Summertime Sun Facts

Learning about the sun?  Heat up the discussion with any of these sizzling facts about our sun!

• The sun is more than 100 times wider than the Earth!
• Over one million Earths could fit inside the sun!
• The sun is really a star--a fiery ball of burning gas!
• Sunlight takes about eight minutes to travel to Earth!
• The sun is about 93 million miles away from the Earth!
• If a jet airplane could travel through space, it would take about 21 years to fly to the sun!
• There are some days in the summer where the sun never sets on parts of the northern Arctic because of the tilt of the Earth and the Earth and suns positions!

Ways to Strengthen Finger and Hand Muscles

Before your preschooler can write or cut a lot, she will need strong little muscles in her fingers and hand.  Here are five fun exercises she can enjoy...and you can enjoy the fact that you're getting her ready for kindergarten!

1.  Drawing.  Any kind of coloring activity strengthens the muscles that hold the pencil...or crayon, marker, paintbrush, etc.  If you really don't like messes, try letting your child "paint" with water on the sidewalk outside.

2.  Easy cutting.  Let your child use scissors to cut through play-dough, yarn, and other soft (but safe!) items.

3.  Hard cutting.  Many preschoolers enjoy the challenge of cutting through a piece of cardboard or a paper plate, especially if they get to use "big scissors."  Remember to supervise closely.

4.  Sewing cards.  Punch holes around a picture on the back of a cereal box and let your child thread a shoelace through the holes.

5.  Piano.  You don't have to read music to enjoy making up a song!  Letting individual fingers press keys is great exercise!

The key is to keep it fun!  Let your child enjoy getting stronger and she will enjoy writing when the time comes.

Why You Never Give Babies Honey

Perhaps you've heard that you shouldn't give babies honey.  Do you know why? 

The spores the cause infant botulism often find their way into honey.  Adults and children over 12 months have a mature enough digestive system that those spores will not find anywhere to grow.  Infants under 12 months, however, can develop infant botulism.

Infant botulism can cause a fever, diarrhea, and vomiting.  It can even be fatal.  Symptoms will appear within about 36 hours of ingesting honey. 

Not all honey has botulism spores.  Unfortunately, there is no test you can do at home to find out if your honey is safe.  The only precaution you can take is to not give infants honey. 

Make Your Own Ice-Cream In A Baggie

This ice-cream in a baggie is the perfect summer day treat!  Make sure you seal each bag well so your ice-cream doesn't taste salty.  Feel free to experiment with adding berries or other flavors too!  This recipe will make about 2 cups of ice-cream.
 

1.  Mix the following ingredients well in a 1-quart freezer baggie:

3/4 cup whole milk

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2.  After they're mixed, squeeze the air out of the bag and seal it. Make sure it is sealed tightly!

3.  Place the baggie inside a gallon freezer baggie.  

4.  Fill the gallon bag with ice and at least 1 cup rock salt.  Seal the gallon bag closed.

5.  Place bag inside another gallon bag.  Toss and shake ice cream back and forth for 15-20 minutes.  

6.  (Optional)  Pack in dry ice for 30 minutes. 

7.  Carefully remove the two gallon baggies and rinse or wipe off the quart baggie to remove any salt.  

Enjoy your ice-cream!

10 Things To Do When It's Too Hot To Go To The Park

Summer is a fabulous time to play at the park.  Most afternoons, though, it is simply too hot.  Here's a list of 10 other ideas:

1-Run through the sprinklers.
2-Visit a museum.
3-Make cards for Grandma or Grandpa.
4-Build a fort out of blankets.
5-Make puppets and put on a show.
6-Visit a rest home.
7-Make muffins--experiment with a new flavor.
8-Play with bubbles--try making your own.
9-Build a city with play dough.  Try making your own dough.
10-Paint a balloon.

Sample Summer Schedule for Home Child Care

Children love routine.  They may not be able to say as much, but they appreciate knowing what will happen next in their day.  Imagine what goes through the mind of a 2-year old as his day progresses.  He is constantly being told what to do and what to not do.  He likes knowing what he is going to do next.  Routines and schedules help young children transition better and mind better.  They complain and cry less.  Scheduled routines make everyone's day less stressful and more fun.

You can use this schedule in a Home Day Care or just for your family.  And, of course, you can always adjust to better suit your needs.   Each transition should be accompanied with its own mini-routine.  For example, Snack would include the following: wash hands, spread paper towels, eat snack and visit, clean up snack, and wash hands again.

Arrival/wake-up-7:30     Free Play
7:30-8:00       Breakfast
8:00-9:00       Outdoor Play
9:00-10:00     School Time
10:00-10:30   Snack
10:30-11:45   Activity Time (School Time Extensions, Music, Drama, Painting, Organizing, Experiments, Play-dough, Reading, Side-walk Chalk, Bubbles, Sewing, Blocks, Train Tracks, etc.)
11:45-12:00   Lunch Prep
12:00-1:00     Lunch and Clean-up
1:00-3:00       Naps/Quiet Time
3:00-4:00       Free Play
4:00-4:30       Snack
4:30-5:30       Outdoor Play

Preschool/Toddler Craft: Patriotic Hat

Let the Patriotic Spirit last all month with this fun hat!  

Supplies:  

• 1 blue sheet of construction paper
• glittery stars
• crayons
• scissors
• tape

Cut the construction paper into thirds so that you have three 11-inch long pieces.  Measure two of them around your child's head to make sure they will reach.  You should be able to save one piece for another project.

Let your child use the crayons to draw stripes along the length of each strip.  She may want to hold several crayons at once or just use one at a time.

Next, let her arrange the stars on the two strips.

When she is done, tape the strips together so her hat fits around her head just right.

Join her in a parade with her new hat and some stuffed animals!

How do you teach the "Whole Child?"

Children take in the world with their whole bodies.  Put a 3-year old in a flower garden and watch how she learns about flowers.  She looks at them.  She touches them.  She picks them.  She smells them.  She puts them on her head.  She dances with them.  She sings with them.  She hears the bees flying around them.  She might even try tasting them.  She probably picks one for you too.

Similarly, when we teach children we should let them learn with their whole bodies.  Our lessons should reach out to their senses, their different learning modalities, their passions, interests, skills, and struggles, and their different intelligences.  Every lesson doesn't need to include every aspect of the Whole Child--that would be overwhelming!  Over the course of a month, structured lessons for a preschooler should appeal to each aspect of the Whole Child at least once and, ideally, several times.  Scheduling a curriculum a month at a time simplifies your work and helps you keep the big picture in mind.  It also provides your children the variety they love.

Over the course of a month, plan activities and crafts that develop different skills and teach different lessons. Address social skills, fine-motor skills (like drawing and cutting), large-motor skills (like running and jumping), creative thinking, illustration, drama, letters, numbers, colors, and anything else you want to enjoy with your children.  Use a monthly calendar to see all your plans at a glance.

Do you have any planning methods you particularly love?  We'd love to hear about them!