LifeSpan Child Care

Hello fellow educator!

Can’t believe I’m saying this already, but Happy Holidays! (Where has the time gone?!)

I’ve been a cheerleader for math (and, really, education as a whole) for as long as I can remember (in fact – that’s ultimately why I started my own site!). Over the last several years, I’ve tutored 100s of students to make math more attainable and fun.

Teaching becomes increasingly difficult during the holiday season when thoughts of sugar-plums are dancing in our students’ heads! 🙂 That’s why I decided to put together a list of resources to help educators keep a classroom full of excited children focused and (hopefully!) ensure that learning still happens during this somewhat chaotic time! 🙂

Please enjoy! And feel free to share with others (on your site: http://www.lifespanchildcare.org/for-our-parents/links-for-more-information/, and any other medium you prefer)!

Different Learning Styles in Education

Eight Key Strategies for Deepening Your Effectiveness in the Classroom

A Guide to Classroom Technologies that Increase Learning: An Educator’s Resource

12 Easy Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom, Even for Technophobic Teachers

Embracing Technology in Education and Government (Video)

Lesson Plan Library from DiscoveryEducation.com

Lesson Plans on Finances & Real Estate

Science & Technology Lesson Plans

Engineering the Future: The Educator’s Guide to Building and Construction

Lesson Plans for Teachers from the Humane Society

Serve Up Classroom Nutrition Activities

Make a Splash in the Classroom: A Hands-on Curriculum with Lessons and Activities on Swimming and Pools

I hope these resources ease this somewhat chaotic time for learning!

Keep Calm and Teach On! 🙂 Stacy

EMail me at [email protected] (or snail mail: 500 Westover Dr #9372 Sanford, NC 27330) if you have suggestions for my site or if you’d rather I not email you in the future.

The cold, winter months are here! This time of year is always a great time to enjoy indoor activities with your children. There are lots of fun activities to do on a cold, winter day. These activities can cover a wide variety of topics.  Arts and crafts are fun indoor projects. This includes fun activities such as painting pictures or ceramics together. Introducing an art activity such as painting may create a new hobby or interest for your child. Cooking or baking together is another great indoor activity. Making snacks and cooking together helps your child learn about the different food groups. This is a good chance to discuss the different food groups and healthy eating. Math also ties into baking and cooking. Simple math skills such as measuring, time, and counting can be incorporated as well. Cooking and baking also involve gross motor skills by mixing or pouring. Another great way to use gross motor skills is through music and movement. Some children love to have fun dancing to music or playing a game of freeze dance!  Creating a maze for younger children to crawl around is another gross motor idea during the winter months. Then, there is always fun in reading together. I always feel that you can never read too much. If your child is older, then they can have fun reading to you! Some of these activities along with others can be found at:

http://www.parents.com/baby/development/social/when-winter-weather-traps-you-indoors/#page=2

Since most households now have access to a smart phone or a tablet, it’s time to start looking at free and inexpensive resources which are available to us. It’s very easy to give a child a tablet or phone and let them watch, but it’s so much more beneficial to let them play and discover.

Anytime I walk into a classroom with my iPad, I know the children will ALL want a turn for whatever activity I have planned. These young learners are already, “technologically literate.” They know more about my iPad then I do. It is truly amazing to watch these children dive into technology as if it were a second language.

Below you’ll find links to a website which gives recommendations for “the best music apps for children,” and “the best Spanish apps for children.” Most of them are either free or reasonably priced. They contain the Mr. Hunter Seal of Approval!

Music apps: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/best-music-apps-for-kids

Spanish apps: http://bestappsforkids.com/category/apps-for-education/language-apps/learning-spanish/

With the latest update from Apple computers, iOs 8, all iPhones and iPads have been uploaded with a great program called “Garage Band”. It allows us to record songs, play instruments, layer tracks, and add prerecorded music to existing singing. This new app allows children to become pop stars and really explore the technological side to music recording. It’s fun for all ages! Below you will find a link which gives some simple instructions on how to introduce garage band to your children.

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_help_your_kids_make_music_garageband_ipad

As an educator, I myself, use a lot of these resources while teaching the children at LifeSpan School and Daycare. I find that children become “electronically literate,” much faster than most adults. It’s up to us to encourage them!

