The Whole Child, Issue #028- Jam-packed for you!

The Whole Child e-zine brings you free preschool activities each week to maximize your child's potential, build skills and parent-child relationships in just a few minutes per day. Useful tips, quotes, resources, opportunities and articles will added for extra value!

If you enjoy this e-zine, please pay it forward and send it to a friend.
If you received THE WHOLE CHILD from a friend and you would like to subscribe, please sign up at Shirley's Preschool Activities.

1. Hello from Shirley
2. Moms, do the Math
3. Tips
4. Quote
5. Book reviews
6. Readiness Activities

1. Hello from Shirley

Well, Spring has finally arrived after our cold, wet Cape winter, here in South Africa. My kids have been enjoying playing outside once again, getting dirty in the garden and returning from the trees with mulberry-stained mouths!

I know it is Fall in the northern hemisphere and even though it may not be quite as pleasant out of doors, I challenge you to dress warmly and go out and observe the changes in nature. Your little ones can learn so much from being outdoors in conversation with you, learning from the environment.

2. Moms, do the Math

3. Tips

Use a small syringe to give your child any medicine, rather than a teaspoon. It is much less messy. If your child is very young, squirt the medication into the side of her mouth, then blow into her face, which will make her swallow. It is usually easier if she is lying down, especially if she is reluctant to take it.

4. Quote

5. Book Reviews

I have listed some of my favourite parenting and homeschooling books at Shirley's Store where you can browse and purchase those or any other books you like using Amazon.com's secure online shopping.

A few weeks ago I said I'd review the parenting book I was reading at the time. Well, I have finished it at last, and I highly recommend it, so here is my review. If yould like to buy the book, I'd appreciate if you click on the link here and order it from Amazon.com as they will pay me about 3% commission. Not much, but it all adds up eventually!

In this book, Campbell explains how so many so-called Christian parenting books actually promote the secular psychology of behavior modification, without acknowledging this underlying theory.

Using this method, good behaviour is encouraged by praise or rewards and bad behaviour is discouraged by discipline and punishment. What is often neglected is the child's anger - both verbal or behavioural expressions of anger by a child are usually severely reprimanded as unacceptable behaviour and so children learn to surpress it ....until they hit adolescence or later and then it erupts!!

Campbell explains four alternatives to use in addition to the limited use of behavior modification:

1. Meeting the emotional and nurturance needs of your child
2. Giving loving training and discipline to your child
3. Providing physical and emotional protection to your child
4. Acknowledging children's emotions and teaching them anger management.

There is more to the book, but this is what struck me most. As the title says, its about your relationship with your child. Campbell, does not give prescriptive methods, but rather shares these basic principles with parents so that they can build a good foundation in their relationship with their children.

To me so many Christian parenting programs deny a child's emotional needs eg. scheduled feeding is encouraged for babies, but sometimes a baby wants to nurse for emotional reasons, to be close to her mother, more than for the nourishment gained.

Likewise, sometimes toddlers and older children start to 'act up' when they need eye-contact, focused attention or physical touch from their parents. Many 'traditional schools' would encourage parents to handle such behaviour with firmness because it is unacceptable, instead of asking the question that Campbell suggests: "WHY is my child acting this way? WHAT does she need?" and then responding lovingly and appropriately.

There are also many parenting resources out there that tend to emphasise spanking as a means to teach small children instant obedience. Now, I am not anti-spanking at appropriate times, but I think that many of us can get stuck in a rut of only using that as a method of dealing with unacceptable behaviour. Ross Campbell talks about the need to show a child respect, the difference between requests and commands, the importance of eye contact, using gentle physical manipulation and finally, punishment, the most negative form of discipline, which he says, should only be a small part of child training.

As a seasoned mother once said, "We parents are either too lenient with our kids or too harsh with them, it takes some years to find the balance" - especially as each child is different!

I believe we need to be cautious about allowing any author or authority to dictate our parenting style, which is easy to do if you lack confidence and experience.

Another thing I read recently is that 'punishment does not bring righteousness'. It is our relationship with our kids that will cause them to come to repentance, not just the consequences of their sin.

I believe that there are no formulas for good parenting, we need to be led by the Holy Spirit moment by moment, but Campbell's book has shown me that as parents we need to do more than just react to our children's behaviour. We can learn to understand our children's needs and emotions better and build good relationships that will last from where we are now, at preschool level, through the adolescent years to adulthood.

Readiness Activities

Week 30

Play ball games with your child using a small ball like a tennis ball. Show her how to toss the ball back and forth between her two hands quickly like a juggler would do. Let her bounce the ball up and down to the ground using the palm of her hand. Do the exercise with both hands. Play any other ball games you choose, rolling, throwing, catching or kicking the ball, but stop when your child loses interest or concentration.

Let your child hold a small ball with the fingertips of both hands. Show her how to spin the ball forwards with her fingertips. Repeat spinning the ball backwards.

Using plastic shapes from a toy shape set or cut from paper, place five different shapes in front of your child. Discuss and name the shapes with her. Ask her to look away while you remove one and replace it with a different shape. You child must try to determine which shape has bee replaced. Replace more than one shape at a time as she improves at the game.

Let your child stand with her back to you. Clap your hands and ask her how many times you clapped. Repeat clapping once, twice, three, four and five times at random.

The Bible encourages us to be thankful in all circumstances. Model this to your children and point out others that are less fortunate than themselves. Help them to appreciate all the blessings in their lives.

Teach your child some short nursery rhymes. Recite them together until your child knows them by heart. Although you will find plenty of nursery rhymes at this link on Shirley's Preschool Activities, I still recommend that you rather buy a nicely illustrated book of nursery rhymes that you can enjoy together.

Week 31

Ask your child to count one, two, three, four or five objects and hand them to you. Repeat this activity often as you go about your daily activities.

Ask your child questions using the words who, what, where, why and how. Ask questions which will require her to think up her own answer which will neither be wrong or right, but test her general insight: Why do we need to eat food? How do you make a bowl of cereal? Why do people drive cars? Where do fish live?

If your child enjoys this game, continue naming body parts, even smaller parts like elbows, wrists, neck, ankles, palms, soles etc.

Let your child build any puzzles that you have that are appropriate for her age.

Allow your child to play with play dough or modeling clay. She should be able to roll it flat with a rolling pin and use cookie cutters. Also encourage her to shape it into long snake-like shapes as well as to roll it into small balls. You'll find a play dough recipe under Preschool Craft Recipes on my Preschool Crafts page.