Raising Creative Children » encouraging creativity

D is for Dog

Lorelei — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:19:16 +0000

A Good Dog is a Faithful Friend

This week your child will learn about the letter Dd, and about dogs. Your child can learn that dogs make nice pets. Dogs are alive. Dogs have four legs, ears, and a tail. They may have long or short coats. They may be big like Great Danes or tiny like Pomeranians. They have long, cold, wet noses and sharp teeth. People need to eat right, exercise, drink plenty of water, and get enough sleep to be healthy. Dogs need those things, too!

If your child already has a dog, wonderful! If you’re thinking about getting one, how about now? Otherwise, can you visit a friend who owns a dog? Does your community have a dog park? It would be a great place to go for a field trip, to see a wide variety of dogs and talk with the pet owners about how they take care of their pet.

Dog Begins With D

We’re starting to add a few more concepts to each lesson- so this week we’ll also focus on the Diamond shape, the number four, and the color brown. Your child may practice writing the letter Dd on lined paper. If he is not yet ready for this, then he can try to form the shape of the letter Dd from play dough ropes. He will be counting to four, and sorting colors.

I hope you all have a great time this week!

“D is for Dog” lesson plans

Photo Credits: Top: by Vasile Tomoiagă Middle:GenBug Husky:Clyde Possum Golden Retriver: Sky Captain Two Dalmation: CuseGoyle West Highland Terrier:Randy son of Robert Basset Hound: Jelly Dude	Siberian Husky
Golden Retriever	songs: How Much is That Doggie In the Window? There was a Farmer Had a Dog Oh where, Oh Where has my little dog Gone?
books and more: Harry the Dirty Dog Clifford, We Love You Biscuit Storybook Collection Milo and Otis DVD	Dalmation
Westie Terrier	Basset Hound

Squirrels and Woodland Animals

Lorelei — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:00:06 +0000

Concepts: Qu, the number 7, the color tan, and the square.

Squirrels are Fun to Watch

This week, Squirrels and Woodland Animals, your child can learn:

A woods or forest is an area with lots of trees and bushes. It often has small rivers of water or a pond.
Animals who live in the woods are called woodland animals.
The most common woodland animals are rabbits, skunks, squirrels, deer, foxes, raccoons, opossums, chipmunks, turtles, bears, and birds.
Small forest animals are frightened by loud noises and people.
We should not pollute ponds and streams, as this hurts the animals who live there.
We can sometimes see woodland animals if we are very quiet when we walk in the woods.

Watching squirrels can be so much fun! They scurry around, gathering nuts and burying them, getting into our bird feeders, and chattering away as though all the world were listening to them. To introduce this lesson, you might go for a walk with your child and look for squirrels. If it is late in the summer or early autumn, you might find them gathering acorns. Watch one for a while, and see if he eats the acorn, or carries it away to a tree. Tell your child how when winter comes, the squirrel will know where he buried his nuts (some of them, anyway!) and he’ll be able to eat them.

Hamsters Can Be Fun Pets

Hamsters Can Be a Fun First Pet

This would be a great week to get a pet hamster or gerbil, or borrow one from a friend. Visit the pet store and select the cage and supplies necessary. These furry little animals are fun to watch and easy to care for.

Preschoolers are too young to be responsible for the total care of a pet. They will need to be reminded often, and their actions monitors so they handle the pet with gentle hands. A preschooler can fill a pet dish with food, and may even be able to refill the water dish. They should not be expected to clean the cage, but they can hold and amuse the hamster while an adult or older sibling does the cleaning.

Worksheets for Preschoolers

I will be including worksheets in most of the lessons, which are optional. Some children may be ready for these types of “school” activities. I’m not a big fan of worksheets, and consider them “busy work”. But used in moderation, they can serve a purpose. If your child is not ready for pencil and paper activities, just ignore them.

Feeding the Wildlife

One day this week your child will make a simple squirrel feeder! Squirrels eat nuts, seeds, grain and fruit. Nuts is their favorite food, with sunflower seeds a close second. Unlike bird feeders, squirrel feeders are usually made to make it difficult to get the food. That’s because squirrels are so persistent, they will keep trying to figure out how to get the treats, while birds just fly away. Also, squirrels can be quite wasteful. They might empty a feeder in a day, burying much of what they’ve found.

