Coupons, scissors, oh my!

Here’s a trick we just discovered today! This morning I was sitting at the kitchen table clipping my coupons and my almost 4-year-old son asked if he could help. I handed him the stack I’d already cut from (which still contained plenty of coupons we wouldn’t use), we got his scissors out, and he went to town!

Those coupons are perfect for kids to cut up (not to mention they’re free)! The coupons themselves are outlined by short, straight lines, perfect for learning how to cut along a line, and the pages are full of other things that kids love to try to cut out… food items they like, people, letters, etc.

One of the skills that kids should learn before kindergarten is how to use scissors. It is not only good for manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination, but it is a pre-writing activity too.

Before you know it, you’ll have a coupon-clipping, bargain-hunting child on your hands!

Monkey see, monkey do – Model reading!

As the old saying goes, “Monkey see, monkey do. Monkey does the same as you.” To help develop a love of reading in your children, model your own love of reading — even if you don’t really love it. Sit down with a book, a magazine, or the newspaper, and enjoy some reading time on your own. Let your child see this.

Here’s a challenge for today: At some point today, tell your kiddo that it is reading time. Set the timer for 10 minutes and grab something to read – anything! Sit down where your child can see you, and read.  Encourage your child to do the same. Eventually, it will catch on and you’ll really grow to appreciate the quiet time!

Show your child there’s an alternative to TV, video games, and computers that engages your brain!

Alphabet BINGO for car trips

Ah, the fun of car trips with little kids… “Are we there yet?” “I have to go to the bathroom!” “I’m hungry.” “She’s crossing the line!” “No, that’s mine!”

We’re about to pack up and trek across several states to visit some extended family. This is our first road trip with children that will be longer than 6 hours in transit, so I’m brainstorming things to do in the car with them aside from turning on the DVD player.

Here’s one I came up with that will be easy to make and fun to do, and your kiddos will learn something along the way!

Using any paper you have handy (be resourceful and use the backs of scratch paper!), draw a BINGO board – a 5×5 square with 5 rows of 5 squares each. You don’t have to measure or be precise — this isn’t going to be graded. Write one letter in each square. Find a washable crayon or a sheet of small stickers (those garage sale dots would be good or the really inexpensive sheets of “Way to Go!” stickers that teachers use). Toss it all in a big ziploc bag or envelope, and pack it in your bag of car activities.

You can play Alphabet BINGO any way you’d like. You can have your kids look for any letters they see, specify billboards, signs, or license plates, or even identify real things they see that start with the letters on their boards. Have them call out the letters they see and say out loud the sound(s) the letter makes. Be sure to bring along some extra paper because they’ll have so much fun playing this that you may need to make more boards while on the road.

This can extend further for kids who can write their letters. Let them help make the boards!

When you’re on that road trip this summer, or even just a short drive across town, whip out the BINGO boards and start playing!

Home-made cards from your kids

If your kiddo is big enough to wield a crayon, he/she is big enough to make home-made cards to send to loved ones! I found a pack of blank cards & envelopes at Hobby Lobby in the stamp aisle. The pack was originally $5.99 but I had my trusty 40% off coupon, so we got quite a steal on 50 blank cards & envelopes!

Whenever we have a need to send a thank-you note or card from our kiddos, I whip out these blank notes, and let them go to town using whatever they want to design the card — crayons, washable markers, stickers, stamps, paper/scissors/glue stick, etc. No two cards are the same! They design the outside, and I write the message on the inside.

The recipients just love these cards, and I love the fact that my kids have fun making them and they’re SO much more affordable than the personalized note cards I used to order for them. 

Thank-you notes

In today’s age of email, Blackberries, cell phones, and the like, the power of a hand-written note is not to be underestimated. It is never too early to teach your children the importance of saying thank-you in a heart-felt manner!

For the really, really little ones, tracing or stamping their hands (or feet) onto the note card (or piece of paper) can mean so much to the recipient! Just think of the warmth this will give your child’s far-away family.

As your child is able to hold a crayon or play with stickers, encourage him/her to “write” a thank-you note, and you can add the message afterwards.

Let your child dictate the message to you, or help you come up with what to say. Your little one can even trace over your letters or sign his/her name!

Before you know it, your child will be reminding YOU that he/she wants to write a thank-you note. You’ll be amazed at the graciousness that will grow within your child — all with this early foundation of saying “thank you” the old-fashioned way.

