Saturday, July 30, 2011

Play and Grow Smart-er Tips

Nancy Pyne-Hapke, author of "Play and Grow Smart, A Guide Supporting Brain Development, Birth through Five," has been giving tips to aid your child's optimum skill development through proactive neuroscience-based activities. These ideas come from scholarly sources to personal interviews, from the internet to periodicals to books.
“CREATIVITY” involves imagination, ingenuity, invention/originality, creative thinking, dramatic/visual/musical arts.THE CRITICAL WINDOWS during which the circuits of the brain are being most heavily wired for Creativity is 1 – 4 years with lifelong expression. The more opportunity children have to experience healthy, positive and nurturing Creativity experiences during this critical period, the more efficiently their brains will work over the long run.
A FEW DEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING TOOLS (toys and other objects) for CREATIVITY: • blocks • dolls and stuffed animals • books • sandbox • water • costumes and props • play figures • child-sized dishes and tools • art materials • construction sets • music and instruments
Forms of creativity: ART (visual), LANGUAGE (written or spoken), MUSIC/MOVEMENT (bodily movement), FANTASY (pretending).Some general “Creativity: FANTASY” tidbits:
•• FANTASY is expressing ideas and feelings through pretending. It can include playing “make-believe,” day-dreaming, talking with imaginary companions and reading fantasy books. Fantasy play comes naturally, allowing Toddler and Preschooler to feel powerful and in control, doing the ordering instead of being ordered.
•• CREATIVE/IMAGINATIVE play often stimulates physical growth (playing “cops and robbers” or music video stars) and social growth (imaginary play pretending to be a teacher, parent or doctor).
•• EARLY, FROM 18 months, Toddler enjoys simple pretend play like wearing hats. Using a bottle/spoon, he’ll pretend to feed a doll/stuffed toy.
Next week – “Creativity: Fantasy, Pt. 2”
?’s – email msmarm@roadrunner.com

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Play and Grow Smart-er Tips

Nancy Pyne-Hapke, author of "Play and Grow Smart, A Guide Supporting Brain Development, Birth through Five," has been giving tips to aid your child's optimum skill development through proactive neuroscience-based activities. These ideas come from scholarly sources to personal interviews, from the internet to periodicals to books. “CREATIVITY” involves imagination, ingenuity, invention/originality, creative thinking, dramatic/visual/musical arts.
THE CRITICAL WINDOWS during which the circuits of the brain are being most heavily wired for Creativity is 1 – 4 years with lifelong expression. The more opportunity children have to experience healthy, positive and nurturing Creativity experiences during this critical period, the more efficiently their brains will work over the long run.
A FEW DEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING TOOLS (toys and other objects) for CREATIVITY: • blocks • dolls and stuffed animals • books • sandbox • water • costumes and props • play figures • child-sized dishes and tools • art materials • construction sets • music and instruments
Forms of creativity: ART (visual), LANGUAGE (written or spoken), MUSIC/MOVEMENT (bodily movement), FANTASY (pretending).
Some general “Creativity: MUSIC/MOVEMENT” tidbits:
•• FROM ABOUT 3, what counts are activities using muscles and discovering how things feel. He has growing hand control/coordination and is interested in perfecting movement skills, so he may spend the entire morning going down the slide or riding a favorite tricycle.
•• FROM ABOUT 4 and having increasing agility, Preschooler runs, jumps, hops and skips around obstacles with ease. She likes to gallop, turn somersaults, climb ladders and trees, and hop on one foot. She jumps forward with her feet together over objects 5-6” high.
•• FROM ABOUT 5, encourage Kindergartener to jump, hop, skip, dance, tiptoe and march RHYTHMICALLY TO MUSIC. Teach him how to move his body to dramatize the opening of a flower, falling snow/leaves/rain, wiggly worms/snakes. Dance to music on a bad-weather day to transform rainy-day wiggles/squirms to welcome bursts of free-form movement.
Next week – “Creativity: Fantasy, Pt. 1”
?’s – email msmarm@roadrunner.com

