January 04, 2010
"The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them." - Ralph Nichols
The Preschooler
brings you the latest ideas and suggestion for fun and simple activities with your child.If you like this e-zine please forward it to a friend.
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The Preschooler
When I first read this quote, I thought of how it relates to and explains the behavior of young children. The first basic need of all children is to understand. Children enjoy exploring their environment and making sense of the world around them. In other words, they like taking in information and processing it. They feel most secure when things are predictable and consistent.
A child's second need is the ability to communicate and establish their social network. Building relationships with their peers, caregivers, and educators allows the child to be understood both in the literal sense of basic language skills as well as on a deeper emotional level. When children are able to communicate their needs, listen to others, play cooperatively, and express their feelings in an appropriate manner, they are more likely to succeed as adults.
Today more than ever education leaders around the world realize the importance of social skills. Being able to work as a team, communicate effectively, and listen to others plays a more significant role in our adult life than our ability to read, write, or analyze number.
Some children have an easier time picking up social cues while others need guidance and clear modeling. In this e-zine you will find lots of social skills tips, games, and activities.
Tip for Parents
Find out the benefits of
teaching social skills
to children.
Read my interview with Dr. Miri Arie, a child psychologist who specializes in children's social skills, and learn about ways of building social skills in children and other
social skills lessons.
Here are some great
social skills activities
and games you can play with your child.
Conversation skills
are an essential part of social development. The following page includes hand-on tips for teaching children how to deal with conflicts, feelings of frustration, and general awareness of others.
Teacher's Corner
With the help of my colleagues and friends, here is my winter craft ideas page.Looking for some pre-k lesson plans for winter?
Preschools 4 All is a world wide community. We can learn from one another. Share your lesson plans or any special activity you created in your classroom. Submit your page using my educators exchange page.
Activity T.I.M.E.
Cooking with children is a great way to interact with them. This hands-on activity can cover all the basic needs if you keep in mind the TI.M.E. philosophy. That's right! I'll say it again: Think Influential Meaningful Experiences.When cooking or baking with your child, you have an opportunity to practice math skills (counting and measuring), language skills (new words and discussions), fine motor skills (breaking an egg), and much more. The best part in my opinion is the final product. Always a delicious result everyone can enjoy.
Here is a gingerbread man recipe we recently made as well as other gingerbread man related activities. Enjoy!
Values T.I.M.E.
The story of the Tower of Babel teaches us a valuable lesson about communication and the origin of languages.Check out this unique bible crafts activity that helps children listen to their inner voice and make independent decisions.
Reading T.I.M.E.
Expand your child's vocabulary by reading to them. My son's new favorite book is called Previously by Allan Ahlberg Read its first few pages and you will understand why. Preschoolers LOVE big words. After reading this book, my son began using the word previously all the time: "Now we are eating, previously Zach was here, previously Noam was born, previously I was a baby...."Here are my favorite
Universal Pre-K BUZZ!!!
Yes, after universal health care, the universal preschool program is next on President Obama's agenda. Perhaps a new approach to preschool education in the USA, this school of thought has been around for over a decade in the province of Quebec, Canada.Read my interview with daycare center owner and recently published author Isaac Sachs. Mr. Sachs talks about the benefits of universal pre-k program and his book The Universal Daycare System.
I would love to hear from you.
Feel free to drop me a line, let me know what you think. All feedback is welcome! Together we can change the world one preschooler at a T.I.M.E. Contact Me!Have the T.I.M.E. of you life,
Z. Meltzer
Director