Depending on where you live, you might find other wildlife you can feed. Farm supply stores often sell large sacks of cracked corn and elaborate dispensers that will drop a measured amount daily, so you can set it up a distance from your house and watch the wildlife through a window. You might see turkey, deer, skunk, rabbits, raccoons and more at your wildlife feeder. In some areas, however, it is not legal to feed the deer, as wildlife management attempts to contain the spread of chronic wasting disease.

Finally, you’ll end the week with reading Laura Numeroff’s popular book, “If you give a mouse a cookie”. That day you and your child can make a batch of your favorite cookies, and eat them with a glass of milk. Maybe you’ll even add a straw.

Five-Star Picture Books for Squirrels Week

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
Miss Suzy by Miriam Young
Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert
The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin
Leaf Trouble by Jonathan Emmet
Baby Animals of the Woodland Forest by Carmen Bredeson
Woodland Creatures by Aunt L
Fawn at Woodland Way (Smithsonian Backyard) by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
A Woodland Counting Book by Claudia McGehee
Hamster (ASPCA Pet Care Guide) by Mark Evans
Pet Hamsters by Jerome Wexler
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Quality Products for Squirrel Week (optional)

Optional Worksheets:

Preschool Lesson Plans:Squirrels and Woodland Animals

If you are new to this site, you may want to read:
Working with the Lesson Plans
Play Areas for Encouraging Creativity
Calendar Activities

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by Gilles Gonthier
Bottom: photo by Kristen C

Sight Preschool Lesson Plans

Lorelei — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:44:00 +0000

This week you and your child will focus on Sight, one of the five senses. Young children can learn:

A Magnifying Glass Will Draw Interest to Your Discovery Table

we see with our eyes.
We learn things by seeing with our eyes.
We need light to help us see.
When it is very dark, we cannot see.
Some people need glasses to to help them see better.
We need to take good care of our eyes so that we can see.
Some people cannot see at all. They are blind.
Our eyes can help tell us what color something is, how big or small it is, and what shape it is.

A good way to introduce this lesson is to go on a “sight” walk. Bring along binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a bag for collected treasures. What will your child find? Look for pretty stones, a feather, a bit of snake skin, a dragonfly, or a penny.

Children Are Often Fascinated by Airplanes, Although The Noise May Frighten Them

Don’t forget to look up. Point out airplanes, helicopters, clouds, the network of branches overhead, tall buildings, or a helium balloon.

Look all around you. What do you see? A firetruck, an ambulance, a grocery store, a taxi, or a bus?

If you are very lucky, you will have a thunderstorm this week, complete with rainbows!

At the end of the lesson plans are directions for making popcorn “the old-fashioned way” and for making play dough. Old-fashioned popcorn is not only cheaper and better for you, it’s also really easy once you’ve got the hang of it. And best of all – you don’t need a microwave.

Have fun!

Interesting Toys for this lesson:

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by Lieutenant Pol
Bottom: photo by Charles Roberts

Transportation

Lorelei — Sat, 30 May 2009 06:14:36 +0000

Concepts: Tt, 4, rectangle, red

Young Children Are Often Fascinated by Trains

Welcome to Transportation Week!

Your child can learn:

Transportation means moving people or things from one place to another
People can move themselves by walking, running, swimming, and crawling
People can be moved by animals- riding one, or being pulled by one in a cart, sled or wagon
People can be moved by a machine – car, train, plane, ship, bus
Machines need something to make them go – gas, wind, water, steam, or people
A person who drives a machine is called a driver
We may buy a ticket to ride on a machine
People who own their own car must take good car of it and buy gasoline and oil for it
We can travel or carry things on the ground, in the water, and in the air
People can do many things while they travel – they can eat, read, sleep, talk, and sometimes stand or walk around.
Drivers must pay attention when they drive and follow signs and safety signals
There are many specially trained people who help us with transportation, like conductors, flight attendants, pilots, captains, bus driver, taxi driver

Riding the Schoolbus

Many Ways to Travel

Young children are often fascinated by trucks, planes, trains, boats and automobiles. My granddaughter has gone on several dog sled rides. Even if you own a car, consider taking a city bus sometime this week. The destination isn’t important. Go to the library by bus, or to a favorite restaurant for lunch. But show your child the ticket – let him hold it- or let him drop in the coins or tokens for the ride. Point out the driver’s uniform, and how he must pay attention to the traffic as he drives, yet you and your child do not. You can look out the windows, sing songs, talk, read a book – even close your eyes if you wish.

