Color, Color Everywhere

Autumn is ablaze with colors. Red, orange, yellow, gold and even green. How do children learn colors? They learn colors the same way they learn anything else, by exposure and manipulation. Bev Boz has a quote on her site; ""If it hasn't been in the Hand... and the Body... it can't be in the Brain!" Children learn through all their senses. The challenge for teachers is how to teach to the senses, how to involve the "whole" child in the learning process, especially with something so abstract as color.

The first step to teaching color is to expose children to it. Point out the changing leaves. The yellow ones, the red ones. Take two or three and say look I think these are different, but how? They may point out that some leaves are big and some are small. Now you point out that they are also different colors. One is red, one is yellow and one is still green.

Ask your child in the morning or the night before what color they would like to wear. Would they like to wear white or pink socks? Would they like to wear their favorite blue shirt or the black one? Slowly the children will come to recognize and be able to name the different colors. Perhaps just one at first. Soon they will start to remember the different names for the colors.

Here at Ivy League-West we start by painting with red, then blue, then yellow, then we mix the colors to see what new colors we can make. We also play yummy juice bars. What? You've never heard of yummy juice bars? Well, I'll tell you, but you must know that if you introduce this game you will be playing it over and over again...right after you read their favorite book for the millionth time.

Materials:

Different color construction paper
Scissors
Popsicle sticks
Glue


Cut out 2 popsicle forms of each color and glue them together leaving a portion of the bottom open so that you can insert a popsicle stick into the cut outs. Draw a star (or use a star sticker) on one of the popsicle sticks. Like so:

Now to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, you sing the following:

Can you find the little star hiding inside my yummy juice bar?
Think real hard and then decide, which flavor is it hiding inside?
Can you find the little star, hiding inside my yummy juice bar?

At first the child may just point at one. You say "ooh you want the pink one." (or whatever color he pointed to) and then you say, "The pink one can be strawberry or watermelon." Then you slowly pull out the stick and see if it has the star. If it does, you congratulate the child for finding the star. Then you put that stick into a another color and continue the game.

Soon the child will be naming the colors and their flavors!!

Enjoy!

Alida

Done That!

"I want you to read this one!" Inevitably it is the book you've read a million times. How could a child not get bored of the same story over and over? Aren't they craving something new? The short answer is no, not really. This is why daily rhythms are such an important part of our curriculum. Repetitions provides comfort. Think of chanting "OM" while meditating or for me it was praying a rosary. After repeating the "Hail Mary" fifty times, you are not so much saying it, you are almost singing or chanting it. There is something soothing in the chant, the repetition. It's calming and soothing. Try reading Green Eggs and Ham about 100 times and you'll notice that you find your rhythm immediately. "I am Sam. Sam I am."

Children that are even five and six years old are still so new to the world. There is still so much that they need to learn and so much that is out of their control. Rhythms, whether it's following a daily routine or listening to the same story brings a sense of peace and comfort to their day. A moment to relax and calm down. They have a sense of control because they know exactly what will come next. Your tone, your facial expression, the next word, it's completely predictable. They feel they are in control of something in their environment.

I have a young pupil at Ivy League-West and everyday when I sing, "It's clean up time." This young pupil says, "so we can have circle time." "That's right, " I respond. When we set the table for lunch, he says, "and when we are done we'll have nap time?" "Yes, that is what we will do."
It thrills me that he has come to expect what follows. I see that knowing what comes next bring a sense of security to the children. For me following a rhythm eliminates discipline issues. When one thing follows the next everyday, there is no room for argument.

So the next time your child asks you to read their favorite book for the umpteenth time, go ahead and read it. It's good for both of you. However if you are a real thrill seeker you may make a deal to read one they pick and then one you pick. Just be prepared to read the one you pick over and over as it may quickly become a new favorite.

