Wake up

Wake Up and Wake Up and Smell the CrayonsSmell the Crayons

Wake Up and Wake Up and Smell the CrayonsSmell the Crayons

Susan K. StewartSusan K. Stewart

• School readiness

“… social, mental, and physical skills that prepare them for classroom learning …”

School Readiness: What Matters MostRand Review, Fall 2004

• Universal Preschool in California Creates Benefits that Surpass Cost

“Our analysis shows that an investment in universal preschool in California would provide a net economic benefit to the state.”

“An increasing number of children suffer a ‘character disturbance’, emotional detachment and uncomfortable inner rage, and its origins can be traced to disruptions in parent-infant bonding.”

The Assault on Parenthood

Dana Mack

Birth through two years• Physical Growth

– Holding head– Controlling arms– Sitting up– Crawling– Walking– Half adult height

• Language– Listens– Babbles– Starts a few words

• Social Skills– Smiles– Responds to people

Three Year Olds• Physical

– Active, Active, Active– Short attention span

“God put the wiggle in, don’t you dare take it out.” Henretta Mears

“Movement is one of the most important components of learning.” Maria Montessori

• Language– Very verbal

• Why? No.

– Pretend• Copy and imitate

• Social– Plays next to other children– Appear to be outgoing– Develop bonding relationships

Four Year Olds• Physical

– More physical control– Still moving

• Language– “Read” books– “Write”

• Social– Play with others– Bossy

“Do not feel that you must teach your preschooler to read.”

“Try not to feel that you as a parent ‘ought’ to be doing something special about your child’s intellectual life.”

“And here is where all too many parents make that fatal mistake, …. They start their child too soon.”

Your Four-Year-Old, Wild and WonderfulDr. Louise Bates

Gesell Institute of Human Development

Gender Differences• Girls

– Sit to do seatwork sooner– Growth spurts earlier

• Boys– Tend to be more active– Later growth spurts

Child Development and Learning

• Children learn best when their physical needs are met and they feel psychologically safe and secure

• Children construct knowledge

• Children learn through social interaction with other adults and other children

• Children learn through play

• Children’s interest and “need to know” motivate learning

• Human development and learning are characterized by individual variation

• Opportunities for children to learn out of school

• Opportunities for adults to serve as role models

• Opportunities for children to become involved with and contribute to the community.

• 85% of adult personality is formed

by age six– Character– Social– Spiritual

Character Development

• Love– Learned in the family

• Help– Help at home

• Sharing– An act of kindness– Children are naturally self-centered

• Giving– Charitable activities

Social Skills• Social skills are not socialization• Three-year-olds can learn to shake

hands, sit in a restaurant, ask permission to leave a room (Montessori)

• “Yes, I’m concerned about socialization and that is why I have chosen to educate my children at home.

Spiritual Skills• Prayer and/or meditation• Religious Reading• Singing

And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus

2 Timothy 3:15 (AMP)

Discipline• Do it now• Be consistent• Watch for negative reinforcement• Apply the Golden Rule• Don’t give a choice you don’t mean• What are triggers?

Curriculum• Two-year-olds

– Crayons– Books– Blocks– Open & close– Pail, shovel, dirt– Mom, Dad, siblings

Curriculum• Three-year-olds

– Pots & pans, canned goods– Begin cutting– Sewing cards– Obstacle course– Books– Learn parents name

Curriculum• Four-year-olds

– Pencil and paper– Books– Matching games– Puzzles– Collections– Maybe computer

Curriculum• Five-year-olds

“We maintain that all too many boys and girls are virtually kidnapped into kindergarten long before they are ready, simply because they have reached some arbitrary legal age.”

Dr. Louise BatesDr. Frances Ilg

“ ‘ Kids who enter kindergarten at age 6 instead of 5 .. Do significantly better on standardized tests, and the gains persist beyond kindergarten.’ “

Ashlesha DatarRAND Associate

“Keep those pencils out of their hands and workbooks off their desks as long as you can,”

Dr. Louise BatesDr. Frances Ilg

Curriculum• Six-years-old

– Sort laundry (math)– Watch grass grow (science)– Read aloud– Write name (language)– Set the table (math)– Go outside (P.E.)

What To Do With Baby• It’s your school

– Informal learning– Encourages independent learning

• Newborns• Naps

– One-on-one time

• Read. Read. Read.• Involve older children

– Read– Make up stories– Practice flash cards– Teach a younger child

• Games and puzzles– Scrabble, Monopoly, Concentration– Make shape puzzles

• School Kit– Crayons, paints, small toys

• Let everyone watch

Activities for the Family• Local trips

– Zoo, pet store, fish store

• Pick your own farms• Plays, concerts, museums• Scrapbooks

Ideas From Moms• Carry along shapes and colors• White boards• Magnet letters• Paper on wall or table• Toe painting in bathtub• Take school outside