Hoorah! Summer is here! Some of you may feel differently when you think… now your children could be with you 24/7! 

Relax, take a deep breath and remember how you spent your summer days as a child. Probably not with organized swimming lessons, in front of the TV, or practicing your numbers. Recall your fondest memories as a child and I would wager that it was something like camping in the backyard, hiking in the woods or trying to float together on a raft with a friend. Lots of us loved just playing outside with a bunch of friends. Being considered now academically unnecessary, as well as for various other reasons, unstructured outdoor play has become rare today. 

The big questions is, are we just depriving our kids of a little fun and time to unwind and relax outside, or is there more to it? More and more studies show that shortening outdoor playtime is linked with school problems, increased childhood anxiety, ADHD and childhood obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics states: “Play is integral to the academic environment…it has been shown to enhance children’s learning readiness and behavior as well as problem-solving skills.”

Lack of being outside “on their own” robs children of the time they need to solve problems, build independent thinking skills, explore creativity and discover what goes on naturally not virtually. Of course, young children need supervision not hovering and being so close that they don’t get the opportunity to solve who will be first or how to clean off my knee when I fall. These may seem simple to us but if they are given time to be their own problem solvers… they will be later on.

Thanks for all your help and cooperation during the year. The Board, the teachers and I truly appreciate all you do.

Have a wonderful summer! For those of you who are leaving us…we will miss you! See you in September for those of you returning!

Ways to encourage continued growth and development over the summer with your child.

Be mindful of learning opportunities throughout the day. You really need no special equipment to help your child build skills and encourage learning every day.

• Read, Read, and Read Some More!  Children can learn quite a bit from hearing and watching you read a book aloud. Some of the skills that your child can learn include:
1. print has meaning
2. each spoken word corresponds to a printed word
3. one reads from left to right, top to bottom
4. ability to identify the front and back of the book
5. expansion of vocabulary
6. attuned ear to rhyme and rhythm of language
7. make predictions based on illustrations
8. recite patterned sentences such as “Brown bear, Brown bear..”
9. retell the story in his own words using beginning, middle and end
10. identify common words such as “I, the, me”

• Fun Read Aloud Tips
1. use character voices and read with animation
2. reenact the story through a play or puppet show
3. let your child “read” a story in his own words or repeat what happened in the story
4. while reading, pause and let your child make predictions about what will happen
5. search for rhyming words, familiar sight words or how many “b’s” can you find on one page
6. be caught making a mistake. Start reading upside down or backwards. Will they notice?
7. change the names and characters to friends and family
8. use “reading glasses”. Find some jazzy plastic kid’s sunglasses and pop out the lenses. Wear them with pride during reading!

• Head to your favorite bookstore or library. Ask the bookseller or librarian for direction or just share your child’s choices and favorites! Use the Bergen County Library website: www.bccls.org  to search before you go! Finding the right books can make a huge difference in their interest and enjoyment. A good book will: 
• have predictable rhyming text 
• teach ABC’s 
• counting 
• shapes, or other basic identification skills 
• include simple sight words 
• display more illustration than text per page 
• Have a good story line or teach a lesson. 
• For example, some fun letter books are Shiver Me Letters! A Pirate ABCs, B is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABCs, The Monster Book of ABC Sounds, and Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom.

 

Children need good postural stability and endurance to maintain posture while seated and engaged in tasks such as drawing, coloring, cutting, tracing, gluing and writing. Shoulder stability is important for desk posture. Suggestions to help develop arm muscles etc. would be:

• push ups 
• wheelbarrow and crab walking
• propelling a scooter board 
• monkey bars 
• weight bearing on forearms while lying on your belly (listening to a story, possibly drawing or puzzles can be done in this position).

Hand muscles need to develop too! Activities to for this include: 

• putty, play-doh or clay 
• lacing cards
• manipulating tweezers to pick up small objects like erasers, pom poms or cotton balls. 
• Using an age appropriate desk or table to write with small pencils or markers, (ex. Crayola Pip Squeaks) or using crayons cut into four (which helps children to form proper grip). Crayola Pip Squeak Glitter Markers are small and hard to squeeze, providing strength practice.

For fun and all around practice of letters or numbers: 

• go outside and write with chalk
• get a stick or just use your finger and write in dirt or sand or even wet sand at the beach 
• Drawing a hopscotch board and then playing the game is a great way to learn numbers
• Count in every day activities such as how many items in the grocery cart or ask how many there would be if you add two more. Count the number of red cars on a short trip to a friend’s house. Count the steps going upstairs to bed…every night!

Writing:

• Use large pieces of paper for practicing so they have lots of space
• Children love to write in finger-paint, shaving cream or Crisco…make it fun and the learning comes! 
• Use pipe cleaners, clay or play dough to form letters. 
• Have your child practice their name using the name card from school. Put it in a clear plastic protector and use a dry erase marker. Start with their first name and then onto the full name card later on. Upper and lower case are used in writing their name. Remind your child – “If you’re gonna write your letter, you better, better, better, you better start your letters at the top!” 
• Have your child continue “writing” in their journals over the summer. Use the extra space to write about summer vacations, feelings, favorite books or events.

Games to play: 

• Scrabble Jr. 
• Boggle Jr. 
• Uno
• Letter and Number Bingo. You may have to create your own game if the game is too hard at first but any “game” you play is okay with them!! 
• Looking for letters on the cereal box or snack bag is fun and a valuable lesson in literacy. 
• Make your food shopping list with your child… just pointing out the letters and numbers that you are using. 
• Count how many “Js” you find and ask what else starts with the letter J.  
• While out traveling use signs to learn letters and numbers. Using the world around gives literacy meaning for children.

“Name That Thing” – help your child learn how to describe how things look and what they do. Talk about what the things are, how they look, feel, taste, sound and smell. Ask your child “What’s round and you bounce it?” or “What has four legs, a long nose and floppy ears?”

FYI once in public school: most schools have websites that you can access for other ideas. All towns are the same www.waldwick.k12.nj.us - go to the school, click on the teacher’s web pages, click on the teacher’s name and it will bring up their page and links to different activities and games for extra practice.  Check out www.starfall.com and www.scholastic.com for literacy ideas too.

Summer Activities for Parents and Children

There are a variety of activities you can do at home to correlate with the cognitive developmental stage of 2-5 year olds and the typical preschool course of study. Preschool educators say children should have certain motor skills in order to begin formal academic learning in school. Here are the skills they identify that a child should develop by age 5. A child should be able to:

• Run
• Walk a straight line
• Jump (two feet)
• Hop (one foot)
• Alternate feet walking up and down stairs
• March
• Stand on one foot for 5 seconds or more
• Walk backwards for 5 feet
• Clap hands
• Touch fingers
• Button, zip
• Throw a ball
• Draw and color (age-appropriately)
• Copy simple shapes
• Cut simple shapes with scissors
• Paste objects
• Build with blocks
• Match simple objects
• Complete simple puzzles (5 pieces or more)

Here are some activities you can do to help your preschooler develop these motor skills.

1. Build an Obstacle Course 
2. Take a hike – this offers opportunities to improve motor skills, especially if you change how you walk!
3. Run – go to the playground so your child can run around, play tag or hide and go seek, play “Red Light, Green Light”, play soccer or kick ball with your child,