Print Motivation: Tracing with Chalk

Adelyn has become very interested in writing her name.  She was really wanting to write in on the driveway when we were drawing with chalk.  Long story short, I picked the orange and she picked the green. I wrote her name with orange and then she traced over it with green.  

Sensory!!
We have many of our sensory systems working here and many skills developing! It's fun to see some of the many many things happening in our brains while we do some of our daily activities. The large letters and bright colors are taken in by our visual system.  We can hear the sound of the chalk making each line and curve.  We don't realize it, but our auditory system does play a part in our writing.  The very sounds of the markings on the surface as well as the sounds each letter makes that we hear in our heads.  We have got our proprioceptive system working here as we figure out how much pressure to use to hold the chalk in our hand, move the chalk and push on the concrete. Our vestibular system is keeping us upright and balanced as we lean over.  Last and still important, the tactile is system is at play.  The wide piece of chalk may work well for young kids who have not refined their fine motor skills yet.  They may also really like the texture of the chalk although some do not.

Writing can be a very frustrating skill for young children to learn so don't get discouraged if your child is not into this whole writing thing yet. Creative ways to write and imaginative play like pretending to mail letters are great ways to spark an interest!

Space Shuttle and Astronomy Play

I love and value those exceptional opportunities of being in the quiet moments of night, when you find yourself standing outside in the backyard, the neighbors have shut off their outside lights, there are no street lights in view, the moon is no where to be seen, the crickets are chirping, the breeze blows in your face and you glance up at the magnificent beyond.  A black sky full of millions and billions of bright specks stands before you and continues to creep into the corner of your eye no matter where you glance or turn your head. My husband and I just love it and find ourselves time after time in continuous amazement.  Quite honestly, it eventually makes my neck hurt.  It leaves me in awe as an adult and definitely did as a child!  You may be able to think back to how small you felt as a child, standing in front of the big dark beyond. It's just amazing and it's no wonder that kids love to dream about space shuttles, outer space, or blasting off to the moon to a place of wonder and adventure.  It probably explains some of my Star Wars excitement too.

This spring we had a fun week of outer space amazement and exploration.  We got to think about being in the shoes of an astronaut blasting off facing the ceiling, imagine just how big our solar system is, take a ride on the Magic School Bus with Ms. Frizzle, learn about how our earth moves, listen to some astronomy songs, and make some "astronomy" themed food too.

 Getting ready for lift off!

Getting the controls ready.  Navigation system is ready!

Stars and planet jello jigglers!

 Making the planets go around the sun!  Check out our cool video below!

I even have on an astronomy shirt!

Solar System Pizza!

First Time in Forever- Dog Version

While driving back from the Scorpians soccer game, our family was listening to everyone's new favorite soundtrack... you likely have had on in your house or car in the past 12-24hours if you have young children. Yes, of course, Frozen. During For the First Time in Forever, we decided to be silly and change the words.  It was a really fun activity for our family to do together and it encouraged plenty of thinking and creativity.  

We tried out different themes and then tried to make it fit a soccer game with an offensive player vs a goalie using terms like "window" and "back door."  While I was thinking about it, I thought, "You know, this would really fit our dogs really well! "A window is open so's the back door!"  And voila, ideas for a song about dogs came pouring. There are many words we used that are in the original song.  So here it is...

My Dogs Version of For The First Time in Forever

The window is open, so’s the back door.

Let’s go in and lick the floor

And clean off all those lovely scrap-filled plates.

The couch is at the end of the hall. 

Let’s go lounge and then play ball.

Finally we got past the gates!

With the smells all of our people

And the scents in the trash.

This pillow is so fluffy I could crash.

For the first time in forever

I’ll nap by window light.

For the first time in forever

I’ll run through the house all night.

It’s fun getting muddy or grassy,

But I just love this zone.

For the first time in forever,

I’m running here alone.

Tonight imagine us groomed and all

Fetchingly drooling on my new baseball

Embarking on a sophisticated chase

Suddenly I see it sitting there..

A beautiful hotdog, tall and fare.

I want to stuff it all in my face!

But then I nibbled it all evening.

