Innocence

Playing Maths With Young Children

2010-07-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Patterns

- Have 2 packs of cards of diff patterns at the back and let child arrange into 2 sets. Later, mix them up and let them try again. Use more sets in future.

Colours

- Let the child separate the blue from the red patterns. Children also learn to focus on one characteristic, ignoring the number and the symbols.

Shapes

- Separate cards in suits.

Numbers

- Parents choose two numbers and pick the cards out. Eg 2 and 10. Let the child separate cards of the two numbers. Child also learns to recognize the sounds and quantity. LAter, use close numbers like 9,10.

Sequences

- 1-10

Multiple characteristics

- Different suits in sequences of 1-10.

Greater than, Smaller Than

Addition, Subtraction

Multiplication, Division

Dividing into sets

2008-07-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Common situaations that lead to caesareans

1) foetal distress where the baby's heart rate dips, indicating she is not coping well with labour and may be lacking oxygen.
2) failure to progress where labour is prolonged and the cervix is not dilating
3) previous caesarean.
4) breech position. where the bay is in the bottom down position.
5) MAternal request. For non medical reasons sometimes, eg if they suffer from tokophobia, an extreme and disabling fear of giving birth.

2008-07-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Improving child's ability to emphathise:

1) Cut out pictures from newspapers and magazines depicting people with various expressions. Invent stories together as to why this woman is smiling so much, for example or that little boy looks confused.

2) Act out a story sing her favourite bears or dolls. Pretend one of them is upset because he got left under the bed and has your daughter comfort him.

3) Help her choose and wrap a gift for a friend or family member . let her experience how good it feels to make someone's day, without expecting anything in return.

4) Buy her a pot plant and put her in charge of its care and watering. Help her to imagine what the plant might say if it could talk and knew that she was looking after it so kindly.

5) Write down as many emotions as you can together - happiness, sadness, confusion, anger, upset, loneliness, jealousy, delight and then draw pictures or write stories about people who felt these things. encourage child to think abt the non verbal signals that might indicate each emotion too, like smiles, scrunched up eyebrows. Tuning her into tiniest expressions of mood and feeling will help u raise a caring and emphathic child.

2008-06-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

When to introduce solid foods?

Parents must trust their babies' instincts! Babies will demonstrate their readiness for food..

Best time to start, when baby shows interest between 4th to 6th month. Signs:
1) Seems dissatisfied with milk feeds alone
2) Is interested in the food u eat, such as reaching for it.
3) can sit with some support.
4) Has good control of the head and neck.
5) Does not push out soft food placed on the tongue.

Best type of first foods?
Iron-fortified rice cereal. Start with fruit and vegetables and other grain before moving on to protein rich food like meat and tofu. Puree these ingredients will smooth and add small amounts of breast milk or formula to the puree, if needed, to create a smooth but runny texture.

2008-06-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Easy toddler fun!

In the bathroom.
Draw a bath, throw in a couple of clean sponges, as ur toddler to help u clean the bathtub while she's in it. WHile she's busy, u can scrub the sink or just sit there to enjoy some downtime.

Nothing occupies a tollder more than his own little squirt bottle filled with water and a small sponge. Show him the idea is not to soak but to spritz and then clean the smudges off the walls.

In the kitchen.
Mini muffins are a perfect proect. Simple to mix up and ur child can do it almost every step. Turn on some disco and do some crazy dancing while baking the muffins.:)

2008-05-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

Tactics to help manage your child's fussy eating habits.
Tips to ease your children.

1) Introduce new food slowly. Do it in small portions gradually over a period of time. Be patient as it may be neccessary to introduce a new food item to ur child several times before he accepts it.

2) Do not force feed. do not force him to complete a meal.

3) Make fod fun. Do a little brain storming and come up with appealing food presentations that will whet ur child's appetite.

Tips:
- Five healthy food nicknames to fit your child's imaaginary world. For example, "little-os for o shaped cereal meals "snow white tofu" for beancurd.:) So cute!!

- Create stories around the food and relate it to child's favorite characters to teach him the value of heathy eating. Eg. Thomas the train needs coal to move, this food is ur coal which will give u enery to run and play.

- Include a variety of healthy food and cut foods into interesting shapes such as star shaped carrots.

- Prepare a variety of dips so child can have fun dunking food into the bowl. Food and yoghurt is an example of healthy and nutritious food and dip combination u can serve.

4) Involve child in food preparation. Bring ur child grocery shoppin and ask him to select veg, meat. Encourage ur little one to be adventurous with food and teach abt the variety of food ingredients, textures, colours, shapes and aromas.

5) Set an example

6) Create a pleasant environment.

