The Mom I Want to Be

Literacy begins at birth. The early reading and writing experiences children have help prepare them for later success in school. That’s why rich and varied language and literacy experiences at home and at preschool are so important. Children who have been read to, who know nursery rhymes and chants, who hear a great deal of language, and who are familiar with many words are at a tremendous advantage. When it comes to learning to read and write, children must be familiar with language and use it to communicate ideas, desires, and feelings with other people. Literacy skills include:

• Listening
• Comprehending
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing

As she approaches age three, your child is communicating with words and increasing in vocabulary daily. You want to choose a preschool that will continue to enhance these skills. When you look at preschools for your child, you are likely to notice differences in the kind of language and literacy experiences they offer children:

 One program sets aside time each day for children to sit quietly at tables and do reading and writing worksheets. The teachers say it’s important for children to learn to sit still, follow directions, and practice the skills they will need for reading and writing later on.

 At another program, children do their own writing or the teacher writes down children’s stories. There are writing materials in many parts of the room and child-made signs are evident. Children don’t have workbooks, but the director points out samples of children’s writing in the classroom: signs on block structures, a sign-in list where children have written their names, and pictures the children have drawn.

These two programs reflect different beliefs about how children explore reading and writing. The first program asks children to work on skills by doing drill and practice exercises. While children may learn to complete worksheets successfully, this approach does little to interest children in reading and writing. Such exercises do not connect what children see and touch in the real world with reading and writing. The second program, where children are engaged in real writing activities, is more appropriate. Reading and writing experiences in preschool (as in all grades) should enable children to feel competent and increase their desire to learn more.

What’s Involved in Reading and Writing

Research on literacy development in recent years emphasizes that many different kinds of early literacy experiences in preschool help children become successful readers and writers later on. Quality preschool programs focus on developing skills in three areas:

Listening and speaking. The preschool years are a time of enormous vocabulary development. As children play with one another, they should be encouraged to use language to communicate ideas and feelings, to ask and answer questions, and to tell stories about events that happened to them. Teachers and other adults can model and teach conversational skills. They can encourage children to think about the meaning of words, to manipulate sounds in words (rhymes), and to pay attention to stories and talk about them. An important way that children learn is by connecting what they hear to their own experiences. Therefore, storytelling should involve children in thinking about how the story relates to their lives.

Early reading. Reading is about getting meaning from print. Readers know that written words convey messages. Because reading involves making connections between words and ideas, children benefit from opportunities to hear new vocabulary, talk about the meaning of words, and connect words with images. Young children need to explore books — to be read to and to read the same books over and over again. They gradually recognize that stories have a beginning, middle, and end, and they are eager to tell you the story. When children realize that words are symbols for ideas and thoughts, they have made a great leap in literacy development. Over time, children realize that printed letters represent specific words.

Early writing. Learning to read goes hand-in-hand with learning to write. To become writers, children have to learn that writing involves using symbols for speech and putting these symbols on paper. They learn when they see adults writing for a variety of purposes and when they themselves have a reason to communicate their own ideas on paper. In the beginning, children use picture writing and scribble writing to communicate on paper. When they discover that their writing is appreciated and encouraged, they move on to stringing random letters together. As they learn to connect the sounds of language with the letter symbols, they use beginning consonants to represent words.

 

 

 

Encourage exploration of many cultures by providing pretend-play props that span the globe. Stock your child’s play area with:

1.         Wooden or plastic figures of diverse people and animals. Look for a range of skin tones in the dolls, puppets, crayons, and other materials you choose for your child’s play.

2.         Food boxes from ethnic grocers, such as Indian, Mexican, or Asian, for pretend play. The people and the print on the boxes may be different from what your child is accustomed to seeing, but they provide an opportunity for more conversation about people from different places.

3.         Unique props for dramatic play. Offer articles of clothing, such as kimonos or saris, from other cultures, and toys and instruments from grandparents or other relatives that reflect your child’s origin and culture.

4.         Coins and money from different countries. Talk to your child about where the currency comes from; read books about the people who live there. Investigate the meaning behind the pictures on paper bills.

