Reading at HO4K

"There is no simple answer to helping children to read and write.... Young children need lots of exposure to oral language and print material. They need to have the self-confidence to explore new ideas and feel the pleasure and excitement of listening and telling stories, the intimacy of sharing, the joy of learning."

This is the advice from Joan Lombardi in her Exchange article, "Promoting Language, Literacy, and a Love of Learning Makes a Difference."

"During the infant and toddler years, children need relationships with caring adults who engage in many one-on-one, face-to-face interactions with them to support their oral language development and lay the foundation for later literacy. During the preschool years, young children need a wide range of developmentally appropriate experiences to support literacy, including — but not limited to — positive, nurturing relationships with adults who engage in responsive conversations with individual children. Child care providers need to model reading and writing behavior and foster children's interest in and enjoyment of reading and writing through exposure to a print-rich environment and daily adult reading of high-quality books."

You can tell by the interest and expressions, that the children are mesmorized by the content of the book being shared. This is a great opportunity to introduce students to fluency. Fluency is defined as the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression. Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.  Little ears can easily tell when a reader has good fluency during shared reading. Dont miss the great learning opportunity to read aloud to your children daily! They learn so much from this special time together!

Living Love and Logic Tip #44

Is It Okay to Have a Parenting Pet Peeve?
Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

 

If you're like about 99% of us, you have at least one thing that you feel so strongly about that you can't bear to see your kids do it. I'm not talking about huge things like sex, drugs, or gangs. It's our job to take a stand on these issues. What I'm talking about here is much smaller stuff, such as kids making popping sounds with their gum, wearing their hats inside, rolling their eyes, saying "like" a lot, wanting long hair, letting their rooms resemble the local landfill, etc.

There's nothing wrong with having a parenting pet peeve or two. That is, as long as you aren't attempting to micromanage or control your kids over every issue.

Click HERE to read the entire article and to find out the advice given!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Special Talents!!!

It is so important for children to recognize their special talents and gifts. It is also important for them to have confidence and feel pride while sharing these with others! We were so lucky to have some visitors with us last week who shared with us their special gift of dance!

Our first visitor is a 9 year old who did her own choreography for her school talent show and came to demo her hoola hoop skills for us. We were amazed at all the cool tricks and amazing moves she has with that hoop!

 
The other talent shared was by a recent HS graduate....clogging. We asked the children what they knew about clogging. Some said "I have no idea". One said "It's when something gets into something and stops the water " another added, "Clogging a toilet. I clogged a toilet before. It's how you make floods."
We learned clogging originated in Ireland and Netherlands with wooden shoes. First people used to wear wooden shoes to work in factories. Then they noticed when they tapped their toes to music it made cool rhythms. They stated dancing....it's evolved into metal taps on shoes. One student was able to figure it all out as they excitgedly shouted "There are little metal things on the bottom of her shoes. It makes a noise!"  Another added, "it sounds like bells because there's stuff on the bottom of her shoes." What great observers they are!

 After our special visitors, we read the book "The Talent Show" by Jo Hodgkinson. Each of the children decided to participate in their very own talent show.  We have challenged the kids to think about their special talents and cant wait for them to share them with us.

Come see our annual program "Hands-On-4-Kids Preschool Talent Show!" You will not want to miss it!  This year it will be held on Friday, August 17th, at 7pm. All students will be participating and we will have 6 kids graduating so it will be a wonderful event!

The Meaning of Marks!

In her Exchange article, "The Meaning of Marks: Understanding and Nurturing Young Children's Writing Development," Rachel Robertson says the following about young writers:

"Writing development is a component of literacy development that has received much less attention than reading. A novice might assume that a child learns to write in preschool or kindergarten by picking up a writing instrument and practicing, possibly copying dotted letters in a workbook or using a stencil as a guide. However, the foundation for writing begins much earlier. From the first grasping efforts a young infant makes to the attention a toddler gives to story time, the foundational skills needed to write successfully are practiced. Teachers and parents can and should use this captive and enthusiastic audience to extend and enrich the natural progression of writing development."

At HO4K's students practice using different writing tools and start at an early age with different forms of writing. The early development of fine motor skills and hand eye coordination along with exploration are imperative to future writing skills. As parents we serve as examples when we write lists, letters, create cards, leave messages, etc. Our little ones are constantly observing our behaviors and habits. The more we include them in such daily tasks, the more exposure they have which quickly develops into their own desire to write.

Living Love and Logic Tip #43

Questions are such FUN!Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

There is everlasting JOY and downright FUN in handling kids' mistakes with questions rather than recrimination. We never know whether those little souls are really listening to us while we're talking. But when we ask questions in a non-witness-stand and curious manner, we lead them to think. Let's look at a recent enjoyable example:

Two brothers, ages 8 and 6, were playing with bows and arrows and scooters here at our house the other day. Before leaving for home, their dad asked, "Did you boys put the arrows and bows and scooters away?" And they answered, "Yes." However, when I looked in the barn after they left, they had thrown everything just out of sight, inside the door. What a mess! There was the target, still with arrows sticking out; there were the bows, still strung; there were the arrows, scattered all across the floor and the scooters were buried beneath the arrows and bows.

