At school, home, and throughout the community kids are offered food as a reward for “good†behavior. Often these foods have little or no nutritional value but are easy, inexpensive, and can bring about short-term behavior change.  There are many disadvantages to using food as a reward:  § It undermines nutrition education being […]
Little ones use a combination of emotion, recall, and learning to understand the world around them.  If we stop and think about it, most of us are aware that emotions — pleasant or unpleasant — impact our learning. Developmental psychologist Michael Hoffman researched three different ways that this happens for children:  Emotion may […]
You will need a small, inexpensive flashlight, white crepe paper, tape, and a black marker.  Wrap the flashlight a couple of times with the crepe paper lengthways and tape to secure.    Fold the crepe paper in half and wrap the flashlight completely. After securely taping, dot on a couple of eyes […]
 Assortment of leaves Pieces of clay White glue Waxed paper Ribbon or yarn Rolling pins  Invite each child to select a leaf and a piece of clay. Ask each child to roll out the piece of clay until it is larger than the leaf. Help each child place the leaf on the clay, […]
 Empty cereal box White Con-Tact paper Colored tape Pencil Craft knife Felt scrap Stapler   First, remove the waxed paper lining from the cereal box and close the box top. Cover the outside of the box with white Con-Tact paper, as you would if you were wrapping a gift box.  Apply long strips […]
It’s Halloween!  It’s Halloween! It’s Halloween! The moon is full and bright And we shall see what can’t be seen On any other night.  Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls, Grinning goblins fighting duels, Werewolves rising from their tombs, Witches on their magic brooms.  In masks and gowns we haunt the street And […]
 Scribbles and silly songs are so valuable to your little one’s learning.  Visual arts: Between 18 and 36 months, most little ones have magic marker mania, because kids are driven to make images. Give your toddler plenty of markers or crayons and paper and let him scribble away. Let him do it his […]
 A wonderful way to play with and teach your child is to bring her into your world. Toys are great, but they are no substitute for real contributions to the grown-up world. It’s in this grown-up world that children come to see themselves as players, not bench-warmers. And when they contribute what they can […]