Contentment

2008-05-14T23:58:00.000-07:00

I think there are 2 kinds of contentment. One kind that makes u jus sit back and not want to do anything else because u are happy with what u have and the kind that makes u want to do more because u are more energized.. :)

I am feeling contented in a way with my life overall. Things are not perfect and certainly I do feel the dreariness at times during work but I am happy with the way things are and I want to make them better.. since I have more capability within me now, I want to do more things to make the people around me happier.. esp for the kids and their parents.. This gives me a certain motivation in my work as well.. not to settle for just the average but to be the best I can..

I love my kiddies!!!!!!!!! I wish they will grow up to be good loving people.. and I want to accompany them on their journey as long as I can..

How effective are rewards?

2008-05-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

How effective are rewards?

Was reading about this article which discusses different parent's situations in giving out rewards to their kids. Most of them is abt giving them stickers; after they accumulate a certain number, more time will be given to them to play computer games (especially for boys) or an outing together. However where is the line drawn to help the child to understand that having good behavior does not equal to rewards only?

It is suggested that more intangible rewards can also be given by parents, giving a hug or spending time with your child is a better reward for good behavior. On the other hand, bad behavior should be ignored in the sense that you do not give affection for misbehaving. One parent also gives rewards inconsistently when the child displays good behavior so that he will not expect to be rewarded all the time but it will come as a surprise at times.:) Maybe this is one idea?

Reward system are also better suited for 7 years olds and above as their power of reasoning is beginning to develop. Younger kids are less likely to understand why they have to behave in a certain way, so they do it mostly for the rewards. Rewards set the limits and help a child to regulate himself. Hence, parents should reinforce them consistently, otherwise child may become confused abt what's acceptable behavior and what's not.

All the right moves

2008-04-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

All the right moves.

0-6 months.
Neck muscles will get stronger and by around 3-4 months, he will start controlling his head all by himself.
Baby is born without kneecaps and they won't develop till he's over 6 months old. For first 6 months, his knees will stay bent like they were in the womb, but by six months, he will straighten them out and start kicking at every opportunity.

6-12 months.
upper strength is improving rapidly. By six months, she will sit up unaided and push herself up on fours. By the time she's a year old, her arms will be strong enough to throw light objects.
Feet grow quickly and by the end of her first year, they will be almost half their adult size. Will take her first few steps around this time.

12-18 months.
Encourage ur little one to walk barefoot as this will help her to stretch and strengthen her leg muscles and learn to use her toes for balance.
Walking with more confidence but won't be able to jump until she's over 2 years old.

18+ months.
By now, tot is developing all his skills he needs for all kinds of physical activities, from running, climbing and jumping. Help him to burn all the energy outdoors. put on his favourite cd at home and jump around imitating all kinds of animalas. Jump on and off the bottom step.:)

New mum skills

2008-04-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

New mum skills no one told you about:)

How do I tell whether she's getting enough milk?
Look out for:
- 6 to 8 wet nappies over a 24 hour period.
- Yellow poop. Colour should be mustard yellow. if it tuens dark green, it is a sign she is not getting enough fluids.
- Gradual weight gain.
- A feeling of softer, less heavy breasts after your baby has fed.

How do I give her medicine?

The easiest way to do it is to give it with an oral syringe. Doing this avoids the risk of spillage and ensures ur baby gets the right dose. Fill syringe with the correct amt as shown by markings, place the tip in baby's mouth so that it points towards the cheek and slowly press the plunger. Don't aim the syringe at her throat as it could choke her which could make her cought all the medicine back up.

Music

2008-02-26T07:04:00.000-08:00

Music. Tuning in.
Music develops and fine tunes many abilities in child and mental development is one of them. Dun fret if they mix up the words to a song, sing off key or improvise with their own lyrics. Music training enhances brain functions that when left unused, tend to decline. Can start as early as 2 years old to play the keyboard. For violin, suitable age is 3-4 years old.

When learning a song or step dance, children experience the unique integration of body and mind that music provides. Sensory integration is a crucial factor in children's readiness for school subjects such as reading, writing and math.

Ignite that interest. From the time ur child is young, foster a love for music by singing to them and playing music to them even if it is just on a cd.

Speech development

2008-02-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

Speech development.

Before 12 months: baby alk."m" and "n" sounds.

24 months: "k", "c" ,"g", "t". If child uses pacifier or sucks his thumb for long hours, it may affect the flecibility of the tongue movement. The age range to master these sounds range from 2 to 4 years.

By 30 months: "f" and "y". For those who are slower, they will take between 3 to 4 years to master the "f" sounds.

