A Family Chore Chart
I have worked as an in-home counselor with families for many years. My main referrals are families that have a child with mental health needs. The behaviors of the child or children are so disruptive to the family routine that the family contracts with my agency to have me come directly to the family home to help deal with the issues.
The first thing that I try to establish with the family is a routine. So many times these families have been spending so many hours in meetings about their child that they have not established a routine. We discuss what needs to be done each day and what time frames work for each family. I explain to the parents that it is important that each child no matter what their age, needs to be included in the tasks. The easiest way of doing with is by developing a chore chart. I like to include everyone on the chore chart. Even the youngest child can be involved with picking up toys.
The chore chart is established for a week and with families with older children I just have them rotate which tasks they are going to do each week. The tasks on the chore chart are things that the family identifies as important to them. There are the standard tasks of washing dishes, helping with meal preparation, taking out garbage, folding and putting away laundry, dusting and vacuuming. There is also keeping bedroom areas tidy and helping with grocery shopping or the putting away of groceries.
My ideal of working with a chore chart is that everyone participates because they are a member of the family. For some children we may tie in allowance money or additional privileges for the completion on tasks to begin with, but then teach them the importance of completing the chore chart because the things need to be done and it is the responsible thing to do as a member of the family.
Most often it is the parents that want to tie a reward in with the chore chart. Many parents have a hard time expecting help with household responsibilities from their children. Part of my job is to help parents understand that they need to teach these life skills to their children so that they will value having these things done when they move out on their own. The children are more invested in working on the chore chart if the parents are also written on the chart and are expected to complete tasks. Many great conversations can be had with a child while completing tasks together.
Sarah Jones loves teaching. When she isn’t teaching her own son, she is busy sharing her love of education with others.
Find a wide assortment of Lesson Plans, crafts for kids, and education tips at her site, http://www.KnowMore.com.
Daycare Center Is The Best Option For Your Child
Daycare has been a lifesaver for parents. So many families today cannot make it without both parents working. In order to pay house payments, car payments, and put their children through school there is no other choice than to have 2 incomes. That is where daycare comes in. They can take care of your children, some as young as six weeks old, while you are at work.
Daycare centers today are almost like starting kindergarten for the 3 and 4 year olds. They teach them things that ‘back in the old days’ we were learning in the 1st grade when we started school. Most kids like to go to daycare. They may cry at first but after a day or two when they figure out how much fun it is to be around other children the same age, they will probably look forward to going.
If they do not start enjoying it and constantly cry and fight with you about going to daycare, then you should look for an underlying reason for this behavior. Unfortunately, not all people possess the patience required to take care of children all day. Although most daycare centers are run by people who love children, there is something wrong when your child cries repeatedly and doesn’t want to go.
When you look for a daycare for your child or children make sure you check them out thoroughly. Visit the daycare and watch the other children. Do they seem to be enjoying themselves? Are there enough daycare providers to the number of children? Is the center clean and free of items that children may injure themselves on? What is your feeling about the place? Instinct is there for a reason. Trust yours. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Price is an object when it comes to daycare. You cannot work just to pay for daycare. Some daycare centers will give you a break if you have more than one child attending the center. Other daycare centers, especially if they are run by a church, will charge you according to your income. Early Childhood Development is a project that sometimes have daycare centers to help parents with their childcare needs.
Another concern is whether or not the center is open on weekends. Not all parents have a 9 to 5 job, Monday through Friday. If both parents work where they may have to work some weekends, they will need care for their children on weekends as well as weekdays. This is a very important consideration when searching for a daycare center for your children.
Your biggest concern when sending your child off to daycare is that he is well cared for and enjoys himself while he is there. With all the scary stories we have heard about children being mistreated and centers that employ people without checking their background it pays to thoroughly investigate the center you are choosing. Do not be so caught up in finding an affordable center for your child that you do not do all the checkups on your choice of daycare centers.
Alex Olson is an experienced psychologist and she knows how to deal with children of different ages. Her articles about bringing up children at http://www.centraldaycarecenter.com contain much information about daycare centers and tips on how to choose it.
Bilingual Beats Lead to Language, Literacy and Math Fun
Never has it been this easy to find materials to bring education into your home as a stay at home mom, a grandparent given the distinct and honorable task of watching your grandchildren or as a homeschooling parent striving to do the best you can do. The internet has provided us the means to seek and download countless varieties of educational materials along with the medium to research other instructional products for purchasing.
As a mom of three children who each possess bilingual skills at varying degrees along with an educator of thousands of children ages 6 months through ten years, I feel the sense of urgency to quicken the pace of the learning. What better way to do that than with music? Research has shown that if you take a concept, add a little music, some rhythm and movement, you will have a sure fire way of introducing and engaging the young child to long term retention of that concept.
