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Alternatives to Good Job

What we say and how we say it makes such a difference in the way children behave.  Here is a list of 25 alternatives to "Good Job" from Picklebums.com to get your started towards more specific praise for your child.

Say thank you when you mean it – explain why you are grateful for your child’s actions.

• Thank you for helping with…
• It makes mornings/dinner/outings easier when you…. thank you
• I really appreciate it when you…
• Thank you for doing that… it means I/we can now…

Make an observation based on facts – just say what you see without emotions or judgment.

• We did it together.
• Wow! You made a building/drawing/etc.
• You did it on your own.
• You did x and then y and worked it out.
• You used lots of red paint/blocks/tape/etc.
• You made it really big/small/colourful/complicated/etc.
• That took you a long time, and you did it!

 
Extend and encourage – extend learning and encourage conversation by asking questions about what you see while also recognising their efforts.

• How did you do that?
• You did X, what will you do now?
• Can you tell me about it?
• What is your favourite part?
• How did you think of that?

 
Put feelings into words – explain how something makes you feel, help your kids notice how their actions make others feel and acknowledge your children’s own feelings.

• I really enjoy doing this with you.
• I love watching you create/help your sister/play soccer/ etc.
• I’m so proud to be your mum, every day, no matter what.
• Look how happy your friend is when you share/help/smile/etc.
• You kept going, even when it was hard.
• You look so pleased to have done that!
• You made X feel so pleased when you did that.
• It makes you feel good when you do X.

 
Say nothing – we don’t need to praise every little action, or fill every space with noise. It is enough to sit back and watch our children’s delight in their own achievements

• Say nothing – just smile.

Gigi's Playhouse and Let's Play

Two items on the blog today.

First: Gigi's Playhouse is coming to Davis County!   Gigi's Playhouse open house is scheduled for Saturday, November 15th.  If you have questions about Gigi's Playhouse, you can access information at gigisplayhouse.org.  Please show your support!

welcome! gigi’s playhouse is an established series of down syndrome achievement centers.

Serving children and adults of all ages, each Playhouse provides educational and therapeutic programs at no charge to families; and in a format that individuals with Down syndrome learn best. All programs aim to maximize self-confidence and empower individuals to achieve their greatest potential. GiGi’s Playhouse is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization.

Second: ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development.

Our mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. 

One of the ways they provide information to parents and professionals is through an app for androids called Let's Play from Zero to Three.  This app provides activities to promote development either by age or by category.  Check it out!

Toddler Thanksgiving Ideas

Need a project to keep the littles busy while you get ready for Thanksgiving?  Here are some ideas to be thankful for!

The Fine Motor Turkey idea comes from www.two-daloo.com

Pin It

First, I dug out half of a styrofoam ball leftover from an octopus activity from our ocean unit.  Ignore the big holes…they were made for octopus legs   I also found five very skinny colorful dowel rods in a package of assorted rods that I bought at Walmart (also used in our “fine motor fun with a cardboard box” post).

I stuck the rods across the ball at regular intervals to form the turkey’s tail feathers.  Later on (after learning the hard way) I went back and added a drop of hot glue to secure each one.

Next, I used a couple of spare brown paper lunch sacks to cover the ball and act as the rest of the turkey’s feathers.

For the turkey’s head, I settled on this brown seed pod from some fall potpourri that happened to be on my counter in a bowl. You could really use anything you wanted here, it isn’t central to the activity.

I glued on some google eyes, a red wattle made of a scrap of craft foam, and a felt mouth, and my turkey came to life!

Here is how he looked so far. His feathers are a little sad, huh?

This was the fun part! I grabbed my two snotty, droopy-eyed babies, a bowl of colorful wooden beads left over from a recent project, and a healthy handful of kleenex, and let them have at it!

I loved watching the twins try to master this activity.  Threading the beads onto the wooden dowels was just difficult enough for them to really work hard at it, but not too hard that they totally gave up.

Mimi is staying with us since my husband is out of town, and she helped the babies with their first few beads. All they needed was a little encouragement and to be shown how to find the holes and position the beads so they would slide over the dowels.

After Syd practiced with Mimi a few times, she took a big breath, said “O-Kay!” very importantly, and proceeded to do the rest herself.  So grown up!

And here is the finished turkey!

This list of Thanksgiving books is from kidsactivityblog.com

Thanksgiving Books

The Night before Thanksgiving, by Natasha Wing.  One of our family’s favorite things to do each Thanksgiving is to bake a bunch of different pies.  It is fun to read a book that has cute illustrations and mentions so many of the Thanksgiving traditions, from baking pies to watching the parades,  and of course lots of family feasting.

