Early Childhood Fun

Dear Parents, My goal in the arts and crafts section, will be to give you fun, different activities to do with your child that will not require a lot of time, money or mess. These are not fancy projects that will end up on your mantelpiece for years to come. These are projects your child can be proud of and really feel that she made on her own. I (for the most part) will use materials that you have sitting around the house and usually throw away or basic preschool arts and crafts items. Here is a list of some things you might want to save and of basic pre-school arts and crafts items that I recommend for every home. Basic Items Colored construction paper Plain white drawing paper Small glues (buy a bigger one for a refill) Child size scissor (lefty scissors if your child is left handed) Thick and thin magic markers Crayons Pastels Paint Paintbrushes (thick and thin) Household items to Save Inside of paper towel rolls Inside of toilet paper rolls Soda bottles Coffee tins Wrapping paper Magazines/catalogues (especially child-related ones) Yogurt containers Cereal boxes If you have a baby you can also save: formula containers, diaper wipe containers This does not mean you should save all of these, all the time.

Does your child constantly bother you while you're preparing food in the kitchen? Are you tired of hearing your child complain about the food you make? Here's my suggestion: Involve your child in the cooking process! I love cooking with children. I know, I know -- sometimes kids make a mess in the kitchen. Everything takes longer to do and what if the kids ruin the recipe? Any or all of the above may be true, but the potential for fun and learning outweigh the risks! And you may discover that you love it, too! Kids love being involved with preparing food.

Do you want to try cooking with your kids, but you don't know what recipes to choose? OR Do you already love cooking with your kids and are looking for a new fun way to do it? Try printing out these fun and simple recipes to use with your children. Over ten years ago, when I first became a pre-school teacher, I by chance purchased a slim soft-cover cookbook. This cookbook, Kinder-Krunchies - healthy snack recipes for children, by Karen S. Jenkins, became the basis for hours and hours of fun and educational experiences for my students and later on for my own children.

I love reading with my son. I love sitting with my arms around him, holding him close and watching the smile on his face when I get to his favorite part of a book. I love to hear the feeling of accomplishment in his voice as he fills in the next word or see the expression on his face as he points to his favorite picture. WHAT, YOU ASK IS THE BEST REASON TO READ TO YOUR CHILD? I could quote to you research proving that the younger you start reading to your child, the better he will do in school.

A word about book recommendations: The age at which a child can benefit from a book varies. Some children have the patience to listen to actual stories by age two, while others do not develop this ability until later. In addition, a child's understanding and ability to learn from different kinds of material grows as he does. In giving age recommendations, I tried to consider when it is worthwhile to start reading a book to your child.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? By: Dr. Seuss Random House, Incorporated, 1970 Ages: Two and up This book encourages young children to practice a variety of sounds in a fun way. In a People's House By: Theo Le Sieg Random House, 1972 Ages: Two and up A great book to help improve your child's basic vocabulary.

Whether an upcoming holiday, a birthday or just for a special surprise, it seems part of our year is spent choosing gifts for our children. In today's age of constant advertising - the Internet, television, magazines and newspapers - it's easy to be overwhelmed by our choices and not know where to start. While nobody but you can know what presents will most excite your child, here are some important points to consider as you start on that yearly dilemma: WHAT PRESENTS SHOULD I BUY FOR THE KIDS?

I remember the first big vacation we took together with my son in Israel. On a beautiful summer day, we drove for an hour up a steep cliff to see one of the most beautiful sites in the area, the valley in which David slew Goliath. As we stood looking at the breathtaking view, I held up my three-year-old and said to him, "Mordechai, isn't it beautiful?" He looked at me and said "Mommy, now can we go home and watch Barney?" Sometimes the key with young kids is to "Do Less and Enjoy More." While to adults vacation fun usually includes new, exciting and different activities, what young children often want most is what they are used to.

Looking for a way to keep your pre-schooler busy during those long summer days? Here are some suggestions for easy summer activities. 1. Make homemade ices. (You can buy very cheap ice molds or use small cups and old Popsicle sticks.) Juice or Hawaiian Punch both work great. 2. Take ice cubes out of your freezer and put the bowl outside in the sun. Have your child check it regularly and keep you informed on "what happens." Then show your child how you can re-freeze the water.

Here's a simple and fun activity to help develop your child's language skills! Appropriate ages: 3 to 5 Time needed: 15 minutes WHAT YOU'LL NEED: * Old catalogues or magazines * Scissors * Glue * Magic Marker * Construction Paper WHAT TO DO: 1. Go through old catalogues and magazines and let your child cut out pictures that interest her. You can do this activity with all different types of magazines or catalogues. I find that children's toy catalogues are particularly great. 2. Keep the pictures in a bag or container and ask your child to pick their favorite picture.

Here's a simple and fun activity to help develop your child's language skills! Appropriate for ages: 4 to 5 Time needed: 15 minutes WHAT YOU'LL NEED: * Family photos or old catalogues or magazines * Scissors * Glue * Magic Marker * Construction Paper * Tape or Stapler WHAT TO DO: 1. Go through your family photographs or through old catalogues or magazine and try to find three photos that have something in common. Children love stories that talk about themselves and their lives so this is a great way to use family photos that didn't come out perfectly and are not worth putting into an album.

