Infant - Toddler: Home Learning Enablers and Other Helps | Ages 4 to 36 Months

By Cynthia C. Jones Shoemaker

Good, solid information is hard to get. How hard is it for you to come up with ideas to boost learning for children at home? Dont be taken in by expensive educational materials and toys that might not be up-to-date, age-appropriate, or geared toward your childs learning style. A childs most important first teacher is the parent. With our preschool, primary, and upper grades programs, we involve the parents in the individual educational needs of their child or children. Please take some time to review the materials and learn more about simple educational materials and tools that you can use with your children at home to boost their IQ and vocabulary. This program only requires a few minutes each day too, as often as you would like.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503562615

Cynthia C. Jones Shoemaker

Dr. Cynthia C. Jones Shoemaker’s years of research and graduate teaching in the fields of child development, early childhood education, family types, ages, and stages helped her include in most of her books the importance of parent involvement and critical thinking skills. These are keys in her four Learning Enablers Manuals for different age groups. Her doctorate in human development with a minor in management were enhanced by her thesis work with two hundred children showing that a few minutes, even weekly, with a child, can raise the IQ. She has raised four children and has twelve grandchildren. She is presently chief academic officer and university coordinator at the So. MD Higher Education Center.

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Copyright © 2015 by Cynthia C. Jones Shoemaker, PhD.

ISBN:      eBook         978-1-5035-6261-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 04/17/2015

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Contents

Home Learning Enabler Parent Involvement Introduction

12 Home Learning Enablers for Ages 3 months—12 months

Parent Papers Understanding Infants and Toddlers (to 24 months)

20 Home Learning Enablers for Ages 12 months—24 months

Parent Papers Understanding Three-Year-Olds

27 Home Learning Enablers for Ages 24 months—36 months

Reading and Talking to Young Children # 1-#3; Reading to Young Children; Thinking, Reading and Talking to Young Children;

Building Self-Esteem # 1-#3: You and Children – Your Child is ‘Somebody"; Building Success and Confidence in Children

Discipline: A Learning Process # 1-#3; Helping a Child develop Self Control; Children Need Adults for Guidance

Goals of the Early Childhood Program Experience # 1-#3; What Your Child Will be Learning; What to Expect

Toys That Teach: What to Choose # 1-#3; What Toys Can Teach; How to Make Toys for Your Children

Thinking and Language Skills #1: Creativity, Memory Stretching and Observing

Thinking and Language Skills # 2: Comparing, Classifying, and Imagining

Thinking and Language Skills #3: Cause and Effect, and Summarizing

Thinking Skills #4: Looking for Assumptions and Telling the Reason Why

Thinking Skills #5: Problem Solving and Decision Making

Thinking Skills #6: Understanding and Organizing

Fathering #1-#2: Insights and Dilemmas; What Fathers Need to Know; Suggestions for Educators: Involving Dad in Education

Organization of the Program Enrichment Papers for Group Activities for Very Young Children

15 Group Enrichment Activities Young Children Enjoy

70 Daily Activities for June, July and August

Feedback Sheet

ECEA INSTITUTE

Education, Continuing Education, and Administration Institute

Box 396

Marbury, MD 20658

Dear Reader:

Thank you for your order. The ECEA Institute is pleased that these activities will be reaching parents and children. The Feedback Sheet after each section is included for your own use for a record of things done with your child.

Enjoy the Manual,

The ECEA Institute

Home Learning Enabler Parent Involvement Introduction

In a review of 28 studies, it was found that in order to maintain the gains young children made in early childhood programs, parent involvement was a must. It was also found that if parents were given specific, curriculum-related activities in a sequence, these gains were maintained the most effectively. The following Home Learning Enabler (HLE) activities will help you provide just such activities for your children.

The following five features were evident in the 28 programs that showed immediate and lasting gains for children due to parent involvement:

1. Building trust, if you have any questions.

2. The curricular emphasis in materials used for home teaching.

3. The ratio of parent to teacher for instruction in home teaching activities (one-to-one was best).

4. The structure (or sequence) of the home teaching activities, from easier to harder, was found to be of top importance for the most stable gains.

5. The specificity or detail and definition of the home teaching activities.

The Home Learning Enabler series involves numbers two, four, and five of these features that help guarantee lasting effectiveness. Building trust in one-to-one situations also occurs in most good programs.

The Home Learning Enablers are an attempt to encourage home learning by providing instructional materials in the homes of children to prepare them for later school achievement.

A relatively inexpensive form of encouraging parents’ interaction with their own children is weekly, one-page Home Learning Enabler activities that suggest brief, enjoyable parent-child interactions in the home.

Learning then occurs in the reciprocal process between parent and child, which is the heart of this program.

For the informal learning opportunities that parents can take advantage of at home, It is reasonable to assume that If educators need instructional materials, parents need materials too. Thus, the home learning activities described are designed to encourage verbal responses between parent and child.

Home Learning Enablers

After Home Learning Enabler activities were developed, they were tested weekly by parents and their children. The Home Learning Enablers include a complete set of activities for ages infant through fifteen years old in the Complete Home Learning Enabler Manual. This Infant Toddler HLE Manual includes activities for the very young ages 3 months to 36 months.

