A Writing Rant!

One of my biggest frustrations as a child care director has been trying to convince parents of the value of play and hands-on learning in an early childhood setting.  Between advertising by companies that want to make money and politicians who think that they know about education, many parents are convinced that their child will not succeed in school unless he or she is drilled in academics at an early age.  One example of this is the issue of writing, which can be illustrated by two children in my care.

Child #1 attends a very academic nursery school, as well as our program.  At his nursery school, he sits at a table each week with a pencil and a ditto sheet and practices printing the letter of the week.  It does not matter that he has just turned four, and it will be several years yet before the bones in his hands will ossify enough to allow him to form the letters correctly.  It does not matter that there is almost a two year continuum of development at each age and he might not be developmentally ready to do so.  It does not matter that the lines are closer together than he can write at this age.  Each week he sits and practices. 

A few days ago child #1 was trying to write a friends name and was frustrated because he could not make an "R" correctly.  He worried and worried about that R.  It did not matter that he had written S, A, M, H quite well (some were backward, but that is very normal).  It did not matter that he had made a lower case R.  It did not matter that he was trying to make one of the more difficult letters.  It did not matter that his child care teachers reassured him that his work was fine.  He needed to live up to the unrealistic expectations of the nursery school teachers.

Child #2 is about a year older than child #1.  She has spent her days in a developmentally appropriate, play based child care.  She has been in a print rich environment, where books are read daily, children's stories are dictated to the teachers who copy them to go home to be read, and children and teachers discuss the things that they see and hear.  There are always paper, pencils, markers, and crayons available and as children are ready they can try to copy the letters that they see if they wish.   When we had our first snowfall, the slate floors in the entry room became wet and slippery.  The four year old teacher asked for help making a caution sign.  Child #2, who had learned to enjoy letters and writing, volunteered to help.  The teacher helped with spelling, and Child #2 made the sign that is now hanging in our entry.  While Child #1 is seeing writing as a stressor, Child #2 is comfortable and confident with what she had learned, since she learned it in a way that is appropriate for her age level and makes sense to her.

PS - The person on the sign is upside-down because he has fallen on his head on the wet floor!

I had started to write about Christmas several weeks ago, but ended up being so busy that I never completed it.  I have been feeling guilty about not writing for so long since I had made a commitment to write this blog, but I have noticed that all of the blogs that I follow have slowed down during the holidays.  I usually am very excited about Christmas, and enjoy every aspect of the season except for shopping.  I hate malls and crowds, so my shopping is always done early.  This year, however, I just did not have the usual excitement and Christmas feeling, but I wasn't sure why.  The grandchildren live 1000 miles away now?  They did last year. The 24 hour Christmas radio songs (many of which are not very good music) had been going on for days?  They did last year.  I didn't make cut out cookies this year?  I did have some at the center Christmas program, although a lack of cut outs is a serious problem.

That was as far as I got on my last blog post.  I had intended to write about the hustle and bustle of the season, the love that I have for Christmas, and my thoughts about the unkindness that many adults show to children by threatening them with a fat man in red suit while the children are becoming hysterically over excited about the tales of Santa, all of the parties and celebrations, and the fact that the Christmas season now starts on November 1.  This was my intention.  Instead I wrote blogs in my head while I cooked and cleaned, wrote cards and decorated, shopped and wrapped.  I had thought that since there were just two of us at home now that things would be calmer.  The presents that were going south to our family had to be on the UPS truck at the beginning of December.  The cards were written over Thanksgiving. Two of the parties that we attend were not held this year.  Still, it seemed as though there was always something to do.

As I said, this year I just did not feel the usual excitement about Christmas.  I also discovered that many others felt the same way.  I do feel that the Christmas season is being pushed on us so early that it does not have the special excitement that we used to feel when everything started after Thanksgiving.  I have discovered, however, that the missing ingredient was snow.  Last year the Rochester area had 46 inches of snow by Christmas.  This year we had about 5, although I am not sure where that much snow fell - it certainly wasn't at my house.  If I lived in the South it probably wouldn't bother me, but New York is supposed to have snow.  Last week we finally had snow.  Only about 4 or 5 inches fell, but it was enough to make driving in the dark with a strong wind tricky, and it had to be shoveled off the porches and the drive in 20 degree weather.  It did, however, make me breath a sigh of satisfaction - things were as they should be.  (Or as they should be until the temperature hits almost 40 tomorrow and it all melts!)