Don’t trash those grocery store ads!

If you don’t already, hold on to those grocery store ads that come in the mail and newspaper this week! Enlist your little one to help you plan your grocery shopping. The ads are full of pictures of the items on sale, and each is labeled with the name of the item. This is an instant word book!

Hand your child a washable marker and ask him/her to circle the items you need to buy that week. Working together, you can identify the products by picture and by name, and also work in conversations about decision making. For example, if your kiddo circles something that is laden with unhealthy fats and sugars, you might ask, “Is that nutritious? Does that help our bodies grow? Does it help build bones and muscle?” Then, work together to find a healthier alternative — or maybe you already have a better alternative in your pantry or refrigerator. Also, if your little one suggests something that you already have plenty of at home, you could ask your child if you really need more of it. Get those little gears moving in his/her brain. You’ll be amazed at how smart your child is!

As for building the shopping list you take to the store, consider spending the extra 15 minutes to either help your child write down (by copying) the words from the ad, or perhaps your child could draw the items. If you’ve introduced child-safe scissors already, get them out (and that beloved glue stick too) and ask your child to cut out the items you’ve agreed upon and glue them onto a list.

When you both arrive at the grocery store with your lists — yours with everything included and your child’s with the items from the ad — lay down the ground rules for the expedition… Only buy things that are on the list. Cross off each item as you find it. Stay within arm’s reach of Mom/Dad the entire time. Of course, add in anything else that works for your family!

I find that if I involve my 3.5-yr-old in helping to plan the grocery list based on what’s on sale, he’s much more cooperative at the store. You’ll thank yourself, and the other shoppers will appreciate it too. 

Pointing isn’t always rude!

When you read a picture book aloud to your young child, you may naturally point at the pictures and identify what you see. This is a GREAT pre-reading technique! It is never too early to start this.

When your child is an infant, start with the most basic books that have one item on each page. Point to each item, and say what it is. Point to the word below the item, and say it again. Next, point to the item on the facing page, name it aloud and read the word below, then turn the page.

This may seem like a completely obvious activity to do, but it really does have fabulous value. It teaches your little one that we read from left to right in the English language (and in Spanish too), that our books are oriented left to right, and that the word and the item mean the same thing.

Before you know it, your child will be sitting on the floor, surrounded by books of his/her choosing, and pointing at the pictures as he/she “reads” the books! What an exciting sight this will be!

Trash to Treasure! – new uses for junk mail

This is a fabulous idea for creative imaginative play from Eileen A.:

We’re training our whole lives to be effective and efficient adults, and for most of us that means junk mail goes straight in the trash [or recycling bin!].  But if we pretend for a minute that we have 3 yr old minds sometimes we can find nuggets in that mail.  I opened a credit card solicitation that had a plastic fake card in it and my kids played and played with that, putting it in an envelope then a purse, drawing around it, handing it back and forth to each other, pretend shopping, pretend paying the bill, etc.  They made a little desk with a few office supplies and ”wrote letters” and “composed stories”.  Some junk mail has pictures on it (I’m thinking of the zoo membership solicitation) and sometimes it’s just a letter with lots of words to “read”/pick out.

Laying it on thick

I’m talking about peanut butter, jelly, margarine, cream cheese, or anything else you use a knife to spread. The next time your kiddo asks for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or cream cheese on a bagel, take a deep breath and hand over the (dull) knife. Better yet, dig into the back of your kitchen drawer and pull out those rarely used cheese spreader knives. (They’re the ones that are about 5″ long from end to end, and have a dull flat blade. They usually have a nice chunky handle, at least as thick as one of those jumbo crayons.) This is a great way for your child to work on manual dexterity and fine motor skills, begin to learn portion control (you need to be the voice of reason here), and have a great sense of accomplishment when sitting down at the table with a yummy self-made meal!

Writing & remembering the alphabet

My friend Jade passed along these techniques for teaching your little one how to write the letters:

There are a ton of wipe-off books you can buy to help with writing skills, etc, but I just resorted to having [my 3.5-yr-old daughter] watch me write the alphabet on a blank piece of paper and then she traced over the letters herself. We did this repeatedly and she was writing her letters and numbers in no time!

I also make up cute ways of describing to her how to write the letters if she forgets. For example, to make a capital P, I tell her to make a straight line down and a little loop-di-doop on the top. A capital B is a straight line down and two loop-di-doops. That works for us!

Thanks, Jade!