one for each team).
3. One at a time one person from each team must fill the spoon with as many pennies as possible and then race to the finish line to discard them into the team bowl.
4. Here’s the catch: Any dropped pennies must be picked up and returned to the spoon, and the player must return to the starting point. The first team to transfer all the pennies to the bowl at the finish line wins.

Photo from Oriental Trading

American Flag Relay: Fill two large plastic buckets or bins with sand and insert small American flags. Use the same number of flags as participants.

1. Designate a starting point and a finish line, placing the buckets at the finish line.
2. Split the kids into two teams and have them form two lines at the starting point.
3. On your “Go,” the first person in each line races to the bucket, grabs a flag, and marches back (for safety reasons, don’t allow children to run with the flags).
4. The next person in line cannot go until the previous person has returned with his or her flag.
5. The first team to capture all of its flags wins.

Other ideas:

• Bike Decorating contest: Get the streamers and balloons ready and start decorating.
• Hula Hoop Contest: Grab some Hula Hoops and a few wiggly participants to get the contest started. The person who can continue to hula the longest wins.
• Baseball Throwing Contest: Incorporate America’s favorite pastime in your 4th of July celebration. The person who can throw a baseball the farthest wins. This game is best played at a park with an adult marking the distance each time.
• Tug-of-War Contest: Create two teams to tug on opposing sides of a rope. Make three knots in the middle of the rope and a line on the ground between the teams. The team who tugs the furthest knot across the line wins
• Fly a Kite: Let your patriotic spirit fly high into the sky this July Fourth. Make and decorate kites as a family and fly them in the backyard or at a park.
• Baseball: Baseball is widely considered the all-American sport, which makes it a perfect Fourth of July game. Designate team captains and mark bases with bags of sand or painted twigs.
• Patriotic Scavenger Hunt: For a festive and fun July Fourth game, send players on a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood. Include patriotic items on the list, such as red, white, and blue items; a nickel, in honor of Thomas Jefferson, who drafted the Declaration of Independence; and mini American flags.

For more ideas for a fun 4th of July weekend visit:

• Education.com
• Parents.com

To learn more about Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley’s Lily Garden Child Care Center visit eastersealslilygarden.org.

Top Reasons Kids Make Great Gardeners

By: Vanessa Doyle, Lead Teacher in the Lily Garden Child Care Center Infant Room & Horticulture Coordinator

Pop quiz! Which of these would you like your child to improve on?

1. How to make healthy food choices.
2. How to cooperate well with others and engage in teamwork.
3. How to increase their confidence and self-awareness.
4. How to interact and connect with the natural world.

If you agree with one or any of these statements, your child would be a great gardener.

Gardening has been around for so long that people may not realize the positive effects it can have on our children and us. With more processed and highly sugared foods hitting the table, we are further away from where our food comes from than ever before.

Everyone agrees that eating healthy is good. It makes you feel better, gets you a good doctor’s report and prevents disease. But it can be really hard sometimes. After working all day and picking up the kids from school, going to soccer practice, therapy and homework; taking a swing threw the drive-thru seems like the only option available. But this option is causing a worldwide epidemic of obesity and metabolic disease not only in us but also in our children.

So what can we do to turn that around?

We can start by establishing healthy eating habits young. These habits will last a lifetime.

Gardening is a great way to incorporate real fruits and vegetables into your home. It provides a learning opportunity for children to see where their food comes from. School or community gardens also offer an opportunity to interact with a group to practice socialization and teamwork. Once youth are involved in the growing process, they gain a sense of pride and ownership of what they created. This makes them more willing to try new foods and share. Often school can be an overload of sensory input. The garden provides a relaxing environment for everybody. Children can explore their senses by smelling flowers and hearing the sounds of nature around them.

How do I get started?

• Gardeners are great sharers! Ask friends, family and even us here at Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley. Somebody usually has an extra plant or two to spare or a packet of seeds to share. If you can’t find any, your local nursery can help or you can order seeds online at Rare Seeds.
• Dedicate an area of your yard to be the garden. If you don’t have a plot of land to dedicate to a whole garden, that is okay too. Containers work well and can grow plants such as tomatoes and peppers.
• Make it easy on yourself. If you have never gardened before, it is as simple as putting a seed into the dirt, giving it sunlight and water and watching it grow.

Happy Planting!

Come by and check out our very own school garden grown by the kids in the Lily Garden Child Care Center at Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley in Villa Park.

Other Resources:

http://www.letsmove.gov/eat-healthy

http://www.chicagobotanic.org

http://www.earlysprouts.org