April 30th, 2007 Ever been to a Carnival? Posted by Melitsa in play activities, Sites to visit

Ever been to a carnival?

A blog carnival?

So, what is a blog carnival.

Blogging basics 101 provides a good definition. As does wiki

‘A Blog Carnival is a type of blog event. It is similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks links to other blog articles on the particular topic.’

3 great reasons to use Carnivals?

• you can find the topics you are currently interested in all in one place. There are special sites just dedicated to carnivals like http://blogcarnival.com/bc/, where you search for your interest by theme or browse the ones already listed.
• You find other great blogs and websites to look at all on the subject you like.
• You can bookmark using delicious or your browser and have new sites to view instead of aimlessly clicking around the web.

Although there are dedicated sites with just blog carnivals there are many blogs/sites that feature them weekly or monthly but carry other categories as well….

So why not pop over now and see what great tips, tricks,articles, things to make you laugh and think over at the newest Parenting toddlers carnival. This carnival is all about family life and Play-activities is featured along with some really great posts.

The 52nd edition of the Carnival of Family Life is up at Parenting Toddlers.

What blog carnivals would you recommend?

April 26th, 2007 Miseducation Posted by Melitsa in Good reads

I found David Elkind’s book Miseducation at the library.

I’m finding it an interesting read. While he makes some good points I find some things are sweeping generalisations not adequately back up by reasearch. Elkind talks about Superkids back in 1987 but much of what he talks about still applies to today. He is concerned with how society miseducates the youngsters by getting them to do things before their time.

I have enjoyed reading so far as it’s a light read and has really made me stop and think about how I parent and what I want my sons to learn. That is always a good book when that happens.

His tips on what to look for in a healthy early childhood education are as relevant now as they were 20 years ago.

Play is such an important and misunderstood aspect of a young child’s life. The way that Elkind describes how first grade work is moving down to Kindergarden and Kindergarden to preschool should give everyone pause for thought. Does starting earlier really help or is it Miseducating and causing future problems?

Balance in my opinion is where the answer lies. Let the kids play and learn. We need to educate ourselves into how to make that possible without relying on electronic ‘all singing dancing’ toys, academics and scheduling our children without down time.

What play activities do you do with your children so they aren’t over scheduled or ‘mis educated’ ?

April 21st, 2007 A magazine full of play activities Posted by Melitsa in Education, Good reads, play activities

A recommendation

This magazine was given to my son as a gift subscription for his 2^nd birthday. He loved it and so did I.

The following comment is from the December/ January 2006 edition

• had a story about the polar bear family with large color photographs and a few sentences that kids soon join in with.
• A match the animal cracker to the real animal from 4 choices in a lovely rhyme
• What do you say? Color photo of Zebras and the sound they make for your child to copy.
• A snow poem and picture with 3 interactive ideas with the picture to try with your toddler.
• A comparison page called “I can” with photographs of children and opposite an animal. I can piggy back- tree frog piggy back too.
• Living color- a look at one color and animal to find its type and same color but not same type.e.g. yellow bird. Yellow snake. And Heron bird.
• I spy- In the forest a poem and pictures for you to find 3 or 4 things in the picture.
• Story about science. Melting snow
• A skunk hides in 4 places throughout the magazine.

It’s recommended for under 3s.

Why I like it?

• It’s small enough to carry in my bag to look at when you are waiting ( doctors surgery, car journeys)
• Provides great snuggle time to read the book with my toddler.
• Lovely photographs
• Rhyme and repetition is simple catchy and not forced.
• You can look at it again and again. This is not a magazine you throw in the trash.
• Learn the names of lots of different animals.
• You can just look at the photographs and talk about it.
• Quite robust and holds together well despite being well thumbed by my toddler.
• You can dip in and out of it.
• The stories are short so holds attention
• You can skip things that are too advanced for later

National Wildlife Federation is published 10 times per year (Every month except January and September) by the National Wildlife Federation, a non profit corporation. It is the winner in the Association of Educational publishers 2005 Distinguished Achievement awards program.

