From Cradle to Preschool – What to Expect & What to Do E-Book

U.S. Department of Education

• Herausgeber: Madison & Adams Press
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 70

Beschreibung

Scientists who study how the brain works have shown that children learn earlier—and learn more—than we once thought possible. From birth through age 5, children are developing the language, thinking, physical, emotional and social skills that they will need for the rest of their lives. This book is for families and caregivers who want to help their preschool children to learn and to develop the skills necessary for success in school—and in life. It begins with information that will help you prepare your child to learn and to get ready for school. The major portion are simple activities that you can use with your child. These activities are only a starting point. We hope that you and your child will enjoy them enough to create and try many more on your own. In addition, the text provides suggestions for how to monitor your child's TV viewing and to choose good TV programs and videos and how to choose suitable child care. It also provides a checklist to guide you as you prepare your child to enter kindergarten. As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child's later success. Enjoyment is important!

Leseprobe

U.S. Department of Education

From Cradle to Preschool

What to Expect & What to Do

Help Your Child's Development with Learning Activities, Encouraging Practices & Fun Games

Madison & Adams Press, 2017. No claim to original U.S. Government Works Contact [email protected]

ISBN 978-80-268-7351-8

This is a publication of Madison & Adams Press. Our production consists of thoroughly prepared educational & informative editions: Advice & How-To Books, Encyclopedias, Law Anthologies, Declassified Documents, Legal & Criminal Files, Historical Books, Scientific & Medical Publications, Technical Handbooks and Manuals. All our publications are meticulously edited and formatted to the highest digital standard. The main goal of Madison & Adams Press is to make all informative books and records accessible to everyone in a high quality digital and print form.

Foreword

The first five years of a child’s life are a time of tremendous physical, emotional, social and cognitive growth. Children enter the world with many needs in order to grow: love, nutrition, health, social and emotional security and stimulation in the important skills that prepare them for school success. Children also enter the world with a great capacity to learn.

Research shows clearly that children are more likely to succeed in learning when their families actively support them. Families who involve their children in activities that allow the children to talk, explore, experiment and wonder show that learning is both enjoyable and important. They motivate their children to take pleasure in learning and to want to learn more. They prepare them to be successful in school—and in life. There is a strong connection between the development a child undergoes early in life and the level of success that the child will experience later in life. When young children are provided an environment rich in language and literacy interactions and full of opportunities to listen to and use language constantly, they can begin to acquire the essential building blocks for learning how to read. A child who enters school without these skills runs a significant risk of starting behind and staying behind.

This book includes activities for families with children from infancy through age 5. Most of the activities make learning experiences out of the everyday routines in which you and your child already participate. Most use materials that are found in your home or that can be had free of charge from your local library. The activities are designed to be fun for both you and your child as well as to help your child gain the skills needed to get ready for school. Enjoy them!

Contents

Introduction

Ready to Learn

Activities

Babies

Developing Trust

Touch and See!

Baby Talk

Toddlers

Shop Till You Drop

Puppet Magic

Moving On

Music Makers

Play Dough

Read to Me!

Preschoolers

Getting Along

Chores

Scribble, Draw, Paint and Paste

Letters, Letters, Everywhere

Rhyme It!

Say the Sound

Matching Sounds and Letters

My Book

Hands-on Math

What About Kindergarten?

Taking Charge of TV

Choosing Childcare

Ready-for-School Checklist

Introduction

Table of Contents

Scientists who study how the brain works have shown that children learn earlier—and learn more—than we once thought possible. From birth through age 5, children are developing the language, thinking, physical, emotional and social skills that they will need for the rest of their lives.

This book is for families and caregivers who want to help their preschool children to learn and to develop the skills necessary for success in school—and in life.

The book begins with information that will help you prepare your child to learn and to get ready for school. The major portion of the book contains simple activities that you can use with your child. These activities are only a starting point. We hope that you and your child will enjoy them enough to create and try many more on your own.

In addition, the book provides suggestions for how to monitor your child’s TV viewing and to choose good TV programs and videos and how to choose suitable child care. It also provides a checklist to guide you as you prepare your child to enter kindergarten.

As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child’s later success. Enjoyment is important! So, if you and your child don’t enjoy one activity, move on to another. You can always return to any activity later on.

Ready to Learn

Table of Contents

How well children will learn and develop and how well they will do in school depends on a number of things, including the children’s health and physical well-being, their social and emotional preparation and their language skills and general knowledge of the world.

Good Health and Physical Well-Being

Seeing to it that your preschool child has nutritious food, enough exercise and regular medical care gives him1 a good start in life and lessens the chances that he will have serious health problems or trouble learning later on.

Food

Preschoolers require a healthy diet. After your child is born, she requires nutritious food to keep her healthy. School-aged children can concentrate better in class if they eat balanced meals that include servings of breads and cereals; fruits and vegetables; meat, poultry and fish and meat alternatives (such as eggs and dried beans and peas); and milk, cheese and yogurt. You should see to it that your child does not eat too many fatty foods and sweets.

Children aged 2–5 generally can eat the same foods as adults but in smaller portions. Your child’s doctor or medical clinic adviser can provide you with advice on what to feed a baby or a toddler who under the age of 2.

If you need food for your child, federal, state and local programs can help. For example, the federal nutrition program, called the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), distributes food to low-income women and their children across the country. Food stamp programs also are available. If you want more information or want to find out if you are eligible for food stamps, call or visit your local or state health department. Your local librarian can help you find names, addresses and phone numbers.

Exercise

Preschoolers need opportunities to exercise. To learn to control and coordinate the large muscles in his arms and legs, your child needs to throw and catch balls, run, jump, climb and dance to music. To learn to control and coordinate the small muscles in his hands and fingers, he needs to color with crayons, put together puzzles, use blunt-tipped— safety—scissors, zip his jacket and grasp small objects such as coins.

If you suspect that your child has a disability, see a doctor as soon as possible. Early intervention can help your child to develop to his full potential.

Medical Care

Preschoolers require regular medical checkups, immunizations and dental care. It’s important for you to find a doctor or a clinic where your child can receive routine health care as well as special treatment if she becomes sick or injured.

Early immunizations can help prevent a number of diseases including measles, mumps, German measles (rubella), diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), polio and tuberculosis. These diseases can have serious effects on your child’s physical and mental development. Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks of immunization.2

Beginning by the age of 3 at the latest, your child also should have regular dental checkups.

Social and Emotional Preparation

Children start school with different degrees of social and emotional maturity. These qualities take time and practice to learn. Give your child opportunities at home to begin to develop the following positive qualities.

  Confidence: Children must feel good about themselves and believe they can succeed. Confident children are more willing to attempt new tasks—and try again if they don’t succeed the first time.

  Independence: Children must learn to do things for themselves.

  Motivation: Children must want to learn.

  Curiosity: Children are naturally curious and must remain so to get the most out of learning opportunities.

  Persistence: Children must learn to finish what they start.

  Cooperation: Children must be able to get along with others and learn to share and take turns.

  Self-control: Children must learn that there are good and bad ways to express anger. They must understand that some behaviors, such as hitting and biting, are not acceptable.