If your town doesn’t have a city bus, talk to the school about riding the school bus. Ask a friend to pick you up and bring you back. Or check out a tour bus, if there is an affordable trip you’d be interested in. Contact your Chamber of Commerce for other transportation ideas – is there a train excursion available? Even a roller-coaster might work, although you won’t find me getting on one!

How Many Different Types of Vehicles Can You Find

Some day as you’re leaving the grocery store, point out all the different vehicles in the parking lot. Are there any motorcycles, scooters, delivery trucks, pickup trucks, SUVs, Humvees, Jeeps, hybrid cars, convertibles, antique cars, or school buses? Point out the license plates (are they on front and back in your state, or only the back?) Are there some of different colors and designs (out of state)? Why are there so many different shapes and sizes? What color does your child like best? What kind of car would he like to be, if he were a car?

Young Boy Riding a Horse

Take a New Car Out for a Test Drive

You could visit a car dealership, and test drive a new car with your child. Many dealerships are having awesome sales this year, but even if you aren’t in the market, it can be a fun afternoon activity. Bring along your car seat and don’t go too far! Fifteen minutes is a long time for a two year old.

If you have a friend in the fire department, see if you can visit him “on the job” and let him show your child around. Do you have a friend who is a police officer or sheriff? A bus driver? A taxi driver, or a chauffeur in a limousine? There are so many possibilities! If one hundred people do this Transportation Week, they might do it one hundred different ways. Leave a comment, and tell us all about your field trip.

Most of all, have fun!

Lesson Plans for Transportation Week

Five-Star Picture Books for Transportation Week

The Airplane Ride by Howard White
The Noisy Airplane Ride by Mike Downs
Tupelo Rides the Rails by Melissa Sweet
The Little Engine That Couldby Watty Piper
Scuffy the Tugboat and His Adventures by Gertrude Crampton
Busy Boats (Amazing Machines) by Tony Mitton
Noah’s Ark (Caldecott Honor Book) by Jerry Pinkney
Sled Dogs Run by Jonathan London
The Littlest Sled Dog by Michael Kusugak

Quality Toys and Games for Transportation Week (optional)

Worksheets (optional)

Words that begin with T

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by by Cliff1066
Middle: photo by by Jack Vinson
Bottom: photo by Alicia Nigdam

Ten Steps to Boost Your Child’s Creativity

Lorelei Sieja — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:41:09 +0000

Raising a creative child has little to do with nature and a lot to do with nurture. Creativity isn’t “born”. We all have the capacity for creativity, and if we encourage our creativity, it will grow. Here are some simple steps you can take right now to nurture your child’s creative spirit.

Set boundaries and limitations

Setting Limits Can Boost Your Child's Creativity

Total freedom inhibits creativity. Think about that – if you can do anything you want any time you want, you don’t have to think up a creative way to achieve your goals given your situation. Total freedom creates anarchy and laziness. We don’t live in a totally free world. We have to obey the law, and we have to get a job. Our children should learn to live within these limitations. Our children should have set bedtimes. They should have a time to eat, to take a nap, to take a bath or shower, to pick up their toys, to do their chores, and a time to play. Within those boundaries and limitations, encourage your child to find ways to enjoy them. “Can you pick up all the yellow toys before the timer goes off?” “Can you find five toys that float?” “Can you make a face on your pizza (or pancake) with these topping ingredients?”

Play thinking games with your child

Encourage him to think, to dream, to explore ideas. “What would happen if,” is a good start. What do you think would happen if we took a bath before we went out to play, instead of at night before bed?” “What would happen if we put red ice cubes and blue ice cubes in a glass to melt?” Other favorite thinking games include, “I spy with my little eye….something ______________.” You fill in the blank. Perhaps you say “something red.” Then your child starts naming red things he sees in that room. “Is it the coffee pot? The curtains? The magazine?” If he doesn’t guess in a few turns, you add another clue. “Something red and square.” The game continues until he guesses the item. Then it is his turn to make you guess. For more ideas on thinking games or activities, visit the lessons page.

READ! A Lot!

