Cognitive skills

It is very important for you to speak with your baby it builds vocabulary, knowledge, it allows your infant/toddler to begin to understand language and how to use it. When we first introduced the word hungry to Ajani he would say it when he is finish eating. We explained that ,you are now full but you was hungry before. This took a few weeks for him to associate the word hungry with the feeling . He has gotten it now by us asking " Ajani  do you want to eat ? if he says yes ,we will add wow you are hungry. He is now  understanding the word hungry. He rubs his belly and says "I hungry". Yes you are hungry. We help him to extend his language. Understanding how language works is very important for brain development . This is preparation for reading.
Keep talking with your babies!!!!!!!!

The National Week of the Young Child

 

In Celebration of National Week of the Young Child

Join

Assemblyman Keith Wright, Harlem Kids Travel Inc. and  Globalscope Inc.

For a community conversation

Early Years are Learning Years: Closing the Experience Gap

When:  April 5^th 2014

Place: The Harlem State office Building

            163 W 125 Street 8^th floor Conference

Time: 10:00am-1:00pm

 

As we discuss

·       How do you prepare for kindergarten Success?

·       How do we as a community invest in the early years?

·       How leaders impact the early years zero to age 3?

 

Attend a Kiddie show

It is very important for you to take your infant/toddler to social events. It gives your infant/toddler to see different people outside of the family. The begin to learn how to interact with others . The begin to learn how  to listen and observe.
We would love your feed back.

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Experience builds a brain

Ajani is 2 1/2 years old . He is able to identify yellow, red, blue, orange, black, pink, and purple. He has had many experiences with colors. We have casually  says to him this is a blue cup and this is a yellow cup and wow you are having  fun pouring. During bath time he had two small cups for him to  develop his  pouring skills ,eye hand coordination skills. You need to introduce things once to  the developing brain  it does not forget get . Once your infant/toddler gets the idea he takes off running. Don't worry that your baby is not speaking he is storing all the information and once  he begins to speak he will be expressing those thoughts. When Ajani began to speak the firs color he identified was blue because he was experiencing it each time he took a bath . It is easier to say than yellow is  once he was able to say yellow he identified it. He did this when he was  about 2.3 years old.

Competence

It is very important that you allow your infant/toddler the opportunity to do for herself. If you are at the park and your toddler wants to climb the spider web  allow her to do it just guide her, stand close by to help if she miss step on the rope. When you pick up the toddler and put her at the top of the web you do not allow that learning to take place. She miss the opportunity to work on the following skills:  gross motor, eye hand coordination  problem solving ,critical thinking  and self-confidence. When your infant feels competent it build self-esteem and that is a part of school readiness skills. Brain development is taking place all the time and every moment is a moment  of discovery for infants/toddlers.

Pride in his work

One of the soft skills that children need before they get to school is having pride in their work. This builds self esteem and confidence. On Thursday I introduced Ajani to collage making . I cut out some pictures ,gave him a piece of card board and a small bottle of glue. Ajani we are going to do some fun stuff let's sit on the floor. I  was cutting the pictures and I put them in a container and he would put the glue on the card board and then  choose a picture and put it on the glue. After pasting six pictures he did not want to do anymore. He put all the pictures right side up .He spaced them out and he named the pictures as he took them up.
On  Saturday his teenage aunt had a visitor. She came inside took her coat off and sat. Hello Ajani she said. He went to  get the collage that he made on Thursday with a big smile on his face he said "look "holding the collage in he face as she sat on the chair. Wow Ajani you made this "yes with all his teeth showing". "Can you tell me about it she asked" ? yes . She began pointing to the pictures as Ajani names them , what is this : a bear- yes a panda bear  the young lady said and they continued.
As I observed his behavior I truly see the work that we have been doing with his brain is being manifested. The more information that you have you are able to do intentional teaching.

Observation-Playing the drum

Playing the drum is a great activity for your toddler. It not only teaches patterns, math and listening skills but it also helps  develop the gross and fine motor skills of your infant/toddler.
Young children also love to dance to the sound of the drum. It is also a cultural instrument.
I advice to purchase a small jembay drum for your toddler.

