Monday, July 24, 2023

Building Bright Minds: The Crucial Role of Reading for Preschoolers

Building Bright Minds: The Crucial Role of Reading for Preschoolers

Does your child enjoy reading ? Importance of reading for preschoolers

  1. Cognitive Development: Reading introduces preschoolers to new words, ideas, and concepts, fostering language and cognitive skills crucial for their early development.


  2. Imagination and Creativity: Storybooks encourage preschoolers to use their imagination and immerse themselves in exciting worlds, helping to stimulate creativity and critical thinking.


  3. Language Skills: Regular reading enhances preschoolers' vocabulary, communication abilities, and language comprehension, setting a strong foundation for future academic success.


  4. Emotional Intelligence: Reading about characters' emotions and experiences in stories helps preschoolers understand and express their feelings, promoting emotional intelligence and empathy.


  5. Bonding and Comfort: Sharing Storytime with parents or caregivers creates a positive and comforting bonding experience for preschoolers, fostering a love for learning and books that can last a lifetime.




Reading plays a pivotal role in shaping the minds of preschoolers and nurturing a lifelong love for learning. Through the magic of books, young children explore new worlds, expand their vocabulary, and develop essential cognitive and language skills. The imaginative journeys they embark on while flipping through the pages instill creativity and critical thinking, preparing them for the challenges ahead. Moreover, the emotional intelligence gained from empathizing with characters in stories fosters their ability to understand and express their feelings.



As parents, caregivers, and educators, we hold the key to unlocking the full potential of our preschoolers through the power of reading. By dedicating time to share stories and engage in interactive reading experiences, we pave the way for their future academic success and personal growth. Let us embrace the joy of reading together, as we build a brighter tomorrow for these young minds—one page at a time.


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Friday, July 14, 2023

The Vital Role of Garden Time Over Screen Time for Kids

 The Vital Role of Garden Time Over Screen Time for Kids

In today's digital age, children are growing up surrounded by screens. Whether it's television, smartphones, tablets, or video games, screens have become an integral part of their daily lives. However, it is crucial to balance screen time with activities that promote physical and mental well-being. Spending time in the garden provides a multitude of benefits for children, and here are some key points highlighting the importance of no screen time and more garden time for kids:

 

Physical Activity: Engaging in outdoor activities in the garden promotes physical exercise, helping children develop gross motor skills, coordination, and balance. Whether they are running, jumping, climbing, or playing sports, being active in the garden contributes to their overall fitness and helps prevent sedentary habits associated with excessive screen time.

Cognitive Development: The garden provides a rich learning environment for children. Exploring nature stimulates curiosity, observation skills, and critical thinking. They can learn about different plants, insects, and animals, fostering a sense of wonder and encouraging a love for the natural world. Gardening tasks, such as planting seeds, nurturing plants, and observing their growth, promote problem-solving, patience, and responsibility.



Sensory Stimulation: The garden engages children's senses in a unique way. They can touch the soil, smell the flowers, listen to the sounds of birds and insects, and even taste fresh fruits or vegetables they have grown. This multi-sensory experience enhances their sensory development, cognitive abilities, and overall sensory integration.

Emotional Well-being: Spending time in the garden has a positive impact on children's emotional well-being. It provides a calm and peaceful environment where they can relax, reduce stress, and improve their mood. Gardening activities, such as caring for plants, watching them thrive, and connecting with nature, instill a sense of accomplishment, pride, and self-confidence.

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Environmental Awareness: Gardens offer a hands-on platform for teaching children about environmental sustainability and the importance of taking care of the planet. They can learn about composting, water conservation, and the interdependence of living organisms. By instilling environmental values from a young age, children develop a sense of responsibility towards the Earth and a desire to protect and preserve it.


 


Social Interaction: Gardens provide opportunities for children to engage in social interactions and collaborative play. They can garden with siblings, friends, or family members, fostering teamwork, communication, and cooperation. Community gardens or gardening clubs allow children to interact with other garden enthusiasts, encouraging friendships and a sense of belonging.

Imagination and Creativity: The garden is a canvas for children's imagination and creativity. It offers open-ended play possibilities, allowing them to build forts, create imaginary worlds, or design their own outdoor games. Being immersed in nature stimulates their creativity and nurtures their ability to think outside the box.

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 Health Benefits: Exposure to sunlight in the garden helps children produce vitamin D, which is essential for bone development and overall health. Additionally, spending time in green spaces has been linked to improved mental health, reduced symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and increased overall well-being.

