Join the campaign-- First 2000 Days NY

Join the campaign

Inequality in early infant/toddler experiences and learning produces inequality in ability, achievement, health and adult success
 Research indicates that a child’s quality of life and the contributions he or she will make to society can be directly traced to the first few years of life, back to those First 2,000 Days.
 We know through research that high quality early education yields higher graduation rates, reduced crime, higher earnings, and better jobs. As a result, economists estimate that every dollar invested in early education produces a 10% return on investment through increased personal achievement and social productivity.



Follow us on Twitter @kindersuccess
Like us on Facebook kindergarten.success
www.SabreeEducationService.com
 

Forward thinking--work ethic

Many times we want to rush and clean up a mess our toddler made. Before you do that think about this... If I clean up the mess and I teaching my toddler how to clean up?

Depending on the mess have your toddler clean up with you. If it's a spill take a wipe and give her one and you take one. After a while you will see she will get a wipe herself to clean up her spill. Or if you are rushing and she wants to help she may fuss at you because she wants to assist.

Putting away toys is anther activity she can assist you with. In fact you can sing the clean up song. If you don't know the song there are different versions on Youtube but with your toddler just learning language I use the most basic, she will start singing the song with you over time. Here it goes, "clean up clean up, everybody do your share clean up clean up everybody do your share". Sing this as you are doing the cleaning up with her.

These are the beginning stages of developing work ethic

If you don't start now later you will have a challenge when it is time for them to help around the house or doing other "work" type activities. One day I witnessed a family I know well racking leaves and the children were inside watching tv or playing a video game. My son actually was observing the parents and then he started to help and their youngest daughter helped too. I asked the parents how come the children are not helping, the mom said because they will just make a mess.

The age range of the sons are 9 - 16 years old.

Be well





Follow us on Twitter @KinderSuccess
Like us on Facebook kindergartenSuccess
www.SabreeEducationServices.com


 

Painting

Brush painting is a very good activity for your infant/toddler. It gives her a chance to develop her pre-writing skills. Her fine motor skills  and a number of other brain parts.

Self-confidence

It is very important that you allow your baby to be independent by allowing  her to do thing for herself. Your baby should be given the opportunity to think this allows them to problem solve and develop confidence  and to feel competent. These skills are needed when your baby get to school. In fact  these are life skills .These skills must be developed during the years 0-3 .

Blocks

It is important that you provide your infant/toddler with blocks to play with. Just introduce a few blocks to her at first . You do not want to frustrate her the idea is to let her be successful at what she does. You want your infant/toddler to feel competent and build her

 

elf-esteem and confidence  . You should not tell her how to build allow her to use her creativity.

Confidence-

1/19/14
Ajani and I are doing  a floor puzzle . I took out the pieces that goes together and  put them close to each other .He takes up a piece and looks around for the next piece . He looks around and  sees  the other piece  and said "there it is" . he tries to put them together and if they do not fit he will say "turn it around" . He did turn the piece and they fit "perfect he said" with a smile . He continues to look for other pieces of the puzzles  with confident.

Social skills- brain development

 It is very important that you give your infant/toddler many different experiences. This allows your toddler to learn how to interact with adults/children out side of their families. her the children are playing in water ,a sensory experience.

Pre-writing skills

It is very important to give your infant/toddler writing tools. This helps them to strengthen their  fine muscles  in their ,fingers, eyes and wrist. The cerebellum is an area of the brain that is responsible for controlling balance, movements and coordination. Your infant/toddler must have  tools that will enable him to  have these experiences. If  your infant/toddler does not have these experiences he will not be able to write, do puzzles and may be signed up  for occupational therapy. These experiences must be provide at home .Many children get to school and have an experience gap.

The Alphabet

As you know repetition is key. Your toddler is probably watching Dora, Sesame Street and a few other age appropriate educational programs. They may sing the alphabet and so now your toddler is singing with them.

Just because she can sing the alphabet does not mean she "knows" the alphabet as yet. To know the alphabet means she is able to individually identify the letters that make up the alphabet.

