Reminder: Next Baby & Wee class Sat. June 1

I hope you will be able to join us. In celebration of mother's day weekend we will host a Pop Up Baby & Wee class. Dads are welcome too

Please share with other parents

Baby & Wee class

Saturday, June 1, 2013

10am - 11am 

Beulah Wesleyan Methodist Church

219 West 136 St (btwn Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd & Frederick Douglass Blvd)

$25 per family

This class will teach parents how to work with their infants and toddlers to develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills before they start school.  We will also give them tips on activities they can do at home with their baby.  This will not be your ordinary parenting class. We answer the "why" these activities are being done, which component also known as domain of the brain is being developed.

Do you wonder why some children require occupational or speech therapy when they arrive at school? It is because their fine motor and speech were not developed prior to starting school.

The Obstetrician helps you know what to do when your baby is in the womb developing.

The Pediatrician helps you with the biological functions of your infant/toddler

Who helps you know some things to teach the baby to prepare them for school. There are several things your little one will be tested on when the go to school.

Our class helps you know what to do in developing the social, cognitive and emotional skills your baby will need for life.

Next Baby & Wee class Saturday, June 1, 2013

I hope you will be able to join us. In celebration of mother's day weekend we will host a Pop Up Baby & Wee class. Dads are welcome too

Please share with other parents

Baby & Wee class

Saturday, June 1, 2013

10am - 11am 

Beulah Wesleyan Methodist Church

219 West 136 St (btwn Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd & Frederick Douglass Blvd)

$25 per family

 

 

This class will teach parents how to work with their infants and toddlers to develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills before they start school.  We will also give them tips on activities they can do at home with their baby.  This will not be your ordinary parenting class. We answer the "why" these activities are being done, which component also known as domain of the brain is being developed.

Do you wonder why some children require occupational or speech therapy when they arrive at school? It is because their fine motor and speech were not developed prior to starting school.

The Obstetrician helps you know what to do when your baby is in the womb developing.

The Pediatrician helps you with the biological functions of your infant/toddler

Who helps you know some things to teach the baby to prepare them for school. There are several things your little one will be tested on when the go to school.

Our class helps you know what to do in developing the social, cognitive and emotional skills your baby will need for life.

Finger plays and action songs

Fingers plays and  action  songs are very important  for young children .Children can

• Learn language,
• Body parts
• Listening skills
• How to follow directions
• Begin to understand the concept of order and sequence
• Rhyming/ rhythm
• Muscle  and a number of other skills

Patty Cake - You can begin to sing this song when your baby is about five months
There are many other songs that you can do with your baby. You can find a lot of them on the internet.

Pacifier- Language Development

yes it is your baby's nightmare . Well it does not need to be stressful. I think that you should begin at 12 months . Many babies love to sleep with their pacifier. Once the baby is awake and you feed her you should put the pacifier away. Explain to her that she will have it later but she is a big girl and does not need it now. This will take a few weeks for the baby to get adjusted to not using it during the day. Using a pacifier during the day hinders language development. You baby should be babbling pointing and trying to form words if she has a pacifier in her mouth she will not have the opportunity to go through her stage of language  development. The brain develops from the bottom up and just like language you need to make sounds before you are able to form words. This is one of the major referrals speech therapy. Your child could be at another stage of development instead of using all that time for speech. It is very difficult to revert to a stage.
 You should not speak with your baby in "baby talk". You are teaching your baby language so you must use whole language when communicating with your baby. If your baby fusses at night you should give her the pacifier do not stress your baby.

Self feeding

Your baby is now 19mos you should purchase a few  toddler forks and spoons for her. When you give her  finger food also give her a fork (scramble eggs)  she will use her hands and get a chance to practice with her fork/spoon. You should also  purchase the small fisher price chair that you can put on the floor this is comfortable for your toddler to sit in .Just think about it when you are sitting at the dinner table are your feet dangling? It is  very important that you purchase furniture that is age appropriate for your infant/toddler.
 You are also teaching her self discipline ,the concept of sitting  this is a skill that is needed for school. She will let you know when she is finish and wants to get out the chair. You should read her cues.
 You are also teaching self-confidence by allowing her to feed herself and she is also  learning competence. All these skills are needed for school. Yes your baby goes to a baby sitter and to a daycare. You do not need a lot of time to allow your baby to practice these skills. Your baby needs repetition and consistency and patience. Remember that you only need to introduce the idea/concept one because the brain does not forget. The brain must be developed  as a whole.

