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Welcome to this month's issue of the Better Kid Care E-Newsletter - A newsletter for those caring for children.
Notable Quote: "If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life"
- Rachel Carson
The following tip is from Leanne Grace and staff from the Rainbow Hill Center in Shickshinny, PA. Leanne and staff work with children ranging in ages three years to five years of age.
"Children can explore ramps in the block area with cove molding. I took a 'matchbox' car to the local home improvement store and looked for the size that would accommodate the car. Molding was then cut into 4', 3', 2', and 1' sections. I sanded the edges and put them in with the blocks. Children quickly found ways to incorporate the molding into their structures to make ramps (this molding is great for golf balls and marbles as well!). Lots of problem solving is involved: Do you butt the molding pieces up against each other? Do you overlap? How do you hold it in place? How steep will it need to be so the vehicle, marble, or ball doesn't just fall off, but travel?"
"This was the hottest new discovery for me as well as the children!"
Where do you find the best ideas on caring for children? From child care providers, of course! Do you have a great tip or good thing? Send us your best tips in writing and your tip may end up in our newsletter! If your tip is chosen for the newsletter, you will receive a little something from the Better Kid Care Program. Mail tips with your return address, place of work, and the number and ages of those you care for to:
Better Kid Care Program
c/o Christine Belinda
Tips from Child Care Providers
253 Easterly Parkway
State College, PA 16801
E-mail to: crb16@psu.edu
May 2005 National Foster Care Month
May is National Foster Care Month, a time to call attention to the needs of the 523,000 American children and youth in foster care. Contact the National Foster Care Month organization for more information about National Foster Care Month, or call 1-888-799-KIDS.
For more information, call Provider Appreciation Day toll-free at 1-88FIRST-1; write to National Provider Appreciation Day, 568 Parkview Avenue, N Plainfield, NJ 07063-1855; or send e-mail to AppreciationDay2@aol.com; or visit the Web site at http://www.providerappreciation.com
by Christine Belinda
Even the very youngest children enjoy pouring, stirring, dumping, and concocting. "Mix-it" activities are very inviting to the senses, provoke thought, and can also be very soothing. Young children begin to initiate problem solving and observe consequences to actions, patterns, and results.
"Mix-it" experiences often occur without a pre-planned activity. Just observe the hand washing area for a while. You will see many a face intently watching and feeling as the water runs over their hands, the soap squishes, slides, and bubbles begin to form. The mixing and learning experience is just beginning. No wonder children spend a long time washing their hands!
Enriching children's play environments with activities to support the "mix-it" concept is worth the effort! The following are suggestions for inviting children to pour, stir, dump, and concoct! As always, before introducing any material, be sure it is safe, developmentally appropriate, and supervised accordingly.
Tray work - Trays are a wonderful platform to place different textures on to explore. Recycled foam trays, serving style trays, and old cookie sheets work well (the larger the better). Trays also support independent or small group work areas.
Tray materials to explore should be nontoxic and interesting to touch, look at, and manipulate. Explore salt, sugar, flour, rice, lentils, corn meal, oatmeal, dried beans, glitter, sequins, confetti, shaving cream, finger paints, or goop (several recipes are added at the end of the article). Add supplies to further the investigation when ready, such as combs, forks, sticks, cups, containers with lids, pitchers (with spouts), bowls, funnels, sifters, string, feathers, magnifying glasses, and items to make impressions or manipulate the material.
Many of these items are fun to measure, weigh, imprint, and practice pouring from one container to another. Observe how the children react and what they might need to investigate and explore the materials further.
Tip: It's good to have small dust pans and dust brooms on hand for children to help clean up their work areas, as well as smocks to wear, and a container of soapy water to wash hands in.
Color mixing - Color mixing is exciting for all age groups. Children can explore plastic see-through containers (peanut butter jars, water bottles, large snack containers) filled with water, where they or an adult add drops of food coloring. Watch the magic as the colors blend naturally.
Children can also create their own palette of color hues. Gather easy-to-use water droppers (eye dropper style), clear containers filled with primary water colors, plain water, and white ice cube trays (white trays show the colors well). Children can squeeze and drip into each square of the ice cube tray and create beautiful color hues (It is a good idea to practice this technique with an adult first). The array of beautiful colors will be amazing and the process thoughtful.