Now is a great time to begin teaching her the letters, I suggest 2 years old. Begin with the easy letters single stroke letters such as Tt, Ll, Ii. Ajani is now 2.3 years old and on January 3 we started with the letter Tt. I took construction paper and cut thin strips (not too think because he needs to be able to easily hold and manipulate the paper without getting frustrated) 4 strips of paper. Two pieces for the capital letter T and two for the lower case letter t.

I showed him the letter Tt. then I said, "now we are going to make the letter T together. I allowed him to help me squirt the glue onto the strip and then let him place the stripe on the construction paper (try to use basic colors red, blue or yellow. It's not mandatory but suggested since those are the first colors taught). He needed help placing the top stripe so I guided his hand and did not do it for him. When we were done I asked, what letter is that, he replied, "T" I said yes, hi-5.

Then I had cut out a few pictures (3) of items that begin with the letter T that he is familiar with (telephone, tire and tomatoes). You can select pictures from the supermarket circular or a magazine.

We are still working with the letter T. The next day we did another activity with the letter T this time we used tissue paper to make the letter T. I wrote the letter on a cardboard (you can use construction paper if you like) I ripped the tissue paper into squares (large enough so his hands can work with it) then helped him place the balls of tissue paper on the glue section of the letter I drew. (this project may take a little more practice than the stripes of construction paper). Next you and her can look through one of her books and pick out pictures that start with the letter T. Ajani and I did that another day.

Never do too many activities of the same topic in 1 day your toddler may get frustrated or bored. Remember learning should be fun.

Next letter will be L because Ajani is able to identify a few words that start with the letter L such as lion.

Now your toddler is learning the alphabet

Let me know how it goes

Like us on Facebook  Kindergarten Success
Follow us on Twitter @ KinderSuccess
Instagram KindergartenSuccess

Negotiation

Ajani has several education videos that he loves to watch including Racket (Little Einstien) . Yesterday he  asked for racket . This is  how he request it . He sits on the couch with the TV remote then points to the TV with the remote the he says "Ma TV Racket" or if he wants to see Barney on the farm . Then one of us will say  Ajani would you like to watch Racket ? he will nod his head yes.  Yesterday I was not able to find Racket . I explained to him that I was not able to find Racket . I kept showing him several DVS  while I asked :do you want to watch this one? he says no with frustration. 

Then I asked do you want macaroni and cheese I showed him the box.  He said yes but not understanding that it has to be cooked. He began to cry and  saying macaroni . I explained to him that I have to cook it first . After a while he stopped crying . I called him to the kitchen and let him watch as I poured the contents in the pot. "cook he said ". I said yes it needs to be cooked.
He went back to play and is not fussing about Racket any more. When the food  was finish  I asked him if he would like to watch Barney on the farm while he eat. He said yes. He is able to self regulate ,manage his emotions and calm him self  down within a short time. This is a  social emotional skill that one needs for life.

How do you teach your infant/toddler soft skills?

Your infant/toddler must have social, emotional and cognitive skills before they are three years old. These are called school readiness skills and are the root of socializations. We hope that you will share this vital information with your contacts.

Click here to unsubscribe Friday 20 August Soft Skills: More Important the Your Major Somehow the ability to communicate, get along with others, control emotions, self-motivate, think creatively and solve problems have come to be known as “soft skills” – a term that makes them sound nice, but unnecessary. Yet, all you have to do is interact with someone who lacks these skills to know how critical they are! Employers certainly do. A 2013 survey of more than 300 employers found that 93% agreed that a candidate's demonstrated soft skills are more important than their undergraduate major. Perhaps that’s why the media is paying attention. There have been a slew of articles on the topic in the last several months. The Soft Skills Managers Want (Business Week) The Real Reason New College Grads Can’t Get Hired (Time) How Grads can Effectively Showcase Soft Skills to Employers (Fox Business News) We’ve heard it first hand as well. We’ve shared the First 2000 Days presentation with more than 300 business leaders across North Carolina. As soon as we mention “soft skills,” heads start nodding. Business professionals tell us that despite a high unemployment rate, they have jobs that they cannot fill because of a lack of these skills. Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman has been making this case for some time. His video, the Hard Facts About Soft Skills, notes we rely too much on IQ tests and SAT scores and not enough on character. Heckman says “character skills turn knowledge into know-how and people into productive citizens.” This is where early childhood comes in. These “soft skills," also called "social-emotional skills," are developed during children’s earliest years. For example, learning to play with others develops language skills and improved teamwork, making up games and rules develops negotiation skills; learning to follow rules develops ethics and early exploration develops creating thinking and problem solving. Want to learn more? The Stanford Marhmallow Experiment The Importance of Soft Skills by Tim Barik Children's Emotional Development is Built into their Brains by Center for Developing Child at Harvard University Promoting Children's Social and Emotional Development through High-Quality Preschool by NIEER