What magazines do you recommend full of play activities?

April 18th, 2007 Where can I find fun developmental play activities? Posted by Melitsa in Education, play activities, Sites to visit

Looking for more interesting play-activities to do with your child who is under 5? Try the University of Oregon’s free play activities

‘Enter your child’s date of birth below to download your free age-appropriate play activity ideas targeting the five main areas of development.’

Print the PDF file of 20 or so activities and stick it on the fridge for those times when you need an activity……fast!

Age appropriate fun activities from 3 months to 5 years from the people who wrote the Ages and Stages questionnaire

We’ve filled out the Ages and stages questionnaire at each developmental check appointment. We could pick it up or more recently it was email when we made the appointment. We filled it out and brought it in. It gave me some ideas about the typical progress of my child and expectations. Having the questionnaire at home let me try some of the activities to see if he could do them.

Quote from the website-

‘ Parents complete the simple, illustrated 30-item questionnaires at designated intervals, assessing children in their natural environments to ensure valid results. Each questionnaire can be completed in just 10-15 minutes and covers five key developmental areas: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social.

Professionals convert parents’ responses of yes, sometimes, and not yet — in just 2-3 minutes — to color-coded scoring sheets, enabling them to quickly determine a child’s progress in each developmental area. The ASQ User’s Guide then offers clear guidelines for determining whether children are at high or low risk in the various domains.’

What I like about these activities

• it’s not about speeding your child up to do things earlier.
• Neither are they random activities needing lots of specialist equipment.
• Instead they are everyday activities that your particular child may enjoy because they are age appropriate and as a parent you’ll love!
• The activities are based on the 5 main areas of development and not just one area.

Try it and see for yourself and get some great free play activities today!

April 11th, 2007 Healthy kids day with the YMCA Posted by Melitsa in Education, play activities, Sites to visit

YMCA Healthy Kids Day a free, fun-filled day of activities designed to promote healthy kids and families in spirit, mind and body. YMCA Healthy Kids Day community-based events celebrate making fitness fun, and introduce kids to an array of YMCA programs that teach healthy behaviors and healthy ways to play — an essential lesson in learning how to take care of themselves throughout their lifetimes.

YMCA Healthy Kids Day is part of YMCA Activate America, an innovative public health initiative of the YMCA movement that is making healthy living a reality for millions of Americans. By celebrating health and wellness of young people through a variety of fun, physical activities, YMCA Healthy Kids Day encourages kids and their families nationwide to stay active, connected and healthy. The YMCA Healthy Kids Day event is celebrated annually. Activities at participating YMCAs will vary and may include games, sports, health screenings and more. For a list of participating YMCAs, click here

When? Saturday April 14 2007
What a brilliant idea! Another way to spend more time playing with your child in play activities. Often the ideas at Play-activities are for small chucks of time but here is a great opportunity to dedicate a larger chunck of time messing around and having fun with the kids.

There are lots of different activities Canton YMCA ideas

“Healthy Kids Day is a fun family event that helps get kids off of the couch!” said Paula Grigsby, Associate Executive. “Many families are under high levels of stress, struggling to balance work and family obligations plus trying to find time to fit healthy activities into their busy schedules. The theme for this year’s Healthy Kids Day is “Put Play in Your Day.”

Activities taking place during YMCA Healthy Kids Day will include an obstacle course and pit races in the tumbling and trampoline area, relay races in the Main Gym plus a penny dive and other games in the swimming pool. Parents can participate in all the activities with their children. A free YMCA giveaway for parents with tips on raising healthy, active kids will be available plus several door prizes will be given away.

JOLIET YMCA Each branch has an individualized plan to serve their members that can be found online at www.jolietymca.org. Star 96.7 will be doing on-air broadcasts at the Galowich Family YMCA in Joliet that day. A free YMCA giveaway for parents with tips on raising healthy, active kids will available.

For more information go to the YMCA website or

http://www.ymca.net/about_the_ymca/ymca_healthy_kids_day.html

Find out what’s happening in your area.

Tell us about your “Play in the day” ideas below