Peace,

Alida



Some favorite Autumn books to add to your repertoire:

Wild Child

The Little Yellow Leaf

Flora's Very Windy Day

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

Bean There

See these? This is one of the easiest, most exciting projects to do with kids. Growing beans in a baggie, taped to a window is pretty fool proof. Now if you are especially foolish or have thumbs a shade not even close to green, it's okay. The first thing we do with any science type of project is come up with a hypothesis. Don't be afraid to use that big word with little ones. They may not be able to pronounce it or even remember it, but use it anyway. A hypothesis is a guess. (That's what I tell the kids.) It doesn't have to be right. It can be incorrect. Scientist do experiments to find out if the hypothesis is correct or incorrect. If it's incorrect, then they try something else. That' all, no drama, no winning or losing. So here is a step by step scenario.

Adult: Hey, I have a crazy idea! Do you think we could grow beans in a bag?

Kids: They will either laugh at your foolishness or stare blankly thinking about how ludicrous this sounds. (Or maybe they didn't even hear you because they are fighting that pesky dragon that pops into their head at the mere mention of science.) Some may nod in the negative and of course there are those few that will go for just about any crazy idea.

Adult: Let's see? How would we do this? What do plants need?

Kids: Water. Air. Sunlight. Dirt. Jelly Beans! There is always one kids suggesting Jelly Beans as a cure all to EVERYTHING, or they are still just be staring blankly at you. That's Okay.

Adult: Okay...I think this may work. Dirt works, but I want to be able to see the roots growing.
You may need to stop and explain what roots are...but only if they ask. Remember, the art of teaching is about leaving a lot unsaid so that the kids come to the knowledge themselves. This way they are more likely to remember it. What can we use that will let us see the roots growing?
(if an answer or two are not suggested...continue.) I know! I think I saw once someone using cotton balls. So we will substitute cotton balls for dirt. Now, what else do we need? Yes! Water.
Let the kids pour some water into the bag. What else? Of course, we need some beans. Let each child place 4 or 5 beans into the bag, mushing them into the cotton a bit. Now for sunlight. Should we tape these babies inside the fireplace?

Kids: Laughing hysterically and screaming in unison...NO!!!! It's dark in there. Tape them on the window!

Adult: Genius! What about air? How will the beans get air?
Some kids may know, but this is a great demonstration anyway. Take an empty baggie and seal it. Now let the kids squeeze and feel it. Pop a hole in it and have them squeeze the air inside. Ask again. I bet they can all tell you that the air is already in the bag.

The rest is simple. Watch those bean sprouts...well sprout!

Our sprouts got so big we planted them. We measure them. We water them. We ask questions. There were a few that didn't grow and we learned from them too. So if your kids are itching for something to do, tell them you have a crazy idea. Just as a reminder, someone may ask you to grow jelly beans. Do it! Grow them in a separate baggie next to the beans and note what happens.

Welcome Autumn

Today it feels like Autumn. I know it officially started the 21st of September, but we've been having some nice weather and it seemed even the leaves were holding on to summer for as long as they could. Today it rained and I sat watching the leaves rain down too. I love Summer, but I must admit I really, really like Autumn.

I am excited thinking about all the leaves in the back yard. It will be so much fun to rake those up into a pile and let the kids jump in. It's a great time for science lessons. During Autumn we get to view nature in a blaze of glory. It's last hurrah before going dormant for winter. This is the time of year kids learn to classify. We classify leaves by shape, by tree, by color. We measure rain water. We talk about the wind. We get to feel all three caress our cheeks. This is the time of year for baking healthy treats. I can almost smell the cinnamon in the pumpkin bread now. This is the time of year for pumpkin patch visits and for jumping in puddles.

It's also the time of year were as teachers we are at our busiest. Autumn means more rain, it means winter is approaching quickly. It mean more time indoors, more planning on our part.

Well, we've got it covered. Through this season I'll be posting ideas and projects to keep little hands busy and moms and daddy's sane. Be sure to check often for inspirations and don't forget to jump in a pile of leaves or at minimum a puddle or two.

Peace,

Alida

The Power Struggle

There are many things that have helped me prepare for my career in Early Childhood Education and in education in general. I think an understanding of how child develop and where they are in a particular stage in development is of utmost importance. However the one book I've read that I think has helped me the most is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The agreement I remind myself of constantly when I'm teaching or simply interacting with another person is do not take things personally. This is by no means an easy task. So much of what we do is wrapped up in our egos. I'll be writing a lot more about egos and education in a few day, but for now I'm going to keep it close to home. How would an agreement like this help in your daily dealings with kids? I know the scenarios I present here are not typical of a home environment, but you may still be able to take away a few things that may help alleviate the daily power struggles that present themselves if you have a toddler, two year old, three, four, five, six year old, a teenage or if you happen to be married or even if you are a hermit who has to go out and buy food then and again.

