Family Literacy Day reminds us all of the importance of reading and doing other activities as a family.  It has been held annually on January 27^th since 1999.  

Taking time to read or do a learning activity with children helps develop their language and numeracy skills.  Even just 15 minutes a day can improve a child’s skills dramatically.  This helps parents keep their own skills sharp as well.

There are many ways to strengthen your family’s literacy skills.  Read, write, play games, follow recipes or sing songs together for 15 minutes each day.   The benefits of spending this time together are far reaching to everyone. 

Try some of these simple ideas to celebrate Family Literacy Day with your preschoolers:

• Sort colours and count the number of items in each load of laundry.  This will help develop math skills.
• Follow a recipe together.  Measuring different ingredients will help to learn about food groups.  It also helps develop math skills.
• Cut out pictures from the grocery flyer to make your grocery list.   Talk about the healthy foods you are going to buy.
• While at the grocery store, find things that begin with each letter of the alphabet.
• Read street names and think of animals that begin with the first letter of each street.
• Count how many people are in the doctor’s office while you wait.

For more great ideas about Family Literacy Day, visit ABC Life Literacy’s website at http://abclifeliteracy.ca/family-literacy-day

“Sleep is the power source that keeps your mind alert and calm. Every night and at every nap, sleep recharges the brain’s battery. Sleeping well increases brainpower just as weight lifting builds stronger muscle.”

Healthy sleep is:

•  A sufficient amount of sleep
•   Uninterrupted (good quality) sleep
•  Age-appropriate naps
•  A sleep schedule that is in sync with the child’s natural biological rhythms

 For most kids, sleeping comes pretty naturally. Here are some tips to help kids catch all the zzz’s they need…

• Try to put them to bed around the same time every night. This helps their body get into a routine.
• Follow a bedtime routine that is calming, such as giving them a warm bath or reading to them.
• Limit food and drinks that contain caffeine, including iced tea.
• Don’t have a TV in their room. Research shows that kids who have one in their rooms sleep less.
• Don’t expose them to scary movies, TV shows or books before bed.
• Use their bed just for sleeping. That way you will train their bodies to associate their beds with sleeping.

For more information, I found this link very useful http://kidshealth.org/

“Learning how to make and keep friends is one of the most important challenges of childhood.”

Friendships help kids grow both emotionally and socially.  They learn to give and take, compromise and share, make decisions and solve problems.  They learn that not everyone sees things from the same point of view, and they learn to respect the viewpoint of others.  However, making friends may not come easily…

Ways Parents Can Help….

Let children try to solve problems on their own.

• Try not to intervene in children’s conflicts too quickly. If you do intervene, be sure to pay equal attention to each of the children involved.
• Be a mediator
• Suggest possible solutions. Then, let the children decide on the solution that works best for them.

Even at the young age of 3-4 years, some children have problems being accepted by others.

• Teach social skills – to be kind to others.
• Be a good role model.
• Provide lots of opportunities to spend time with other children.

Children who are aggressive or timid are more likely to be rejected by their peers.

• Praise children for positive social behavior

DID YOU KNOW THAT….

• The brain is the only organ not fully developed in a baby at birth?
• That each baby is born with about 100 billion brain cells just waiting to be connected? 
• It is a baby’s experiences in life that develops the brain and makes these connections?  They shape the way your baby thinks, feels, behaves and learns.  A baby’s early experiences affect their lifelong health, learning and well being.
• That a child’s brain triples in size by age 3?
• That 90% of brain development happens by age 6?

The early years are the time to invest in your child. 

5 WAYS TO BUILD YOUR BABY’S BRAIN:

1. Interact with your baby – smile, sing, and talk to your baby
2. Touch – touch your baby gently and lovingly.  Hug your children often!
3. Build Self Esteem – tell your baby how special she is and that you love her
4. Provide a safe and healthy home environment
5. Play with your baby.  Babies learn through play and your time spent playing with her is much better than any toy you could buy.

Self Esteem is about feeling good about yourself.  Children are not born with self-esteem.  It develops as they grow, through their relationships and experiences.

How Parents Can Help:

Respond to your child’s needs and show them they are important

• Respond quickly and sensitively when your child cries or seems upset with eye contact and soothing words
• Smile at your child and say nice things
• Always respond to your child’s calls for help and attention

Help build independence

• Let them pick activities and the clothes they wear
• Give them choices
• Let them help with the things you are doing
• Teach your child about other people

Give praise and encouragement for the things they do

• Use encouraging words, like “Good for you!” and “That’s amazing!”

Let them explore their environment and learn to feel confident about what to expect from it

• Make a safe place and encourage your child to explore.  Let him crawl into a closet if there is nothing harmful inside.