Allowing children to mix and prepare the paints for the art easel or art experiences is another way to involve color mixing. Provide primary colors, white, and black to be used for inspiration in beginning to understand how colors and shades are created. Allow opportunities for children to create their own shades by exploring and investigating the mixing of colors. Encourage authentic, natural discoveries rather than telling children what to mix. You may end up with a lot of "coffee" and "asphalt gray," but the children will have a worthwhile learning experience.
It is helpful to provide see-through containers to mix in, but recycled yogurt cups work just as well. Along with paints, provide spoons, water, small whisks, and paintbrushes for mixing. Be sure to have on hand paper and markers to record children's color recipes. Children can name their created color, as well. Sticky labels are a great way to write color names onto their container: "Max's frog green."
Bottle wonders - Add beauty and interest to the room by filling small water bottles (or whatever size children can handle well) with a rainbow assortment of colored water. Display near natural light, such as a window area. Toddlers love to carry, roll, pack, dump, and hold the bottles (tape lids securely closed). Glitter and sequins can be added for sparkle, as well as a few drops of oil to create separations.
Concocting potions - Older children may enjoy mixing real ingredients. Gather "potion" materials on a walk: flowers, leaves, grass, dirt, rain water, herbs, pine cones, and so forth. Other interesting ingredients for potions may be scented oils (vanilla, almond, lavender), food coloring, spices (cinnamon, clove), and glitter. Provide work areas, small pitchers of water, spoons or sticks to stir, and containers to mix potions in. Recycle plastic containers, or any clear container that potions can be mixed in. Record children's recipes in a potion book!
Dump sites - Most children enjoy the repeated activity of gathering and dumping. Offer items such as baskets, buckets, bowls, trays, trucks, wheelbarrows, boxes, tote bags, lunch boxes, and suitcases.
Have available items for dumping and loading, such as blocks, recycled plastic lids, plastic fruits, play animals, cars, and people. Consider interesting items from nature that are beautiful to look at. You might offer pine cones, leaves, shells, grass clippings, small twigs, rocks, and pebbles. In addition to dumping, it is fun to add plastic gutters, cardboard tubes (rug tubes are great!), or cove molding to slide items in and through!
Tip: It is important to allow children to bring materials to different areas in the room. Who says blocks have to stay in the block area? Limiting children to one area can stifle the play and exploration as well as limit social development opportunities. Of course, some limits need to be reinforced, but in most cases, play should be permitted to cross into different areas.
Extend the sand and water table - Extensions can be added to sand/water tables by adding plastic gutters or plastic tubing, cove molding, and long boards (found at home improvement stores) to pour, dump, and run sand, dirt, water, cars, and balls (or other materials) through. Materials can be moved from the sand/water table into other containers such as buckets, large plastic tubs, bins, or boxes. A lot of problem solving will take place in deciding how to "hook up" the extensions and what they can be used for. The table becomes quite a "construction site." Be prepared with towels, dust brooms, and lots of good questions!
Tip: If you do not have a sand or water table, extra large plastic containers can be used in place and can be easily transported to the outdoors or other areas.
"Mix-it" environments provide children with opportunities to explore, wonder, and question. They learn to prepare, plan, predict, and gather important skills and information. These environments build upon experiences young children can relate to as well as support and encourage developmental abilities-and it's such fun!
A Better Kid Care resource library, with resource and activity books, is available for those caring for young children, and some counties also have theme kits containing small toys, puppets, puzzles, and books. Better Kid Care resources are available for child care providers by contacting your local Penn State Cooperative Extension office.
Enjoy the following highlights from one of the many Better Kid Care Distance Education Lessons. Participate in Distance Education training in the convenience of your home.
Imagine the feeling of dry sand pouring through your fingers, or packing wet, hard sand into a bucket, or wet sand dripping from your fingertips. Sand play delights the senses, but sand play is far more than simply pleasurable for young children. This type of sensory play is very important for the development of young children. Sand play gives children a chance to explore science concepts like wet and dry, volume, pouring, and sifting in a hands-on way.
