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Build Learning into Everyday Activities for Preschool

Keeping Your Child Safe from the Summer HeatWorking everyday learning into your household tasks can help your preschool children connect the importance of math, reading, geography, and simple reasoning to their own lives.

Try these suggestions for in-home preschool learning:

* Laundry. Have your preschool child divide your laundry into varying sets. These can be the traditional lights and darks, or you could have him divide the clothing into print piles and non-print piles. You can have her divide the clothing into adult sets and children’s sets. Another option: Ask your preschool child to identify all of her clothing and separate and fold it.

* Cooking. Have your child read a recipe out loud to you while you are cooking, or, better yet, write a family cookbook and have your preschool child come up with his or her own simple recipe. This helps the child with reading, writing, measurements, and general creativity.

* Hometown. What makes the area where you live geologically significant? Is there a mountain nearby? A lake? A desert? An ocean? Ask everyone in your family to draw a map to their favorite place in your hometown. Then get a real map of your town and see if it matches up with the way you each made your own maps. Celebrate by taking your preschool child to his or her favorite place.

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Infant Massage

Infant Massage
by Carolyn Oleson

Best stated, infant massage is a wellness program for children. When else would it be better to implement and instill wellness into people than in childhood? Optimizing our well-being is generally an ongoing goal for all, and infant massage is a great avenue for reaching toward that goal.

Infant massage, also called nurturing touch, is health promoting in a number of ways. One of the most significant results is the enhancement of immune function. Research findings show lower levels of stress hormones in children who are massaged. Knowing that stress hormones sabotage our immune systems and negatively impact health and learning makes using this anti-stress routine a powerful tool for parents.

Another compelling reason to practice nurturing touch for children is the building of neuronal connections. Brain researchers along with child development experts have identified touch as one of the “10 Things Every Child Needs” (McCormick Foundation Project) to grow the brain and enable children to more fully reach their potential.

Massage also can bring about many positive effects that will help parents get through the day in a more loving way. Such effects include helping the child to sleep deeper and longer, and providing relief from gas, colic,
constipation, teething pain, and congestion. Massage is also known to improve muscle tone, digestive tone, and circulation, and to deepen respiration. Best of all, it strengthens the relationship and enhances bonding and communication between parent or teacher and child.

Unlike other massage approaches, infant massage is unique in that it is meant to be provided by a parent or other primary caretaker. The International Association of Infant Massage trains providers to instruct parents on how to massage their child with emphasis on individualizing for each child. The trick is to get the parent to let go of expectations and allow for joyful interaction. It is when parents let go and give unconditional love to their child through touch that remarkable effects are brought about.

Children with special needs ranging from developmental delays to complex medical problems can benefit dramatically from touch. It is possible that this dramatic effect is related to the empowerment that parents feel from providing nurturing touch to their children. When struggling with physical or medical problems, this empowerment goes a long way.

Small group classes of up to four sessions are taught to parents of well babies through various health outreach programs such as hospitals, spas, or health clubs. Instruction is also done for children with special needs on a private basis because of the need to individualize for that child. Instructors certified by the International Association of Infant Massage (IAIM) are available in most areas of the United States.

Infant massage is fairly new to this country, starting in the Midwest in the mid ’80s. It has been part of other cultures in different countries for centuries. Americans are catching on. The IAIM’s goal for the future is to have infant massage passed down from generation to generation. Then it will be an important element of child rearing in American culture too.

For more information on infant massage, contact the International Association of Infant Massage at (805) 644-8524.

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Geeks Prefer Books and Chalk

Children and Technology: Parenting Tips for the Digital AgePatience, and the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown. -Chinese Proverb

Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise.  But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: “computers and schools don’t mix.”   This surprising assertion appeared in an October 22 New York Times article, “A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute

>>>View this article online at ChildCareExchange.com

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Finding the Right Child Care for Your Infant

The Importance of Reading to Babies and InfantsThe Importance of Finding the Right Child Care for Your Infant

The importance of finding the right child care for your infant can not be understated. There are many things that you need to take into account when you are looking at several different infant care centers. A few of the questions that you should be asking yourself when researching the different child care companies in your area. When looking for an infant care facility, make sure that you are properly evaluating the situation to find the best child care provider for your situation.

Their Qualifications 

Make sure that they are completely qualified to be responsible for your child. They should have some sort of training, and nay of the permits that your area requires in order to run a childcare business. There are various certifications that a child care business can obtain in order to prove their worth to a parent, so having those should be considered a bonus on your part.

The Terrain 

Another thing that you need to take into consideration is the terrain. What is the playground like? What kind of dangers does the playground that they have potentially hold? Are there any streets nearby? Of course, educating your child, if they are old enough, on potential dangers that could pose a risk, that can go a long way toward ensuring that you are able to teach them good habits that keep them safe and out of trouble. Keep this in mind when searching for an appropriate infant child care company.

Education 

Try to find a child care center that is going to act as a secondary school. Any good childcare facility should be able to help your child learn how to read, learn basic math, and brush up on the things that they are learning in school. Any infant child care Omaha Nebraska facility should be able to provide you with some educational opportunities for your child.

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