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This month’s radio program is an interview with Roslyn Duffy. Managing the Top 3 Preschool Problems
Rae Pica and Roslyn Duffy
Roslyn Duffy is a counselor, mother and author who co-wrote Positive Discipline for Preschoolers and Positive Discipline: The First Three Years with Jane Nelsen and Cheryl Erwin. In addition, she also co-wrote Positive Discipline: A Teacher’s A-Z Guide (with Jane, Cheryl and others). After leaving as co-director of The Learning Tree Montessori Childcare, she began The Better Living Institute and has her own private practice.
Listen here
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Do you sing?
We like to have a singing session three or four times a week. Mostly it’s just our voices. But sometimes we get out instruments. Most of the instruments are homemade and the kids help make them. They love their creations and seem to look after them more.
If we have all the wiggles out we sit around the piano playing the Usborne Nursery Rhyme Songbook
and sing but mostly we just sing.
On a recent car journey I taught them the Pizza Hut song. Mostly because I was surprised that my BG reported that his last school trip to a local museum no one sang on the bus. Whenever we went on trips we sang so much especially the call and response songs that I think we gave ourselves a headache. So now he has one up his sleeve and we hear it all the time……
I try and find a new song to sing each week.
• I sing it. They try to join in. That way works well.
• I also sing one line and they sing the same line. That way works well too.
We change up songs and add in our own version all the time. It’s great for language work and they don’t even realise they are doing it. If you listen to their version their word substitutions are really cute.
We do have a lot of CDs of nursery rhymes and children’s songs. We like to sing so we sing together with or without the CD. I deliberately get the song wrong at times. They will correct me. **A word of caution though if you’re used to a traditional rhyme be careful with your cds. Lots of these new Cds have modern versions of well known rhymes. **
Singing is fun; good for memory and a mood lifter. It’s portable and done almost anywhere. 10 fat sausages sizzling in a pan saved me last week in a longer than anticipated line with three cranky kids just before lunchtime/naptime and “I’m fed up of being in the line time”. I sang it really softly with the actions. They all joined in and were smiling-albeit briefly- and a little less cranky. They started requests. Having a selection of songs they could join in with saved us from a three-way meltdown.
There are so many different types of songs- action songs are the best for the little ones because they can learn them, predict them and do them well with or without good clear language.
Worried about your singing voice- oh don’t be. Getting together as friends for a playdate provides a good opportunity for play, story and song. Singalong with a CD is you’re self conscious; use big and exaggerated expressions.
Here’s a video of the BG and MO singing one of the songs for this week with an added twist.
Your turn: Share the titles of your finger rhymes/action songs/nursery rhymes that are favourites in your house.
Sometimes you look at what you’re children are doing and you get inspiration.
The middle one has been throwing to hit the high ceilings in the front of the house all winter. We dread balloons rising up there as we have no clue how we’ll get them down short of waiting them out.
As an activity throwing is great. Releases energy and tension. It’s hard to be grumpy or mad throwing…..try it. Well in our house it’s rare to throw in anger….so far.
The biggest problem is though when you throw up with an aim in mind and it goes behind you and bounces off your brother…..things don’t look so good.
Being 3 he tries really hard. Staring hard at where he’s aiming but the follow through meant everyone else had more of a chance of catching or getting clocked by it than the original target.
We have some turtles. We threw them at each other and with a little coaching he’s getting it more where he wants it…e.g. where he’s looking and less random places but usually behind something that involves climbing on furniture.
We changed from throwing and catching to throwing into a paper bag. The good thing is we can move closer so it’s harder for me and he can get it in more. The bad news is the bag kept falling over or crumbling which made for a frustrating time for the MO.
He soon adapted the game to a form of netball. He put the bag against the front door. We had to throw the turtle to hit the door and fall into the bag. Well he was the master of this game and soon I bowed out.
All in all a good time was had by all… We got to spend time together and work on a skill……..er both of us.
When did you last have ball skills inside? What do you do to keep it fun? Would love to hear.
Lost because the pair is missing. We keep them in the hope that one day they will be reunited.
This is rare.
The boys love pretend play and regularly dress up and take over the world. I love overhearing their conversations. I like superheroes- I’m a mum of 3 boys so I need to like them right? but I like variety too.
As parents we’re in a powerful place to direct and encourage meaningful play experiences. Our children take from the immediate environment around us. How much they take is related to what they are seeing and hearing regularly. My boys have just had Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot Collection (Books 1-4) read to them so they talk , walk and build robots.
Well to redress the powerful robots I suggested a puppet show using the lost socks.
I don’t sew well at all. Can put on buttons but that’s it. The project was a lot of fun. They both chose socks, colours and I sewed.
We did have sticky eyes on but they keep falling off and we were all getting paranoid finding them with their little brother around. The BG decided we didn’t need eyes anyway- because we can pretend……….said in that “duh mum” voice.
We’ve had lots of puppet shows with brother/brother and mum/son.
If you’ve not make a sock puppet- what are you waiting for…..The how -to is one of the activities in the weekly play email.
What we’ve experienced with our sock puppets?
Made up stories
changing our animal to another person
How to get your puppet to dance/dive and chase.
projecting our voice
presenting
taking turns
sustaining a theme/story
using voices, sound effects and props
Play is supposed to be fun and not perfect. The kids love whatever we do with them. It is intimidating to see crafters making amazing items but remember that your kids will love whatever you do for them.
We have a nice pile of lost socks…..think they’ll become new sock puppets soon enough.
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read to them so they talk , walk and build robots.
ractical advice for parents raising children with autism, developmental delays, and sensory issues from an occupational therapist who also happens to be a mom who has “been there”.
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