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Preschool activities and crafts with a fun summer theme. 
Keep
the good times rolling for your preschooler!
May/June - Summer 2007 -- Issue 33
Quote Of The Month
"The wildest colts make the best horses."
~Themistocles
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Editorial
The longer, warmer days put a smile on my face! I make no excuses for being a "warm-weather mom", it's just who I am. The mom who is happy to take the kids to the pool, or out to play miniature golf, go on nature walks, or roast marshmallows in the back yard under the stars.
We have a popup camper that seems to get more use in our driveway than anywhere else. It's all set up and ready for weekend sleepovers for my sons. My 7-year old finally mastered riding his 2-wheel bike and can be found zooming (with helmet on, of course) up and down our street.
Did I tell you that I LOVE the warm weather?? This issue is dedicated to the sun...one of my best friends. I've included a sunny craft, a sunshine sandwich, and some great books and music that can be enjoyed in, yes, you've got it, the sun!
With summer upon us, I've also had a lot of parents asking me recently about my thoughts on potty training. After all, summer activies are easier and less smelly when you don't have a little one in diapers. There are so many theories and strategies, and all children are different. Sometimes, the best you can do is trial and error with your child until you find something that works. In the meantime, I've included a great article with some general tips to set you up for success with anything you try.
I hope you enjoy this issue of the RockIt Times! Have a great start to your own summer!
Keep Rockin'!
Mari
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Reading Rocks!
Recommendations |
The Sun Egg
Elsa Beskow
This is a wonderful and charming book with a sweet, riddle-like
quality. The illustrations are worth the book alone. Elsa Beskow writes,
again, a soul-nourishing tale. These books are as much a gift to me as to
the children for whom I buy them and to whom I read them. This is a special book to celebrate the oncoming of Spring. It makes me want to make a tea party, read the book, and fall into the dear world of make-believe. ... this is a classic that would make a nice, life-long edition to any child's library. It's also an off-beat choice, and thus a safe gift for the child who already has a trove of good-reads at home.
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I Love You, Sun/ I Love You, Moon
Karen Pandell, Tomie dePaola
Reviewer: Amazon Editorial Staff
A family favorite since it was first published in 1994, I Love You, Sun/ I Love You, Moon has taught basic concepts to a generation of young children. Now, it can be used to introduce these concepts to Spanish readers.
Here, each child connects with what he or she sees in both Spanish and English-pointing at the sol/sun, watering a flor/flower, feeding a carrot to a conejo/bunny-all the while saying "Te amo/I love you" to each one. Tomie's adorable pictures warmly illustrate each activity, making it easy and fun to learn these simple Spanish and English words. A welcome addition to every toddler's library. |
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Kid Rock "Party In The Spotlight" Summer Beach
Party!
No summer
is complete without a blowout beach bash! And isn't it great when you can have
a beach party, whether or not you have a beach?
Throw
some sand in a wading pool for the kids to play in with buckets and shovels and
be sure to invite Kid Rock to make sure your child and friends are movin' and
groovin' to the summer surf beat!
This party theme may include the
following songs or other beach tunes:
- Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie
- Kokomo
- A
Beautiful Day
- Limbo Rock
- Hot, Hot, Hot
- Surfin' Safari
Reserve your party date today! Email to parties@rockitkids.com or call
us at 847-961-6584. Return to top
Craft Of The Month
Sun Paper Plate Craft
This is a simple craft made from a paper plate and a child's handprint cutouts. |
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Supplies needed:
- A paper plate
- Yellow construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue (or a stapler)
- Crayons, paint or markers
- Googly eyes (optional)
Directions: |
- Paint or color the back side of a paper plate yellow.
- Trace child's hand on yellow construction paper about 7 times.
- Cut out the tracings.
- Glue, staple, or tape the handprint tracings to the paper plate - the fingers are the sun's rays.
- Color in the sun, drawing a mouth and a nose. Either draw the eyes or glue on googly eyes.
This craft is reprinted courtesy of EnchantedLearning.com |
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Having a party? Don't forget to invite
Kid Rock! If you are in our neighborhood, we happily provide stress-free,
interactive children's party entertainment for any function. Or, make it a Kid
Rock day no matter where you live, with our perfectly assembled gift bags and
party favors! Visit the official Kid Rock website at http://www.rockitkids.com/
for more information!
Snack Of The Month
Sunshine Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup undiluted frozen orange juice concentrate
- 1/2 cup of peanut butter
- Bread
Directions:
- Mix frozen orange juice concentrate with the peanut butter.
- Spread onto bread and cut into triangles.
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Music Rocks!
Recommendations
Ants Wear Underpants
Wendy Gelsanliter
Reviewer: |
Heather Felion (California) |
My family (3&6) loves this CD! Her voice and music are so pure without being "folksy" like a lot of other music I've heard. The songs are very catchy and I dare you not to sing "Itty bitty kitty" to yourself. It has a nice range of upbeat and kind of mellow songs, perfect for long car drives, and she even has a couple well known songs so the kids got to jump in and sing along right away. My favorites are "Kitty" and "Ants" and it may sound corny, but on "Lost and found" she sings about losing your mom in a department store and it brings a tear to my eye everytime. It just captures that feeling of being young, like most of the songs on the CD. It gets played a LOT in our car.
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Under a Shady Tree
Laurie Berkner
This is just another wonderful CD by one of my kids favorite artists. Most all the songs are fun and lively, with creative lyrics, and a couple old favorites as well. This is the type of music that your kids can dance around and even act out some of the songs in play. You won't be disappointed in any of Laurie's albums if you like creative music that even adults can enjoy!