building self-esteem

1/16/14  Observation
Ajani was playing with his blocks. I was in the kitchen . Ma, Ma, he yelled . Yes I am coming . I went to the living room :"look Ma a T" he yelled pointing to the two blocks that he used to make the letter T." Give me a high five I told him as I held out my hand. "He  gave me a five with a resounding Yes I did it".

We introduced the letter T last week by making it with  two blocks and them with construction paper and glue that he helped to make. he is now able to identify the letter T . We will be doing the letter I this week.it is best to make the straight letters first because your infant will be able to use toys to recreate them. You only need to introduce items once to your toddler and then leave it where they can have access. They will continue to practice. Young children learn through repetition, repeating the same experience. This is how they develop competence and self-esteem plus they learn that learning is fun.

Leadership skills-when does it begin?

Leaders are people who are able to make decisions based on the information that they have when they are in a given situation. Have you ever thought about how one develops leadership qualities?
This begins during the infant/toddler years. It is very important that you allow your infant/toddler to make choices . This mean you should have a  developmental toys/books /puzzles etc  where your infant/toddler have access to them.
 We  bought a small shelf with six bins  to put some of  Ajani's items in. Last night when he got home he went and took  a puzzle from the bin and sat and did it. The pieces are kept in a  zip lock bag but  was not able to  open that bag as by himself . I will need to find a small bag with a zipper. The  objective is to let your infant/toddler feel competent ,independent and build their self-esteem. These are all skills that are needed for leadership. Your infant/toddler ability to  think independently will prevent her from being in a gang later on . This is called peer pressure.

What other states are doing

I thought it was important to share with you some work other states are doing regarding early childhood especially as it pertains to infants/toddlers.



What some states are doing

be well

Education starts at birth

From time to time we stumble on or get certain information emailed to us and I thought I would share this article with you.


Education starts at birth
National Journal – Education Experts Blog
By Kris Perry
January 7, 2013

My advice to anyone seeking better education, health, social and economic outcomes is to embrace the fact that education starts at birth — not at age 4, not in kindergarten — at birth. Fully developing the potential in our children and guaranteeing a skilled and productive workforce starts the moment a child is born. Our public policy needs to reflect the new knowledge we have about human development, specifically that waiting until age 4 for pre-K learning is too little, too late. The definition of effective early learning must be expanded to encompass birth to age 5, with a distinct focus on the most critical developmental period—the first three years of a child’s life.

Research conducted by University of Chicago Nobel Prize winning economist James Heckman shows that investing in early childhood development from birth to age 5 for disadvantaged children is the best way to prevent the achievement gap and maximize later investments in formal schooling, college and job training. Investing from birth is the only way to achieve the 7-10 percent return on investment that early childhood development delivers through better education, health and social outcomes and the reduced need for social spending.

Ongoing federal budget negotiations provide national policymakers with a small window of opportunity to maximize taxpayer money, reduce debt and generate income. Every dollar invested in quality early childhood education pays dividends to children, families and taxpayers for the life of the child. The earlier we start, the less expensive it will be to prepare children for success in life and the more likely that we will have a nation of independent, capable and productive people. Policymakers, such as Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, business leaders, including Chicago entrepreneur and philanthropist J.B. Pritzker and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke strongly support using early childhood investments to drive economic growth.
Click to read more

Like us on Facebook kindergarten.success
Follow us on Twitter kindersuccess
Visit our website SabreeEducationServices

 

Reading in the car

In order for your baby to develop a love for reading books must be available to her at all times. When she is in the car you may not have a chance to speak with her but she can be learning on her own. This is a skill that is needed for school.

