Helping Your Child With Letter Recognition

January 29th, 2013

How should I help my child with letter recognition and why is it important?

Letter recognition is great to work on with your child. The children work on letter recognition, sounding letters out, and writing their letters in the appropriate age classrooms here at LifeSpan. Working on letter recognition will help your child with spelling his/her name, saying his/her ABC’s, writing, and reading. There are so many different ways to work on this with your child. The story Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom is a wonderful and fun story to help children learn and recognize their letters. Teaching the children how to write the different letters is also very helpful. For example: the lower case letter d. One way to teach a child the lower case letter d would be to start with the letter c and then draw a line down to write the letter d. Magnetic letters are also very helpful for children to work with and eventually they will start creating words with the magnets. This time and practice will all help your child with learning to read and write!   http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ccbb.html

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When To Start Music Lessons

December 28th, 2012

When should I start my child in music lessons…By Hunter Chadeayne

As a music educator and caregiver to young children, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “Is it too early to for my child to start music lessons?” Music and movement is a critical part of early childhood development.  It is never too early to expose your young child to music and to involve and immerse them in the arts. Here is a wonderful blog post on childrensmusicworkshop.com  This particular article in their online journal gives an age by age guide into the world of music lessons and programs. It talks about what kind of program might suit your child as they grow into their own interests and talents. If you are interested in programs like these check out your local community calendar and see what’s going on in your neighborhood. To read the article clink the link below!

http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/resources/articles/whentostart.html

 

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Beat those “Winter Blues”

December 28th, 2012

Beat those “Winter Blues” and help the fight against depression

Now that the holidays have ended and a new year is beginning, symptoms of the “winter blues” may appear as there is no more excitement of the various festivities around us, the school year is now in full swing and the weather conditions are worsening… The “Winter Blues” is a sometimes flippant expression used to sum up winter’s harshness; cold weather, confinement to buildings, lack of sunlight, and the melancholy mood of hibernation. This can sometimes settle into a depression, which is a serious illness that should be attended to and treated. Children are not immune from this and it should be monitored closely.

Childhood depressions is not a seasonal or easily predicted disorder, yet according to the National Health Association up to 2.5% of children and 8.3% of adolescents in the U.S. suffer from depression. Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Talk to Your Children

December 19th, 2012

How to Talk to Your Children:

Some Resources for Parents
•An Exchange article by Diane Levin: “When the World is a Dangerous Place —
Helping Children Deal with Violence in the News.
http://www.childcareexchange.com/resources/view_article.php?article_id=5015244

•Advice from the National Association of School Psychologists, “A National
Tragedy: Helping Children Cope.”
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/terror_general.aspx Read the rest of this entry »

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What Makes a Toy Educational?

December 11th, 2012

Even though I have a degree in education, I still have a challenge at the holiday season when trying to buy good presents for my nieces and nephews.  I always hope that I’m buying something fun AND educational.  I think the advice provided on this podcast is a great benefit to anyone with doubts on their purchases as well as information on what a educational toy is.   http://earlyed.newamerica.net/blogposts/2012/podcast_what_makes_a_toy_educational-74637 Read the rest of this entry »

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Family Traditions

December 5th, 2012

The importance of family traditions and how to create them.

We all recollect certain moments and times of our childhood that we will cherish forever. Almost all of these memories in one form or another were a tradition. These family traditions are sadly one of the great casualties of modern times. As families have more time constraints due to careers, become focused on team sports, are more fragmented and disengaged, there is less time and opportunity to benefit from the traditions that were formerly a natural part of family life. The present households often has a TV and/or computer in every room, so even a small custom like all sitting down to eat dinner, doing homework together or playing a favorite family game may just not happen as often as it once did. Read the rest of this entry »

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Biting, A Normal Developmental Child Behavior

October 29th, 2012

Biting is a normal part of childhood development. Yes, it is very upsetting for adults. Yes, it can be frightening for the child who bites. Yes, it is upsetting to the child that is bitten and yes, it makes adults angry, but biting is a normal part of childhood development. Read the rest of this entry »

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A Healthy Future

October 26th, 2012

At LifeSpan, we believe in well planned and well implemented healthy practices and that active play increases children’s awareness and curiosity in a variety of academic knowledge areas, as well as encouraging them to become self-sufficient learners and thinkers as this stimulates not only the body, but the mind. Read the rest of this entry »

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Stopping Bullying

October 22nd, 2012

In the USA ~ October 2012 marks the seventh PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Month that unites communities nationwide to raise awareness of bullying prevention. This event includes activities, education and awareness building for the entire month.

According to the National Association of School Psychologists, bullying is the most common form of violence in our society. In a 2001 national survey of students in grades 6 through 10:

  • 13% reported bullying others
  • 11% reported being a victim of bullies
  • Another 6% said that they both bullied others and were bullied themselves
  • These numbers mean that over five million children are affected by bullying

Source: Surfnetkids

Bullying is the conscious desire to hurt, exclude or put someone else down to make you feel better. Bullying can be in looks, actions or words. Bullying is not a joke. It is unacceptable. Each student has the right to feel safe, happy and wanted. Read the rest of this entry »

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Afterschool Programs

October 19th, 2012

In communities today, 15.1 million children take care of themselves after the school day ends. Afterschool programs keep children safe, help working families and inspire learning. This is why we, at LifeSpan, spent October 18th celebrating our afterschool programs by participating in the 13th annual Lights On Afterschool Challenge inviting our families and community members to join us for a fun filled afternoon of various activities, displays and healthy snacks at all 6 of our Quakertown Afterschool Program locations demonstrating how our programs and staff continue extra learning opportunities during Out of School Time (OST).

Each day in America, millions of children go home to an empty house after school. In recent years, the growth of quality, affordable afterschool programs – programs that keep children safe, inspire learning and help working families – has begun to offer parents of these children positive alternatives. Over the past 5 years, afterschool programs have played an increasingly important role in providing valuable afterschool opportunities for children and families with OST programs. Read the rest of this entry »

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