When something like this happens, so many parents could lecture, show frustration, punish, thereby encouraging resentment in the kids, and raising their own blood pressure in the process.

Instead, I sent the picture below via email, to their Love and Logic dad. To find out what he did next, click HERE!

Living Love and Logic Tip #42

Making Them Suffer for What They've Done
Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

 

When kids misbehave or make mistakes, do we want them to suffer for what they've done…or do we simply want them to learn responsibility?

When we slip into the "making-them-suffer" mentality, the odds of success take a dive...along with our relationship with the child.

When we remember that "discipline" simply means "teaching," the odds are much higher that we'll remain empathetic...even loving...as we allow our children to learn from consequences.

A parent recently asked:

Our twelve-year-old son started to make a habit of lying to us about what was going on at school. We did our best to be empathetic as we described how he would have to do plenty of extra chores to replace the energy he had drained out of us. He had to pull weeds, clean up a bunch of old, rotted firewood, clean out a nasty dusty lawn shed, and a few other tedious jobs.

What worried us was his attitude about it all. He didn't even get upset. He even seemed to like it.

What are we doing wrong?

I suggested waiting and paying close attention to whether or not their son's politician-like behavior continued. Months later, she was excited to say that it did not.

Kids don't need to be upset about consequences
to learn from consequences.

Of course, the odds for learning go way up when consequences meet certain guidelines. Click HERE to review these guidelines.

Learning all about yarn

We have SO many wonderful parents at HO4K's and we love when they are able to share their knowledge and talents with us. Recently a HO4K's mother taught our kids about the creation of yarn. We started with  raw, dirty wool just sheered from the sheep (and was it ever stinky!) Some even made the association that it smelled like a petting zoo. Lol!

She explained that she washed it and shared different pieces that had been dyed various colors. She demonstrated spinning on the stick and then on her wheel. The children were very attentive and found it fascinating. Each couldn't wait for their turn to try using the wheel and individually with their own spinning stick. This was great practice for small motor skills and hand-eye coordination!

To finish, she demonstrated crocheting and also brought a hat and shawl that she previously knitted! They children were excited to see the possibilities that yarn has in creating many wonderful end products! Who knows, maybe someone just learned a new hobby!!!

A BIG thank you to our wonderful volunteer! Again, we love to have visitors. Let us know if there is something you would like to come in and teach the kids at HO4K's!

Swim lessons and announcements.

Hi Everyone!

Please save the date for Preschool 2012 Graduation and Program (for all students) Friday, August 17, 2012.

It’s Time for

Swimming

Lessons

Forty Minute classes
In a small group

Classes designed to meet
Individual abilities
& Build Confidence.

Classes taught in 2 week sessions:

Session I: June 11 - June 21
Session II: June 25 - July 5
Session III: July 9 - July 19
Session IV: July 23 - Aug. 2
Session V: Aug. 6 - Aug. 16

Taught by Randee Worthen,
Red Cross Certified
Water Instructor
and
Life Guard

Classes will be available…
Mon, Tue, Wed, & Thur;
Two Week session at a time;
After school classes are also available;
Divided by skill level
and taught at
1008 Santa Helena Ave.
Henderson, NV 89002

Class size will be 2-5 children
Pending skill level & age
(Must have at least 6 children enrolled per session)
Pre-teen, Teen and Adult classes available upon request

Our program is
Developmentally
Appropriate to provide basic swimming skills and opportunity to build confidence.
$65.00 for group
$90.00 for Private
Classes may be paid by cash, check or money order
To: Randee Worthen

For more information

Ms.RandeeLee@gmail.com
Call: (702) 426-6822

Living Love and Logic tip #41

When Do We Step In?

Jill and Harry were stumped. How could they help their son Will? They were not only heartbroken to know that their son was being bullied, but also confused about how to intervene.

Jill wanted to involve the school principal, and possibly the police, while Harry kept reminding her that their Love and Logic class taught the importance of kids solving their own problems.

Love and Logic is not a black and white, or cookbook theory for raising children. I often kid that even though the use of common sense is not on that precious "List of State Approved Programs," it still comes in handy when dealing with kids. To read more about how to help your child through bullying and for more resources go HERE!

Learning In The Water!

Seriously? How lucky are these kids? There are not many schools that provide such learning experiences as playing in the water, sand and mud! This past week, students enjoyed using their imaginations to create their own car wash. They worked together to create tools, methods and also assisted in any help needed. Taking turns was easy, as each different option was fun and wet!

Using the hose was a real treat as we experimented with water pressure. We have control making the water come out fast or slow. Whoa! We discovered that water pressure can move objects! Spraying the water also strengthens our small motor skills, which we need for writing. What fun we have while learning!