Getting your toddler dressed

Your toddler loves to play gatcha and especially when you want to get her dressed and you are running late. She keeps running and laughing and you are chasing her. These this happen however you need to start figuring out ways to get your toddler dressed and how to avoid frustration. Ajani has been doing this . He has done it a few times as I observe his mom struggle to get him ready and her self and make it through the door at a reasonable time. One morning when he got up he wanted to watch  racket ,one of his favorite DVD  . I thought why don't I get him dressed while he is focused on watching his show  which I did. That challenge is solved for now . I have no idea how long  this will work for but for now it lessens the stress for both of them. It is not healthy for you and your toddler to start the day upset.
You need to figure out what works for you and try it. As time goes on you will be able to deal with challenges in a creative way. As your toddler begins to understand more language it will be easy to  verbally  discuss and reason challenges out with her.

Ready to Leave

You are ready finally to go through the door. Your toddler wants to continue watching his favorite DVD. You explain that we have to go and you will see it when you get back. She  is not able to process those words as yet plus he is screaming. This is what I suggest,  take out the DVD and give your toddler to take with her. If you are walking let her hold it and if you are driving put her in her chair and have her hold it. By the time you get to your destination your toddler does not have that interest anymore.  One your toddler have learned how to transition from objects or space it will be easy for you to explain the transition. If you get to your destination and your toddler wants the object to keep you should explain to the caregiver what transpired before you got there. I know you are saying who has time for that I am always in a rush. Communication is very important and it makes everyone's day a little smoother. It is good to have a communication note book this allow

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Hello family
I would like to share my friend's parent tips with you. There is no  book on the right  way to parent however, the more information that you have the more empowered you will become. Please feel free to share.

Hi Daseta,


I just read through your post about how easy it is to teach through natural activities like dressing, eating, and putting things away. Here is a recent tip of mine that goes with this concept of discovery learning and fostering it in easy ways at home. Once again, please feel free to share it with your families.


Sally

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.net/parenting-tips/wednesday-evening-wine/play-and-learn/

Dumping items (throwing)

Throwing items is a thing that toddlers do. Ajani has a container with some of his books  and the container is on a low shelf. Sometimes he goes over and just take the books and begin to throw them on the floor."Ajana don't throw your books that is not nice" someone will say to him. He throws them faster and tries to get them further. We just allow him to throw them . I think that he enjoys seeing them land on the floor . That is science cause and effect  . Just think about it . Young children learn through  discoveries and then they usually repeat the activity that they have discovered. He is also impulsive his brain is telling him to do that so stopping him while he is processing that activity will not help you will be stressing him. When he is finished throwing all the books on the floor he took the container and sat in it . "Ma push he said".  would you like me to push you . "yes"His mother began to push him .She help him to extend his language  skills.
 There is a big smile on his face. When he no longer wants to be pushed  his mom said to him "Ajani come lets put the books back into the container and she begins to sing the clean up song he joins in and help . Thank you what a great job.
He does not have enough language as yet to express what he needs although he knows what he needs. He is 2.5 years old he needs a little more time.

Taming the beast in your toddler

Your toddler will just walk over and begin hitting you "this is called toddler  reflex". You have to be patient and each time that she does it in a soft voice explain that ,this is not nice to do . You should explain that hitting hurts, you should also pretend that you are crying. Teaching your toddler empathy is a process as the brain is still developing you are responsible for guiding her through the different stages of development. During the infant/toddler years is when your child begins to learn that hitting others hurts and  that behavior is not acceptable. It is very important that these skills are learnt at home. This is called socialization learning these skills  early will prevent many problems later on.

Amygdala –

part of limbic system in the brain; responsible for receiving and integrating emotions and emotional information.
This area of the brain takes time to develop therefore time, patience and understanding in critical in guiding your infant/toddler  towards socially acceptable behaviors .

The importance of interactions

It is important to interact with your baby... Take a look at this experiment to see how the baby becomes frustrated and stressed.

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Early Experiences...

I thought it was important to share a few thought provoking videos with you.

Please share your thoughts

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Time.. the key is quality not quantity

Many times I hear parents say, "I don't have time to do..." Or I hear child care providers say, "Parents are always in a rush and we know they don't have time especially at home"

My answer to those comments is it's not how much time you spend it what you do with the time you have. I understand you work and have to come home and take care of other responsibilities, remember it only takes a few moments to teach your infant/toddler. For example, when giving her a bath name the body parts as you soap her up and rinse her off. Do this daily over time she will learn the parts of her body. When getting her dressed identify and say the name of the article of clothing and the color.