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Motor Activity Of The Month
I'm a Little Daisy
Sung to: "I'm a Little Teapot"
I'm a little daisy
Tall and slim (Stand on tiptoes)
Here are my petals (Place hands on side of head & wiggle fingers)
Here is my stem (Hold arms down at sides of legs)
When the sun comes up (Make sun with arms)
And the rain comes down (Flutter hands to look like rain - end in crouching position)
I grow, grow, grow- up from the ground! (slowly raise up bring hand over head)
Mommy (or Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Nanny) Says
Your child will develop their gross (large muscle) motor skills along with listening skills when you incorporate the following movements into your game!
Walking:
- Walk slowly or quickly about in space.
- Walk in a circle, square, triangle, etc.
- Walk forwards and backwards.
- Walk on heels or tiptoes.
- Walk lightly or heavily.
- Walk sadly, happily or angrily.
Running:
- Run about in space informally.
- Run with knees high.
- Run in a circle or zig zag pattern.
- Run backwards.
- Run on tiptoes.
- Run like animals.
Jumping:
- Jump in place.
- Jump with feet apart or together.
- Jump in different directions.
- Run and jump.
- Jump to rhythm.
Hopping:
- Hop in place.
- Hop forward or backward.
- Hop sideways.
- Hop in place using rhythms.
- Hop on one foot several times, then the other.
Skipping:
- Skip forward and backward.
- Skip in place.
- Skip in a circle.
- Skip to a rhythm.
- Skip with a partner.
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Special Guest
Article
Toilet Training Without Tears (Yours or Your Child's)
By Armin Brott |
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Looking at your child and thinking back at how much he's grown and developed can be a bittersweet experience. On one hand, you love how big and independent he's become. On the other, you sometimes miss his younger, more dependent days. But no matter how fondly you recall your child's infancy, there's one part of his childhood that you probably can't wait to put behind you: changing diapers.
Although most kids look forward to being able to use the toilet on their own, they can easily get frustrated by the inevitable accidents. And navigating that gray area between diapers and underwear can be hard on you, too. Here are some tips that will help make toilet training as painless and easy as possible—for everyone concerned.
Toilet Training Success Boosters
Wait until your child is ready. (Click here for a complete list of signs of readiness.) Trying to toilet train a child who's not ready can actually extend the process. And avoid starting training when there are other big changes in your child's life, such as illness, divorce, a death in the family (even of a pet), and moving to a new home.
Take it one step at a time. Despite all the stories you might have heard about children who jumped from diapers to big-kid underpants in a day, toilet training is a process that, for most children, involves several distinct steps that are learned one by one and over time. (For a detailed, step-by-step guide, click here.) To get the process going, you may want to start by leaving a potty seat on the floor of the bathroom for a few days; tell your child that the little toilet is for her, and the big one is for grown-ups. A few days later, have her sit on the seat (fully clothed is fine). After another few days, start asking your child a number of times every day whether you can take off her diaper so she can sit on her special seat.
Get the right equipment. Child potty seats should be low enough that both feet can rest firmly on the floor. Skip the urine deflectors (shields that attach to the front of the seat to keep boys' urine inside the toilet). They seem like a great idea but can sometimes hurt boys who don't sit down exactly right, and the last thing you want is to have your child associate going to the bathroom with pain. Some seats have multiple stages: They start out as a child-sized seat that sits on the floor and then convert to an adapter that sits on a regular seat. Some even play music when a child is seated.
Don't flush in front of the child, at least at first. While some kids may be fascinated and want to flush over and over and over, others may be terrified, believing that a part of them is being sucked down the toilet. (Click here for a detailed glimpse of how children view toilet training.)
Minimize or eliminate liquids within an hour of bedtime. This will increase the chances that your child will wake up dry—something that will boost his confidence.
Learn to recognize the signs. When you see that knees-together, bouncing-up-and-down dance, find a bathroom fast.
Be positive, but not too positive. Too much excitement about the contents of a diaper can give a toddler the idea that what he's produced is somehow valuable—a twisted notion that may result in him wanting to keep it for himself (inside his body if necessary).
Be flexible. Some regression is perfectly normal, especially if you've moved, changed babysitters, or had a death in the family, or if the child has been sick.
Make it fun. Boys in the early stages of toilet training are notoriously bad at aiming. Putting some o-shaped cereal or other targets in the water, or adding some blue food coloring (which turns green when the yellow urine hits it), can make urinating more fun for your son and less messy for you. Boys and girls also might like to have books to look at or a special "potty partner"—a stuffed animal or doll—to keep them company while they're using the potty.
Don't worry about night training for a while—at least until your child is regularly dry after waking from naps and occasionally dry in the morning. Overnight bladder control doesn't usually come for a year or so after daytime control.
Coordinate your approach with other caregivers. Barring any major life change, once you've started the toilet training process there should be no going back. So let preschool teachers, day care providers, and even babysitters know what you're doing at home and ask them to support you and your child by doing the same thing everywhere else.
Avoid making punishment a part of toilet training. It's impossible to force a child to use the toilet if she isn't ready or doesn't want to. And any attempts to force her are pretty much guaranteed to backfire. Children who feel pressured sometimes try to regain control of the situation by refusing to get out of diapers or by not going to the bathroom at all. This can lead to constipation or other conditions that will need to be treated by your pediatrician.
About the Author:
Armin Brott, known worldwide as Mr. Dad (www.mrdad.com), is a nationally recognized parenting expert and the best-selling author of six books on fatherhood, which have helped millions of men and women around the world build close, lasting relationships with their children. |
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Mari Peckham
RockItTimes@rockitkids.com
IPRA "Outstanding
Teacher of the Year" Award Recipient
Publishing Editor, RockIt Times RockIt
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