When Christmas came, when the tree was decorated, when the candles were lit at the Christmas Eve service, when we went to church on Christmas morning, when we drank coffee and unwrapped stocking gifts, I felt the peace and joy that had been missing.  I was celebrating the day that my Savior was born, and knowing Him is enough to celebrate.  It was a good Christmas.

Keep Crossing That Midline!

Children's brains are fascinating.  While research has led to more information about how children grow, learn, and perceive the world around them, there is still much to learn.  What has been learned so far has helped to shape the world of early childhood education, to eliminate some old ideas about what is good for children, and to reinforce the knowledge that grandma was pretty smart after all.

The new research tells us that children learn when their bodies are engaged as well as their brains, that they need time to run and explore to process what they see and feel, and that their brains will grow stronger if they cross their midline often.  Midline?  Draw an imaginary line (feel free to use a marker if you like!) from the top of your head down to the tip of your nose to your bellybutton and end between your feet.  This is your midline.  Crossing the midline encourages the two halves of your brain to work together.  Crossing the midline occurs during normal development - picture a baby crawling - and can be further encouraged during play.

We used to march in gym.  Since I am rhythmically challenged, I hated it.  It seemed pointless and boring.  Little did I know that Mr. Murphy was helping my brain to grow.  Encourage your children to march around the room or to the playground.  Singing and dancing are excellent ways to cross the midline.  The Hokey Pokey (don't forget that you can put in your elbows, tongue, nose, knees, tummy..., Wild Bananas, Tooty Ta, and Father Abraham are all examples of fun songs and chants that cross the midline.  Encourage your child to reach across the midline by handing him something from his non dominant side.  Crossing the midline with the lower limbs has an even more beneficial effect.  Have your child lie back on his elbows (you do it, too!  It will encourage your child and strengthen your abs.) and do "The Wheels on the Bus" or "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" with his feet.  (Note to providers:  Be sure that you tell the parents that you are doing songs with your feet.  I have had parents tell me that they were singing about the spider when their child suddenly lay back and started kicking at them.)  Dance to rock and roll music and twirl while holding your child's right hand in your right hand.  Challenge your child to color or draw with the non dominant hand.  Tape a paintbrush to a hat brim and have your child paint while wearing the hat.  There are many ways to cross the midline - use your imagination! 

For the past seven or so years I have been learning more about brain function, growth, and crossing the midline.  Now I am reading about crossing the midline as a way to help strengthen the brain in adults and to help prevent dementia.  While your child is crossing the midline, cross yours, also!

Tooty Ta is a chant.  Start with thumbs up and chant the words while moving your hands in a sideways figure eight in front of you.  For the next verse, say thumbs up and the next command, followed by the tooty ta chant.  Follow the pattern until the end.

Tooty Ta

Tooty ta, tooty ta, tooty ta ta

Thumbs up

Tooty ta, tooty ta, tooty ta ta

Wrists together

Elbows back

Feet apart

Knees together

Bottoms up

Tongue out

Eyes shut

Turn around



Memories

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, and this one was no exception.  We spent Wednesday evening and all day Thursday at my sister's house.  My nephew was there, along with his fiance and her son, and my brother and sister-in-law came from downstate.  We had a wonderful time catching up with each other, cooking and eating lots of food, drinking some very good wine, and playing with our three year old great nephew-to-be.  We might not be Norman Rockwell material, but it was a joyous time.

The other thing that we did while we were together was to go through our mother's belongings and decide what to do with them.  It had been almost a year since she had passed away and it was time to take care of her things.  While it sounds like a miserable chore, one that should have been unhappy, it turned out to be quite a good time.  There was sadness because Mama was gone, but there were things that brought many happy memories - the post cards from our vacations on Cape Cod, the original Pooh books and Ferdinand the Bull books that were worn out from so much reading, the little pitcher that she used to heat maple syrup for our pancakes...the list goes on.  We found old family treasures and newer trinkets.  We all kept a few mementos and gave the nephew and fiance treasures for their new house.  We even found an official list of the equipment that she was issued when she went overseas to nurse the soldiers during WW II.