The Littlest Pilgrim, by Brandi Dougherty.  I am sure my youngest children can relate with this story.  They often want to “help” in the preparation of our Thanksgiving festivities – and too often they get in the way or make a mess.  This is a cute book about a girl who has similar struggles and learns to have a friend through the process.

Turkey Trouble, by Wendy Silvano.  Ever think about Thanksgiving from the perspective of a turkey?  This book is super silly.  It had my kids giggling as the turkey dresses up to avoid being “caught”.   It’s illustrated by one of my favorites, Lee Harper.  We like his other book, Emperor’s Cool Clothes.

10 Fat Turkey’s, by Tony Johnson.  This is a rendition of the 10 Little Indians, only it’s Turkeys, sitting on a fence.  One thing I love about this book is that it helps early readers with repetitive words and rhyming.

Thanksgiving on Thursday, by Mary Pope Osborne.  We have several dozen of the Magic Treehouse series of books.  They are great for kids who are just starting chapter books.  This story follows Jack and Annie as they travel back and relive the first Thanksgiving.

Cranberry Thanksgiving, by Wende Devlin.  This is a re-release of a classic story of a Grandma and her granddaughter.  Each Thanksgiving they invite someone who is lonely and/or poor over to share dinner with them.  This year Grandma almost looses her secret recipe for Cranberry  bread.

Thanks for Thanksgiving, by Julie Markes.  Being thankful for the little things is a great trait to have.  This story focuses on all the blessing that we have.  The pictures are great for opening discussions of the things your child is thankful for, and there are blank pages so you and your child can list the things you are thankful for.  THis could be a cute tradition, to add more items you are grateful for to the book each year.

If You Were at the First Thanksgiving, by Anne Kamma.  Are your kids past storybooks but not quite ready for chapter books?  This is a great resource non-fiction book for your shelves.  It is part history book, part pretend-inspiration for a dramatic child.  The book asks what your life would be like if you lives in the era of the first Thanksgiving feast.

December Community Activities

It is time to select the community activity you will be attending with your little one in December with the support and help of our amazing early intervention staff.  Your service providers will be bringing a paper for you to choose your activity.  Please select one activity that will be fun for your family and let us know how many people will be coming.  You don't need to choose an activity for each of your providers - just choose one!  We know how busy the month of December is and we are providing you with an opportunity to enjoy a social event with your family with the support of our staff.  We love the opportunity to help your family and your little ones!

If you prefer you can just make your selection and let me know by email.  mzeschke@dsdmail.net

December Community Activities for Early Intervention

Child’s Name: ___________________________

Please make your selection, indicate number of people in your family that will be attending and return to your service provider.

ð       Bountiful Library Puppet Show  December 1^st

o   6:00 pm     Number attending _____

o   7:30 pm     Number attending _____

ð       Clearfield Library Puppet Show   December 1^st  7:00pm                     

Number attending ____

ð       Flipper’s Gym 1246 Flint Meadows #102 Kaysville  December 2^nd  1:00 pm   Number attending _____

ð       Bountiful ELC Activity   9 East 400 North, Bountiful   December 4^th

o   10:30 – 11:30    Number attending ____

o   11:30 – 12:30    Number attending ____

ð       Layton ELC Activity   1010 Emerald Dr., Layton  December 8^th

o   9:30 – 10:30     Number attending ____

o   11:00 – 12:00    Number attending ____

ð       Tri-City Nursery Open House  395 Deseret Dr., Kaysville

o   December 6^th  1:00 – 4:00pm    Number attending ____

o   December 8^th  6:00 – 8:00pm    Number attending ____

ð       Layton ELC Activity   1010 Emerald Dr., Layton  December 9^th

o   9:30 – 10:30    Number attending ____

o   11:00 – 12:00    Number attending ____

ð       Layton Hay Rides  (Layton Commons Park)  December 10^th  5:30 pm     Number attending ____

November Community Activities and Start Thinking About December!

Hi Families!  Here are the community activities for November - there are only a few.

• November 2nd at 2:00 am - Daylight Savings Time Ends.

• November 3rd from 5:30 to 7:30 pm is Family First Monday Event at Station Park in Farmington.  The theme for the evening is Princess and Pirate Play.

• November 4th - Election Day.

• November 17th, November 24th and December 1st - Love and Logic at the Family Enrichment Center at 320 South 500 East Kaysville.  More information at healthyrelationshiputah.org

• November 24th - Holiday Lighting Ceremony.  The program beings at 6:00 pm in the Layton High School Auditorium with singing performances from local school choirs and will conclude with the lighting of the holiday light display at Layton Commons Park at approximately 7:00 pm.  The light display will be open daily from November 24th through January 1st from dusk to 11:00 pm.