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In conclusion, prioritizing no screen time and encouraging children to spend more time in the garden is essential for their holistic development. By fostering physical activity, cognitive growth, emotional well-being, environmental awareness, and social interaction, the garden becomes a haven for children to thrive and connect with the natural world. So, let's empower our children to put down their screens and embrace the wonders of the garden—a world of exploration, discovery, and endless possibilities awaits them.







Wednesday, July 12, 2023

 

The Power of Play 

Exploring the Advantages of Ball Games for Kids and Preschoolers

Physical Development

Play is an essential part of a child's development, and ball games offer a wide range of benefits for kids and preschoolers. From physical fitness to cognitive and social development, engaging in ball play can have a positive impact on various aspects of a child's growth. In this article, we will delve into the advantages of playing with a ball for young children.




Cognitive Skills

Ball games stimulate cognitive development in children. When playing with a ball, kids learn to anticipate the trajectory and movement of the object, enhancing their spatial awareness and problem-solving abilities. They develop hand-eye coordination as they aim and catch the ball, improving their focus and concentration. Additionally, ball play promotes logical thinking, as children strategize and plan their movements to achieve their goals during game sessions. Such cognitive stimulation supports brain development and enhances a child's ability to think critically and make decisions.

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Emotional Well-being

Engaging in ball play has positive effects on a child's emotional well-being. It provides an outlet for self-expression, creativity, and emotional release. As children play with a ball, they experience joy, excitement, and a sense of achievement when they accomplish their goals. Physical activity also releases endorphins, promoting a positive mood and reducing stress. Moreover, ball games offer opportunities for children to learn resilience, as they face challenges and setbacks during play. They learn to persevere, adapt, and handle competition, boosting their self-esteem and building resilience for future endeavors.

Social Interaction

Playing with a ball encourages social interaction and cooperation among children. Ball games often involve teamwork and collaboration, fostering communication and social skills. Whether they are passing the ball, working together to score a goal, or taking turns during a game, children learn important social concepts such as sharing, taking responsibility, and respecting others. These experiences help them develop empathy and emotional intelligence while also building friendships and improving their social confidence.

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Playing with a ball offers numerous advantages for kids and preschoolers. From physical development and cognitive stimulation to social interaction and emotional well-being, ball play is a holistic way for children to learn, grow, and have fun. By encouraging and facilitating ball games, parents, caregivers, and educators can support the overall development of young children in a joyful and engaging manner.

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Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Importance of Stem Learning for preschools

Stem learning starts with blocks, not ipads. 

The meaning of STEM education STEM education is Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics used to group academic disciplines. This term is typically used as an education policy or the entire curriculum choices that are used in schools.

What are stem skills? 
Ask a simple question as to what are the key skills needed in today's world in our day to day life. They are problem solving, analytical thinking, and the ability to work on your own or independently. What is the common factor between them ? They're all related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).


We need to teach STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). But we really can't do that by giving them access to technology. That's not how it's learnt. 

The basis of STEM learning is the ability to problem solve and think critically on their own. This is how kids learn these “soft” skills. THROUGH PLAY. 

When To Introduce STEM Learning For Kids?
STEM based learning for kids can start as early as two years of age. In the early years the childs brain to knowledge is like a sponge is to water. The pace of learning of a child in the initial 5 years is rapid and cannot be the same ever in life again.
Since they are curious learners and have their own reasoning skills. Strengthening these inborn abilities should begin at the earliest level rather than reserving and trying them for later years.

STEM education is an enquiry-based approach where children learn through simple experiments and STEM activities. They are motivated to ask multiple questions to understand the concept deeply, thus making the session more communicative and meaningful. A simple activity of objects that sink and float is a stepping stone to raise their curiosity and interest in science. 

Starting early at home with building blocks and knowing the various advantages. 
Building blocks teaches kids 
🧁Size 
❣️Color
🧁Patience
💕Symmetry
🧁 Counting - Early Math 
💕Patterns
🧁Scientific method
💞 Problem solving
🧁Creativity

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Instead of giving iPads to elementary classrooms we need to give them wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, LEGO, loose parts, string, tape, and loads of time to let their imagination flow and learn through play.

If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything - Marva Collins

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Saturday, April 9, 2022

Calming down your active toddler

Calming down your active toddler

Pausing and counting till 5 helps us moms to realize what has just happened and take control of a situation in a positive way. Don't rush into getting angry , shouting, yelling and lastly hitting your child for tantrums thrown. Stay calm, take a deep breath and divert their attention to calm them down. 

I have an extremely active toddler and he needs to be busy and kept occupied all the time. It's challenging and tiring as well. But we need to keep up to their endless demands and deal with them in a positive way. 