Think back to your younger years. Do you still have that one song that sticks in your head no matter how many years go by? That one that taught you your days of the week in French, or how to multiply by two, or simply the catchy ABC song we now share with our own children? This concept of using music to enhance learning situations is nothing new and is one we should embrace as we go back to the basics of early childhood learning experiences.
There is the cry to return to the nursery rhymes of long ago. To drop the Leap Pad and the computer games and simply share your lap with a child who will listen to and real along with those rhyming gems of long ago. A strong connection between learning and rhythm was discovered and built upon years ago, and now we can bring global learning to our children through this same theory.
Take a song, best if it is one you and your child both know the melody of, make up some new words that introduce the new language right next to your native language. This type of made up song is called a Piggyback Song. Need an example? Okay, here is a simple one. Take the tune Mary Had a Little Lamb and sing about shapes by injecting words like these:
A circle is rolling by, rolling by, rolling by,
A circle is rolling by, a circle is a circulo.
A circle is a circulo, a circulo, a circulo,
A circle is a circulo. I know my shapes.
It is so easy to then bring in the words for square, rectangle, triangle, heart and so on. In this example, we did English and Spanish. Use your imagination and use any new target language you would like to introduce right along with the native language of your children.
Learning a second language has never been so easy! A child learning this way, in what is called a bilingual format where his native language is sung right alongside his native language, will actually read sooner than monolingual children who are not receiving this type of musical, bilingual instruction according to Dr. Ellen Bialystok and her team of experts at York University. The study conducted by this team also showed that children receiving instruction in two languages will experience advanced cognitive development and problem solving skills and higher test scores on certain sections of standardized tests.
As a mom and as a teacher that is important to me as I know it is to you. Not only can we prepare our young children for a very global economy, one that will require the command of more than one language in order to excel, we can also provide them a fun and engaging manner in which to gain knowledge in a second language, skills in math and the ability to read early in life.
You cannot carry a tune? You have not even the slightest inclination as to where to start? You have not one creative bone in your body to begin writing your own Piggyback Song that might introduce French to your newborn? No worries amigas, amigos, friends. Remember the internet? Remember those search engines? They will help drive you to a plethora of web sites meant solely for giving you some affordable, sometimes free and most often very practical tools and tips on how to jump start your motivation and creation of these bilingual songs.
Feel the beat! Think creatively! Have fun, and before you know if you and Junior will be on a journey where the only required things in your backpack will be water to quench your thirst after all of your singing and some musical shakers to keep the beat as you sing, dance and play your way to a second language.
Beth Butler is the founder of the BOCA BETH Program for young children. Scoop your child up onto your lap and listen in for free to our bilingual beats at http://www.bocabeth.com. Order online or call toll free 1.877.825.2622
Who Is Dora The Explorer?
Dora the Explorer is the Hispanic title character in an animated cartoon for children. Dora made her premiere in 1999 on Nickelodeon, and by the year 2000 her show had become a network staple. In 2005, she became the first Hispanic character balloon to grace the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Dora is a cheerful, energetic and enthusiastic child with a wide circle of friends and a close and loving family. Each episode finds her character embarking on a mission to do a good deed or to help a friend. The mission usually consists of Dora going to three specific locations where she must find things or complete certain tasks. Sometimes Dora requests help from the audience to locate missing objects or to handle a situation. Needless to say, all of her adventures end in success.
At the end of each show, Dora and her supporters celebrate their victory and encourage the people watching the show to think about their favorite part of the day’s adventure.
Dora is usually accompanied by her best friend Boots, a monkey. She is also aided in her quest by her magic purple backpack and her wise geography-savvy singing map. Other minor characters often put in helpful appearances as well.
All heroines, of course, must have an enemy to oppose them. Dora’s rather benign enemy is Swiper, who does his best to swipe the objects Dora needs to find to complete her quest. (hence his name). Swiper is portrayed as more annoying than evil and can sometimes be talked into returning stolen items or even performing a helpful act like rescuing a puppy.
The animation is bright, and the simple plotlines and catchy tunes are designed to delight children (and their parents) while passing along important messages about appreciating different cultures, valuing friends and family, and being willing to work to reach a goal.
Dora is quite popular in with children in the United States. She has also become world famous. Dora the Explorer is broadcast in countries from China to Greece to Spain. There is even a Hebrew version.
Dora the Explorer is frequently seen on merchandise as well. Her face graces backpacks, shirts, jackets, shoes, hats, and jewelry. She is also the star of multiple video games including Backpack Adventure, Super Spies, and Dora the Explorer’s World Adventure. Unfortunately, many Dora-themed toys are manufactured in China and were affected by the lead-based paint recall.
Mastermind Toys has a variety of educational toys for babies and toddlers. Provides Dora the Explorer products such as Dora the Explorer Books.
http://www.mastermindtoys.com