First keep the agreement in mind. Remember that your child is not doing whatever it is that is getting on your nerves to get on your nerves. No, no I won't allow you to argue this point. I know you "just know that Johnny is doing a, b or c on purpose to push your buttons." I'm telling you otherwise. It's true, Johnny may be doing it to get your attention, or because he is getting a kick out of your reaction. Maybe poor Johnny is trying to figure you out or can't help himself. I'll bet that 99.9% of the time, Johnny (be he your son or husband) hasn't the slightest clue as to what is upsetting you. My question to you is why are you allowing those buttons to be pushed in the first place? Why do you take what Johnny does personally?

Here are some facts I want you to keep in mind while you hold on to that agreement.

1. Johnny is his own person even if he is three years old.
2. Johnny is selfish. This is especially true if it's a child, but even most adults are looking out for themselves. (After all, isn't it selfish of you to believe that Johnny's behaviour is a reflection of your parenting?)
3. You cannot control Johnny. I know this is hard for parents to accept, but we must change the prevailing mindset that education equals control. The truth is you can control through coercion but never through education. You may control your children for a awhile through coercion, but what are you teaching your children? To be followers? To only do good if there is a prize involved? To only behave if you are looking?
4. Your ego is way too big if you cannot let go if little annoyances. Time to rein it in.

Now that's we've set up some guidelines let's examine a scenario that I face with at least one, sometimes two of my precious little ones everyday. The scene is the transition from free play to circle time. In your house the scene may be the transition from free play to dinner time.

Miss Alida: "It's clean up time, it's clean up time. It's time to clean up."
Boy #1: "It's time to clean up."
Boy #2: "I don't want to clean up! I want to play!"
Miss Alida: (ignoring Boy #2's comments) "It's clean up time, it's clean up time. Jane is cleaning up. It's clean up time, it's clean up time. Boy #1 is cleaning up."

Now either Boy #2 says, "Me teacher, I'm cleaning up, say my name." as he joins in the clean up or he sits there and pouts. If he is indeed helping, he is mentioned in the song. If he pouts, I ignore him.

We move on to circle time. Boy #2 is still uncooperative. I make sure to thank the children individually who helped clean up. I proceed with circle time. Boy #2 sits with his back to me. I begin reading. Every now and then Boy #2 turns to listen to a particularly funny scene or to look at a picture the kids were laughing at. Once he says, "Teacher, can you go back I didn't see the picture?" I do. I go back and show him the picture. We continue with circle time and he slowly starts to join in. We are having a discussion and when I ask him a question, he remembers he is not supposed to be enjoying this and turns his back again. I say nothing and move on to the children eager to participate.

Now in the middle of the second story Boy #2 says out loud, "I'm hungry!" I look at him and put my finger up to my lips (shh) and continue the story. Boy #2 gets up and walks in front of me and says, "TEACHER! I'M HUNGRY!" I stop. Look him in the eye and say very, very quietly, "You are not allowed to interrupt me during my story, that is not kind. Being kind is one of our rules. Go sit down." Boy#2 sits down with his back to me until story time is over.

I tell the kids, lets go to the table. We are going to bake bread. All the children run to the table. Boy#2 sits pouting and says, "I'm not going to bake bread." I ignore him. I walk over to the table and join the children eager to bake. A few minutes later, Boy #2 runs in. "Hey, wait for me. I want to crack an egg." He joins us and there are no more issues for the rest of the day.

I could have taken his behaviour personally and reacted by demanding that he "behave". You will join us, you will listen, you will participate! That would have taken my attention away from the kids that were eager to participate. What this boy was doing was not hurting him, or hurting others. What he was doing was exercising control over his body, his choices and so long as he wasn't interrupting me, I was fine with it. I wasn't taking it personally. Maybe, he had a rough morning, or not enough sleep. Maybe he wanted to see how far he could go before I got mad. I didn't.