Good Books Develop the Imagination

Read books to your child. Lots of books! Reading broadens the brain, stretches the horizon, builds strong character, helps the child to gather lifetimes of experience. Highly creative people are readers. They read everything. Don’t just read your child pictures books. Read to him off the backs of cereal boxes. Read road signs to him. Read a magazine article to him. Read the dictionary and the encyclopedia. Read children’s non-fiction. And help him learn to read when he’s ready, but don’t push early reading if he is not ready. (Check out “The Pros and Cons of Early Reading.”)

Don’t watch T.V.

Ever. It is a proven fact that TV turns your brain to mush and worms begin to feed on it.

Take your child outside often

Go for walks. Go to the park, the zoo, the baseball diamond, a parade, the fire station, the coffee shop. Walk, don’t take the car. If you live too far away, drive to town, but park in a parking lot away from your destination and walk around town. Bring a wagon or stroller if your child is younger. We need to be outside. Our bodies synthesize vitamin D from sunlight. We need at least 1 hour outside every day, or we become vitamin D deficient, which is linked to many diseases and health concerns including high blood pressure, several cancers, osteoporosis, seasonal adjustment disorder, rickets, and diabetes. But since this post is more on creativity than health, going out for a walk is a great way to stimulate the brain.

Listen to music

Not just the radio. Leaving a radio on all the time does more harm than good. Children learn to ignore, or tune out, instead of learning how to listen. Make music special. Play it at special times, then turn it off. Play a variety of music. Play folk music, blues, jazz, contemporary, even Disney musicals. Encourage your child to dance to music, to move, even to color a picture of the way the music makes him feel. Taking music lessons may also be a good idea, with the right teacher.

No Coloring Books

Children Need to Express Themselves Through Art

Give him large sheets of blank paper when he colors, not coloring books. Encourage him to make his own pictures. Coloring in coloring books is a way of passing time, but not of creating art. Provide for a variety of art experiences. Maybe he will color on Mondays, paint on Tuesdays, sculpt with clay on Wednesdays, cut and paste collages on Thursdays, and choose his favorite on Fridays.

No Battery-operated toys

Provide open-ended toys, remove all battery or electric powered toys. Have your child play with blocks, not electric trains. Have him play with puzzles, not video games. Let him build a fort out of your kitchen table, with some sheets and blankets and clothespins, instead of buying a fort from a box.

Teach him new vocabulary words

As a toddler, he is learning new words all the time. Help him to name everything he sees. “This is a tree, but that is a bush. See how much smaller it is? What’s that one over there, a tree or a bush?” Preschoolers know a lot of words already. Now it is time to begin the word-a-day that you will do for the rest of the time he lives under your roof. Chose a new word, print it on a card, and post it either near the calendar or kitchen table. Use the word ten times that day, and ten times tomorrow. You can stop reviewing that word when you hear your child using it correctly. Children with large vocabularies out-perform their peers on standardized tests. Children with large vocabularies can express themselves more clearly. No, they are not feeling angry. They might be frustrated or overwhelmed or chagrined, but children with small vocabularies will still just be angry.

Love him unconditionally

Unconditional Love is the Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Child

Now we come to the single most important way to encourage your child’s innate creativity. Love him! Love him lots. Tell him all the time. Hug him before breakfast and say, “I love you.” Hug him often. Continue to tell him how much you love him, even as he grows too big to hear it. Find a fun way to love your growing child that won’t embarrass him in front of his peers. Children who know, absolutely know, they are loved, are free to reach their full potential. Thomas Edison flunked math in school. His neighbors and teachers didn’t think he was very bright. He sat on a nest of eggs once when he was ten years old, to see if he could hatch them! His parents didn’t pressure him to apply himself more. They didn’t over-schedule his free time with soccer, Tee ball, music lessons, scouting outings, and field trips. He had the time to sit on a nest of eggs to see what would happen. Thomas Edison, who was awarded 1368 separate patents, named the most influential figure of the millennium, had a mother who loved him unconditionally.

For further reading,
The Pros and Cons of Early Reading
Vitamin D Deficiencies in Children
Defining Creativity
Play Areas for Encouraging Creativity
Suzuki Music

Photo Credits:
Top:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazmizandlils/ / CC BY 2.0
books:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazmizandlils/ / CC BY 2.0
Painting:http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgygrrrl/ / CC BY 2.0
Bottom:http://www.flickr.com/photos/edenpictures/ / CC BY 2.0