1271 – FolkArt ® One Strokeâ„¢ Brushes – Script Liner, #1 

479 – FolkArt ® Artists Pigmentsâ„¢ – Pure Black, 2 oz. 

480 – FolkArt ® Artists Pigmentsâ„¢ – Titanium White, 2 oz. 

667 – FolkArt ® Metallics – Gunmetal Gray, 2 oz. 

CS11205 – Mod Podge ® Gloss, 4 oz. 

 

Filbert brush 

Plastic milk/water jug (1 gallon) 

Craft knife 

Candy 

Masking tape 

Scissors 

Tissue paper – Lime Green 

Foam paintbrush 

Tacky glue 

Black felt square 

One 2” Styrofoam ball 

Two Googly eyes 

Egg carton 

Yarn 

Skewer 

Tape 

 

 

1. Make sure the milk container is clean and dry before starting. Cut a U-shaped flap in the back of the milk jug with a craft knife (parents help with the knife).

 

2. Fill the jug with candy and tape the flap closed with a small piece of masking tape. This is just to hold the flap down as you add tissue paper, so you only need to use a little bit of tape.

 

3. Cut your tissue paper into small (roughly 2”) squares and paste them to the jug with Mod Podge. Put as many or as few layers of tissue paper for your desired look, but be sure to cover the opening with two to three layers – this will hold the flap down just enough so that the piñata will be able to burst open when hit. Allow the Mod Podge to dry thoroughly.

 

4. For hair cut jagged bangs into the felt and glue to the piñata (use the photo for placement reference).

 

5. Using the craft knife, slice the Styrofoam ball in half. Press your finger into the dome portion of the ball for the Googly eyes. Glue the eyes into the wells on the balls. Glue the eyes to the piñata.

 

6. Just above the eyes paint a scar across the forehead and a squiggle on the chin with black paint and a detail brush. Paint a squared mouth with the black paint using the larger brush. Paint teeth using the white paint.

 

7. Cut 2 egg sections from the egg carton. Paint them with the silver paint. Glue to the sides of the head with tacky glue.

 

8. Using the tip of the craft knife. Poke a small hole in the top back of the piñata. Poke a second hole in the back of the piñata about 1” down from the top. Tape a long piece of yarn to a skewer and thread through the two holes. Tie a knot in the yarn to secure and hang.

How to raise a child who appreciates, respects, and enjoys the diversity of life

“Our neighborhood has all different kinds of people,” says Gabriella, age 10, who has lived in Sacramento, California, almost all her life. “We’re Latino. Next door, there is a Filipino family. Across the street, we have an Indian family. We also have Chinese neighbors. The neighborhood kids are all friends. Almost every night, we come out and play together.”

Gabriella, like all kids today, is growing up in what the futurist Marshall McLuhan called the “global village.” As we move through the 21st century, the world is fast becoming a smaller place. Advances in technology, communication, and travel have made physical distances less significant and instantly connecting with others around the world a reality. The number of immigrant households in the U.S. has also risen over the past five years, leading to an increased multicultural environment.

Given these changes in our society, there is a great need for our children to be raised so that they understand and communicate well with others. They will be members and leaders of a truly international workforce, and therefore, need to develop the skills necessary for living and interacting with others, regardless of background — productively and peacefully.

Where Global Education Begins
This is where the idea of “global education” comes in, and it begins at home in the early years when children are forming their attitudes about themselves and others. Global education is about helping your child find his own place in the world community — to become a true “citizen of the world.” That means being a person who:

• can accept and enjoy differences among people and cultures
• identify common bonds
• seek peaceable solutions to conflicts
• see many different points of view

As a parent, you are your child’s guide to the world and to the person she will become. The first step toward understanding how she fits into a family, neighborhood, classroom, city, country, and the world is knowing what your family’s attitudes are toward your own background. The more your child has a solid grounding in her own family’s beliefs, culture, and traditions, the more she learns to move with grace and confidence among people and cultures that are different than her own, and the closer we get to building a world of respect, acceptance, curiosity, and peaceful living.