Writing

Toddlers love to scribble and that is the beginning stage of  writing. You should  add a small writing book and a pen  and a short pencil(cut the pencil). At this stage everything goes in the mouth. A child can fall and hurt themselves if the have a long pencil in the.
Your toddler should have access  to a variety of  items to play with. You are also teaching your  toddler that there are different kind of books.

Multi tasking

You should give your infant/toddler the  opportunity to practice multitasking. You should provide several toys  for her. You should play music (age appropriate) while she is playing this will allow her to listen to the music and play with her toy or  look at a book the same time. At work have you noticed that many adults are not able to do more than one activity at a time? These skills must be taught during the First 2000 Days . The roots are  planted during those years.

New stage along the developmental track

May 23/13 19 months old
This morning  peed in his potty  and his mom celebrated and gave him a high five. He yelled yaah. he also got his first pull ups. He is wearing them today. He is now sleeping all night without wetting his pampers. He is learning how to control his body functions. This a  part of social emotional development. When you introduce potty training early and allow your infant/toddler to go through the process without a lot of stress if make  the process pleasurable. Brain development is a process and it moves along in stages  and you need to be consistent and celebrate every accomplishment. Potty training should not be a stressful  process . Now  you will need to discuss your plans with the sitter or caregiver .

Independence

Your baby is  a year old you should begin to wean her from a bottle, purchase three cups ; one with a straw, a sip cup and a one with two handles. You should also  introduce your baby to self feeding from a regular cup. Just put a small amount of liquid into the cup and give her a plastic cup ,a one ounce. Your baby needs to practice .She will begin to build self-esteem and self-confidence. If you are drinking from a bottle and she wants some feed her from the bottle just guide it while she is holding it. Remember that you should not allow your baby to sleep with a bottle or cut in their mount. This will give your baby cavity. You should let your baby drink and then you remove the cup/bottle from her mouth.
Helping your baby to become independent is the best way to help her along the developmental track. These are skills that she needs for school and life.

Socialization

Summer is here and you will be out doors a lot with your  infant/toddler. At times when you go to the park and children are interacting a child may hit your child or visa-versa.  Remember that you are their to guide you r child towards positive behavior. You should not just remove the child from the situation ;  in a calm voice you should explain to him why that behavior is not appropriate . If the child is talking have him say that he is sorry. Explain that hitting hurts and that is not a good way to communicate.  You are  planting the roots of empathy in your child. Infant/toddlers learn from repetition and patience .

Observation

Last (5/15)night I was on the  J train heading to Manhattan . A mother came the train with two  young children . They sat across from me. They younger child is about 3yrs she had a large pacifier in her mouth . She was actually trying to speak with it in her mouth. This  slows the development of speech in many children and as a result it cost the city millions to correct this via speech therapy.  I was on the train for a while and the mother kept giving feeding both children candies. The ones that are full with dye. I was tempted to say something but I did not. Would you have said something?
 On my way home I had to take the 2 train . There was a mom on the train with three children, ages 4,3, and a few months. She was busy playing a game on her phone . The children tried speaking with her but she kept saying "leave me alone".
When you are traveling with your children you should allow them to take a toy, a book, a game etc this way they will have some entertainment for their travel and you will not feel like they are bothering you.

You should be mindful of your behavior

On Monday I was walking  and observed two adults  hitting on each other while their five year old is observing. This kind of behavior is very unhealthy for  children, and for the two adults. You are your child's  mirror to the world and you must be mindful of your behavior. You are teaching your child that relationships are based on hitting each other .You are also teaching your child that is how she should  resolve conflicts as she grows up. The roots of socialization begins with you. You are responsible for guiding the children.
 If these caregivers were behaving this way in the street just imagine their behavior at home. Many times children get to school and they are unable to learn because they are thinking about the hell that  they are living in. These situations cause many children to act out, get place on time out..... You need to make a little time to find out what is going on where the child lives. Learning will only takes place when a child is prepared for it.
If  both adults are unhappy with each other it is better you both live a part and contribute to growing up your child than live together and destroy your child.