By 3 years old" More complex combinations to produce "r", "l" and "s". For mandarin speaking children,"r" may be accquired at a later age as there are no "r" sounds in mandarin. "r" in mandarin sounds different in comparison to "r" in eng.

Later sounds: speech sounds like "ch", "sh", "z", "j", and "v" appear after 3 and a half to 4 years of age.

Delayed speech and language development

2008-02-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

Causes of speech and language delays.

1) neonatal history of hypoxia
2) Low birth weight
3) Pregnancy complications
4) Genetic or hereditary factors
5) Immaturity of the brain
6) Traumatic brain injury
7) Emotional and or physical abuse
8) Hearing problems

Treating the problem.
A lot of it depends on their environment as it has to be adequatel stimulating and provide opportunities for communication exchange and participation. It's important that one spends time talking, singing, and accompanying speech with sound effects and gestures from the time the children start babbling. a few minutes several times a day makes a huge difference.
Read age appropriate books to ur little ones as early as 6 months old and encourage them to look at pictures while u name them.
Use everyday situations to reinforce ur children's speech and language, involve them in picking out foods at supermarket, explain what u are doing as u cook and take turns to point out sounds that u hear.
If child speaks less than 50 words by 2 years, it's recommended to take them to a speech language therapist who will conduct an assesssment to find out the nature of his or her difficulties so that an appropriate treatment plan can be formulated.

Anxiety setbacks

2008-01-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Anxiety setbacks.

Factors that contribute to a child's sense of security:

1) Social: if a different person becomes the child's caregiver when his mother goes back to work or a new baby sibling arrives in the family.
2) Environmental: This may involve moving house, first day of school, renovations or even unfamiliar noise.
3) Family: If child is exposed to family members' acts of abuse, violence, punishment or threats.
4) Interpersonal: If child is suddenly in contact with large groups of people or unfamiliar friends.
5) Expectations: As child grows older, more demands are placed on him, to perform or to do more things and to do them well.

Preventing anxiety setbacks:

: Avoid making too many major changes in ur child's life all at once.
: Talk to child before making any sudden changes.
: Introduce a new caregiver gradually, and with u around for a few days.
: Introduce the new school by taking child there a few times to look and walk about. This will familiarise him with the place.
: Avoid scolding the child of he is unable to perform tasks or activities.
: Expose child to other children of his age so he can mimic their social behavior and learn interaction skills.
: Monitor child's behavior and understand what his baseline is. If u see any sudden changes in him, do not wait till it gets worse, intervene immediately.

Recognizing Dyslexia

2008-01-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Parents need to watch out for one or more of the following examples of difficulty, as they are the typical symptoms of dyslexia:

1) Directional confusion
Child mirror writes by reversing letters, whole words or numbers, eg "doy" instead of "boy"

2) Sequencing difficulties
Child may omit letters or put letters, syllables and words in the wrong order, eg "act" for "cat

3) Difficulty with little words.
Misread, omits "a","the"

4) Late talking

5) difficulies with handwritig
Generally illegible, with letter inconsistencies, mixture of upper case,lowercase letters.

6) Difficulties with maths
reverses or transposes numbers, confused by similar looking mathematical signs

7) Short working memory

The truth about ADHD

2008-01-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

The truth about ADHD. "Because of the different neurochemical make-up in the brain, he cannot help but be unable to handle simple day-to-day tasks expected if him. And since the disorder is inborn, he cannot outgrow it."

Misconceptions:
1) children with adhd have a behavioral problem"
2) Children will outgrow it so the longer u wait, the better.

Difficulties:
1) Staying on task and completing projects
2) Pay close attention to detail
3) Follow instructions
4) Listen attentively when spoken to directly

Tips for parenting ADHD children
1) Set a routine for child to facilitate development of disciplien. Pin up a table which clearly indicates the time for daily activities such as meals, bath, play and homework.

2) Establish a specific area that is conducive for schoolwork and quiet study.

3) Use an alarm clock to help him establish concept of time and the need to complete specific tasks within a set timeframa

4) Provide positive reinforcement when he has peservered through to complete each task.

The Parent Trap

2007-12-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

The parent trap, common mistakes parents make and why u should avoid them.

1) SOme parents feel the weather is too hot and baby is "heaty", thus diluting their milk feeds with more water and not following the recommended preparation of the milk formula, This may lead to low concentrations of sodium and calcium in baby's blood and cause baby to have seizures.

2) Babies do not need to sleep with pillows. When child grows and head control is better, usually after a year, pillows may be used.

3) Some parents may not sterilise milk bottles before using. This should be done for young babies as milk is a good culture medium for bacteria and washing may not remove some contamination. Bottles should be sterilised after every feed and not just once a day.

