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November 2008, Issue #056

1. Hello from Shirley

As the festive season draws near, it is a good time to help our children to be less absorbed with gifts and getting (greed) and rather help them to be thankful and appreciative of all their blessings and their standard of living.

Here in South Africa we don’t have to go far to see the masses of people that live in poverty – many in tin shanties without running water and often without electricity too. Toys are a luxury and many children don’t even have basics like pencils and paper.

I’d like to encourage you to think about or find out how you can bless others. With the current exchange rate (10:1), even just a few US dollars or Euros could make big difference to the poor in less wealthy nations.

If you don’t have the poor in your neighbourhood, perhaps you and your little ones could consider making a donation to an orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa that I support. Click here for a Free African Animals Colouring Book that you can download in return for a donation to TLC Orphanage.

2. Take a look at Shirley’s Preschool Activities

As the weather in the Northern Hemisphere turns colder, its time for some Winter Preschool Activities and Christmas Crafts. There are also easy homemade gift wrap and gift ideas on the Christmas page.

For those of us in the sunny Southern Hemisphere, I’d encourage you to put on a hat and sunblock and head outdoors as much as possible. Use the good weather to get your kids doing Gross Motor Activities. Sand and water play (with supervision) are also great activities to enjoy in summer!

3. Quote

"Children should have the joy of living in far lands, in other persons, in other times - a delightful double existence; and this joy they will find, for the most part, in their story books.”

Charlotte Mason

Click here for tips on Reading with Preschoolers

4. Tips

To keep toys organized, buy a few small transparent plastic storage containers, rather than one large toy box. You will find your children enjoy their toys more if the different sets are stored separately – blocks in one, plastic animals in another, cars and trucks together, dolls clothes in another etc. The challenge is to train them to tidy each set away and keep them stored in the correct container!

5. Book Reviews

As the season of giving is here, please take a look at some of my favourite books that I recommend for preschoolers and their parents on the Amazon Store page of my site.

One of the best investments is The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud by Janet Schulman

This is a collection of over 40 classic chidren's picture books, all in one colourful volume. They are divided into categories to suit 3 different age groups, so you can start with the easy stories and read the more complex ones when your children have matured a little.

We have just received our own copy of The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey - a favourite that I love to read every year at this time. Previously, we got it from the library, now we have our very own.

If you are South African, you can buy books and CD's online at www.kalahari.net and www.loot.co.za

6. Readiness Activities

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed. It’s a free download. Repeat these activities often - with your own variations too!

November

Balance & Co-ordination: Let your child ride a scooter or push bike so that she learns to push herself forward. By age 3 she should be capable of riding a tricycle and pedal rhythmically.

2. Fine motor skills

Manual Dexterity: Encourage your child to wash his hands himself using soap and water. He should be able to rub and twist his hands in a washing motion.

3. Visual skills

Colour perception: Choose one colour and make a point of pointing it out and talking about it as you go through your day. For example, point out clothing, toys, food, paints, signage etc that you encounter in that particular colour.

4. Auditory skills

Teach your child some easy songs or rhymes, especially fingerplays as these will develop fine motor skills too. There are some listed here.

5. Mathematical skills

Numerical relations: using construction blocks, build sticks of one, two and three cubes respectively. Ask your child to copy your creations and encourage him to count the blocks as he builds the three different sized sticks. Talk about comparisons of size using words like long and short, bigger, biggest, small, large, medium etc.

6. Language skills

Avoid all baby talk with your children and instead teach them proper English. Don’t be overly rigid and negative, just repeat any incorrect language with the correct language so that your children hear good language.
Eg. Child - Mom, did you see how I runned?
Mom – Yes, I saw how you RAN.

7. Faith-building

Teach your children, that although God hates sin, He never stays away from us and never stops loving us. Instead, it is our sin and shame that keeps us from coming before Him. Tell them that when we ask Jesus to forgive us that our sin and shame is washed away and we can come freely to God and climb up on his invisible lap and live in a loving relationship with him.

Greetings until next month
Shirley
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