As the weather gets colder, you may also want to take advantage of the Library Storytimes.

Bountiful (Preschool/Toddler Storytime) Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 am

Centerville (Preschool/Toddler Storytime) Wednesdays at 10:30 am

Clearfield (All ages) Tuesdays at 7:00 pm, Wednesdays at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm and Thursdays at 10:30 am

Farmington (Preschool/Toddler Storytime)  Thursdays at 10:30 am

Kaysville (All Ages) Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10:30 am, Fridays at 11:30 am

Layton (All Ages) Tuesdays at 11:00 am, Wednesdays at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm, and Thursdays at 11:00 am

Syracuse (All Ages) Tuesdays at 10:30 am and Wednesdays at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm.

We will be getting our sign ups for the Davis Early Intervention supported community events in December out right away.  Please let your service provider know which activity you would like to attend so we can get your name on the list.  Attending one of these activities gives your little one the opportunity to join in the holiday fun with the support of the early intervention service providers. The activities take a lot of effort and planning to make sure they will be successful for everyone involved, so please attend the activity you sign up for so you can benefit from the services, support and suggestions of the amazing service providers.

Here is the list of activities that will be supported by Davis Early Intervention in December.  Other activities may be added.  If you have any suggestions for other activities, please let us know!

December 2nd - activity at Lil' Flippers in Kaysville.

December 4th - activity at Bountiful Early Learning Center.

December 8th - activity at Layton Early Learning Center.

December 9th - activity at Layton Early Learning Center.

December 10th - Layton Hay Rides through the park. 

Executive Functioning for Little Ones

Executive function comes from the frontal lobe of the brain.  This part of the brain is a little slower to develop than the rest of the brain, that's why two year olds act like two year olds!  Executive functioning includes things like focused attention, using a working memory and practicing self control.  Development of executive functioning stimulates self-regulation.  We can help our little ones develop a foundation for healthy development of these important skills.  You may already be enjoying some of these activities with your child, now you will understand why they are so important!  These activities are suggested for children six to eighteen months old.

Lap games for younger infants

• Peekaboo - hide and find games like this exercise working memory, because they challenge the baby to remember who is hiding and they also practice basic self-control skills as, in some variations, the baby waits for the adult to reveal him or herself.  In other versions, the baby controls the timing of the reveal; this providing important practice regulating the tension around an expected surprise.
• Trot, Trot to Boston; This is the Way the Farmer Rides; Pat-a-Cake - Predictable rhymes that end with a stimulating yet expected surprise are well-loved.  Infants exercise working memory as they develop familiarity with the rhyme and practice anticipating a surprise, inhibiting their anticipatory reactions while managing high levels of stimulation.

Hiding Games 

• Hide a toy under a cloth and encourage the infant to look for it.  Once infants can find the toy quickly, hide it, show the child that you have moved it, and encourage the child to find it.  Make more moved to increase the challenge.  As the child remembers what was there and mentally tracks the move, he or she exercises working memory.
• Older infants may enjoy hiding themselves and listening to you search loudly for them while they track your location mentally.
• You can also hide an object without showing an older infant where it is and then allow the infant to search for it.  He or she will practice keeping track of searched locations.
• Another challenging version of these games involves putting a set of cups on a turntable (or "lazy Susan"), hiding an object under a cup, then spinning the turntable.  Hiding more than one object can also increase the challenge.

Imitation or copying games

• Taking turns making simple gestures, organizing toys in a certain way, asking children to copy you, building simple buildings with blocks and knocking them down all develop the ability to keep track of actions, remember them and take turns.
• As infants' skills improve make the patterns they copy more complicated.
• Adults can also demonstrate the ways to play with toys, like making a toy horse gallop or rocking a baby doll.  This introduces the concept of using toys as symbols for real objects.

Simple Role Play

• Take turns with any activity that interests the child,  The benefits of this are learning the basics of imaginary play, practice working memory, self-control, and selective attention.
• Children can remember and play out more complicated roles as they get older.  They will also begin to initiate activities.

Fingerplays

• Songs or chants with simple hand motions are a lot of fun for infants, and develop self-control and working memory as well as language.  Infants can learn to copy the movements of a song and, with practice, will remember the sequence.  Some examples are Eensy Weensy Spider, Where is Thumbkin?,  and Open, Shut Them.

Conversations

• Start by following the infant's attention and naming aloud the things holding your little one's attention.  The infant will likely maintain his or her attention a little longer, practicing actively focusing and sustaining attention.
• As infants get older, pointing out and talking about interesting objects or events can help them learn to focus their attention on something the adult has identified.  As babies learn language, they also develop their memory of what is said, eventually mapping words to objects and actions.

This information is taken from developingchild.harvard.edu.