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Parents as Teachers

Winter 2014 Newsletter


For more information about Parents as Teachers or to receive visits for your child,
contact Nancy Holtwick at 660-728-3686 or holtwicks@gmail.com.

PAT Google Helpouts


Parents as Teachers National Center has teamed up with
Google to offer Parents as Teachers Helpouts. Google
Helpouts enables individuals to connect to experts who
provide advice and support on a variety of subjects using
live video chat.
Get help from an expert over live video by going to
http://www.parentsasteachers.org/resources/googlehelpouts.

SLEEP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eight Sleep Tips for Every Child
By Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution

Up to 70% of children under age five have sleep


problems. Sleep issues are complicated and have many
causes. Theyre hard to deal with because when children
arent sleeping, parents arent sleeping, and that lack of
sleep affects every minute of every day for every person
in the family because lack of sleep isnt just about being
tired. Sleep has a role in everything -- dawdling, temper
tantrums, hyperactivity, growth, health, and even learning
to tie his shoes and recite the ABCs. Sleep affects
everything.
The following ideas are of value to almost any sleeper, of
any age. These tips can bring improvement not only in
your childs sleep, but also in her daytime mood and last,
but not least improvements in your own sleep and
outlook as well.
#1 Maintain a consistent bedtime and awaking time.
Your childs biological clock has a strong influence on her
wakefulness and sleepiness. When you establish a set
time for bedtime and wake up time you set your childs
clock so that it functions smoothly.
Aim for an early bedtime. Young children respond best
with a bedtime between 6:30 and 7:30 P.M. Most children
will sleep better and longer when they go to bed early.
#2 Encourage regular daily naps.
Daily naps are important. An energetic child can find it
difficult to go through the day without a rest break. A napless child will often wake up cheerful and become
progressively fussier or hyper-alert as the day goes on.
Also, the length and quality of naps affects night sleep
good naps equal better night sleep.
#3 Set your childs biological clock.
Take advantage of your childs biology so that hes
actually tired when bedtime arrives. Darkness causes an
increase in the release of the bodys sleep hormone -- the
biological stop button. You can align your childs

sleepiness with bedtime by dimming the lights during the


hour before bedtime.
Exposing your child to morning light is pushing the go
button in her brain one that says, Time to wake up and
be active. So keep your mornings bright!
#4 Develop a consistent bedtime routine.
Routines create security. A consistent, peaceful bedtime
routine allows your child to transition from the motion of
the day to the tranquil state of sleep.
An organized routine helps you coordinate the specifics:
bath, pajamas, tooth-brushing. It helps you to function on
auto-pilot at the time when you are most tired and least
creative.
#5 Create a cozy sleep environment.
Where your child sleeps can be a key to quality sleep.
Make certain the mattress is comfortable, the blankets are
warm, the room temperature is right, pajamas are comfy,
and the bedroom is welcoming.
#6 Provide the right nutrition.
Foods can affect energy level and sleepiness.
Carbohydrates can have a calming effect on the body,
while foods high in protein or sugar generate alertness,
particularly when eaten alone. A few ideas for pre-bed
snacks are: whole wheat toast and cheese, bagel and
peanut butter, oatmeal with bananas, or yogurt and lowsugar granola.
Vitamin deficiencies due to unhealthy food choices can
affect a childs sleep. Provide your child with a daily
assortment of healthy foods.
#7 Help your child to be healthy and fit.
Many children dont get enough daily physical activity.
Too much TV watching and a lack of activity prevents
good sleep. Children who get ample daily exercise fall
asleep more quickly, sleep better, stay asleep longer, and
wake up feeling refreshed.
Avoid activity in the hour before bedtime though, since
exercise is stimulating theyll be jumping on the bed
instead of sleeping in it!
#8 Teach your child how to relax.
Many children get in bed but arent sure what to do when
they get there! It can help to follow a soothing pre-bed
routine that creates sleepiness. A good pre-bed ritual is
story time. A child who is listening to a parent read a book
or tell a tale will tend to lie still and listen. This quiet
stillness allows him to become sleepy.
Work with these eight ideas and youll see
improvements in your childs sleep, and yours too.
Excerpted with permission by McGraw-Hill Publishing from The No-Cry
Sleep Solution for Toddlers & Preschoolers (McGraw-Hill 2005)
Website: http://www.nocrysolution.com

Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.
~ Kate DiCamillo

PAT Events

Items of Interest

TOY & BOOK GIFT GUIDE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Right Stuff
A grandparent recently wrote of her need for direction in
choosing toys for her grandchild.
She said, I find too many busy toys, too much color and
confusion, just like the rest of modern culture, with not
enough learning going on and too much entertainment.
How can I buy a few really helpful toys like the ones that
I used to provide for my own children?
This is an important question for us all. A walk into a toy
store offers literally thousands of toys, all clamoring for
our attention.
Last week I walked along one whole aisle of electronic
toys, most featuring characters from television programs
or recent movies, and they all had to be plugged in to an
electronic device. In most of these so-called teaching
toys, the programming has been built into the toy, even
to the point of providing the automatic response, Youre
right! when the child presses the appropriate button.
When the toy is in control, children are not able to
improvise or express their own ideas. The toy may be
teaching, but what do children learn?
Then there is another whole group of toys that have
basically been designed to entertain. These are the cats
that meow appealingly, or the dolls that say all manner of
annoying things.
Several years ago, I was trying to find a hobbyhorse, the
kind that has a horses head on a stick, for my youngest
granddaughter who had fallen in love with all things
horsey.
Much to my disgust, I could never find one that didnt
make all sorts of horse sounds and play cowboy songs
we quickly removed the batteries. A silent horse allowed
her to create her own sounds and stories.
What children need in toys has not really changed since
this grandmother was buying toys for her own children.
They need playthings that allow them to be in control, to
take initiative in exploring, creating, and pretending in
whatever direction they want to go.
The best toys are not designed with predetermined
outcomes, but are open-ended enough that children can
use them as they plan. Such toys can often lend
themselves to increasingly complex play, as children
expand their ideas and abilities.
Here are some criteria for helpful toy selections to support
and encourage childrens important learning through play:
Safety first. Look for parts that can come off and
swallowed by little ones, pierce or puncture little arms and
legs. If in doubt, dont buy it.
Choose toys that are age-appropriate. The age
ranges listed on the packages are guidelines. Stay within
them. A parent who believes his or her child is brighter
than that, may find the child plays with the box not the
toy.
Choose toys that appeal aesthetically to touch and
sight. The all-pervasive primary colored plastic toys do
not nourish the aesthetic sense in children.

Choose toys that do not provide all the sounds, or


remove the batteries. Talking, noisy toys are
programming childrens thinking to create conforming
kinds of play.
Invest in good quality toys that can be used for
years, adaptable for versatile and complex uses that
come from childrens developing skills and interests.
An example of this kind of toy would be a good set of
blocks.
Block play lends itself to planning and designing, problem
solving, and early math and science reasoning skills, as
well as fine and gross motor development, to say nothing
of imagination and creativity. Children from toddlers to
school-agers enjoy block building.
Buy toys that support role-playing and pretend
play. Rich imagination lays the foundation for symbolic
thought, the basis for later school success. Small figures,
furniture, animals, and vehicles allow children to construct
whole worlds.
Stay away from those associated with television or
movies, as children then follow the familiar scripts instead
of making their own.
Consider also toys for vigorous outdoor play. Balls
and other traditional toys encourage activity and prevent
obesity, setting healthy patterns for later life
Pay attention to childrens interests for ideas about
what kinds of play to support.Check out some of the
websites for toys used by good early childhood programs
to find specific materials.
Childrens play is the very essence of their learning. You
are quite right in understanding that the right stuff
supports their active role in initiating meaningful
experiences.
~from Grandma Says

Toys for Younger Babies

You! Your face, voice, and even your clothes


Rattles and squishy toys
Mobiles
Activity Mats
Teethers
Infant swings
Soft balls
Mirrors made for babies
Cloth or board books

Soft blocks, nesting cups, and stacking rings


Small hand-held toys and blocks that make noises
Musical toys
Push and pull toys
Cloth dolls or play animals
Shape-sorters
Bubbles
Soft, low climbing structures
Activity books or boxes
Containers with objects to empty and fill
Large plastic pop beads
Floating toys for the bath
Large, simple cars