4) Antibiotics may not be neccessary during illnesses as most childhood illnesses are viral in nature.

Prenatal Yoga classes

2007-12-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

Typical prenatal yoga clases consists if poses geared towards common pregnancy issues such as back pain and swollen feet, while providing a safe and nurturing environment to prepare for childhood and motherhood.

- Breathing or pranayama - powerful techniques to emsure abundant supply of oxygen for u and your child. General fitness will also improve as u will be shown how to make the best for ur lung capacity even though baby is preventing ur diaphgram from working properly - particularly useful in the third trimester.

- Yoga exercises or asanas, these work on the reproductive organs: strengthening the pelvis and spine and pverall help ur body to cope with the growing baby. At the subtle level, the asanas ensure optimum supply of blood and nutrients to the developing baby.

Why the secons trimester is a good time to start prenatal yoga is because that is usually the period when pregnancy has stabilised.

How to teach children to lose graciously

2007-11-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

1) Give child plenty of warmth and affirmation. A secure home means he is less "needy" and feel he has to win all the time to boost esteem needs. Tell him u r proud of him, because sometimes ur child needs to know you are proud of him, no matter what.

2) Avoid laughing at ur child when he makes a mistake. Children are easily hurt and she shame may burn on for much longer than u think.

3) Parents also need to set examples what it means to lose graciously, or give way to others. (give way to car on road?)

4) Separate result from effort. Looking at both objectively will help u to see ur child's strengths and which factors are within his control. Go through mistakes together and spot the common pitfalls he can avoid next time round.

5) Tweak ur mindset towards failure and u'll see that failure is all part of learning.

Lactose Intolerance

2007-11-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Dairy is necessary, even for lactose-intolerant children. Good substitutes for milk: almond milk, fresh goat milk and milk rice. Child's diet should focus more on plant foods and quality proteins like fish rather than milk, which is mucus forming.

Can try to build up tolerance gradually but not resistance. Ideas on enjoying dairy without discomfort at school, home or on the go: Choose whole-grain crackers with Swiss or cheddar cheese slices for a great snack. Combine plain yogurt with dry soup mix to make a tasty dip for freshly cut vegetables.

Recommended daily intake of dairy, one or two serves. a serve is 250 ml glass of milk.

Symptoms: nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, diarrhoea which begins 30 mins to two hours after drinking foods containing lactose.

Creating a Love for learning (Motherhood Aug 07)

2007-11-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

Creating a love for learning.

Confidence.
Confidence comes with a sense of security. A child who feels safe and loved develops confidence naturally. WHen give opportunity to explore, make mistakes and repeat the activities over and over, a child develops a sense of mastery which automatically leads to confidence.

How do children learn?
Through play when they are actively engaged abd building on previous experiences. Children need to explore, discover, experiment and make mistakes. They need to experience solutions for themselves, often through frustrating problem-solving actiities.

Dramatic Play.
This is where children interact with others in play settings. They substitute a real object with a pretend one, for example using a block for a mobile phone. To function effectively in the adult world, children need to participate in play, like pretending to talk on the phone, driving a car or cooling a meal, activities that adults in their lives are often engaged in.

Games.
Children learn about the importance of social contracts and rules when they play games like, "what is the time now mr wolf?" They learn that the game is fun only when they work together and follow the rules of a game.

Block Play.
Spatial concepts. sorting, patterning, comparing.

Water Play.
Comparing and estimating.

Sand Play.

Women's weekly (July 07)

2007-11-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

How to calm an aggressive child?

Dos:
- learn to praise your child often as a means of reinforcing good behavior
- teach child the meaning of sharing and being kind to others
- show a child alternative ways of communicating his needs. For example, ask him" woild you also like to have the biscuits your sister is eating?

Don't
- over-emphasize your displeasure when the child whines or has a tantrum. Ignore him instead. WHen no one seems to be paying attention, the child will usually stop for a while. However, intervene when another child is being hurt.
- Make the other sibling give in all the time. Practise fairness with all your children, regardless of their age.
Just tell the child what is wrong but tell him what is right as well. For example, instead of saying, "don't take your sister's toy" say "play together, share and take turns".

Interest in pre-reading and writing (Motherhood Jan 06)

2007-10-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

Pre-reading activities.

1) Tell a story in an exaggerated, animated manner.
2) Play water and sand games.
3) Mimic rhymes, jingles and poetry in funny, catchy tones.
4) do fancy dress and role play.

Repetition is pertinent in retaining words, so play concentration an dmomory games such as having a narrative on five things associated with the day's events.