In and out

You should begin using these words with your baby. Provide items for your baby to play with that he can put in and dump out. You can give the baby an empty  plastic bowl and a small container empty butter dish , you can also use tops from the laundry detergent. Your baby is exploring everything by putting it in her mouth make sure the items that  you  give her to play with are big . This will prevent her from swallowing it. These concepts are needed for school.

Concepts Up Down

We have been using the words up-down with Ajani since he was nine months .Yesterday(Fri May 10th) he was in the car and he began saying up-down. I was at the red light his mom said "look he is pushing the button on his car sear up and down. I took a glance and observed him moving the button un and down while he repeat the words. It took him months to associate the words up-down with the action and to put them together. That is why you must introduce concepts early this way your infant/toddler will have time to grasp them  with out feeling frustrated and pressured. We have been discussing up-down and yesterday he indicated to us "yes I got it". We celebrated by saying " yea Ajani you got it". Young children learn from repetition and patience. 0-3 are the years that the most growth in brain development takes place.

Getting your baby dressed

When you are getting your baby dressed it is a great time to build relationship and language development. You can discuss the colors that he is putting on. You should identify that articles of clothing for example; John we are going to put your socks on. Your baby  is also learning vocabulary(new words).When your child gets to kindergarten there are a number of words that she should know, they are called sight words. You can look  at the  Dolch list of sight words for kindergarten this way you can begin  using these words with your infant/toddler so when she gets to kindergarten .

Computers

The first 2000 days is  critical for brain development and the roots of socialization is formed during these first 2000 days. Learning/development is done is stages therefore it is crucial that we help children through the stages. It is very difficult to revert to a stage once your infant/toddler misses it. Getting your baby ready for school is a process that is done during the developmental stages and as a caregiver you are responsible for guiding her through these stages and getting her ready for learning. Sitting your baby in front of a computer or the T.V is not a great idea. Young children learns best from human interaction.

The joy of playing

It is getting worm and you will be taking your baby to the playground. Your infant/toddler will want to play in the sand box do not  restrict her. Playing in the sand  is very soothing. the baby may get the sand in her hair don't be alarmed when you get home or before you leave  the play ground use a dry rag to dust out the sand. You should play in the sand with her and guide her usage of the sand. Infants/toddlers love to throw everything up and the sand is no different. The best way to avoid this is to wet the sand  this will prevent the dust and when your baby throws the sand it will not be as alarming. always take a change of clothing and a ball to the park with your baby or a car. When you are at the park other children will have toys and you do not want you baby to get stressed by crying for the other children's toy. If you take her toys then  she can share with the other children. Stress is not healthy for your infant/toddler you should try and avoid it as much as possible. You also must talk with your infant/toddler about the concept of sharing. This concept takes a while to grasp that is why you must introduce the  concept early and practice it at home with your infant/toddler. Children learn from repetition and patience.
The roots of socialization is being planted during the infant/toddler years 0-3. These skills are need for life therefore we need to get it right the first time. It is very difficult to reverse behavior and development  happens is stages it is very important to give your infant what they need at each stage because each  one will be successful based on the previous one. Just like  building a house. You must first have a blue print.

Happy Mother's Day

It is mothers day but it's mothers day everyday for us. So many moms play a dual role of mom and dad. It is great to be a mom. Just look at the wonder you have and the opportunity to make the world a better place by giving your infant/toddler the tools that she needs in order to navigate the world. Just imagine  you are responsible for molding  this new human being into a great contributor to the world. Your baby is born  ready to learn, however the experiences that you give her will determine the adult  that she will become. Even when you have two parents mothers tend to spend a lot of time with the children/child . The baby sitter is usually a female and she spends a lot of time with the child/children. Today consider it the first day of the rest of your baby's life think about what kind of adult you would want her to be . How the experiences that you give her will help to mold her. They say "when you educate a woman you educate a nation" these are some powerful words. Continue to educate .The next generation of contributors are in your hands.
 Have a great day.