Teach them about feelings and express emotions openly

• Talk about your child’s feelings and the reasons for them, “It really makes you angry, doesn’t  it?  You were having fun and it’s time to leave”.
• Talk about your own feelings and the reasons for them, “I really am sick of doing the dishes!”
• Talk about other people’s feelings and the reasons for them, “Your sister is sad because I won’t let her watch TV”.

Be consistent with discipline, and take time to talk to children about behaviours

• Use a soothing voice and an explanation of consequences and desired behaviour

Prepare them for new experiences

•  Talk to them about where they are going and what they are going to do
• Talk to them about what they are feeling, seeing and hearing

Touch creates a bond with your child.

• How you love, respond to, touch and care for your child

Touch expresses your love.

• Cuddling, smiling, holding and responding to your child’s needs

Touch stimulates your child’s brain.

• It develops their ability to love others
• It helps your child be able to form healthy bonds
• It helps your child handle stressful times

Touch makes your child feel safe.

Touch allows children to grow up feeling good about themselves!

We need 4 hugs a day for survival

We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance

We need 12 hugs a day for growth

-          Virginia Satir

Preschoolers are ready for more organized social play.  They are not only interested in their own ideas, but also in the actions and feelings of others.

Preschoolers learn quickly through play.  Learning the difference of how things feel, look and sound help children develop intellectual skills.

Preschoolers love to dress up and pretend.  By providing dress up clothes and equipment you are encouraging creative dramatic play.  These activities give children a chance to act out their feelings and emotions.  They pretend, imagine, create, and imitate what they think it’s like to be grown up.

What Parents Can Do:

• Play card and board games
• Play counting and number games
• Provide children with materials and environment needed for good healthy play
• Listen to and talk about dreams
• Tell “what if” stories
• Act out fairy tales
• Read to children
• Play matching and memory games

Babies learn about their world by seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting and touching.

Arrange pictures around your baby’s room.  Focusing on the pictures and mobiles hung over the crib strengthens your baby’s eye muscles and encourages your baby to be alert.  Be sure to change the position of the crib and pictures often. 

When baby is able to hold things, soft rattles and squeaky toys will help your baby to feel different textures and hear different sounds.

A crib gym set will help physical growth.

Singing and cuddling are important ways that parents can take part in play with their babies.

What Parents Can Do:

• Be available to play
• Respond to baby’s cues
• Smile at baby.  Let baby play with your fingers
• Talk with baby
• Play Pat-A-Cake
• Play Peek-A-Boo and hiding games
• Make faces in a mirror
• Sing to baby
• Name objects as you give them to baby

A child who is ready for school generally:

ð  can count to 20

ð  recognizes different shapes and numbers

ð  can compare, sort and classify

ð  uses one-to-one correspondence

ð  understands simple time concepts

ð  is interested puzzles, math and numbers

ð  has no difficulty in remembering things

Why is this important?  Children whose numeracy skills are appropriate for their age are children who are prepared to learn and succeed – both at school and throughout life!  You are your child’s first and most important teacher!  Here are some things you can do together to enhance your child’s numeracy skills:

• Read together out loud every day. 
  • Read stories where numbers are important (ie:  Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, etc)
  • Find numbers and shapes on street signs and buildings
• Play, Play, Play! Play is children’s work – it is how they learn about the world.  The more senses they use to experience something, the more they are building their brains and the better they will remember what they are learning.
  • Name and describe 3 things about different objects.  For example a book 1) is flat 2) can rip and 3) has pages
  • Sing counting songs and nursery rhymes
  • Play memory games like “I Spy”
  • Put things away in the right place (ie: dishes)
  • Measure and pour with different containers in the sand box
  • Sort socks and laundry
• Making crafts is an opportunity to learn about the world.
• Make a collage with stickers and whatever craft supplies you have on hand.  Together with your child, sort and count the various craft items (pipe cleaners, beads, etc) while working on your project.  When it’s done give the masterpiece a title and hang it up for all to see!                                                                                   

Sunday, November 20th marks the 22^nd Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which spells out the basic human rights to which children everywhere are entitled.  All children have the right to a great beginning in life and need parents and other caregivers to:

• Love them
• Play with them
• Feed them
• Protect them

Take time on November 20th to celebrate National Child Day.  Visit the National Child Day Web Site (www.childday.gc.ca) to find ideas about how children, youth, parents, caregivers and educators can celebrate the rights of our next generation and our future!

Ideas for Celebrating National Child Day

1. Wear a royal blue ribbon to show your support of National Child Day.

2. Ask a child for advice.

3. Think of ways to make your neighbourhood a safer place for children.

4. Share a book or story with a child.

5. Make a scrapbook highlighting a child’s past week, month or year.

6. Think back on great moments of your childhood.

7. Reflect on the rights of children.

8. Donate time or money to a children’s charity.

9. Tell a neighbour or friend about National Child Day.

10. Consider ways you can make Canada a better place for children.