Toys for Older Babies

Items of Interest
TOY & BOOK GIFT GUIDE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toys for Toddlers
Language
Board books, pop-up books, picture books
Intellectual
Blocks and other construction toys
Games for matching or sorting shapes, colors, letters,
and numbers
Alphabet blocks and magnetic letters
Nesting or stacking toys, and shape sorters
Musical instruments
CDs or digital music players
Social Emotional
Trains, cars, and trucks
Dolls or stuffed animals that can be bathed, fed, and
diapered
Hand and finger puppets
Kitchen sets, workshops, grocery stores, baby-care
stations, doctor sets or pop-up tents
Dress-up clothes and accessories
Push toys
Play versions of real home objects (phones, vacuum,
etc.)
Play scenes like a farm, zoo, or airport
Fine Motor
Peg boards with large pegs an magnetic boards
Large beads and strings with stiffened tips
Play dough
Paints, fingerpaints, paint brushes, crayons, markers
Different types and sizes of paper
Chalk and sidewalk chalk
Toys for water play or sand play
Gross Motor
Push and pull toys
Foot-powered riding toys
Doll strollers wagons and rocking horses
Climbing structures, slides, foam mats, and tunnels
Large balls, all sizes and textures, made of foam or
other soft materials

Toys for Preschoolers


Language
Read-along books, hardback or paperback
Books on CD or online
Intellectual
Blocks or Legos-type interlocking building toys
Framed puzzles and large, simple jigsaw puzzles
Musical instruments
CDs or digital music players
Math and science toys
Simple board and card games, dominoes, and bingo
Beginner computer programs or Internet games
Toys for matching, sorting, shapes, colors, letters,
and numbers

Social Emotional
Dolls with accessories
Sock, mitten, or finger puppets
Role-play materials like dress-up costumes,
telephone, camera, doctor kit, cash register, large
mirror
Play scenes with realistic and working parts (doll
house, garage, farm, airport, outer space, zoo,
playground, school, etc.)
Toy cars with roads and signs, trucks with cargo,
trains with tracks
Fine Motor
Matching, sorting, and counting toys
Art supplies, stamps and ink, and stickers
Sand and water toys and tools, swimming toys with
wind-up motors, and bath activity centers
Preschool scissors
Gross Motor
Push and pull toys adults might use, like a shopping
cart, lawnmower and stroller
Pedal-powered riding toys and tricycles
Outdoor climbers and slides

Choosing Books
Babys First Year
Washable or plastic books
Board books
Touch-and-feel books
Books with simple large pictures of everyday objects
Toddlers
Board books & paper books
Lift-the-flap books
Books that play music
Books with illustrations
Books about:
Families, children, and familiar characters
Simple concepts like the alphabet, numbers,
colors, and shapes
Predictable books with repeated words, phrases,
questions, or rhymes
Simple action stories about day-to-day
experiences
Descriptions of how things work, what workers do
Preschoolers
Books about shapes, letters, numbers, and colors
Books with rhyming words, songs, and nursery
rhymes
Books with predictable patterns and repeated lines
I Spy hunt-and-find, scratch-and-sniff, and pop-up
interactive books
Books about children or young animals
Stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end
Books about your familys culture and about other
cultures
Find titles your child will love by asking friends and relatives,
bookstore clerks, and library story time readers for recommendations.
You can also check online sites like scholastic.com,
readingrockets.org, and reachoutandread.org. The web site parentschoice.org lists award-winning books and magazines for
preschoolers. Inexpensive places to buy books include kids resale
shops, library sales, and garage sales.

Items of Interest
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raising Kind Children
Adapted by Kim Leon, Ph.D., former State Specialist, Human
Development and Family Studies, University of Missouri Extension

Encouraging kindness in children is an important


responsibility for all adults who care for children. You can
help children show kindness toward others and
experience the positive feelings that grow out of kind and
caring behavior.
1. Set a good example. Children learn constantly from
adults' words and actions.
2. Even with your busy schedule, you can involve
children in acts of kindness. By helping an elderly
neighbor or giving canned goods to a food bank, you can
demonstrate your concern for others.
3. Explain to children why you want them to engage in
kind behavior. Children are more likely to comply with
adults' wishes when they hear a reasonable and
understandable explanation. For example, "Aunt Jean
has been visiting with Grandma all week at the hospital
so she is really tired. Would you please play quietly so
that she can rest and relax?"
4. To be an effective adult role model, you must match
your words with your actions. For example, if you
compliment someone's new clothes but make fun of the
way the clothes look when the person is gone, children
receive a powerful message. They learn that saying one
thing and doing another is acceptable.
5. Expressing appreciation for kind and thoughtful
behavior is another way to set a good example for
children. By reinforcing children's kind behavior, you are
helping them to understand that their kindness makes a
positive difference. For example, "Corrina, I'm really glad
that you shared the blocks with Andy. See how much he
likes playing with them!"
6. Children need to know that the adults in their lives
care about them and others. Children who experience
respect and appreciation from adults are more likely to
demonstrate caring toward others.
For specific ways to teach children about kindness based on the child's
age,
check
out
the
full
version
of
this
article
at
http://missourifamilies.org/features/parentingarticles/parenting4.htm

