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Nervous about using paints with your preschooler? Afraid they’ll make a mess? Here are some quick ways to make it easy, fun, and (maybe most importantly) painless to clean up.
Prepare the surface. If you’re painting on a table and afraid your child won’t stay in the lines, spread out newspaper and then tape it down. That way, even if it gets messy, the underlying covering stays put. And cleanup is just a crumple and toss away–no washing or wiping!
Recycle a shirt as a smock. With the surface taken care of, your child needs equal covering up. An old button-down shirt from Dad or Mom makes a great art shirt for preschoolers. You can cut the sleeves shorter, and even put it on the child backwards for added protection. If children learn to always put their art shirts on, it won’t be a big deal because they’ll want to have them on so the art fun can begin!
Stick with watercolors. Unless your child is a budding Rembrandt or Picasso, stick with watercolor paints. They are inexpensive, a snap to clean up, and you don’t have to worry about the paint drying out. Just add water!
Use thicker paper. Office or computer paper doesn’t do a very good job of containing a preschooler’s wet strokes. Using thicker paper, even colored construction paper, will absorb more paint and create less mess.
Dry it quickly with a blow dryer. When you’re finished, you can have that painting ready to hang on the wall by whipping out your blow drying. On a warm (not hot) setting, hold the dryer a foot away and move it back and forth across the paper. To avoid the wavy effect that happens to paper as it dries, point the dryer under the edges of your paper as well.
There you have it, fun painting with your preschooler.
tags: activities
Is the front of your refrigerator getting too full with your kids’ art? Here’s a great preschool activity that takes the art your child creates and puts it on a t-shirt (any one will do). And the best part is they can wear it themselves! You can also make larger t-shirts for other family members (like Dad or Grandma for their birthdays).
What you’ll need
- white drawing paper
- pencil
- fabric transfer crayons (Crayola makes great ones)
- an ironing board or table
- an iron
- and a plain front t-shirt
Instructions
- Have your child draw a self-portrait with a pencil on the white drawing paper.
- Let her color it in with fabric transfer crayons. Use bright colors and press down hard. Shake off crayon bits when the portrait is complete.
- Transfer the portrait onto the T-shirt by stacking newspaper or plain paper on an ironing board. Put the shirt on top of the paper, then layer additional paper inside the shirt (to keep the transferred color from bleeding through).
- Place the colored self-portrait facedown on the shirt and cover it with another sheet of paper.
- Heat a dry iron on the cotton setting and press straight down on the drawing until the image is slightly visible through the paper.
- Peel the drawing away from the t-shirt.
(For a more detailed set of instructions, “Jan the Proofer” has great step-by-step pictures)
tags: activities
To make Valentine’s cards a new way this year, try brushing white vinegar on a sheet of white construction paper. Then cover the paper with small hearts that have been cut from red tissue paper. As the vinegar dries, the tissue paper hearts will fall off, leaving red heart prints.
tags: activities, holidays, valentines
Here are some Valentine’s Day Activities for the whole family to enjoy.
- Serve pink pancakes, strawberries and pink milk
- Have a candlelight dinner with the whole family. Serve the kids favorite meal with sparkling cider. (Be careful with the candles.)
- Have your children decorate valentines cards for grandparents, parents, friends and others and send them.
tags: holidays, recipes, valentines
This issue seems like a good time to talk about the importance of giving your child regular chores to perform. Daily tasks are a part of each of our lives and help children grow up being *responsible* and *self-sufficient*. Someone once said, “Good habits at home make good habits at school.” I agree!
The level of performance required on a chore should be matched to the *age* and *ability* of the child, but you’d be surprised about the many things that children can do even at a young age. For instance:
* *Helping to sort the laundry* into piles of whites and darks for washing. It’s an easy way for them to learn to recognize colors, and it helps you as well!
* *Helping to fold towels* or washcloths after the laundry is completed.
* *Emptying the silverware* out of the dishwasher. I put the silverware rack on the table with the insert from my silverware drawer. An added bonus about this chore is that you’re teaching them about recognizing shapes and sorting as well.
* *Putting toys away*. we’ll cover this in depth in a later issue, but, from an early age, children need to learn to put away what they take out.
* *Watering plants*. If your plant is finicky, make sure you fill the pitcher or glass that they’re using for watering with just the right amount of water
* *Cleaning out the inside of the car.* Picking up things that may have fallen under the seats and then using a Dustbuster® or vacuum with upholstery attachments to vacuum the carpets and seats.
What do you do to encourage your children’s learning to work at home?
tags: articles
My son, Matt, is not only a dentist, but also the father of five children. I thought he would be the perfect one to talk about Children’s Dental Health Month.