By not engaging in a power struggle with a three year old I was able to maintain my authority. By allowing a bit of leeway in letting him control things that really didn't affect the outcome of the day, I showed him that I respect his feelings and moods. That they have nothing to do with me. I also made it a point to emphasis one of our rules, be kind. I did not allow him to cross that boundary of disrespect.

Now what if you are home and you say, "Johnny clean up, it's time for dinner" and Johnny ignores you? What ever will you do? Here are some suggestions.

1. Give Johnny a 15 minute warning. "Johnny in fifteen minutes, you will need to put your toy away because you need to help me with dinner." Note that is Johnny is under six and he has every possible toy out you will have to help him clean up or you are going to yell and scream until you are blue and Johnny will not clean up anyway. Deal with it. Young children cannot clean up a room full of toys by themselves. So even before this becomes in issue, get rid of most toys. Allow Johnny one or two toys to play with before dinner. (I know, I'm really mean!)

2. Remind Johnny every five minutes. "Johnny in ten minutes, in five." 'Okay, time to clean up."

3. Be specific. "I need you to set out the napkins and spoons."

If Johnny ignores the 15, 10 and 5 minute warnings, you go in and say, It's time to clean up and without saying another word, YOU put the toys up and then say come help me. If he refuses, you set the table. If you sing or do something that looks like fun or out of the ordinary, you will peak his curiosity. This works especially well if there are other siblings involved. Make no mention that Johnny is not listening or is misbehaving. Make sure to praise anyone who helped you set the table in Johnny's presence.

4. Be Patient. Rome was not built in a day. Character takes a long time to develop. We teach best be example, by modeling, by being the kind of person we would be proud for our children to grow up to be.

5. Do it again tomorrow. When things become rhythmic and predictable, Johnny will know what to expect and will know that he can be difficult, but it's going to happen anyway. He'll eventually come around. See #4 again...be patient.


Save your power struggles for big important things. There are not many in life. Life is made up of many little things that have the potential to bring us great joy or grief depending on how we handle it. Your little ones will learn. We must make sure that learning is never coerced, that it develops and blossoms like a flower or a butterfly. Children come to us with their own unique programming and views and we may guide gently and kindly so as to not break their fragile spirits.

Children never do things to spite us, unless that's what they have been taught. They do things because they are curious or because something inside says they must. We are not the center of their attention, only they are. Nothing should be taken personally. Guide them to the brighter future in which they will be our leaders.

Yes, No, Maybe So

Are you a yes man or woman? Is no the first word out of your mouth whenever your kids ask a question, no matter what the question is? Around these parts, I tend to be the yes woman. You want to spread your own peanut butter and jelly? Sure! You want to play in the rain to see how long it will take to get soaked? I'll time it! You made a home for the roly poly's in your room? Awesome! Hubby is my opposite. He is the nemesis to my yes. He is the no man. You want to play in the tub? No. You want to slide on the hard wood floor in your socks? No. You want to have dessert? No, no, no, no, no.

It may seem like we strike a pretty good balance for our kids. Unfortunately though, it sometimes feels like the kids come to me for things more often than they go to their dad. Sometimes when we are both in the same room. This is not much fun for mommy (who needs a break) or for daddy (who I'm sure feels like a blue meany)*. The end result personally is that I tend to over schedule myself. The flip side (in my opinion only) is that my husband tends to close himself off from what maybe enjoyable activities.

I think that the best option for us and a good skill to teach the kids (because we are all about teaching here) is to pause and think. When my kids ask me for something, I pause and smile. "Let me think about it for a second" is my new response. This allows me a moment to think it through. Is having a mud fight (even as a science project) really the best thing to do a half-hour before going out to dinner? Probably not. If Sergio paused and thought about his response, he may come to the conclusion that if the children have eaten healthy and well throughout the day, dessert, even if they don't finish their dinner, would not be harmful.

How often are our responses, especially to our children, automatic? Let me think about it, gives you a small break. It let's your children know you are listening and that they have been heard. Let me think about it, gives credence to the request. Let me think about it, helps control the arguing as you have given pause and thought to the request.