The step-by-step Home Learning Enablers are unique in that they utilize household objects as systematic instructional materials. This has proven to be an easy, inexpensive mechanism for involving parents. Although this program was pilot tested in Maryland, it easily could be used nationwide and internationally.

A distinct sequence is followed in each activity. First, the name of the activity gives the parent a hint as to the content. The Reason section tells the objective or purpose of the activity and provides a line or two of explanation about what the activity teaches. An attempt is made here to be as specific as possible without using educational jargon, long words, or long sentences.

Activities have been purposefully written at an easy reading level.

The What You Need section lists needed materials. These lists are meant to suggest items that are simple, inexpensive, and already available in the home. Another unique feature of these Enablers is the Time Needed section, in which the time requirement is always shown clearly; beginning activities, especially, are kept short, about 3 to 10 minutes each. Parents are tired after a day’s work, and three-, four-, five-, six-, and seven-year-olds have short attention spans. The activities have been timed, so they are as close in approximation to the time listed as possible.

The What To Do section gives a simple step-by-step approach to the activity. An effort is made to be brief and clear in this section. The Did It Work? section provides the parent with some evaluation information by describing observable signs of the success of the Enabler activity. Finally, the Easier and Harder Ideas section provides ways to adapt the activity by making fairly minor changes. An easier adaptation for younger children is provided in number one, and a harder adaptation for older or more able children is given in number two. These ideas also encourage parents and children to creatively adapt Enabler activities and then share these suggestions with friends and neighbors and their children.

Where is Thumbkin?

Home Learning Enabler # 1

4-12 Months

REASON: To build observation and listening skills. To talk about fingers, which your child has just discovered.

MATERIALS: None.

TIME NEEDED: 3 minutes.

HOW TO

1. Sing the song Where is Thumbkin to the tune of Frer Jacques. The words to the song are: Where is Thumbkin, where is Thumbkin? Here I am, Here I am (Put your right and left thumb out). How are you today sir? Very well, I thank you. Run away, run away (Put your hands behind your back).

2. For the next four verses, substitute as the other finger names: pointer, tall man, ring man, and pinky.

3. Sing this at other times, such as riding in the car, or at bath time.

4. Encourage your child to hold up a finger (hard to do).

EVALUATION

Does your child enjoy this song? Does he or she even stop crying when you sing it?

EASIER AND HARDER IDEAS

1. A younger child can play pat-a-cake with his or her hands (and yours).

2. An older child can learn more finger plays. Also This little Pig went to Market with toes is popular.

Can You Grab It?

Home Learning Enabler # 2

4-12 Months

REASON: To encourage your child to move forward to grab an interesting or pretty item.

MATERIALS: A scarf, colorful dish towel, and piece of material or yarn.

TIME NEEDED: 3-5 minutes.

HOW TO

1. Lay your baby on his or her stomach on a quilt, pad or rug on the floor.

2. Wiggle the bright colored scarf or towel in front of your baby.

3. Say your baby’s name. Wiggle and pull the scarf or towel away as you say the name.

4. Put your child’s hand on the item as you pull it away.

EVALUATION

Does the baby catch on and reach for the strip? Praise your baby.

EASIER AND HARDER IDEAS

1. A younger baby can watch the brightly colored object move.

2. An older baby can grab onto a spool tied on the end of a piece of yarn.

Sock Ball Up

Home Learning Enabler # 3

4-12 Months

REASON: To practice observation. To build eye-hand coordination.

MATERIALS: Two pairs of socks rolled up in a ball. Bright colors are good, but any color (like dad’s) will do.

TIME NEEDED: 3-5 minutes.

HOW TO

1. Toss the sock ball up and say up.

2. Drop the ball down and say down.

3. Give the ball to your baby to toss or drop. Say up or down when he or she tosses or drops it.

4. Take a sock ball for each of you to toss up, drop or roll.

5. Use more sock balls another day.

EVALUATION

Does your baby enjoy this? Be sure to praise him or her.

EASIER AND HARDER IDEAS

1. A younger child can be encouraged to roll or move the ball in any way.

2. An older child can match the socks to make the balls.

Paper Balls

Home Learning Enabler # 4

4-12 Months

REASON: To develop eye-hand coordination. To build listening skills.

MATERIALS: Crumpled gift wrap in balls. Square flat pieces of any discarded paper, about one foot square.

TIME NEEDED: 3-5 minutes.

HOW TO

1. Show your baby the ball(s) of crumpled gift wrap. Toss one up and watch it.

2. Show your baby the flat paper. Crumple it into a ball. Hold it near the baby’s ear while you do another one.

3. Give your baby a flat piece of paper and both of you make a ball.

4. Toss the balls.

5. Put the balls in a box to keep or in the trash basket when you are done. Let your baby help.

EVALUATION

Does your baby show interest and want to do it again?

EASIER AND HARDER IDEAS

1. A younger baby can watch you toss the brightly colored gift wrap balls up and catch them.

2. Hide a toy or other object in the box of paper balls. Let your baby find it. Rotate hidden toys.

Make a Shaker

Home Learning Enabler # 5

4-12 Months

REASON: To build listening skills. To develop eye-hand coordination. To talk about inside and outside.

MATERIALS: A coffee can, oatmeal box, shoe box or other container with a top. A small toy or object