Nov 01 2008
Harry is a popular boy who loves to be involved in all activities in the pre-school. He is a polite, well-behaved child who follows instructions and is confident. However, whenever there is a more physical or boisterous activity going on, Harry becomes quite out of control, very excited and appears not to be able to hear adults giving him instructions about expected behaviour. Continue Reading »
Oct 10 2008
Children need to develop a range of skills in order to utilise play experiences to the full. These can be considered in six areas and generally, there needs to be a fairly balanced development in each one. The six areas are:
Social — where the child shows an interest in other people and begins to develop empathy
Communication — where the child wants to communicate through verbal and non-verbal communication
Fine motor skills — where the child develops fine motor co-ordination and dexterity
Gross motor skills — which are related to mobility and body posture Imagination and thinking skills — needed for pretend play
Attention — where the child develops concentration and focused attention
It can be very useful to use the following tables as a checklist to consider children’s strengths and the areas in which they may need support at different ages and stages. Continue Reading »
Oct 03 2008
The adult asks the children to draw a picture of themselves in the middle circle and the people closest to them (i.e. those who live with them) in the second circle. In the third circle the children draw people they see most days (these could be neighbours, relatives, pre-school friends and staff etc.). The children draw people they sometimes see in the next circle (e.g. doctors, shopkeepers, the postman). A final outer circle could be added for the children to draw people who they rarely see (e.g. relatives living abroad). Children who find drawing too challenging can be provided with a jar of buttons to represent themselves, their famly and their friends. Continue Reading »
Oct 03 2008
When setting targets it is important that they are as specific as possible. Playing ‘nicely’ is far too vague to be measurable. Sharing a toy for a set period of time (anything from one minute at a time up to, say, ten minutes) will be far more useful as evidence of a child’s progress. Simple notes will need to be kept of progress and will provide evidence of what parts of the programme have been least and most successful. Every child is an individual but following a core set of activities during the programme will make it easier to deliver similar interventions to others in the future.
Once the parent interview, staff briefing and target setting have been done the programme itself can be started. All early years settings are different but a sample plan is outlined below. Continue Reading »
Sep 28 2008
Most adults find it easier to involve themselves directly in complex and adult games, like chess or baseball, than in play on simpler levels, such as stacking blocks or riding a hobbyhorse or toy car. Although the terms “play” and “game” are often used interchangeably, they are not identical in meaning. Rather, they refer to broadly distinguishable stages of development, with “play” relating to an earlier stage, “game” to a more mature one. Generally speaking, “play” refers to the young child’s activities characterized by freedom from all but personally imposed rules (which, unless the child is compulsive, can be changed at will); by freewheeling fantasy involvement; and by the absence of any goals outside the activity itself. Continue Reading »
Sep 25 2008
Whichever age group you visit, you might easily identify when children are playing; it seems so evident. When children are playing, they usually appear to be fully engaged and focused on their activity. It is typically an activity that they have chosen. Often, children will select an activity because they want to “hang out” with the other children who are participating. Therefore, the voluntary nature of play exists in relation to a particular context. Continue Reading »
Aug 14 2008
On the other hand, such parallel investment in play can work well for a time and then backfire through adult motives. The following story is an illustration of the point, and it involves a partly happy but much more unhappy memory that haunted a highly successful man all his life. The man’s father was very much involved in stamp collecting, so the youngster needed little urging to become an avid stamp collector too. Continue Reading »
Mar 31 2008
AGE 5 TO 6 YEARS
How it helps your child
These activities help your child develop an awareness of spatial relationships and perceptual skills, as well as prepare him for using maps either of your own neighbourhood or of differentcountries. The activities are also excellent for language development and learning and teaching a second language.
What you need
2 model towns or farms fitted together by a divider.
2 charts for each scene
A box of appropriate models. These could include, say, I o cows, 5 trucks, 5 cars, 3 children, Continue Reading »
Mar 31 2008
AGE 2 TO 3 YEARS
This activity extends your child’s vocabulary and helps to reinforce travelling experiences he may have had after an outing or a journey. It can also be used to reinforce left/right orientation.
What you need
3 activity boards depicting air, water and land on one side and outlines of appropriate methods of air, land and sea travel on the other.
27 cards with pictures of varying means of transport. If you wish to make up the game at home use pictures cut out from magazines.
How to play
Mar 28 2008
Each family will have to set its own standards, but extremes are best avoided, Rigid parental control through high school and beyond (including selecting a limited number of “acceptable” candidates for courtship) stifles growth and independence and virtually guarantees rebellion. But a lax, anything-goes approach without parental guidelines is like handing the car keys to someone who has had no driver’s training.
Think seriously about adopting a stepwise approach, especially for your adolescent’s first socializing experiences with the opposite sex. Many parents have a policy that if someone wants to spend time with their son or daughter under age eighteen, the first step will be an evening at home with the family or joining in a family activity such as dinner and a movie or a ball game. Continue Reading »