Water play is good for children's physical, mental (cognitive), and social-emotional growth. In sensory play there is no right or wrong way to play. When children pour water, they are improving their physical dexterity and eye-hand coordination. By playing with others in blowing bubbles or washing baby dolls, they develop social skills. At the same time, they use their minds as they explore why certain objects sink in water and others float. Children learn concepts such as empty/full, before/after, shallow/deep, and heavy/light in a hands-on way. Children learn new words that go along with water play, such as funnel, surface, float, and strain.
Young children learn a great deal through play with sand and water. The role of the caregiver is to make sand and water play areas part of the program. Caregivers can help children learn through sand and water play by describing the play and asking open-ended questions.
This is a selection from two Better Kid Care Web-based lessons, Super Sand and Wonderful Water. If you would like to read these lessons in their entirety and find out how to make sand and water play available for the children in your care and plan for lots of learning activities, click on the title links above.
To view a complete listing of all distance education lessons and additional information and resources, visit the Better Kid Care Distance Education page.
Meets the Keystone STARS Core Series Training Requirements - This three part series shows how to establish, run and maintain a successful child care business and presents important information about understanding and supporting the developmental needs of each child.
Receive the videos and workbooks in the mail. Complete the entire series and return assignments to the Better Kid Care office for review to earn six Department of Public Welfare training hours.
To order: 1-800-452-9108 or betterkidcare@psu.edu
Reading aloud with children is a wonderful activity. Children of all ages love to be read to. Support the love of reading for children in your care by trying the following books:
Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh, published by Red Wagon Books, ISBN 0152002650. Join three little mice as they explore an adventure in mixing primary colors!
The Happy Man and His Dump Truck, by Tibor Gergely (illustrator), published by Golden Books, ISBN 0375832076. A happy man provides a happy ride to a group of farm animals. Discover their adventures in the happy man’s dump truck!
Sand, by Ellen Prager, published by National Geographic, ISBN 0792271041. Prager, a geologist, describes the formation of sand and presents components exciting to children-- color, movement, and close-up looks! This book will spark the budding geologists!
The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions (1 and 2), by John and Danita Thomas, published by Kid Concoctions, ISBN 096108809 and ISBN 0966108809. A vast conglomeration of interesting and exciting recipes to concoct for various age groups of children.
Contact your local children's library or your local Penn State Cooperative Extension office to find out about more books on making friends and child care. Reading with children creates lifelong readers. Enjoy your time reading with children!
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration
EPA-FDA Joint Federal Advisory for Mercury in Fish: “What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish” - The purpose of the advisory is to inform women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and the parents of young children on how to get the positive health benefits from eating fish and shellfish, while minimizing their mercury exposure.
Visit http://www.epa.gov/mercury/advisories.htm for more information or write to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC, 204060 or call 202-272-0167.
Seafood information and resources may be obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by contacting: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/seafood1.html or by writing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at 5600 Fisher Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857-001 or by calling 1-888-463-6332.
Join with many other caregivers at live satellite training workshop offered in Pennsylvania and across the states. To participate in these workshops, visit the Satellite Workshop link.
Do you have questions about caring for other people's children, such as:
Call the Better Kid Care Mentoring Line at 800-859-8340 or e-mail your questions to betterkidcare@psu.edu for information about child care and children's issues.
The New Staff Orientation curriculum is now available to child care centers in Pennsylvania. This curriculum is specifically designed for new staff members in child care centers. Included are a thirty-page workbook and thirty units on seven videotapes. The easy-to-understand information is reinforced with activities and assignments. Units are designed to be used during naptime or other small blocks of time as staff/child ratios permit. Meets the Keystone STARS Performance Standards.
Do you provide care for children in your home? The kit, which is free for Pennsylvania residents, includes booklets with activities, child care ideas, information about distance education training, a children's development chart, and much more. Complete our on-line registration form or call 800-452-9108 to order.
PA Pathways Professional Development for Child Caregivers has information, training, and educational opportunities for child care providers across Pennsylvania. Visit PA Pathways or call toll-free 800-492-5107.
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