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Remember that a child’s teeth should be cleaned from the time that the first baby tooth comes in. Babies’ teeth should be wiped with just a moist washcloth. As the child gets older you should still be the one cleaning their teeth. Use a child-sized, soft-bristled toothbrush. Remember–adults should only use soft-bristled brushes as well! Any toothpaste with the ADA (American Dental Assoc.) seal can be used. There are many different brands and flavors–don’t hesitate to let your child try different ones. Since fluoride can make a child sick if swallowed in large quantities, be sure to smear only a small amount on the brush and teach them to rinse and spit–no swallowing! Flossing is difficult for a child, so encourage them to try and help them as they are learning. Brush after meals and snacks when possible but make sure the brushing before bedtime is a thorough one. Be sure they have nothing to eat or drink except water afterwards.
Take your child to the dentist early–age two or three. Nothing in depth, just to meet the dentist, maybe try a cleaning but do not make it a big deal. Sealants in teeth can save on future dental bills, but do not forget–you can still get cavities under sealants if they are eating sugar and not brushing their teeth. Avoid bottles and sippy cups in between meals unless it is water. Never, never, never send a child to bed with a milk or juice bottle. That is a great way to rot their teeth.
If you currently do that, do not feel bad, just start now by thinning the drink with water until they are off completely or drinking only water.
tags: articles
Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard, believes there are more types of intelligence than just “book smarts.” Here are the eight types he suggests exist.
- Linguistic: thinks in words
- Musical: thinks through rhythm, tone, melody
- Logical-mathematical: thinks in patterns, abstract reasoning
- Naturalistic: relates to the natural world
- Spatial-visual: thinks visually, relates to charts, maps, images
- Bodily-kinesthetic: learns through movement, touch, hands-on experience
- Intrapersonal: thinks internally and works best alone at own pace
- Interpersonal: thinks through interaction with others
Each of us may be stronger in one area than in another. And maybe we are strong in a few areas. Our children also may have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. The public school system tends to be formulated around performance in just a few of these intelligences. Mainly linguistic and logical-mathematical. Not every child will excel in these two areas or even in both. As a mom of a preschooler, your child has not yet come into direct contact with the school systems measurement of intelligence. One of your biggest jobs as a parent in the next 13 plus years is to help your child find success when they attend school. Here are a couple of suggested ways to help your child succeed with whatever types of intelligence they have. (See “How your child is smart.” By Dawna Markova (Conari Press, 1992)
- Linguistic children often learn more easily by reading about a subject. So, writing out the steps to solve problems may help these kids with math.
- The logical-mathematical child can often learn to spell better if shown the patterns of letters and root words inside larger words.
- Capitalize on spatial-visual strengths by helping your child create charts, graphs and symbols to represent the things he is trying to learn.
- The child whose strengths are intrapersonal may need a quiet place to do homework or study. Help her find a spot that suits her, where she can have some privacy.
- The interpersonal child may prefer to work close to you and to share what he is doing, or may want to discuss projects with other classmates.
- Help your child identify his own strengths and ways of being smart, and let him know that all styles of intelligence are valuable.
How Your Child is Smart, by Dawna Markova, Conari Press, 1962.
Frames of Mind: A Theory of Multiple Intelligences, by Howard Garner, Basic Books, 1963
tags: articles
I don’t know any activity that children enjoy as much as baking cookies. But for a busy mother, the mess of flour, cookie dough, and frosting can be daunting. Here are some tricks that I have found which simplify the whole process:
- First, buy a lot of small (1″ to 1½”) cookie cutters. Larger ones are difficult for small hands to handle and the finished cookies are really too big for little ones to eat, too.
- Second, either buy ready-made sugar cookie dough in the refrigerator section of your supermarket or make your own and roll it into 2″ by 12″ rolls, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate until hard. (I often make a large recipe, divide it into 12″ rolls and freeze it – make sure you’ve double wrapped it in plastic wrap followed by foil – and then take out what you need at a time.)
- Cut the dough into ½-inch slices and have the child press a cookie cutter into each one. You can use both the cut out cookie and the part that is left with the design in the center to stack onto plain slices.
Instead of frosting, try these two ideas:
- Colored sugars are now available in dozens of colors. Have the child sprinkle the sugar on top of the cookies before baking. When they’re done, the cookies already look festive without the hassle of frosting each one.
- You can make sandwich cookies by frosting the plain slices with either jam or frosting and placing the cut-out slice on top. The design will show through the hole in the cut-out ones.
tags: recipes
Little Fern’s First Winter, by Jane Simmons
After Mama Rabbit tells Fern that winter is coming, Fern runs outside to play hide-and-seek. But when all the other animals won’t let Fern hide with them because they’re getting ready for the first snow, Fern doesn’t understand. She soon discovers the delights of snow after uncovering her friend from beneath its layers. The simple, clean pictures beautifully reveal the freshness of a newly fallen snow.
tags: reviews, winter
When it’s too cold to play outside, an easy tent or house can be made from throwing an old sheet over a card table or dining table. Use a permanent marker to draw on doors and windows. An instant hideaway that provides hours of fun and lots of opportunities to develop those imaginations!
tags: activities
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Teach Me Mommy is a preschool activity guide by Jill Dunford. You can order it here or at Amazon.com.
Inspired by the book, this website is a place where anyone can share preschool activities, games, learning ideas, and teaching tips to help young children learn and grow.
Thanks for visiting!
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