Archive for the ‘Learning’ Category

How Does Dramatic Play Help with Literacy?

Wednesday, May 29th, 2013

Dramatic play is usually a lot of fun for children. A lot of children enjoy pretending to be a waitress or a waiter, a teacher, a fire fighter, a Dr., etc. Dramatic play helps the children to interact with other children, use their imagination, and it also helps with reading and writing. Sometimes the children do not even realize they are practicing their reading and writing. For instance, when a child is pretending to be a waiter or a waitress, they are practicing to read the menu or write down what someone is ordering. When a child is pretending to be a teacher, they may practice reading to their class. When a child is pretending to write for a newspaper, they are writing stories that they are pretending will be published in the newspaper or into a book.  Another child may be in charge of editing their writing for the newspaper or book. These are fun, creative ways for children to continue practicing their reading and writing.

This information as well as more great information can be found at:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/what-dramatic-play-and-how-does-it-support-literacy-development-preschool

Ways to Help the Environment Throughout the Year

Monday, April 29th, 2013

Earth Day was on Monday, April 22nd and it is a day to support protecting our environment. On this day, there are many events that take place worldwide. It is so important to remember that not only on Earth day, but throughout the whole year that there are great things for you and your child to do in order to help our planet Earth. The children can learn about and help with the three R’s-  reduce, reuse, and recycle. Another fun activity to do with your child is plant flowers, trees, and start a vegetable garden. If you would be traveling somewhere close, then walking, running, or riding a bike with your child will help the environment. Spending time picking up litter that is on the ground or in the ocean will help the environment as well as help protect the animals. It is so important to remember that even just the smallest action can help the environment as well as the animals living in the environment. The website below has fun games for kids from Earth Day.

http://pbskids.org/games/earthday.html

Glue Ear Can Mimic Dyslexia

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

Glue Ear:

What is ‘glue ear’? This is a common condition in childhood. The tube can become obstructed by adenoids at the back of the nose, the air cannot enter the middle ear, and the cavity fills with fluid. The eardrum becomes dark looking. As time goes on the fluid becomes thicker until it has the consistency of thick glue. Often the only sign is deafness and children’s schooling may suffer and behavior may deteriorate.

Dyslexia:

Dyslexia is typically characterized by ‘an unusual balance of skills’. Dyslexia is a syndrome: a collection of associated characteristics that vary in degree and from person to person. These characteristics encompass not only distinctive clusters of problems but sometimes also distinctive talents. The syndrome of dyslexia is now widely recognized as being a specific learning disability of neurological origin that does not imply low intelligence or poor educational potential, and which is independent of race and social background. Dyslexia may overlap with related conditions such as dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder (with or without hyperactivity) and dysphasia. In childhood, its effects can be mis-attributed to emotional or behavioral disorder. By adulthood, many dyslexics will have developed sophisticated compensating strategies that may mask their difficulties. (more…)

Technology….Do the benefits outweigh the problems?

Tuesday, February 12th, 2013

The short answer is YES! For a child, technology plays may roles:  teacher, babysitter, playmate, and pacifier.  Toddler/preschooler is the most popular age category in the education section in the iTunes app store.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has long recommended that children under age 2 not be exposed to screen time at all.  Parents of the world have not heard that advice:  90% of parents with children under age 2 let their children use electronic media.  In fact, the AAP is continually reassessing their stance: “We now have to reconcile the fact that little kids (under age 2) are able to use these devices and learn from them” says Gwenn O’Keefe, MD, . (more…)

Helping Your Child With Letter Recognition

Tuesday, 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