These are a few tried and tested ways to calm him down when he is too active or before bedtime. It works miracles and calms him down and settles his thoughts. 

Sand play - Sand play is a sensory play that calms down the child in multiple ways. 

🏖Enhances fine and gross motor skills.
⛱️Improves the language and level to express what they are doing. 
🏖It enhances emotional awareness and 
Introduces concepts of early math in a play way. 
🏖It sparks the creativity in children, they think what they want to make and use their imagination as there is no right or wrong involved.

Toddlers are exploring all the time and learning through their experiences. They do this in many different ways for example, by talking, using  noises and playing with everything other than their toys.

Building blocks - This play offers  open ended and creative play to children. It offers them freedom to explore, take apart and put back together any block-based creation they can think of. There are multiple benefits to be gained from this simple activity.

Blocks offer Problem-solving skills and is a great platform to develop reasoning  and working to develop a solution.

Painting - Painting allows a child to pour their thoughts and emotions on paper. Allow them to paint and play soft music, this have immense calming effect on the child. Follow this activity by a warm water bath before bedtime. 


Hugging their favorite soft toy🧸 It's important to support your child while they calm down. 


Hugging their favorite soft toy 🧸 Children love soft toys and its a way they can show affection and love. He enjoys taking his favorite soft toy to bed, hugs and cuddles it and this has a soothing and calming effect on my child. 

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Reading to your child- Why is it so important.

Reading to children - Why is it so important. 

The correct age to start reading to your child is right from conception. That's when they understand every word their mother speaks to them. Let books be your child's best friend and make reading interesting and fun right the very start. 

Young children are like a sponges that soak in practically everything from their environment. What they see, hear and observe around them. Specially during story time, their minds are at work, taking in the language they hear and learn words and lessons the characters in the story teach. A wonderful way to make your child learn in an interesting way is reading books. 

Reading to your child at any age boosts their brain development and the bond. And all it takes is few books, self motivation, time and happy mind to get started with the story session.

We are currently reading - The Great Timbuktu Rescue 
Written by Neha Jain and beautifully illustrated by Rajyasree Sarkar 

The personalized name of my child on the first page just stole my heart ❤
Also his name appears as a character in the book so that kept his interest throughout. He enjoyed the situations where the problem solving was involved and learnt a lot through that. 
Reading helps children and toddlers 
📕build and improve their conversation skill
📕improve their knowledge 
📚 build interest in gaining information
📚 improve their problem solving skills
📕 most important builds a special bond between the parents and the child

Books are our children's best friend, it's best to expose them to a variety of different books and let them explore 

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Monday, February 28, 2022

6 Simple fun activities your preschooler will enjoy outdoors.

6 Simple fun activities your preschooler will really enjoy  outdoors. 


Here are six simple outdoor activities my kid really enjoys while we are out in the garden or outdoors playing. Hence wanted to share it with you'll to help benefit your kids too. We take our kids to the garden and a little bit of planning and fun makes it more enjoyable and enhances learning too. 

🌲Run barefoot on grass - Running barefoot on grass has multiple health benefits for preschoolers and it also improves the vision of the child. It improves their balance and direct contact with earth provides natural earthing to the child. 

🌳Climb small trees - He enjoys exploring small trees and climbing trees help kids improve their balance and learn about different textures of the tree trunk and insects that live in them. It's a great exercise for gross motor skills and improves their cognitive development since they are feeling, touching, analysing and trying to climb the branches of the tree. 
🌴catching kook - catching each other . Just plain fun to run around catching each other. Taking turns to catch each other in the garden is great for gross motor skills and a great exercise for parents too. 

🌲Sandplay - Our garden has a sandpit and I always carry my kids spade and bucket. Sand is great for sensory play and has multiple learning benefits. It's the stepping stone to early math. They fill their bucket with sand and learn the concept of more, more sand is required to fill their bucket, hence they learn the concept of more and less in a fun play way method of trial and error. 

🌴Ball play - Always remember to take a ball with you in the garden. Kids enjoy to bounce it, throw it and play around in the open with a ball. I take a different ball everytime since each ball has a different learning experience for your child. It's great to build your childs reflex action and improve their hand and eye coordination. 

🌲Jumping on dry leaves 🍂🍂There were loads of dry leaves stacked up in huge piles. My baby just jumped in and enjoyed the sound of dry leaves, the feel of the dry leaves and the jumping activity. It's fun to try out new things and he looks out for piles of dry leaves to jump in. 
Keep it simple, kids love being outdoors and simple activities are enjoyed the most. 

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