Observation

Infants and toddlers are natural scientist you must give them the opportunity.

Fine motor skills

You do not have to teach you need to provide the opportunity . Infants/toddlers are wired to lean.

Observation

The ability to follow directions : Yesterday January 1,2014 Ajani (he is 2.3yrs)spilled his milk while he was in the kitchen. His mom told him to put his cup on the counter ,go and get a wipe(in the living room) and come and clean up the spill. He walked to the living room  he had a toy baby bottle in his hand . His aunt was sitting on the floor her tried to feed her by sticking  the bottle in his mouth. His aunt said" I do not want to drink any bottle" . He  continued to look for the wipes "Ajani the wipes are on the table "I said. He repeated "table" I said yes the wipes are on the table". He got it  opened  it took one out . he began walking away without closing the container. His aunt said to him "Ajani will you please close the container? He did  it and went back to the kitchen and cleaned up his spill and when he was finished he put the wipe in the garbage pan.
This skill is need for school .The ability to understand language and to reason. All these are pre-reading skills.
www.SabreeEducationServices.com

Visit our parent blog www.SabreeHarlemParents.com
Like us on Facebook KindergartenSuccess
Follow us on Twitter KinderSuccess

Routines

It is very important for you to have a routine at home. Routine means some things that you do all the time and around the same time. For example when you get inside you take your shoes off at the door and leave it on a mat here are some more ideas:

• Play the same children's cd in the car
• Play the same cd for bed time
• Do the body parts when you give your infant/toddler a bath
• Allow your baby to play  with the same toys in the bath

Routine teaches your infant/toddler consistency and she is able to predict some activity. Routine also teachers order and planning and organization. Time management is a very important skill that is needed as your toddler develops into a young child. You are planting the roots for later on in life.

Different learning approaches for your infant/toddler

You should ask your infant/toddler open ended questions this will help them to become self-motivated  thinkers, yes even if they are not speaking as yet remember that from birth to a age 3 the brain has the most growth. Provide a variety of experiences for your infant/toddler.  Infants/toddlers learn with all their senses ,their learning is multi-sensory. Infants/toddlers learn through discoveries therefore you must allow your infant/toddler to explore freely by creating a safe space. When the space is safe it encourages creativity and remember if your infant/toddler put a pot on her head and say "look my hat" you should not say "that's not a hat it is the pot". You should encourage it by saying "wow that is a great hat". Your infant/toddler is engaged in pretend play and she is developing her imagination. This skill is needed for school and life.

Active listening

It is very important to listen to your infant/toddler when they are beginning to speak. You may not understand all the words but you should never laugh . you should respond "o really " and be attentive. The words that you  understand help your infant/toddler to expand her language and  understand language. If your toddler say "juice" you can say would  you like some juice? over time she will begin to understand that we speak in sentences . Active listening also involves responding to your infant/toddler with body language.

Scene from a previous Baby & Wee class

Several people have asked what are some activities we do at the Baby & Wee class click here. They want to attend, however sometimes there is a scheduling conflict. We will be resuming our Baby and Wee classes in January at Swing  and will keep you posted.

Emotional well being

Attachment is the   emotional connection between infants/toddlers and their care giver .Healthy attachment depends on the server and return that occurs between the infant and the caregiver. Healthy attachments allow children to develop and maintain healthy relationships for the rest of their lives. Infants and toddlers with secure attachment:

1.  Makes a smooth transition to school and tends to enjoy learning .
2. Are comfortable exploring   new  space
3. Will not cry when their parent is out of sight
4. They are able to cooperate
5. Is able to seek help when needed
6. They are usually  out going
7. They will be able to

This is a developmental process that you develop over time.