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Play and Grow Smart-er Tips

Nancy Pyne-Hapke, author of "Play and Grow Smart, A Guide Supporting Brain Development, Birth through Five," has been giving tips to aid your child's optimum skill development through proactive neuroscience-based activities. These ideas come from scholarly sources to personal interviews, from the internet to periodicals to books.
“CREATIVITY” involves imagination, ingenuity, invention/originality, creative thinking, dramatic/visual/musical arts. THE CRITICAL WINDOWS during which the circuits of the brain are being most heavily wired for Creativity is 1 – 4 years with lifelong expression. The more opportunity children have to experience healthy, positive and nurturing Creativity experiences during this critical period, the more efficiently their brains will work over the long run.
A FEW DEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING TOOLS (toys and other objects) for CREATIVITY: • blocks • dolls and stuffed animals • books • sandbox • water • costumes and props • play figures • child-sized dishes and tools • art materials • construction sets • music and instruments
FORMS of Creativity: ART (visual), LANGUAGE (written or spoken), MUSIC/MOVEMENT (bodily movement), FANTASY (pretending).Some general “Creativity: MUSIC/MOVEMENT” tidbits:
•• FROM 18 months, play music with different rhythms, and provide kitchen “instruments” – oatmeal box drum/pots/pans.
•• FROM ABOUT 2, singing spontaneously, Toddler repeats songs/nursery rhymes over and over. Expose her to different musical styles: classical, country, Gregorian chant, rock & roll, opera, rhythm & blues, etc. with solo voices and orchestras. (Pounding/noise “music” is not good for brain development.)
•• SINCE HE IS LEARNING names of body parts and enjoying activities that use these names (touching toes, eyes, elbows), he can do simple creative movements like imitating animals.
•• WHILE BALANCING on each foot for 1 - 2 seconds, she jumps by lifting both feet.
Next week – “Creativity: Music/Movement, Pt. 3”
?’s – email msmarm@roadrunner.com

Friday, July 08, 2011

Play and Grow Smart-er Tips

Nancy Pyne-Hapke, author of "Play and Grow Smart, A Guide Supporting Brain Development, Birth through Five," has been giving tips to aid your child's optimum skill development through proactive neuroscience-based activities. These ideas come from scholarly sources to personal interviews, from the internet to periodicals to books.
“CREATIVITY” involves imagination, ingenuity, invention/originality, creative thinking, dramatic/visual/musical arts.
THE CRITICAL WINDOWS during which the circuits of the brain are being most heavily wired for Creativity is 1 – 4 years with lifelong expression. The more opportunity children have to experience healthy, positive and nurturing Creativity experiences during this critical period, the more efficiently their brains will work over the long run.
A FEW DEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING TOOLS (toys and other objects) for CREATIVITY: • blocks • dolls and stuffed animals • books • sandbox • water • costumes and props • play figures • child-sized dishes and tools • art materials • construction sets • music and instruments
Forms of creativity: ART (visual), LANGUAGE (written or spoken), MUSIC/MOVEMENT (bodily movement), FANTASY (pretending).Some general “Creativity: MUSIC/MOVEMENT” tidbits:
•• MUSIC/MOVEMENT is the expression of ideas and feelings using bodily movements. It includes dancing, singing, playing instruments and using the body to make movements such as leaping like a frog or exploring ways to make a circle with the body.
•• BY 12 MONTHS, Baby responds to music with body motions swaying, swooping, swinging. As she practices new mobility, give her freedom to move around, and free your environment of obstacles, preferably with a cushioned floor.
•• ABOUT 15 MONTHS, create an obstacle course of pillows/cushions to climb over/around/through. He may also be ready for rocking horses/riding toys he pushes with his feet.
Next week – “Creativity: Music/Movement, Pt. 2”
?’s – email msmarm@roadrunner.com

Friday, July 01, 2011

Play and Grow Smart-er Tips

Nancy Pyne-Hapke, author of "Play and Grow Smart, A Guide Supporting Brain Development, Birth through Five," has been giving tips to aid your child's optimum skill development through proactive neuroscience-based activities. These ideas come from scholarly sources to personal interviews, from the internet to periodicals to books.
“CREATIVITY” involves imagination, ingenuity, invention/originality, creative thinking, dramatic/visual/musical arts.THE CRITICAL WINDOWS during which the circuits of the brain are being most heavily wired for Creativity is 1 – 4 years with lifelong expression. The more opportunity children have to experience healthy, positive and nurturing Creativity experiences during this critical period, the more efficiently their brains will work over the long run.
A FEW DEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING TOOLS (toys and other objects) for CREATIVITY: • blocks • dolls and stuffed animals • books • sandbox • water • costumes and props • play figures • child-sized dishes and tools • art materials • construction sets • music and instruments
Forms of creativity: ART (visual), LANGUAGE (written or spoken), MUSIC/MOVEMENT (bodily movement), FANTASY (pretending).Some general Creativity: LANGUAGE tidbits:
•• FROM ABOUT 5, Kindergartener is a good story teller, enjoying making books of his stories. He draws pictures to go along with his words, and he likes explaining the pictures he’s created. (Don’t say: “What’s that?” Do say: “Tell me about your picture.”)
•• ADD DRAMA to your daily reading sessions by using different voices for different characters. Ask her to tell the story and imitate your voice.•• ENCOURAGE INTEREST in jokes, nonsense and riddles by reading humorous stories, riddles and nonsense rhymes. Join him in jokes from school, books, TV and movies.
•• READ BOOKS which introduce beginning notions of teamwork, cooperation, communication and self-esteem to help develop empathy and understand social roles.
Next week – “Creativity: Music/Movement, Pt. 1”
?’s – email msmarm@roadrunner.com