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Tips for Pre-School Computer Use

Connectwithkids

According to a Nielson survey, 16 million kids age two to 11 use computers.  That represents nearly 10 percent of all online users.  Many parents and teachers often wonder if computer use hinders or improves learning skills.  The answer depends on parent involvement and other factors.  To learn more, visit Connect with Kids Preschool Computer Use

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CHORES Prepare Your Child for School

If you have a child who is preparing to enter preschool, pre-kindergarten or kindergarten in the fall, I would like to give you permission to shift away from skill and drill on letter names, color and shape identification.  I, along with the early childhood teaching team, encourage you to prepare your child for school by having a set list of simple chores (jobs, to do’s) that can be completed each day.

Much of what we do in school involves asking children to complete tasks after hearing and seeing two or three step directions.  Chores or daily jobs involve a series of steps that can be repeatedly daily, and this repetition builds more success and hopefully jobs that are completed better each day!

And, to make this blog post more credible, there is research support.  I can’t begin to tell you how much I love research that promotes the benefit of daily chores for my own children.

To find out more details about the benefits of learning two step directions, visit  Connect With Kids.

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Connect With Kids Website

I would like to make you aware of a helpful website for parents and teachers:  CONNECT WITH KIDS. Each week, different topics are addressed about learning, parenting, nutrition and safety – issues all of us try to stay informed about so we can continue to support the children in our lives.

The topics this week include:

Which Battles Should You Pick?:  Why do some kids take daring risks and choose dangerous games and pranks?  A new study from Temple University suggests that some kids have an unlucky combination in their brain: with thrills and dangers, a part of their brain gets stimulated while, at the same time, the self‑control part of the brain is less active.  The challenge for parents: knowing what risks are acceptable and which ones are not.

Teen Depression: Research from Columbia University finds that nearly half of all 19 to 25 year olds suffer from some type of psychiatric disorder: depression, anxiety, phobias, or addiction. Some of the disorders are mild and some are not. Why are so many kids suffering and what can parents do to help.

Too Much Multitasking: Researchers at UCLA analyzed more than 50 studies on learning and technology.  Among their many findings was one about multitasking‑ how much do students learn when they’re doing homework if they’re also texting, blogging, checking emails, and listening to their iPod? Their conclusion: not a whole lot.

The Junk Food Trap: Researchers at UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research report that a parent’s diet has a powerful influence on their kids’ diet. For example, when parents eat fruits and vegetables, their kids are sixteen times more likely to do the same, compared to kids whose parents seldom eat fruits and veggies. It seems you are what you eat … and so are your kids!

Foreign Body in Nose (ER):  Green peas, small toys, pieces of crayon, erasers, beads, wads of paper‑ little children can pick up any of these and in a fraction of a second, swallow it or stick it in their nose. And then a few hours later the child ends up in the ER.