Below you will find a great article from “The Alliance For Childhood” about the importance of Technological Literacy in Children.

http://drupal6.allianceforchildhood.org/technology_literacy

As always, if you have any questions and you see me walking about, feel free to stop and ask!

By Jocelyn Psitos

Now is a great time to start thinking about gardening with your child. It’s fun. It’s therapeutic. It’s a great learning experience. And, it will be one of those family memories that you and your child will always hold dear.

Raising your own fruit and vegetables is a rewarding and economical choice. If you’re a    beginning gardening, start with low-maintenance varieties that grow well in your local climate.

Undemanding, easy-to-grow vegetables include peas, snap beans, onions, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and a variety of leafy greens such as lettuce and spinach. Fruits include strawberries, raspberries, grapes, currants and gooseberries.

While sunlight requirements vary among gardener crops, most fruits and vegetables require full sun for most of the day. Plant your garden away from large trees that might shade the plants, and take advantage of the southwest sun as much as possible.

Refer to your seed packets when planning your planting schedule. Some plants, such as peas, are cool weather crops, while others, such as tomatoes, require warmer soil

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/facts_7513419_easy-grow-fruits-vegetables.html#ixzz312xwqwz1

Title: Grab your hat and read with the Cat in the Hat on Monday, March 3, 2014,
On March 3rd, in honor of Dr. Seuss’s 110th Birthday, we celebrate the 17th annual Read Across America Day. The Seussical celebration kicks off a week of reading across the nation. LifeSpan School and Day Care is no different. This entire week, we celebrate not only Dr. Seuss, but enhancing literacy in young minds. Although this week is very special and near and dear to our hearts, we cannot forget to encourage literacy EVERY DAY!
Literacy and reading is an important stepping stone in the development of a young mind. Here at LifeSpan, we encourage literacy in many different and creative ways. Whether it be a simple read aloud, or a Dr. Seuss Sing a-long; we use these tools to broaden the horizon in the young minds we care for.. (more…)

Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Where the Wild Things Are, The Cat in the Hat, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus are very popular books that children seem to love! They are lots of fun to read and have bright, creative pictures. Reading even 15 minutes each day to your child will benefit him or her in so many ways. Reading helps a child to begin to speak by hearing words being read to them. This will also help a child to expand his or her vocabulary as they are getting older and to read and speak fluently. Showing a child that books are fun and that it is important to read may help a child to value reading and also feel the importance of reading. Reading helps with a child’s imagination. Sometimes the story may run through someone’s mind like a movie. This may also happen to a child. Additionally, a child at a young age who observes someone reading to them will see and experience how to properly hold a book and turn the pages in a book. These are only a few examples of how reading at least 15 minutes a day to your child will help benefit them!

Please visit: www.readaloud.org

Guiding your child’s learning and growth from the start – the Early Learning GPS

• ·         What do you do if your baby won’t stop crying?
• ·         Is TV good for toddlers?
• ·         I like my child’s preschool teacher, but is that enough to make sure he’s ready for kindergarten?

With young children, questions like these can come up every day. You want what’s best for your child, and you want to prepare them for kindergarten, but may not know what you need to know or even where to start.

Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children’s Early Learning GPS can help. GPS stands for Guiding Parents Smoothly – helping families set the right course for their children’s success in kindergarten and beyond. It’s great for anyone who has a young child in their life- grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and neighbors. You can get started at www.papromiseforchildren.com.

So how does it work? You answer up to 10 questions about your baby, toddler or preschooler. After you answer a question, you receive helpful tips and links to reliable resources. You can also complete a short worksheet with ways you want to use these tips in your daily life. The questions address the most important things you should know and can do to help your young child learn and grow. (more…)

It is the end of July, which means that there is about one more month until school starts.  There are many fun end of summer activities and games to do with your child.  It is a good time to have a backyard campout.  Set up tents outback and make s’mores!  Another idea is to go for a bike ride together and have a picnic at the park. Bake cookies and turn them into ice cream sandwiches, take a trip to the beach and collect seashells, and playing at the playground are all fun end of summer activities to do with your child before he or she goes back to school.