My mother was a human being.  She made mistakes, lost her temper, and could have been a better housekeeper.  She loved cooking, baking, walking in the woods, watching birds, and petting her cats.  She was a nurse, a Girl Scout leader, and an Orchid Society member.  Of all the things that she was, however, the thing that she loved most was being a wife and a mother.  While we miss her, there are so many good memories that we can laugh and talk about her with no sadness. 

I have written before about the fact that we are all memory makers.  When your children or the children in your care remember you, what will they be saying?  How will they be feeling?   Will their memories be happy?  Will they remember the caring, the laughter, and the happiness?  Will they remember that reading to them or walking in the woods with them was more important than dusting or Dancing With the Stars?  Will they remember the impatience and the sarcastic comments?  You have the choice to give the children in your care happy memories or unhappy ones.  Remember, and as Yoda says, choose wisely.

Good-bye, Red Fish!

Young children use play not only to discover and explore the world around them, but to help to understand the world that they inhabit.  That is why some games may vary by area and time, but some remain constant.  Children always play house and taking care of baby.  Children also play puppy.  This is also why children also play death.  In all the years that I have been working with young children, the game has never varied.  A child is lying still on the ground, and the cry goes up - "She's dead!".  Immediately the other children spring into action.  They seize whatever medical tools are handy (blocks, tinker toys, pancake turners, etc.) and go to work on the dead person.  In a minute or two it happens - she is alive.  After much rejoicing, the child dies again and is revived again.  Death is a difficult concept for many adults to wrap their head around, and it is especially confusing for young children who believe that Santa is real and tomorrow happens after nap.  The whole concept of what happens and how and where the person went is very confusing.  My neighbor told me that for several months after her husband died, one of the grandchildren brought a picture in a frame to her and asked her to, "Let Poppa out".  I was actually glad that my cat, Wilbur, died before my father did so that my daughter, who was five at the time, had some basis for understanding what had happened to Grandpa.

As a teacher of young children, I have held my share of guinea pig funerals.  Occasionally a child has had an experience with a family funeral will help to direct the event.  One time when we were going to the playground with a shovel and a guinea pig wrapped in a receiving blanket (liberated from the baby room) in a shoe box, the children stopped to show Fluffy to the office workers along the corridor.  That must have been viewing hours.

Several days ago the three year old's red fish died.  To help the children with the process, the teacher held a funeral.  Since the weather was not cooperating, the teacher relied on a traditional burial at sea for Red Fish.  The children gathered around the toilet and each one said good-bye to the fish.  Since music is traditional at a funeral, the children chose to sing a favorite song - "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".  When the funeral was over, Thomas said to his teachers, "I bet God is going to say,'Hey, where did that fish come from?' ". 

Funny story?  Yes, we laughed and laughed.  I wish I could have been there for the funeral. Yet, more than just a cute story, it is an important for the step for the children to take in gaining understanding and mastery of their world.  The teacher could have waited and snuck the fish out of the bowl when the children were at lunch to avoid the subject.  Instead, she chose to do what teachers do - seize the opportunity to help the children.  Good for her!

Someone's in the Kitchen With Tools!

Young children are fascinated by tools and mechanical objects.  They are curious about what these objects are, what they do, and how they can manipulate them.  A small child can spend a long period of time turning wheels or bouncing springs while he observes they way that they respond to his touch.  One activity that can give children experience with tools is cooking.  There are a number of tools that even a young child can use safely.  A whisk can be used to beat scrambled eggs or cake batter.  A rubber spatula can scrape a bowl.  A dough cutter can be used to cut bread dough into rolls, and everyone loves to cut out cookies.  (Cookie cutters are also good for painting!)  Measuring cups and spoons come in lots of shapes and sizes.  Potato mashers can be used for smashing potatoes (put the hot potatoes in a bowl to avoid contact with the hot pan).  Actually, potato mashers are fun for painting, also, but that is probably a blog for another day.