Reward Positive Behavior


If you want to see problem behavior disappear, pay more
attention to the things children do well than to their
mistakes.
Without thinking, we often take for granted those
behaviors that please us. Then we exaggerate out of
proportion those things children do wrong.
Unfortunately, this approach doesnt work because
children tend to repeat those behaviors that get the most
attention.

For example, the more you ask a child to stop an annoying


behavior, such as playing with his food, the more he may
do it. Try ignoring it instead.
Then when you notice he is eating neatly, compliment
him.
An old rule says parents should compliment a child for
every time they criticize him.
As you watch for positive behavior and compliment
children on that behavior, you can begin to see some
changes in the behavior you dont like.
~from Growing Together

HEALTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cold or Flu?
Robert Thomas, former Information Specialist, Cooperative
Media Group, University of Missouri Extension

The flu season has many people worried about coming


down with illness. However, it is a good idea to run
through a checklist of symptoms to be sure that whats
bugging you is the flu and not a common cold or bacterial
pneumonia.
The common cold, the flu and pneumonia can have
similar symptoms. The viruses and bacteria that cause
these illnesses are around all year. People are more likely
to be exposed in winter because they spend more time
inside and in closer contact with each other, said Gail
Carlson, former University of Missouri state health
education specialist.
It is sometimes difficult to know when a minor illness has
become something more serious and requires a visit to
your health care provider.
A cold almost always starts with a scratchy throat and
stuffy nose. Within a few hours other symptoms appear
sneezing, a mild sore throat, sometimes a minor
headache and coughing.
Runny noses are a common feature of colds. On the other
hand, fevers are not very common in adults with colds.
Fever may occur in small children, but it usually doesnt
rise above 103 F, Carlson said.
When someone has the flu, symptoms start suddenly and
include headache, sore throat, dry cough, runny nose,
muscle aches, tiredness, weakness and high fever (102104 F). Children may experience vomiting and diarrhea,
but this is not common in adults. Adults may be able to
infect others beginning one day before symptoms appear
and up to seven days after getting sick.
Antibiotics wont help when you have a cold or flu. When
you have a cold, try home treatments: get plenty of rest,
drink lots of liquids, use a humidifier to add moisture to the
home and if you choose, take an over-the-counter
medication to relieve the symptoms, she said.
For more information about symptoms of the flu and
pneumonia, and the best ways to prevent these illnesses,
view
the
full
version
of
this
article
at
http://missourifamilies.org/features/healtharticles/health48.htm

Books to Read Together


Books to Read Together
We Give Books

Book of the Month: The Recess Queen

For online reading check out wegivebooks.org which


combines the joy of reading with the power of helping
others. For every book you read with your child at this
website, We Give Books donates a book to a child in
need. During December, that gift will be doubled for
every book you read online, two books will be donated.
Seasonal book offerings include Snowmen at Night,
Frosty the Snowman, and The Mitten. Search for books
by age, genre, author, classics, new, most read,
alphabetical and editors picks.