Large motor development

Large motor development : Your arms and feet. When your baby begins to crawl you should keep her on the floor because she needs space to grow. Put a thick comforter on the floor and some pillows to  cushion her when she falls. Your baby needs to learn how to take risk and making the space safe will allow her to do that.
You should allow your infant/toddler to walk up the stairs. You should also allow your infant/toddler to walk a few blocks. do not keep her in a stroller all the time. You should have her hold on to the stroller a walk a little when she gets tired you should put her back into the stroller. Your baby needs to learn how to walk up stairs and down stairs. Your baby also needs to learn how to walk. These skills are needed for school.

Feeling competent

You should allow your infant/toddler to feel competent . This builds self esteem and  self-confidence.
you should provide an old pocket book with a zipper for your toddler to play with. Zipping helps your child to develop her fine motor skills . With practice and patience she will be able to pull a zipper open and close. You should show her once and leave the bag with her play things. As you observe you will see that she will go and practice on her own. The brain only need to be exposed to an experience once. Your baby is born ready to learn and you must provide the experiences that will facilitate learning.
 The minute that you observe her move the zipper  a little you must celebrate " wow you did such a good job". You must always celebrate any and every accomplishment. You will observe the big smile on your infant/toddler face when you clap and say wow  you did it what a great job. These skills are needed before your baby get to school.

Pretend play

Your infant/toddler loves to engage in pretend play. You will notice that once they begin to walk they will try to put your shoes on. You should provide items for you infant/toddler to engage in pretend play. You  can begin with items such as and old telephone, the ones with the buttons to press. Infants love to push buttons and this will also help with their fine motor skills . You can provide a hat   and old glasses and a necklace. You do not have to go out and purchase items in order to get your infant/toddler ready for school. They love to play with pots they usually make music with  the pots. You can also engage your toddler in pretend play, a great one is using the telephone .
Feel free to leave a comment about any of the segment.

Reminder-- Baby & Wee Class 5/11/13 free

Class taking place rain or shine

I hope you will be able to join us. In celebration of mother's day weekend we will host a Pop Up Baby & Wee class. Dads are welcome too

Please share with other parents

Baby & Wee class

Saturday, May 11, 2013

11am - 2pm (feel free to drop in)

Beulah Wesleyan Methodist Church

219 West 136 St (btwn Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd & Frederick Douglass Blvd)

This class will teach parents how to work with their infants and toddlers to develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills before they start school.  We will also give them tips on activities they can do at home with their baby.  This will not be your ordinary parenting class. We answer the "why" these activities are being done, which component also known as domain of the brain is being developed.

Do you wonder why some children require occupational or speech therapy when they arrive at school? It is because their fine motor and speech were not developed prior to starting school.

The Obstetrician helps you know what to do when your baby is in the womb developing.

The Pediatrician helps you with the biological functions of your infant/toddler

Who helps you know some things to teach the baby to prepare them for school. There are several things your little one will be tested on when the go to school.

Our class helps you know what to do in developing the social, cognitive and emotional skills your baby will need for life.

Social Emotional School Readiness

You should teach your baby how to play this is very important  when they get to kindergarten. Play helps with brain development and Social Emotional School readiness. When your baby play she is learning how to  take turns, sharing in a game and solving problems. For example  you should play catch with your toddler by throwing the ball to her. When you first begin and you throw the ball your baby will not hold our her hands to catch  it because  she has nor yet figured out that  she  has to hold out your hands in order to catch. The next step she realizes that she has to  hold out her hands but the ball drops because she just holds her  and do not attempt to catch it. The next stage she realizes that she must hold her hand in a curve position in order to catch the ball. It is four months later and she has figures it out. Now your 18 month old loves to play catch. Playing with your baby also teaches her language skills . You will be introducing new words such as throw, catch ,bounce, fall , high. You will be introducing your infant/toddler to following directions for example, Joan please get me the ball. These skills are very important for school.

