Helping preschoolers deal with hurricanes (and other natural disasters)

Posted on October 31, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

Many of us on the east coast have been affected in some way by Hurricane Sandy. (I am actually writing this post in the dark using generator power!)

In a preschool classroom setting, depending on the extent of the impact of the storm, teachers and caregivers need to be sensitive to children’s concerns and fears about the storm and its aftermath. It’s a time of uncertainty for some children – for others, it’s an exciting learning opportunity. During times of storms, large and small, I found some online resources that can be helpful to you in talking with and teaching the children in your care.

Sesame Street Hurricane Toolkit

The folks at Sesame Street have put together a resource called a Hurricane Kit, which has videos, activities and tips for talking to children about hurricanes. Some tips they give are try to keep a normal routine, limit children’s viewing of media coverage and paying attention to signs of stress in your child.

How to talk to children

Amanda Rock at about.com gives some advice for talking to young children about natural disasters – because even if you are monitoring what they are viewing on TV, it’s very likely that they are aware and hearing of what is going on, and probably not fully understanding it.

Using books

Some children are more than likely fascinated with the weather, and a big storm can be an opportunity to learn more about it. Using books to help children learn about “big weather” (such as hurricanes), is one way to help children understand and even prepare for what to expect from a storm. You can choose books that talk about how storms are formed – or focus on stories that discuss how adults and children can prepare for the storm so everyone stays safe. See some suggested book title over at Scholastic.com.

My heartfelt prayers go out to all those who have been affected by Sandy … some families are facing some really challenging times ahead. Stay safe … and keep your children close.

Getting kids to dream big

Posted on March 11, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

We asked Bill Corbett to explain his idea of having children create their own “Dream Book” as a way for them to discover their passions and encourage their dreams. Here’s what Bill has to say …

With a show of hands, how many of you reading this blog post would like to have a child who lives a happy life as an adult? And how many of you readers would like to have a child who only picks emotionally healthy people to have relationships with, as an adult? Great. And how many of you would like to have children who are becoming aware of their passion and pick a career that is tied to that passion? By the show of hands, I thought most of you would want this. Now that we’ve started with the end in mind, let’s back up and determine what parenting skill is required to set our kids up to follow this path.

One of the primary ways of helping your kids to one day live an enriching life is to teach them that they can dream about ANYTHING.

They can dream about …

who they will become

all they can create

what they can have.

The secret to teaching our kids how to dream as big as they can is to sharpen their ability to dream. That means when our child comes to us and asks for something, we must encourage that dreaming but we don’t have to buy for them what they are asking for.

The best tool in sharpening the ability to dream is to help them create a dream book, a place where the child can go to capture what they are dreaming to be and have. A classic dream book can be any form of book, notebook, composition book that allows the child to write in it as a journal or to draw in it to capture images that come to mind for them. The dream book can be introduced in a family meeting or a craft activity, allowing the child to decorate the outside of their book in any way they want. This allows the child to personalize his or her dream book to mark it as his or her very own.

Every time your child comes to you to tell you about something in a dream, somebody he or she wants to be, or something they would like to buy or own, instead of being pragmatic and telling them why they can’t have or do something, tell your child, “Go put that in your DREAM BOOK, ” and watch the magic happen right before your eyes!

How do YOU get kids to dream big?

Bill Corbett is the author of the award-winning parenting book series, LOVE, LIMITS, & LESSONS: A PARENT’S GUIDE TO RAISING COOPERATIVE KIDS (in English and in Spanish) and the executive producer and host of the public access television show CREATING COOPERATIVE KIDS. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and provides parent coaching and keynote presentations to parent and professional audiences across the country. Images used here with permission from Bill Corbett.

R is for Relaxation

Posted on August 31, 2011 by The SEEDS Network

We are honored to participate in a fun “blog hop” called “The ABC’s of Teaching Preschool“, organized by the awesome Deborah of Teach Preschool! Today she reached an incredible milestone of 20,000 “likes” on her Facebook page! Deborah does so much to support early childhood professionals with her blog and her presence on social media – that we are thrilled to be able celebrate with her today! Each participating early childhood blogger has taken a letter of the alphabet and come up with some fun and helpful tips that you can use with the young children in your care!

We chose the letter “R” for “Relaxation” … I’ll bet you are thinking “who gets to RELAX when we’re at preschool!”. 🙂 Well, children and teachers alike all need to find time to take a break in their day to relax and take a breath. As a parent or an early childhood provider, there are times when you need to help your child (or children in your care) to relax. Whether it be to transition from active play to rest time, or to calm a child who is upset; young children often times need assistance to learn the skills they need to relax themselves.