Which is totally bizarre!

Nothing like the lunch we’ve had so far!

For the first time in forever, I’ve got food in plain sight.

For the first time in forever, I’m taking slow bites.

And I know it’s totally crazy to think we have this chance.

For the first time in forever….we're doing an indoor dance!

(Cat in the backyard)

Don’t let them out

Don’t let them see

Be the sneaky cat you always have to be

Conceal

Don’t reveal

I have their steaks to go!

Make one wrong move and then the dogs will know.

I’ve got to eat them all today.

(dogs) The house is ours for today!

(cat) Let’s eat before it’s too late.

(dogs) Let’s eat before it’s too late.

(Cat) Tell the kids to close up…the gate!

For the first time in forever….(don't let them in, don't let them see)

we’re getting what we’re dreaming of! (Be the sneaky cat you always have to be)

A chance to leave the outside world. (conceal) A chance to be where we love!

(conceal, don’t reveal, don’t let them know)

And I know it all ends tomorrow, so it has to be today!

For the first time in forever…..nothings in our way!

The Calm-Down Spot

 

We have reached a point where the kids are learning the need to calm down and have time away rather than a spot of punishment or time-out.  This one is also a little different because it's for us parents too. We recently made a deal with both of them, that if one of us is getting upset, irritated, losing patience, not speaking in the nicest tone or just plain frustrated with someone else then we need to take it as a clue to step away and go calm down.  It is also used when the kids are starting to misbehave because they want to be in control and do what they want and speak inappropriately to us or their sibling.  I let them know that they I will speak with them when they have taken time at the calm-down table and are talking in a nicer tone.  There have been times when they are just feeling like they do not want to be told what to do at all, have refused the suggestion to go there and I then resolve to let them know that they can choose to go there on their own or to have me bring them there, which keeps the ball in their court.  

It hasn't worked in a couple of cases, but I would say that this new system is working very well.  This table is covered in an ocean style colored cloth with peaceful pictures to browse through on top.  You will also see two pinwheels and a calming bottle.  

• The pinwheels can be enjoyable for kids to watch but it also requires deep, focused breaths to make the wheel go round.  These same type of breaths are also what we need as humans to calm our bodies down.  For kids it can be fun and relaxing at the same time. 
• The calming jar is a jar filled with a glitter paste and water.  When the kids shake it, the glitter slowly glides to the bottom.  It is enjoyable to watch and it requires one to stop and visually track the glitter as it floats to the bottom, distracting one from the frustrations that were occuring.
• Cabasa is a musical instrument with beads.  Rolling the Cabasa on skin can be calming and can also invoke sensory stimulation.
• Drums can be helpful if you don't mind the banging and if they are directed in the right way.  It has not proven to be helpful if we re-direct kids to hit drums instead of people.  Hitting anything generally continues the negative emotions, however drums can be used when using deep breathing.  When exhaling, drop your hands on a drum.  Ocean drums do not require hitting and can be effective in calming.  
• Rain sticks of course, can remind us of falling water.   Some are louder than others but it also might be an option. 
• Calming recorded music is another option.  Different styles of music have an effect on everyone differently.  Maybe having family members choose a few agreeable selections of meditative or instrumental music if this is something desired for this spot. 
• Words are another option as they learn to read.  Calming and positive words are good to train our brains to think about to help the calming process.  For example, words like, "breathe," "encourage," "help," "I'm sorry," "share," or "forgive."

I do suggest considering safe objects.  Some such as sea shells or rocks could be used instead as a projectile before the calming occurs. 

This spot is meant to serve for calming with things that are enjoyable and calming for the kids, but not to the point that they want to stay there all day (for instance, Legos might not be the best choice).  The hope is that it serves as a place to lower stress hormones and help them recognize the signs to look for when we get experience negative emotions. 

Kids Handling Stress

This past week in a facilitator training, we talked a lot about handling stress and the difference between how kids and adults handle and show stress.  I thought about how my own kids handle stress, how my kids at work handle stress, and then of course how I handle it.  I know I've posted on this topic for adults before, but I have been thinking very heavily about helping kids to handle stressful situations.

