Summer 2016 Preschool Curriculum

 

Check out the Star-Brite Learning Program's 2016 Summer preschool curriculum! To be used during the two months of July and August, provide your children with 100 craft and learning activities for only $27!!

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Kids Love Puzzles

Puzzles have always had a fascination and appeal for young and old alike.
A child’s first puzzle should be a simple one-piece-per-object one (for example, an apple, a banana, and a pear). Very soon the child will progress to more complex puzzles in which parts must be put together to form a whole.

There are many things a child can learn while working with a puzzle, such as recognizing shape, size, and color. She can also learn new vocabulary.
As your child takes pieces out or places them in a puzzle, she is developing eye-hand coordination skills.
She will also become more aware of the relationships of objects in space (for example, the head is at the top, the feet are at the bottom of the body).

Most puzzles will indicate the age range for which they are appropriate. Public libraries generally have a good supply of puzzles appropriate for different age groups.
This is an activity that is not only a good learning experience, but it will provide your child with many hours of fun.

 

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Telling a Lie

Many parents view truthfulness as the most important characteristic of a good child, more important than obedience or friendliness, for example. Not surprisingly these parents get very upset whenever a child utters an untruthful remark.

Children begin saying things that are untrue at about age three or four. At this stage of development, they are beginning to explore the world of imagination and fantasy.

Parents may hear about the “elephant” in the neighbor’s backyard, or other tall tales of the child’s creative imagination. The child is not trying to deceive. He is just telling the parent a tall story — just like the one a parent read to him the night before!

What to do? The development of a child’s creative imagination should generally be encouraged rather than frowned upon, as long as the child is not seeking to deliberately deceive the parent.
A parent can enter into the child’s fantasy game, yet instill a sense of reality by saying, “Draw me a picture of your imaginary elephant.”

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Healthy Snacks

A few simple tips can keep your family snacks low in fat, healthy and tasty:

• Lots of new/ different chips are available (potato, sweet potato, tortilla) in a variety of tastes. Looks for chips that have been baked, not fried.
• Popcorn is always a favorite (don’t add butter, margarine or too much salt.) Air-popped is best.
• Low fat or farmer’s cheese is good with crackers.
• Fresh fruit is sweet, good for you, and it provides fiber and vitamins. In-season fruits generally cost less.
• Check out recipes for low-fat veggie dips to go with colorful veggies for between-meal snacks. Carrot and celery sticks, broccoli and apples, too, are great for dipping.
• Tired of orange juice? Try one of the new fruit (and vegetable) juice mixes at the grocery store or mix your own.
• Low-fat rice cakes fill up hungry kids in a hurry. Experiment to find the favorite flavors at your house.

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Quiet Time Together

Want to spend some quiet, quality time with your child?
Here’s a short list of things to do that cost next to nothing:
• Prepare a small picnic lunch and eat it together, anyplace in the house except the kitchen or dining room.
• Both of you make a clay figure of a make-believe animal. Give it a name.
• Look through a magazine and count the number of dogs (or cats, bugs or birds) you can find.
• Play “I wish I was” and explain why. (“I wish I was a kangaroo because then I could jump around a lot.”)
• Take a walk and carry a sack for litter. Take turns making up a make-believe story.
• Teach your child a song from your childhood, or a folk tune like “Home on the Range.”
• Draw a picture of each other.
• Color together in a coloring book.
• Share a popsicle.

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