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9/2/11
8/30/11
Infant Practice Guidelines
Click here to find Infant Practice Guidelines
- Literacy Learning Experiences - These practices show you how everyday home and community activities encourage infants to listen, talk, and learn the building blocks for early literacy.
- Stories and Listening - These practices show you how books can help your little one to listen, talk, and be a part of storytelling and book reading.
- Scribbling and Drawing - These practices show you how simple activities can encourage your infant to learn to scribble and draw.
- Rhymes and Sound Awareness - These practice guides encourage your infant to listen to silly rhymes and notice different sounds.
- Vocalizing and Listening - These practice guides will encourage your little one to make sounds, listen to your every word, and begin to talk.
- Gestures and Signing - These practices include ideas about how to help your infant tell you what he or she wants.
8/26/11
8/23/11
Especially for Parents of Toddlers: Letters And Symbols Are Everywhere!
As you move around your community together, you will find opportunities to help your child understand signs. For example, she can learn that a red sign with the word STOP means that a car or bus must stop.
Signs (stop signs) and symbols (fast-food logos) can help your toddler learn that symbols and words have meaning. She will benefit by seeing the connections between symbols and letters and the things they represent.
How to do the practice:
Discover ways to help your toddler see these connections as you go out in your community together.
- Begin by noticing the words or signs that catch your toddler’s attention. Perhaps she will notice the blinking Open sign in a shop window or the red stoplight hanging over the street.
- Follow your child’s lead and comment on what she notices. “I see you looking at that blinking sign in the window.”
- Explain what the sign means. “That sign says Open and it means we can go in the store and buy something.”
- Go to the door and show her that it is open and you can go inside.
- The next time you see an Open sign on a store, point it out to your toddler and remind her what it means.
- When you see a sign or symbol that you think your toddler will like, point it out. Explain what it means (an ice cream cone, a steaming coffee cup, a lighted EXIT sign, etc.).
How do you know the practice worked?
- Does your toddler more frequently notice signs or symbols?
- Does your toddler enjoy looking at the signs you show her?
- Does your toddler ask you about the signs/symbols she sees?
8/19/11
8/15/11
Top 7 Worst Foods for Kids
1. Soda!
American children drink more soft drinks today than ever. The average 12-
ounce can of soda supplies almost 10 teaspoons of sugar, which can contribute to obesity and tooth decay. Kids who drink soda instead of milk are also shortchanging their bones of calcium and other nutrients.
2. Chips!
Giving your child a handful of chips with lunch on occasion is fine, but keep in mind that potato chips, corn chips, and cheese puffs are mostly fat, sodium, and empty calories.
3. Doughnuts!
Most are packed with artery-clogging saturated fat and trans-fatty acids. An average doughnut also has 200 to 300 calories and few other nutrients.
4. French Fries!
It's unfortunate that fries are the most popular vegetable dish in the U.S. Kids love them, but they're extremely high in fat and have few vitamins.
5. Fruit Leather!
Most rolled-up dried fruit has a dab of fruit, a teeny bit of fiber, few vitamins except those that have been added, and lots of sugar.
6. Hot Dogs!
Regular dogs are high in fat (13 or more grams per serving), have lots of sodium and don't provide much protein for the calories. They're also a choking hazard for children 3 and under. Serve only occasionally, look for lower-fat brands(try turkey dogs), and cut into very small pieces for young children.
7. Toaster Pastries!
These contain lots of fat and not much fruit. Instead, make a piece of raisin toast for your child, and serve it with jam.
From Leanne Ely, C.N.C. the author of Healthy Foods: An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
American children drink more soft drinks today than ever. The average 12-
ounce can of soda supplies almost 10 teaspoons of sugar, which can contribute to obesity and tooth decay. Kids who drink soda instead of milk are also shortchanging their bones of calcium and other nutrients.
2. Chips!
Giving your child a handful of chips with lunch on occasion is fine, but keep in mind that potato chips, corn chips, and cheese puffs are mostly fat, sodium, and empty calories.
3. Doughnuts!
Most are packed with artery-clogging saturated fat and trans-fatty acids. An average doughnut also has 200 to 300 calories and few other nutrients.