You have to do these actions with her anyway so take the time to teach in the process and make the learning process fun rather than a chore.

Be well

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Identfying letters

A few months ago we introduced Ajani to the letter T  you should begin with straight letters because it is easier for them it appears that eye hand coordination goes up and down first. He now points out letters on the street when he is in his stroller or if he is in the car. He watches a video with blues clues that has the alphabet ,he had books with the alphabet and he has a toy with the alphabet. he is able to learn the alphabet at his own pace.
The child's environment must be stimulating that it allows for discovery .

Understanding Language

On Saturday March 1st at 2.4 years old Ajani made a single circle for the first time.It is amazing when you provide the tools for young children how thy will just learn. They do not like to be interrupted when they are  discovering. They discover that learning is fun and they want to do it over and over again. Connecting the wires in the brains is based on the experiences that you provide. Young children will teach themselves once you provide a stimulating  environment. On Saturday he took his circle to show his mother.
 He began to draw another big circle and he began to tell a story.
This is a monkey, this is eye, this his feet , he has big feet , this his ears. I asked what about his eyes. "He can't see" was his response. This is a butterfly and grass as he continues as he made little marks to represent the items.
This shows that he has an understanding of language  and he is able to draw ideas from his schema .
Before a child can read they must be able to understand spoken language.

 

Broca's area –

structure located in the frontal lobe of the brain that controls the production of spoken and written language

Writing readiness

Ajani has been writing since he was 19 months old. He does scribbles mostly in circles. On January 27th he made straight lines for the first time. He  2.4 months. This shows that his muscles are getting stronger . In order to make a straight line you need to be able to control your wrist and your finger muscles must be strong.
Cerebellum: responsible for control balance, movement, and coordination
This  you muscles the opportunity to develop. It is very important for your infant/toddler to have different opportunities to develop large and small muscles.
These are all school readiness skills.

I would like to share

Good morning,
My friend who lives in Arizona invited me to be a guest specialist with her on her parent site. this is very exciting and I would love for your share it with you and your  contacts.






http://www.earlychildhoodnews.net/parenting-tips/special-needs/daseta-gray-specialist/

Observation

On Tuesday March 4th  Reeshemah and I were walking on 124st . It was about  30degrees. As we walked we noticed a young man came out of a car with a young child in his had. He walked out in the street as he hailed a cab. The light was red and I  got close to the man with the child in his hand. The child had on no shoes, no jacket and her close was summery .
The man was fully dressed for the weather.  It appeared that he just got inside the apartment and  something happened .Reeshema said to him "step out the street and I will get you a cab. He came back to the side walk. The light is now green. I called him over " young man can I talk with you for a moment?" I asked . He resisted "man it is ok" . I am calling you because you could be my son ,I said. He then came close to me. What happened that you have your baby outside with no clothes on . Mam her fucking mother she is always arguing with me and I am tired of it. He was also cursing while he was trying to get a cab. Cursing is not good for the baby. Do you realize that some one can call ACS if the see you  with this baby outside like this? I live right there pointing to a building about in the block. I think that you need to go up stairs and get some clothes on the baby and then you take her. Ok I will. He turned and began walking.
Toxic Stress
This baby was about 3yrs old. This environment is very toxic for  brain development. This young brain is learning that  I solve problems by cursing and then running away. Both these adults have not been taught problem solving skills . Lack of these skills will turn to violence the guy is frustrated and the child's mom may continue arguing with him the next thing that will happen he will begin hitting her.
These behaviors are learned during the infant/toddler years and if an adult is not available to do intentional teaching the idea of lashing out will stay with you. Once the brain is exposed to an experience it does not forget it. Each time something happen the brain remembers that this is how I reacted the last time.
Do you think this baby will be able to concentrate if she goes to her daycare or baby sitter?

Sharing information

I love meeting new parents, usually I meet them in the street as I hand them a palm card about the classes and the blog. I recently met a pregnant woman who resides in another country she was visiting. As I gave her the palm card I asked her to please share the information with others when she returns to her home country.

She was so excited about the information she also offered to share information with us to share with you. I look forward to the information.