Sensory

Sensory means that you are doing activity with your baby that allows her to use  more than one of  her senses at once. Water play is a sensory activity, your baby is using her eyes and feelings. She is seeing the water and she is touching  the water. When she gets a bath that is what is happening. When your baby finger paints this is also a sensory activity. As your infant gets older  you will notice that she loves to play with water. When you give her a bath allow her to play for a while. You should not give your baby a bath when you are in a rush. Add some toys to her tub. You want to have a happy baby . Allow her to play for a while and when you are ready to end the bath you must explain to her
 " Judy it is time to end your bath let's say good by to your toys". You should keep the same toys in the tub. This way your baby will not begin screaming. Saying good by to the bath is teaching your baby how to  manage transitions without getting a tantrum. This needs practice so your baby will cry a few times but after several practice she will understand that she does not have to cry because she has another activity to do. After her bath she has to get dressed.
This is a skill that is needed when your  baby gets to school.

Making choices

Infants and toddlers must be given the opportunity to choose. You should provide a variety of items for your infant/toddler to play with. This will give your infant/toddler an opportunity to practice being an independent thinker. This skill is very important because as your infant/toddler gets older she will get more practice at making decisions. This skill will help your child deal with peer pressure later on , gang prevention , and just the idea of following what others may be doing that is not socially acceptable. Allowing your infant/toddler to engage in making choices you are developing her leadership skills. People usually say "John was born a follower". I do not believe that . The early experiences that John is exposed to will determine how he will be socialize. These skills are needed for life .

Literacy

Literacy begins the day you have your baby . You should have taken a book to the hospital to read to your baby. Reading and speaking with your baby begins the literacy . Literacy is not just reading with your baby. It is also responding to your baby's cues. Letting books be a part of your infant/toddler life will allow her to develop a love for  reading. She should have a book in her crib ,books should be in the car, if you have company while you are driving  the person can read a story. Have books on the floor . A favorite book must be kept in the baby's bag that you take with her. When you attend a birthday party give books as gifts. Where ever you are you should read a book for your baby. When your baby turns 18 months you will observe her love for books . She will take a book and sit and pretend to read. Literacy begins on day one. Remember that you must purchase board books for your baby. You should have a variety of books.

Writing

When your infant gets to be 10 months they love to scribble with markers, pens,pencils or crayons. You should provide one of these items for your infant  along with her play materials. Also provide a medium size spiral note book, the pages are easy to turn. Each time that your infant want to write remind her that  be saying, Sharon here is your writing book. Keep the book with her reading books on the floor in a bin. Your infant will begin learning that she write on plain paper .. That is why  Remember that babies learn from repetition and patience and guidance. Your baby is new to all these skills so she will need a lot of practice that is why the things that your infant/toddler use for play must be accessible to her, the best place is to have items on the floor. Sometimes your baby will play with several items at the same time, this is called multitasking. This skill is needed because we live in a world where  the ability  to  multitasking is a must.

Baby & Wee Session Pop Up-- FREE FREE

I hope you will be able to join us. In celebration of mother's day weekend we will host a Pop Up Baby & Wee class. Dads are welcome too

 

Saturday, May 11, 2013

11am - 12pm (feel free to drop in)

Where: Beulah Wesleyan Methodist Church

219 West 136 St (btwn Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd & Frederick Douglass Blvd)

FREE FREE FREE session

 

 

 

 class taught by Daseta Gray

 

Please share with other parents

 

This class will teach parents how to work with their infants and toddlers to develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills before they start school.  We will also give them tips on activities they can do at home with their baby.  This will not be your ordinary parenting class. We answer the "why" these activities are being done, which component also known as domain of the brain is being developed.

 

Do you wonder why some children require occupational or speech therapy when they arrive at school? It is because their fine motor and speech were not developed prior to starting school.

 

The Obstetrician helps you know what to do when your baby is in the womb developing.

The Pediatrician helps you with the biological functions of your infant/toddler

Who helps you know some things to teach the baby to prepare them for school. There are several things your little one will be tested on when the go to school.

 

Our class helps you know what to do in developing the social, cognitive and emotional skills your baby will need for life

 

To Register contact: dasetagray@gmail.com / 347-524-4178/ 917-721-3648

Space is limited

Active learning

You children must be active in order to grow. Many parents do not want to put their infant on the floor because "I  do not want them to hurt  themselves".  You need to make the space safe this will allow your toddler to freely explore. Young children learn through discoveries and if you have an infant sitting in a crib/play pen most of the time the child will not get a chance to interact with her  with her surrounds.