Cooking With Kids

With busy schedules, it is difficult for many parents to cook meals at home much less cook those meals with their kids.  There are many benefits of spending time in the kitchen, particularly with children.  Safety much be followed at all times so you need to assign tasks that are appropriate for each child's age and skill level. To help you decipher which skills are age appropriate for your child, feel free to visit the following website by Kraft Foods http://www.kraftrecipes.com/yourkids/kids-tips/cooking-skills-by-age.aspx.

What are the advantages of having children help in the kitchen?  Well, as starters, it is an extra set of hands to help prepare meals and snacks as well as the clean up process.  I am all for help in the kitchen!

For the kids, they have an opportunity to work on math skills, including addition and subtraction skills as well as those fun fractions.  They can increase science skills by experimenting with different recipes and and cooking techniques.  How do the ingredients react with one another and what does the dish look like before the cooking process compared to the after shots?  Art and language skills can be included by drawing pictures, taking photographs, and writing about their experiences.  After all, isn't that what foodies do when they blog about their food?

What about those picky eaters?  Research studies have proven that fickle eaters are more likely to taste the items if they were involved in the preparation process.  If they absolutely refuse to eat or taste the item, then have have try licking it or giving it a kiss before tossing it in the trash, throwing it down the garbage disposal or feeding it to the dog.

Now about that time factor.  It is much quicker to grab dinner from a dive-thru or toss a frozen pizza into the oven.  Maybe so; however, the food does not necessarily taste good and definitely does not contain healthy nutrients as compared to you making it at home.  Consider creating make-ahead meals on the weekends or using a slow cooker throughout the week.  When you do find yourself cooking with your kids, double the recipe.  Eat one batch that day and freeze the second batch.  

Co-ops are another great resource for obtaining fresh fruits and vegetables at a lower cost.  Wherever you purchase them, make sure to wash and portion them shortly after bringing them home.  Many items can be stored in freezer bags in the freezer and pulled out as needed.
For those times when you lack creativity with your cooking challenge your kids to see what they can develop.  After all, cooking is a valuable skill for them to acquire.

The Power of Books

One of my favorite phrases is, “Knowledge is power”!  There is no better way to acquire knowledge than through the skill of reading books.  Many young children love hearing stories although they find reading the books frustrating and difficult at times.  What can an adult do to help children learn to love reading?

First, help the child to find a topic that is interesting and motivating to them.  The more interested and invested in the topic, the more likely he/she will put in the effort to read the information.

Next, provide time to sit with the child and have them read the information to you.  Even though I feel I know a lot of information about cars, dinosaurs, and the weather, there is always something new and interesting to learn.  I am all about sitting with a cup of tea and learning from my child, especially after a hectic day at the office.

For younger children who may not know how to read yet, have him/her look at the pictures in the book and “tell the story”.  Let their imagination visit faraway lands and problem-solve conflicts.  There have been many trips to the moon via a space car as we visit with alien friends.  We never know if there is enough fuel or clothes packed for the trip until the story is complete.

Finally, to help your child comprehend the information they are reading, ask questions about what you heard.  It helps to use open-ended questions where the child has to explain the information instead of just providing a yes or no answer.

As your child grows and their reading skills increase, infinite “powers” will be acquired and chances are you will be viewed as a superhero!

DAP-Age Appropriate Practices and Block Play

 Last week we touched on Developmentally Appropriate Practice and the different components that are involved. For the next few weeks, we will take a journey around a typical early childhood classroom.

Let's look at each learning center and discuss how they can be developmentally appropriate and how they relate to block play with young children.

Remember that we defined age appropriate as the difference between a child's chronological age and their developmental age. Say a child is 18 months old but is only developed to a mental age of a one year old. The way that you approach any activity with that child would be at the one year old level versus what you feel that child should be doing compared to a typically developing 18 month old.
So you may be asking yourself "What does this have to do with block play?"

Well, children approach a particular play toy such as blocks with a different view based on how they are developing and learning from peers, adults, and caregivers. For example a six month old will most likely mouth the block with no interest in stacking or building with it. They may also focus on only one block at a time due to their limited attention span.

Now looking at the typical development of an 18 month old who can most likely stack the blocks with no building ideas in mind. They will find enjoyment in the blocks tumbling over and then again re-stacking them. They also have a longer attention span so can sustain play with blocks for a longer period time.

It is not until a child is around 2 1/2 to 3 years of age that they will start to use the blocks to build with purpose. They may only make simple structures to use with cars however be sure to include other things with blocks to encourage further play.

To ensure that you are aware of developmentally appropriate stages you can refer to the following website:   National Association for the Education of Young Children and their policies on Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Additionally, you can refer to the milestone chart from the Center for Disease Control.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Hello all!

When discussing any topic in Early Childhood Education, one should understand the theoretical and philosophical background of the field.

 No, you do not need to be Socrates to get it.

 How many of you have heard of Developmentally Appropriate Practice? How many of you know what it actually means?

 Developmentally Appropriate Practice was developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children many years ago. The authors, Carol Copple and Sue Bredekamp, define the philosophy as activities being age appropriate, individually appropriate, and socially/culturally appropriate.

 Age appropriate considers the child's chronological age versus his/her developmental age. For example, if a child is chronologically two-years-old; however, he/she is completing tasks for an eighteen-month old, then the adult would have the child attempt to complete the tasks appropriate for an eighteen-month-old child.

Individually appropriate allows the adult to adapt or modify the activities to meet the child's task level while socially/culturally appropriate takes into account the child's social skills as well as their family's cultural background.

The Council for Exceptional Children followed suit by writing a Position Statement on Best Practice. The concepts are very similar although children with special needs or developmental delays were taken into account.

For more information about either of these philosophies, then please feel free to visit the National Association for the Education of Young Children's website at http://www.naeyc.org and the Council for Exceptional Children's website at http://www.cec.sped.org.

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog Growing to 8!  It is forum to share information within the field of Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education.  Since the field focuses on young children up to the age of eight years,  we will be sharing our thought on age-appropriate topics.  Activity ideas that can be done at home as well as in a classroom will be shared.  The information will be written with parents, grandparents, teachers, and administrators in mind.  Feel free to share ideas, make topic suggestions, or even ask a question or two.  We understand the joys and tribulations of young children and are more than happy to share our experiences and strategies that have worked.

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