Here is a very simple activity that I have seen packaged commercially for about 5 times the cost of doing it with materials you already have at home. Appropriate for ages: Two and Up Time needed: 15 minutes WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 1. Sponges 2. Different color paints 3. Paper (or regular) plates to hold the paint 4. Construction paper (or a thicker paper) WHAT TO DO: 1. Cut the sponges into different shapes. Start with basic shapes such as circle, square and triangle. If these are too simple, you can choose higher level shapes -- oval, rectangle, octagon etc.

Taken from the book Preschool Art, by Mary Ann Kohl Appropriate for ages: Two and up Time needed: 20-25 minutes (plus baking time) What you'll need: * 4 cups flour * bowl * wooden spoon * cutting board * foil or wax paper * 1 cup salt * 1? cups warm water * baking sheet * plastic wrap * oven What to do: 1. Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. 2. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in one cup of warm water. 3. Mix the dough. You can start off with a spoon, but after a bit it pays to use your hands.

Appropriate for ages: Three and Up Time needed: 10 minutes for stringing Ten minutes for painting WHAT YOU'LL NEED: * Round pasta with a large hole in the middle (such as Tortellini) * Yarn * Paint * Paint Brushes * Newspaper (or any paper that will protect the painting surface) * Scotch Tape WHAT TO DO: 1. The adult should take a long piece of yarn (long enough for a necklace), string it through a piece of pasta and tie the piece of pasta to the yarn. Make sure the knot is tight and that it is tied so that other pasta pieces will not be able to pass the one you tie.

I suggest making two of these at a time so that you can compare the two sounds. You can of course, start with only one and then add others later on. Appropriate for ages: Two and Up Time needed: 15 minutes WHAT YOU'LL NEED: * Paper towel or toilet paper roll insert. * Masking tape * Plain piece of paper * Scissors (child scissors if you want your child to cut) * Colored construction paper * Aluminum foil * A small amount of rice and beans. Don't mix the two - you only need one of these if you are making one maraca.

Appropriate for ages: Two and Up Time needed: 10 minutes and up WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 1. Set up a child-friendly collage tray. * I suggest purchasing a plastic tray divided into a few sections with a circle in the middle. * If you don't have a chance to buy a tray, you can take a regular tray and place three or four non-breakable bowls on it in a circle, with a space in the middle. (If you have disposable plates and bowls, you can glue the bowls onto the tray.) Put a small glue container in the middle.

Taken from the book Preschool Art, by Mary Ann Kohl What you'll need: * Dried corncobs without kernels (After eating the corn, leave the corncobs outside for a few hours in the sun or let them dry on your counter overnight.) * Tempura paint * Large plastic or paper plates (One for each color you want to use.) * Corn holders or nails * Paper * Newspaper or other paper to cover your work area What to do: 1. Cover your work area with newspaper and put out a large piece of paper for the project. (Thick paper will hold up better.) 2. Put the corn holders on the dried corncobs. If you don't have corn holders, then you can use long nails.

This recipe and the question for discussion are taken from the book Kinder-Krunchies: Healthy Snack Recipes For Kids, by Karen S. Jenkins. The book is distributed exclusively by Discovery Toys.

What Do You Think? How are the two cheeses alike? Different? To which food group does cheese belong? Smell the dill weed. Where does it come from? Which ingredient adds lots of flavor?

What Do You Think? 1. How do pumpkins grow? 2. Taste a sliver of raw pumpkin. How does baking change it? 3. What else is made from pumpkin? 4. Which ingredients are solid? Which are liquid? 5. Which ingredients are spices? Try This! 1. Make pumpkin bread: double the recipe, and bake in a loaf pan for 50 minutes. 2. Add a cup of your favorite nuts.

Make different types of milkshakes with your child.

Questions to Discuss With Your Child: 1. Why is the pudding brown? Which ingredient makes the pudding brown? 2. Try tasting the pudding when it is hot and after it cools. Which way tastes better? 3. What happens to the consistency of the pudding after it is in the refrigerator for a while? How does it look and feel different?

So you just read why it's great to cook with kids. Now, here's a step-by step program describing how to cook with your child, teach her all kinds of great skills and have fun, all at the same time. GET READY: 1. Set up a convenient workspace for you and your child. (Or children -- I currently do cooking projects with at least two, if not all three of my children and, yes, we have to work hard on taking turns.) If you have limited counter space, it may make sense to do the preparation on the kitchen table.

This recipe is taken from the book Kinder-Krunchies, Healthy Snack Recipes for Children by Karen S. Jenkins. This book is distributed exclusively by Discovery Toys.

This recipe is taken from the book Kinder-Krunchies, Healthy Snack Recipes for Children by Karen S. Jenkins. This book is distributed exclusively by Discovery Toys.