The Whole Child e-zine brings you free preschool activities each week to maximize your child's potential, build skills and parent-child relationships in just a few minutes per day. Useful tips, quotes, resources, opportunities and articles will added for extra value!

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30 May 2007, Issue #039

1. Hello from Shirley

I 'think' that life is as back to 'normal' as it can be. My baby, Samantha,(photo of her on my blog) was born on 21 April. On 28 April we found another house and on 1 May we moved!

It was an upheaval as moving always is, but I was blessed to have some of my girlfriends come and help me with the last bit of packing, as well as unpacking and organising my new kitchen, hanging curtains, bringing food etc. I certainly experienced Love in Action!

2. What’s New at Shirley’s Preschool Activities?

As you might expect, I have not added anything new to my site lately, but I have updated the Father's Day pages. Since Father's Dayis just a few weeks away on 17 June, I suggest you take a look, get some ideas and find some ways to encourage your children to express their love and appreciation to their Dad.

There is a Father's Day Printable Poem for kids to personalise.

A Father's Love Letter - a Christian, Bible-based poem to print.

Some cute, Father's Day Poems and free copyright-free clipart that you can use to create your own cards for the man in your family.

In the Bible, children are commanded to honour their father and mother and this is a good time to remind them of the fifth commandment and the promise that goes with it: "so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12

3. Preschool Activities at Home Egroup

If you haven’t yet joined and would like to, send a blank email to preschool-activities-at-home-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Join us as we chat about the ups and downs of life with little ones and share our ideas and experiences.

4. Quote

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
William Arthur Ward

This is a good one to remember for Father's Day - find something you are grateful for and express it to your children's dad, either in words or actions!

5. Book Reviews

You will find my favourite parenting or teaching books that I recommend at Shirley's Store on my site.

1. Stories for the Children's Hour by Kenneth N. Taylor

We are currently reading this as our pre-bedtime, devotional story book. Each story is just a few pages and is a lesson taken from the everyday lives of children, tied to a Biblical principle or Bible verse, with a few discussion questions at the end of each story. It is rated for Baby- Preschool, but I recommend it for ages 4 upwards. This is a book that both mom (me) and the children are enjoying together.
It is so old that only used copies are for sale on Amazon.com, but since the (late) author was well-known as a Christian author and as the founder of Tyndale Publishing House, I hope that there will be copies in most libraries.

2. Celebrations of Faith by Randy Wilson

This is a book for parents giving you ideas to help you establish traditions and activities in your home that will help you pass on your faith to your children and help you commemorate significant events in your lives - answers to prayer, milestones and rights of passage etc.
As the authors explain, minutes are fragments of time that just pass, but memorable moments are times that stay with us forever. My children are very excited by the activities that we have selected to begin in our home.

6. Readiness Activities

I continue to receive enquiries from moms of toddlers under 3 asking for ideas to stimulate their little ones.

The following activities are aimed at ages 2-3. For older children, adapt the activity to their ability or alternatively repeat the activities previously suggested for ages 3-5 in the Backissues of The Whole Child publication.

To download the activities in a printable pdf, click here.

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed. Its a free download.

Repeat these activities often - with your own variations too!

May

 1. Gross motor skills

Balance: Plan an outing to a play park that has children's apparatus for swinging, climbing and hanging. Encourage your child to perform each activity.

 2. Fine motor skills

Modelling with playdough: Make some play dough using the recipe at the bottom of the Preschool Crafts page on my website. Show your child how to roll it into snakes (balls may still be too difficult!) Then let her cut the snakes into small chunks with a pair of scissors. Keep an eye on your child as she plays with the dough to avoid it being pressed into places it shouldn't be!

 3. Visual skills

Visual discrimination: To develop Body Awareness, sit together in front of a mirror and discuss the two images you see. Talk about size, hair colour, clothing etc. Also let your child compare herself to a doll, teddy or any other toy character.

 4. Auditory skills

Auditory memory: Read or tell your child a short story and then ask her questions about the major events of the story. eg. Who frightened Goldilocks? Who came to help the little girl?

 5. Mathematical skills

Counting: Teach your child to count to three. Use real objects like fingers, blocks or apples. Two year olds can usually count to three but usually only comprehend the quantities 'one' and 'two'.

 6. Language skills

Active Language Development: Using a set of toy shapes or some shapes cut from cardboard, begin to teach your child the names of the shapes. "This is a ...." and hold up the shape. Make more than one of the same shape and encourage your child to use the plural form too. "Here are some more ..."

 7. Faith-building

There is a saying that faith is caught and not taught. Make a conscious effort to show your child your faith in the Lord on a daily basis. Say 'Thank you, Lord" out loud when your prayers are answered. Ask Jesus for healing when your child is hurt etc...Let your little ones see that you have a relationship with One who is Unseen.

Bible Reading: Continue with your Bible reading as part of your bed-time routine. Some families read from an adult Bible, but we enjoyed reading The Beginner's Bible

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