Please remember to share the blog with others.

Bless

Before she arrives at school

Before she arrives at school she should know her mother and father's name (maybe not the last name but at least first name). If someone especially the teacher asks she should be able to respond.

She should know how old she is and be able to answer when she is asked.

Allow her to zip up her sweater or jacket is she is making the attempt, encourage it. You do not want her favorite word to be "I can't" simply because you have been doing everything and not allowing her the opportunity to try when she makes the attempt.

You are building a brain and are working on developing self confidence and self esteem.

A colleague said to me recently they see children in 1st grade and they do not know how to tie their own shoes.

Learning does occur in school. Learning also occurs at home, their are certain skills that will be difficult to teach in school simply because there is no one-on-one constantly as it is at home. Problem solving, critical thinking basically most of the items we have been discussing within the blog.

Bless

She has feelings also

Since it is very cold outside your toddler may be a little resistant to having a scarf over her face or keep her gloves on. You may have to negotiate with her, you may be saying, "is she serious. negotiate but my baby doesn't really understand or I don't have time". When engaging with her you need to make time, wake up a little earlier to anticipate what may come.

Back to the gloves, if you use a heavy warm blanket over her when she's in the stroller explain to her she needs to keep her hands warm or under the blanket because it is very cold. If she is resistant leave it alone for a few moments and then revisit the negotiation.

I had to do this with Ajani recently. Usually he is very good about keeping on his gloves and staying under his blanket while in the stroller.

I have seen some parents pushing the stroller and the toddler has no blanket, no scarf, no gloves (even if the gloves are off they are attached to their jacket).

Remember she has feelings and it's ok to negotiate with her.

Be well

Your environment = self regulation

It has been some times since I've posted.

Yesterday I and Daseta attended a wonderful event in the South Bronx. The group had an opportunity to discuss how to best help the community become more healthy and vibrant (looking at all angles from birth to career OR the other phrase twinkle to wrinkle). When you as a parent know opportunities exist you view the world differently and in turn you treat people different. I mention this because your infant or toddler falls into the category of "teat people differently". Rather than taking the day to day stress into your home you will provide a calm, loving and nurturing environment.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not implying every parent, however I am sure you may know someone like that who needs some assistance with learning how to leave the baggage at the door when they cross the threshold of their home.

Your infant or toddler may not be able to articulate certain things but they pick up on your vibes, if you are tense they know and react. If you are upset they know. May of these emotions are due to your environment (work, home, relationship etc.)

The ability to adjust your role is a great skill to teach her, also known as role playing OR the technical term, self regulation. You can't behave the same way in every situation. In one of Shakespeare's sonnets he said, "All the world's a stage and we are merely actors in it."

Bless

An observation Monday February 24th

This post is about an observation that I saw on Monday February 24th 2014. It is around 8:00am I am walking behind three young ladies and a young boy. The girls are around 12yrs old . The boy as about 8yrs old. The boy appears to be a brother to one of the girls. They are walking and talking . The boy is trying to keep up with their speed so he is actually be pulled along. He is not moving fast enough . Now I am trying to get a head of them. I passed on their right side where the boy is. As I passed the sister said" you need to walk up and don't argue before I beat you". I turned my head back and looked at the sister wanting her to see that I was paying attention.

 My eyes got stuck on the little boy for a few moments. His jacket was not zipped all the way up, he has on no scarf, or gloves and his face was dirty ,as if he  woke up and got dressed.  The girls stopped for a minute and his sister said "see you are walking ahead of us so I will just let you walk to school by yourself. I look around again . I wanted to ask why are you treating his like that?  She allowed him to walk up the steps and enter the school yard alone.
As I continued on my journey . I reflected on what lesson that young boy is learning from his sister and what she is learning from home. The care give and his sister are this young boy's mirror to the world. The reflection that he is seeing what a  horrible message he is getting.
This experience  may be teaching this young boy that the world is hard people  do not really care and why should he. He will have no empathy or respect for himself and others. He will learn that beating is one way of resolving conflicts . His self-esteem will be shattered as I can be almost sure that a child will be teasing him about his appearance or the teacher may send him to the bathroom to clean his face ,if she notice. It is obvious that no one has taught this boy  how to take care of himself. This boy may be heading for the cradle to prison pipeline.