As you and your child branch out from the safe foundation of your family to learn about other people, places, and ideas together, an important realization will emerge: that differences aren’t something to be feared, but they are natural, refreshing, and fun! Diversity at home and in the world makes life more interesting.

Expanding Your Child’s World View
You can present global views in many meaningful ways, including reading books, listening to music, exploring art, traveling, and simply playing. Each new cultural experience widens your child’s knowledge of the world and reinforces the concepts of acceptance, tolerance, and kindness. Using the tools and activities your child already loves will make the abstract concept of diversity real. Here are some ways to celebrate difference at home:

Create a global bookshelf. Stock your shelves with stories that represent different cultures, written in a variety of languages. You might include a collection of alphabet books depicting the many alphabets of world languages, and then switch to counting books, which illustrate how people count in different ways. Legends from both American cultures and world cultures bring to the shelf a rich array of heroes and heroines as well as explanations of how the world works.

Provide a range of toys. Since toys reflect societies’ multiple values, belief systems, and lifestyles, they are universal tools for teaching global citizenship. Chose samples for your collection that represent the commonalities, as well as the differences, in the world’s toys. The cultural uniqueness of a toy often lies in its presentation or decoration. For example, math toys might be the plastic, colored-coded stacking cups found in the USA, intricately decorated paper boxes from Japan, or nesting dolls from Russia.

Toys such as dolls, cars, trucks, action figures, and space ships (to name a few) can be found globally. Seek out international catalogs from different countries for children to peruse.

Listen to many varieties of music. Music is truly a universal language — and a way for people to articulate their joy and sorrow, wishes and dreams, as well as national/cultural pride. Being a world citizen requires respect for how people everywhere communicate. Play music from a variety of cultures during a quiet time. While your child is listening, suggest he think about the feelings the music evokes. Build your child’s repertoire with contemporary musical renditions, as well as traditional favorites.

Encourage community involvement. Even preschoolers can get involved in helping others in small ways, with your help. Talk about what’s important to you and how your family might be able to get out there and do something, whether it’s tending the local garden, donating unused toys and books, donating gently used clothing, or simply helping a neighbor carry her groceries up the stairs. Older kids may want to take up their own cause, so encourage them to think about how they might be able to make a difference.

Create a Family Heritage Kit. Help your child identify his family heritage. Create a kit that includes things such as photos of family members, friends and pets, samples of favorite foods, and cultural artifacts. Your cultural heritage is not restricted to ethnicity, race, religion, or home language. It also includes the celebrations that make your family unique — naming ceremonies, holidays, birthdays, and gatherings.

Experiment with different languages. Try new languages together by starting with simple greetings and expressions. You can find multicultural/multinational books for kids, or visit the Internet Public Library, where you can learn how to say common words in multiple languages.

 

 

Using simple supplies, a paper plate, yarn, and scissors you can try your hand at spinning a web. This would be tricky for preschoolers but you could still demonstrate it for them. I find weaving webs to be a mystical process. How fun would this be as part of a science lesson on Orb Spiders?

 

As your child grows, she becomes more sophisticated in noticing and classifying the people she encounters every day.

 At 2 to 3 years old, she may:

•  notice and ask about other people’s physical characteristics, although she is still more interested in her own
• notice other children’s specific cultural acts: Elena speaks differently from me; Mei eats with chopsticks
• exhibit fears about skin color differences and physical disabilities

At 4, he may:

• show more interest in how he is like and different from other children; construct “theories” about what causes physical and cultural differences
• begin to classify people into groups by physical characteristics (same gender, same color, same eye shape)
• be confused about the meaning of adult categories for what “goes together.” For example, how can a light-skinned child have a dark-skinned parent? Why are children called “black” when their skin isn’t black?
• show influence of societal norms in his interactions with others (“Girls can’t do this; boys can”)

At 5, she may:

• show an awareness of additional characteristics, such as socioeconomic class and age
• demonstrate heightened awareness of themselves and others as members of a family, as well as curiosity about how families of other children and teachers live: How can Sara have two mommies?
• continue to construct theories to classify or explain differences among classmates
• continue to absorb and use stereotypes to define others, and to tease or reject other children

At 6, he may:

• have absorbed much of his family’s classification systems for people, but still get confused about why specific people are put into one or another category by adults
• use prevailing biases, based on aspects of identity, against other children
• begin to understand that others also have ethnic identities and that there are various lifestyles, as they come to understand their own emerging group identity

What a breakthrough: Your toddler learns that things can stand for other things.

