Wednesday, May 13

Did you know that suppressing your own stress can have a negative effect on your child?

In a recent study from Washington State University, researchers found that "parents suppressing feelings of stress around their kids can actually transmit those feelings to the children. The study found that children had a physical response when parents tried to hide their emotions."

How each parents' stress effects children is different, though.  When Dad is stressed, children also exhibit signs of stress with both parent and child being less emotional and engaged with one another.  When Mom is stressed though, the result to the child is both physiological and external.

It's alright to express to your child that things are not okay.  When your child expresses their own emotional stress, encourage them to communicate their feelings and listen.  You don't need to fix it.  You need to give your child, and yourself, permission to be frustrated and work through your problem.

Now, on to happier things...

2s: Shapes

1. Story Time

Listen to a story about an artist and the shapes he loves: Picasso Loves Shapes by Judiee Lee

2. Let's Go Fishing

In your bag, you'll find some foam shapes.  You'll also need a muffin tin, some child-friendly tongs, and a tray or pan with sides that can hold water.

No kid-friendly tongs?  See directions here to make some out of spoons and a rubber band.  DIY Tongs

Place the shapes in the pan and add some water so that the shapes are floating.  Set your child up with the pan, the muffin tin and the tongs.  Encourage your child to use the tongs to fish for shapes.  Transfer the shapes to the muffin tin and sort them accordingly.  You can also do this by color another time!

3. Shape Sorting

This is a great idea!

From our website, print out the 2s Shape Sorting Activity.  You'll need glue and you'll also need to cut apart the pictures for your child and make a pile with them.

I suggest starting with two or three different shapes and do this in several sittings.  Sorting 40 shapes may be a lot in one attempt.

Show your child the blank blocks with each shape at the top using the two or three shapes you've chosen.  Review the shapes with your child.  There are five real-life objects for each shape.

Have your child choose an object from the pile.  Have them first identify the object and then the shape it.  Which block should it go into?  Have your child glue it to the page.  Continue until you've used all the objects.  Finish another time with the other shapes.

Follow up by asking your child about objects around the house when you are together.  Setting the table - What shape are the plates?  Sitting in the living room - What shape is the coffee table?  Taking a bath - What shape is this tile?

3s: Shapes

1. Sing-a-long

Let's review our shapes some more... The Shape Song - ABCMouse

2. Shape Bingo

From our website, print out the 3s Shape Bingo activity.  Let your child choose their color to play with.  You'll need at least two people to play.  You'll also need a handful of pennies or something similar to use as markers.

3. Shape Sorting
I recommend doing this activity in multiple sittings.  Choose two or three shapes to work on at  a time.  Cut apart, or have your child cut apart, the object pictures for the shapes you've chosen.  Put those shapes in a pile.

Show your child the block pages for the shapes you've chosen to start with.  Have them name the shapes in each block. 

Ask them to choose a picture of an object.  Can they name the object and what shape it is?

Have them glue the picture in the correct box.

You can finish the rest of the activity at different times.

4s: Review

1. Upper- and Lowercase Letter Matching

From our website, print out the Alphabet Letter Tumble activity.

Have your child cut apart the lowercase letters.  Mix the lowercase letters in a bowl or pile.

Have your child match each lowercase letter from the pile with the uppercase letter on the board.

2. Sets of Three

From our website, print out the Three Frogs activity.  You'll also need crayons or markers.

Read the directions to your child.  Have your child look at the pictures of sets of frogs.  Which pictures have three frogs? 

3. Letter Sounds

From the website, print out the Beginning Letter Sounds activity.  You may also want to print out the alphabet practice page from the website.

Look at the activity with your child.  Have them identify the first picture and say the word out loud (it's a quarter).  Have them repeat the first sound.  What letter makes that sound?  Write that letter in the space provided.  If they are unsure how to write the letter, use the practice page to check.

Have them complete all the pictures and sounds.