As children grow older, the tools that they use can become more complex.  Many nursery school children have turned the crank to run cooked apples through a food mill during the fall.  My grandson, who has just turned eleven, makes the pasta for his family in their Atlas pasta maker (a great addition to any kitchen).  He also makes lasagna, including a sauce free one for his sister.   One of my cooking projects many years ago was chocolate cookies that were cooked in a waffle iron.  All of the children helped to mix the batter, but most of the children wandered off quickly when we began to bake the cookies.  One little guy, who was three or four, was fascinated by the project.  I let him put the batter into the waffle iron, close the lid, and open the lid when they were done (for safety, I covered his hand with mine, although I let him do the work.  That way, if a hand should hit the hot iron, it would be mine.)  This boy was usually zooming around the room from one item to another, but his interest in the waffle iron lasted for almost an hour.  He was spellbound by the waffle iron and proud that he could manipulate it to make cookies.

One of my favorite kitchen tools is an apple corer-peeler-slicer.  I have used it for a number of years to make apple dumplings, dried apples, and pies.  When my granddaughter was three, she would stand on a chair at the counter to help me cook.  When I was slicing apples to make apple butter, she watched closely while I sliced the first three apples.  She then decided that it was time to take over the job.  I had to push the apples onto the peeler, but she sliced six pounds of apples.  She was developing self-help skills, observing handles and gears as they worked, watching as the tension spring moved the peeling blade to fit the apple, and adding to her vocabulary. 

Chocolate Waffle Drops

1 cup granulated sugar                                              1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs                                                                        1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour                                                         1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder                                        1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon                                 powdered sugar

Cream granulated sugar and butter till fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture.  Stir in nuts.  (Mixture will be stiff)  Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on preheated waffle baker; bake about 1 1/2 minutes.  Cool on rack.  Sift powdered sugar over (another great job for a child!).  Makes about 48.

Happy Halloween!

As a child, I loved Halloween.  Get dressed up, get lots of candy - what's not to love? We made our own costumes out of old clothes, paper bags, and anything else that we could find.  Each Halloween, my mother made big sugar cookies with each child's name on one to give out to trick or treaters.  When the neighborhood got too big to know all of the children, she made cupcakes with jack o'lantern faces made out of candy corn.  The best part was going out after dark.  Because it was the late 50's, we got to go by ourselves with a few friends.  The  road across the street from my house was a curving road that was lined with houses where our friends lived.  The road actually ran through a grouping of homes, through some land that had not been built up yet and into another group of houses.  Along the wooded stretch of road was the Frog Pond, which was one of our favorite places.  It was not really a pond; it was a swampy place with some open water.  In the summer we caught frogs there and in the winter we spent the day skating.  On Halloween night it was dark and spooky with - best of all - bats flying overhead.  Our wild times consisted of yelling "boo" at each other and screaming, but they were great times.

When my children were young, they dressed up and we walked them around the neighborhood.  They usually wore costumes that were made at home, and they charged from one house to another.  Gone were the days of cupcakes, popcorn balls, and molasses cookies that were made by mothers in the neighborhood.  Candy bars, nickels, and pencils were the treats.  When they got home they counted their loot and compared notes.  It was not yet time to check treats for booby traps, although it might have been a good idea.  When my oldest child was a toddler, I discovered that the bag of candy that she was helping to hand out had a bite on the side of each piece that went through the paper and the chocolate and I wondered if I should check my children's bags for used candy.  Even though I was not dressed up and receiving treats, I loved walking through the dark with all of the children.

Now I spend my Halloween evenings staying at home and handing out treats.  It is a time that I look forward to every year.  The children change as families move into and out of the neighborhood or as children become too old to trick or treat, but every year there are new princesses and fairies to admire and new ghosts and goblins to make me scream in fright.  There are young children who are not sure what they are doing, and the 7 or 8 year old pros who have trick or treating down to a science.  (Knock on the door, yell "Trick or Treat" while opening the stash bag, insert the treat, call "Thank You!" while closing the treat bag and heading down the steps to the next house.  A pro can do this all in 45 seconds or less!)  I have tried wearing my rubber dinosaur nose to answer the door, but some children were afraid of me.

By the time Halloween is over and I turn out the light, I am ready to put my feet up and relax until bedtime.  I have had fun with the children who come to may door, but I still feel the tug of that dark night waiting for me to outside and play.  Maybe next year I can borrow a child to come with me.