Imagination surfaces when your toddler takes what she has learned through play about how her past experiences can be symbolized, and manipulates these very symbols in new, not-yet-experienced ways. This is a fabulous moment, because it is a first ray in the sunrise of creativity. If she can get things to stand for other things, there is no end to what she, through play, can figure out about her place in the world.

Playing is a need. And the child of around 20 months is still very much a willing slave to her needs, including hunger, pain, anger, fear of separation, and the need to play. Mental activity develops in the service of these needs.

We see this, for example, in the way children often need “transitional companions” — those beloved dolls, stuffed animals, or blankets that they carry about for a time. The importance of these creatures and their imagined powers should not be taken lightly. Most parents have experienced at least a few desperate moments when a child needs and calls for such an object, and it cannot be located.

Donny was so exhausted after his full day at a family picnic that his usual playtime after dinner was one disaster after another. Finally, in desperation, he wailed for his “softie,” a small beanbag toy. When it could not be located immediately, he crossed over from despair to meltdown. But when he was finally reunited with his beloved softie, he was instantly calmed. The source of the toy’s “magic” should be clear: Donny’s imagination had imbued it with such special significance that it surpassed human contact. The softie was imagined to stand for comfort, security, peace, and contentment.

Play, with or without language, is important to children’s emotional landscape. Through play, they not only explore positive experiences and feelings, but they learn to deal with painful ones as well. In fact, the power of play to help a child manage anxiety is considerable!

Has Matthew been experiencing separation anxiety? He can take a mommy doll and baby doll and wrap them up or tape them together if he really wants them to stay together “always.” Is Brandon worried about that new German shepherd next door? He can throw a stuffed doggy across the room to act out his fear of the dog or to “boss it around” without fear of reprisal.

As with all “magic,” imagination is hard to control. Worries accompany the omnipotence of this era, and the management of anxiety becomes a major task and preoccupation. This, too, is normal and expected. The fear of the dark is a good example of how a child comes to master such anxieties.

Rarely is such a fear a direct result of something traumatic that actually happens in darkness. More commonly, the fear is rooted in the visual experience of being alone, and the aloneness engenders a sense of fear and danger. The imaginings begin to cascade, and the need to summon help seems overwhelming.

Even Halloween becomes a problem where it wasn’t before. Beloved Uncle Tommy becomes a serial killer under the wrong mask, and it takes a lot of reassurance before his young nephew wants to sit on his lap again.

Why? The very complexity of the new symbols of experience that fuel such wonderful imagination, play, and learning turn against the child. Now he believes bad things can happen, since he regularly explores that very theme in his own play.

What keeps this fear manageable is the acceptance of the seriousness of the fear, and the use of simple language to explain what happened. The toddler’s mom might say, “This Uncle Tommy is real, and the one you thought was Uncle Tommy is not, and of course you got scared, but you’re okay now.”

In all of this, however, don’t forget that your little one does not see and experience the world the way you do. Not yet. Even when your toddler acquires more language, don’t forget that the magic world is still there. Vacuum cleaners can persist as hungry monsters, and the bathtub drain may continue to be a source of real concern.

This is particularly worth remembering when your child is exploring: Her imagination is still transforming what she observes. Her version of “cause and effect” is probably not yours. If a child displays uneasiness or fear in the face of a new “discovery,” remember the awesome power of the imagination, respect your child’s emotional turmoil, and deal with it accordingly. And reassure, reassure, reassure.

Play and imagination provide a powerful, effective way to cope with new fears in the child’s expanding world. Imagination allows the child to be the master of past events and future unknowns, addressing her worries and working through them to a safe and happy ending.