4. French Fries!
It's unfortunate that fries are the most popular vegetable dish in the U.S. Kids love them, but they're extremely high in fat and have few vitamins.
5. Fruit Leather!
Most rolled-up dried fruit has a dab of fruit, a teeny bit of fiber, few vitamins except those that have been added, and lots of sugar.
6. Hot Dogs!
Regular dogs are high in fat (13 or more grams per serving), have lots of sodium and don't provide much protein for the calories. They're also a choking hazard for children 3 and under. Serve only occasionally, look for lower-fat brands(try turkey dogs), and cut into very small pieces for young children.
7. Toaster Pastries!
These contain lots of fat and not much fruit. Instead, make a piece of raisin toast for your child, and serve it with jam.
From Leanne Ely, C.N.C. the author of Healthy Foods: An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
Top 7 Best Foods for Kids
1. Oatmeal! - A fabulous breakfast food, full of B vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium.
2. Eggs! - Eggs are a great source of protein and a host of other nutrients, including the B vitamins, vitamin E and zinc to name a few.
3. Nut Butters! - Nut butters are great fast foods for kids. Kids need the fat (it's a good fat if it doesn't have hydrogenated oils mixed in it) and they need the protein.
4. Yogurt! - Kick your child's milk consumption up a notch and include yogurt on the menu. A great source of calcium, yogurt is easier to digest than regular milk and the cultures are very beneficial to good colon health.
5. Melons! - One of the best choices in the melon department would be cantaloupe.
6. Sweet Potatoes! - Sweet potatoes contain 30mg beta-carotene per cup. It would take 23 cups of broccoli to get that same amount! And with 3 grams of fiber per serving, sweet potatoes deserve a place at the table.
7. Orange Juice! - Orange juice is full of vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, folate and zinc. You can buy calcium-fortified orange juice, too -- it's great stuff in moderation.
Don't forget whole grains, protein, fruits and veggies!
2. Eggs! - Eggs are a great source of protein and a host of other nutrients, including the B vitamins, vitamin E and zinc to name a few.
3. Nut Butters! - Nut butters are great fast foods for kids. Kids need the fat (it's a good fat if it doesn't have hydrogenated oils mixed in it) and they need the protein.
4. Yogurt! - Kick your child's milk consumption up a notch and include yogurt on the menu. A great source of calcium, yogurt is easier to digest than regular milk and the cultures are very beneficial to good colon health.
5. Melons! - One of the best choices in the melon department would be cantaloupe.
6. Sweet Potatoes! - Sweet potatoes contain 30mg beta-carotene per cup. It would take 23 cups of broccoli to get that same amount! And with 3 grams of fiber per serving, sweet potatoes deserve a place at the table.
7. Orange Juice! - Orange juice is full of vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, folate and zinc. You can buy calcium-fortified orange juice, too -- it's great stuff in moderation.
Don't forget whole grains, protein, fruits and veggies!
From Leanne Ely, C.N.C. the author of Healthy Foods:
An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
8/12/11
Foto Friday!
Meet Saraswati of the Refugee Sewing Society (RSS). She is a refugee who escaped genocide and now resides in Clarkston, GA. She is an active member of RSS.
Click here to learn more about how RSS is making an impact in the lives of refugee women.
8/8/11
Fitness for kids who don't like sports
Team sports can boost kids' self-esteem, coordination, and general fitness, and help them learn how to work with other kids and adults.
But some kids aren't natural athletes and they may tell you — directly or indirectly — that they just don't like sports. What then?
Why Some Kids Don't Like Teams
Not every child has to join a team, and with enough other activities, kids can be fit without them. But try to find out why your child isn't interested. You might be able to help address deeper concerns or steer your child toward something else.
Tell your child that you'd like to work on a solution together. This might mean making changes and sticking with the team sport or finding a new activity to try.
Source: http://kidshealth.org
But some kids aren't natural athletes and they may tell you — directly or indirectly — that they just don't like sports. What then?
Why Some Kids Don't Like Teams
Not every child has to join a team, and with enough other activities, kids can be fit without them. But try to find out why your child isn't interested. You might be able to help address deeper concerns or steer your child toward something else.
Tell your child that you'd like to work on a solution together. This might mean making changes and sticking with the team sport or finding a new activity to try.
Source: http://kidshealth.org
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