Teething pains (Motherhood January 06)

2007-10-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Teething pains. This was frequently brought up by parents.. like how the child will experience bad moods and fever. Most babies start teething at 6 months of age.One may suddenly see a rise or lump in the gum for several weeks while some may be no visible clue at all until the tooth actually appears.

Some myths:
1) Teething cuases diarrhoea.
2) Teething causes fever. this is a myth! It is always a virus.
3) Causes vomiting.
4) Causes drooling. This is true. Some worse than others.
5) Causes coughing. True. Extra saliva can cause baby to cough or gag.
6) Causes bad tempers. Yes.

For first year, don't need to brush them but keep them clean with gauze or face cloth by wiping once a day.

Observance

2007-10-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Time for my weekly update again. Hee... on echild who really amused me was this child. Two years old who kept saying "no" these days. It amazes me how children pick up the language abilities actually... when in the first few terms, I hardly can hear them speak but they start to speak a lot in the span of a few months.

He says no to activities and shakes his head when required to do writing. Of cos it is no good to force the child and I would just ask mummy to input the words and mummy will also say, "ok, you don't want to do ah, mummy will do cos this is very fun". Then the child will just watch.:)

Flashcards. Do they really work? (Motherhood May 2007)

2007-10-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Benefits of flashcards. When used consistently, flahcards can "expand horizons" as they provide the child with a rich environment filled with interesting information. brain works in a way that its growth is parallel to the frequency of its use. So the more we used it, the more it grows. This growth is also linked to the development of other skills and flashcards aid to stimulate the development of the brain. But it is important to fit the cards around the child and not the child around the cards.

Using the most sophiticated materials is not equal to good teaching. The most joyous aspect in teaching is the magic between the parent and child.

Einstein never used flash cards

2007-10-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Reading this book currently. Interesting. Gives a perspective of how parents are so overwhelmed with activities for their children.

Critical period during first 3 years? No. If children grow up in everyday environments filled with objects and buildings, with people who love and talk to them, their brains will grow by themselves. Parents are not sculptors, nor do they have the responsibility for deciding which particular sorts of experiences to provide to make synaptic connections happen within a critical period of time.

Very ambitious learning programs can lead to crowding effects and to an early decrease in the size and number of brain region that are largely unspecified and that may be necessary for creativity in adolescent and in adult.

Achieving balance- reflect, resist, re-centre.

Ask yourself, why am I enrolling my 4 yr old in this class? Does my child really likes it or because I feel pressrie to make sure he has a leg up among other children? Am I trying to make every moment count?

Resist. Takes courage to resist the forces that tell us that faster is better. Remember that play=learning!:)

Re-center. Have a newfound focus on the science of child development. Engage in teachable moments.

4 principles for parents to live by: The best learning in learning is within reach.
Emphasize process over product creates a love for learning.It's EQ not IQ.Learning in context is real learning - And play is the best teacher.

Fantastic parents

2007-10-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

Since I am doing my Term 25 reflection for my work now, I shall just type abt my favourite parent here.. hee:) Actually there are 2. Both mummies are good friends since Secondary school. They both have 2 children. Aged 2 and 6. cool rite? If only my fren and me have the same age children.. hee, so fun. Anyway I take the 2 yrs old class. Both mummies are super nice!! They sing along to my songs, clap along to my "good afternoon" song unlike some parents who look super sian. Believe me, it really affects me when at the corner of ur eyes, u see parents looking bored and crossing their arms over their chest. No good for my morale.

Anyway they are super relaxed parents but attentive to the childrens' needs. Not kiasu. But just having fun together. I feel relaxed when I have a class like that.:) Reb and Char are super cute. Reb likes to say funny things and have a cheerful smile. Always makes me laugh. She loves pink!! hehe.. she will go and pick up the "pink rubbish" amidst the rest of the coloured papers during image training when the children have to help mummy do household chores. Char likes to pack things for me. She will come into my space at times to return me the blocks when she could have just hand it to me over the table. They really cracked me up. And best of all, both are fantastic in the memory. Nevertheless they do make mistakes, but both mummies will always clap for other children when they do well. Ain't that fantastic? I think it is a good example to show ur children, to be happy over others' achievements and not breed a competitive atmosphere. Thus these mothers have happy and cute children!!

Hooray! Term 26 coming!

2007-10-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

This blog was started out as an enthusiasm project for my work. Hee.. yup. I really hope that someday I will be able to look back with fondness over what I have done in my life. Now I am quite sure that I really want to work with children. I enjoy it. No matter what I am doing in the future.. even if it's not in the same job anymore (which is highly likely cos I hate the management of the present one), I just want to keep these memories!! :)