What do we do?
When adults are stressed, we see a variety of signs.  We show it first on our face with signs of being "flustered", maybe withdrawn, strained, sad, solemn, or serious.  We might also bury our hands in our face, sigh constantly, have little patience when explaining something, have short words with people, say things we really wouldn't say if we were feeling good, blame others, yell.....

What do kids do when they are stressed?

Things I think of are cry, throw tantrums, cling to people they love, or just act out in a negative way.  

Cause
We as adults may be able to figure out what it is that is causing our stress.  We can re-trace those thoughts and think about what thought it was that we got to that caused our stress or what situation or event is causing it.  Kids often do not have a clue what the cause is, but they know they do not feel good.  

Positive ways to handle stress and prevention

I have thought a lot about the things that help me as an adult.  I love running around, especially at soccer, dancing/exercise workouts, talking it out with someone, sitting outside, stretching, playing the piano, guitar or drums, singing, journaling, and praying.

Kids?

There are many things we can teach kids.  It's hard to do a stress release activity in the middle of an anger spell or tantrum, but if these are things they practice ahead of time, they will be more likely to respond to it during the moment.  Our brains love patterns and the brain normalizes repetition/ things that are repeated.  Some of these things are great prevention methods too.  Keeping kids in sports or something active may help stress to not escalate so much. 

Sensory- Running, jumping (trampolines), drumming, pushing a wall, pulling up on the bottom of a chair, petting animals, baking, Play Doh, clay, sensory buckets, bubble wrap popping, looking at calming pictures or watching a  calming jar.

Deep breathing- blowing bubbles, blowing pinwheels, lifting arms and dropping on drums

Sports- gymnastics, karate, soccer, baseball, basketball, football, dance, hiking, biking, swimming, horseback riding. 

Artistic- art, music, dance, drama, blocks. Legos

Kids can also learn more about the causes of negative emotions and how to handle them through dramatic play.  My kids love to watch me "talk" their stuffed animals and puppets. These animals can pretend to have a rough day at school or not know what to do in a social situation.  Brainstorming together with the child and "animal friend" can really help with motivation to solve the problem.

This year for Valentine's Day, we tried out a new family activity.  It involved a family mailbox, little heart-cutouts, and kind words.  When someone did something kind or we thought of something we appreciated about another family member, we wrote it down on a heart cut-out and put it in our family mailbox (made by Zac and me a few years ago).  We called it words of appreciation or compliments. 

We gave each other these Valentines starting from February 1 all the way to February 14. There was no limit to how many compliments or appreciative words we gave each other so we left plenty of hearts on the kitchen table throughout the 14 days.  After our special Valentines family dinner while we were all eating dessert, we pulled the hearts out and read them out loud. 

When I first announced our special activity on February 1st during the commotion of dinner, "Daddy" responded with an uncertain, I'm-not-sure-I'm-on-board, "um.....what?"  He did however, participate and get into it as the two weeks went on, which included requesting more hearts when we ran out.  Adelyn needed a little help.  I encouraged her a couple of times each day to think of something that someone else did for her and wrote it down for her.  She would put it in the box herself. I think Scott and I both really enjoyed the excitement and joy on the kids' faces when they listened to a compliment addressed to them. 

This worked well for us because not only did we all try to dwell more on the positive attributes of others, but we also tried to make sure we were being appreciative material worthy of a heart! Happy Valentine's Day!

This activity is great for

• Tactile/Sensory motor- cutting out, writing, hands-on putting hearts in the box
• Visual- Seeing the family mail box reminds us to think about the topic
• Auditory- listening to the family members read what is on the heart for them

A Continents Song with Spatial Awareness

As a second grader, I remember really enjoying the unit when we studied the continents.  Zachary has been interested in the continents since my brother n law taught him a song about the continents when he was 3. Adelyn is now 3 and she is acquiring her own interest in maps so we pulled out the large world map and taught her the song (thank you again Kev!)

Both of the kids had a great time jumping from continent to continent as each one was called out during the song.

This activity is great for:

• spatial awareness
• sensorimotor
• auditory skills
• visual skills