By Alexis ONeill and Laura Huliska-Beith


Scholastic Press, 2002
Adults should actively open the conversation about
bullying, so that children understand that they do not have
to tolerate such behaviors.
This nice little book does just that, clearly portraying the
obnoxious behaviors of Mean Jean the Recess Queen,
whose chronic responses to kids who didnt follow her
wishes was to push em and smooth em, lollaploosh em,
hammer em, slammer em, kitz and kajammer em.
Mean Jean always got her way and nobody tried to
disagree, until one day, Katie Sue came to schoola
teeny kid, a tiny kid, a kid you might scare with a hump
and a Boo!
And Katie Sue just went ahead and did what she wanted
to do on the playground, being too new to know about the
Recess Queen.
The Recess Queen said what she always said to kids, and
she figured that would set the record straight. But Katie
Sue talked back! How did you get so bossy? and went
on to play with Mean Jean racing behind.
The other kids didnt move or breathe. And then Katie Sue
did the unthinkable: she invited Mean Jean to play jump
rope with hersomething no one had ever dared to do!
You can imagine the happy ending.
There are a couple of points parents and kids can take
away from this rollicking tale.
One is that kids with self-confidence can stand up to
playground aggression with supreme coolness, doing
what they want to do, instead of reacting as the other kids
always had, with scared timidity, letting the Recess
Queen dictate everything her way.
This is by far the most important tool that parents can help
their children acquirethe notion that their ideas and
plans are good, and their responsibility is to respect their
own as well as others rights.
Self-confidence develops as children are allowed and
encouraged to make choices and decisions, and to initiate
and follow through on activity successfully.
The reverse way of saying this is that kids dont just have
to passively accept the bullying, as do the other children
before Katie Sue arrives on the scene.
As we teach our children to be nice to one another and
not to fight, we should also be conveying the idea that they
have a right to stand up for themselves and their rights.
A second idea is that even the mean kids want to have
friends and enjoy playing with others.
In fact, it is usually the fact that they dont know how to
initiate and form friendship that drives children to become
bullies, in unsuccessful attempts to get attention from
other kids.
The need for friendship is such a driving force in childrens
lives that helping them learn and practice the skills of
socialization should be a focus for parents during the
preschool years.
So, use this book with your children to make sure you
dont find a Mean Jean in your lives.
~from Grandma Says

Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award


The Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award is
sponsored by the Youth Services Community of Interest
of the Missouri Library Association. It is presented
annually to the author and illustrator of the picture book
voted most popular by children kindergarten age and
younger in Missouri. Designed to encourage reading
aloud to children, the award was first given in 1996.
By reading aloud to children we are engaging them in
vocabulary building, narrative skills, phonological
awareness, print awareness and encouraging a love of
books and reading.
How to Vote:
The voting period runs until December 31. The books are
generally for kindergarteners and younger, but any child
who benefits from the books may vote. Children must
listen to at least 5 of the 10 nominees before voting. Vote
at http://www.dbrl.org/news/2014-10/missouri-building-block-picturebook-award

Nominees:

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett


I Dare You Not to Yawn by Helene Boudreau
Open Very Carefully: A Book with Bite by Nick
Bromley
Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira
Little Nellys Big Book by Pippa Goodhart
This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington
Mustache Baby*^ by Bridget Heos
Moo^ by David LaRochelle
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
That is NOT a Good Idea!^ by Mo Willems

All books at Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia.


* - Howard County Public Library in Fayette
^ - Boonslick Regional Library in Boonville
For activity to do with the books visit http://molib.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/10/10-9-Hahn.pdf

Activities
INTELLECTUAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions
Families can create opportunities to practice inferential thinking. Below are a few ways to help familiarize your child
with this way of thinking and learning:

Explain to your child that we make conclusions about things and draw inferences all the time. Draw a conclusion
together and then talk about what clues were used to come to that conclusion. For example, Erin played outside today.
How can we tell? Muddy shoes, jump rope on front porch, water bottle out. Dad seems tired tonight. How can we tell?
He's rubbing his eyes, he's on the couch, he was yawning at the dinner table.

Paper bag mystery person: Put a few items into a brown paper bag. Tell your child the bag belongs to a certain type
of person. Their job is to tell you something about the person. Then, take out each item one by one and talk about it.
Example #1: goggles, a swim cap, a swim ribbon, a stop watch
Example #2: a bookmark, a library card, a stuffed animal, a book

Wordless picture books provide your child with practice using clues to create meaning. There are no wrong stories
with wordless picture books, only variations based on what the "reader" sees and puts together. Rosie's
Walk (Hutchins), Good Dog, Carl (Day), and Beaver Is Lost (Cooper) are all interesting and fun wordless picture books
to explore.

Play twenty questions! This familiar word game helps build inference skills. As your child develops skill with the game,
encourage him to avoid asking direct questions like, "Is it a dog?" Rather, encourage him to ask broader questions,
"Does it walk on four feet?" Then, when your child figures it out, ask him to tell you the clues that lead to the right
answer.

Create scenarios in which your child must use what they already know to predict an outcome. For example, growing
seeds. Present your child with various scenarios (a seed will be given water and sunlight, a seed will get no water, a
seed will be in a dark room). Ask your child to predict whether the seed will grow. Help your child become aware that
she used information she knew about growing seeds, combined with new information, to fill in information about the
seeds.
~Reading Rockets

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