Next time your child or your spouse asks you something...don't say yes or no. Smile and tell them you need to think about it. Did you like this post? Don't answer right now...give it some thought.


Alida


* A blue meany can be found on the Beatles' Yellow Submarine video

Baking Up More Than Treats

This week we baked whole wheat bread and delicious banana nut muffins. Not just any banana nut muffins, these had chocolate chips and ginger in them. They were so good. Baking with children can seem a bit overwhelming at first. I remember the first time I baked with my little ones, it was a disaster of pretty epic proportions. Imagine flour on the counters and floor, sticky egg whites not only on the counters and floor but also in the kids hair. We baked and then they had a long bath. I think we had whatever we baked for dinner that evening because I was exhausted!

I decided to try again and slowly I developed a simple plan. The key to baking or cooking with children is to be prepared. I don't mean to have everything measured out ala Martha Stewart. What I mean is to have all the supplies on hand. Flour, eggs, vanilla, sugar and whatever other ingredient you need on the counter. Have more than one of the following (two or even three is good):

• measuring cup
• measuring spoons
• bowls
• sift
• whisk
• stirring spoon
• kitchen towel

Now that everything is set out and ready, have the children wash up and don on their aprons. Make sure long sleeves are rolled up and hair is pulled back. Oh yes, and lastly rid yourself of any expectation that your kitchen is going to be clean during or after this project. It is not. I repeat it is not.

So why bother? I can bake up muffins in a flash and maintain the kitchen relatively clean and they'll be just as delicious. Why include the kids?

Cooking and baking is a process that teaches kids so many things. Even I was surprised recently when I asked Luke to measure out a teaspoon of vanilla and he promptly commented, "A teaspoon or 5 ml, it's the same thing." Indeed it is. This isn't something I pointed out, our measuring spoons don't have ml markings on them. I imagine, at some point in our cooking adventures he saw a chart or read something to indicate that 1 teaspoon and 5 ml are the same thing. Viola! Learning happens. Exactly what do children learn by helping in the kitchen?

• Weights and measurements
• Fractions (1/2 cup, 1/8 tsp)
• Hand/eye coordination (cracking an egg, stirring, filling a teaspoon, chopping veggies)
• Reading (even the youngest of children can recognize 3/4 or 1/2 and find it on the measuring cup)
• Chemistry (heat changes forms from liquids to solids etc)
• History (from recipes handed down through generations, culture specific recipes such as the Pan de Muertos we bake for Halloween or Day of the Dead)
• Decision making
  
• Follow directions
  
• Follow Intuition

I love the last one. Why is following your intuition important? Well for me it's been a lesson I've had to learn over and over again. It seems that if I let myself by guided by my intuition (after following directions) I end up making the best decisions. Making good decisions boosts my self esteem and feelings of worthiness.

This week while making the muffins, we smelled and tasted most of the ingredients before using them in the recipe. The kids decided that the ginger had a pretty strong taste, so we decided to use less than the recipe called for. By allowing the children to make decisions we give them ownership of the results, we allow them to think ahead to the end result.

If you've never had your kids in the kitchen, I'd suggest you start out slowly. Designate one day a month. Pick and plan a recipe together. Let go of your clean kitchen expectations and really have some fun. As your kids grow older they will be familiar with the kitchen and maybe, sooner than you think, you'll be treated to breakfast in bed. (You will however need to clean up the kitchen)

Banana Nut Muffins with Chocolate Chips and Ginger

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cups of sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 medium bananas ~ mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup of milk
chopped crystallized ginger to taste
as many chocolate chips as you can handle

1. Preheat oven to 350* Grease a 6 jumbo muffin pan.
2. Sift flour and baking powder in small bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar. (you can use an electric mixer or melt the butter a bit and let the kids do it with a whisk) Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Mix in bananas.
4. Add walnuts, ginger and chocolate chips. With mixer on low speed or while children whisk, flour mixture alternating with milk. Spoon mixture into muffin pans.
   
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until skewer or knife inserted in the center of a muffin come out clean.
6. Allow to cool 10 minutes. Unmold onto wire rack and cool at least another 10 minutes before serving.

Don't forget to have the kids help with the clean up too.

Enjoy!