Below are a few ideas that you can use at home or at your school or child care center that you can do with your child. These ideas were shared with us by Michelle Catania, MFT during our Healthy Kids workshops in April 2011.

Relaxation bean bags

You can make “relaxation bean bags” to use in activities that will help your child (or children in your care) to relax. These are even great to help a group of children to wind down before nap or rest time. Fill socks with 1-2 cups of rice (depending on the size you want to make). If desired, add 2 drops of fragrance oil for a sensory experience (try lavender for a relaxing scent).

Mix the scent around in the socks so that it gets distributed throughout the rice. Tie the sock closed with ribbon. Choose 2-4 different types of ribbon to tie around the end of the sock. Using different textures of ribbon can add a tactile experience to the bean bag that many children find relaxing.

The weight and texture of the bean bag can be comforting to young children. They can put the bean bag on their shoulder, balance it on the back of their neck, squeeze it in their hand to release tension, rub the textured ribbon to soothe them, etc. You can have children use the relaxation bean bag on it’s own, or with one of the activities below.

Withering flower activity

Have child/children pretend to be a flower starting as a seed (they can do this activity with or without the relaxation bean bags described above). Then have them pretend the flower is starting to bloom and grow, stretching up. If they are using the bean bag, have them balance the bean bag in their hands as they stretch up. Turn off the lights and children slowly wither to the ground.

Balancing Act

Have child/children lay on backs and point their feet in the air. Have them keep their feet horizontal and try to balance bean bag (or other object) so it doesn’t fall.

Another way that teachers can assist young children in relaxing is by creating a quiet space in the classroom. A ‘be-bymyself’ space can be set aside in the classroom for a child to use when he or she feels overwhelmed, upset, or tense. This serves as a protected place where children are taught to go to in order to relax, calm down, or take a break.

(Relaxation activities are adapted from the book “101 relaxation games for children: finding a little peace & quiet in between” by Allison Bartl)

Be sure to check out all the other “ABC’s of Teaching Preschool” by clicking on the button below!

Preschoolers need a quiet space, too

Posted on July 18, 2011 by The SEEDS Network

In an earlier post, I shared some information from the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership© (ECCP) about the need and benefits of creating a quiet space for infants and toddlers in a child care setting. Now I’d like to share some additional information from ECCP on ways to incorporate a quiet space in a preschool classroom.

Preschoolers may need quiet time for themselves at different points of the day. A full day of childcare can be stressful and difficult to manage for some young children. A ‘be-bymyself’ space can be set aside in the classroom for a child to use when he or she feels overwhelmed, upset, or tense. This serves as a protected place where children are taught to go to in order to relax, calm down, or take a break. A teacher can join the child, if he or she needs support in calming down or feeling secure.

Here are some tips for creating a quiet space in a classroom:

Consider creating with children a ‘be-by-myself ‘space or ‘cozy area’ within a small contained area in your classroom (ex. play hut, tent, cushioned space, etc.). You may include items such as, pillows, a bean bag chair, feelings books, and photos. Be sure this area is visible to teachers.
View this as a quiet, protected place where a child can choose to go if he or she becomes overwhelmed, upset, or angry. Teachers may also encourage a child to go to this space. It is important that this is not used as a consequence or “Time Out.”
Teach children how to use this area ahead of time, creating rules, such as ‘one at a time.’ Continue to make this an important part of your classroom by reviewing what it is for, modeling, and making periodic changes to keep it interesting.
Practice relaxation techniques with children ahead of time, such as blowing up like a balloon, stretching or counting to ten on his or her fingers, suggest he or she repeat these things in the ‘be-by-myself’ space or ‘cozy area’. Place visual reminders of these techniques in the cozy area.

Some items that you can use and even create with the children are a cozy corner worksheet and an emotions booklet (with pictures of the children making faces of different feelings).

What kinds of things do you put in your “cozy corner” or “quiet space”?

Resources:
Organizing Classroom and Outdoor Learning Environments
White, C. S., & Coleman, M. (2000).
Soft Spaces www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/softspaces/index.html

Brought to you by:
ECCP
Early Childhood Consultation Partnership©
A program of Advanced Behavioral Health www.abhct.com
Funded by CT Department of Children & Families