Is My Child Falling Behind?

A concern that keeps coming up for parents of kids of all ages is, "Is my child falling behind?" Maybe your child started kindergarten or preschool this year but instead of school as usual, they are doing distance learning or hybrid learning. Maybe you have a two-year-old and they aren't getting to interact with other kids. The list goes on and on. Our current Covid reality means parents have a lot of concerns and one major one is the impact all these changes have on their child's learning and development. 

My hope is help put your mind at ease by telling you that despite all that is going and all the disruption it has brought, child development doesn't stop. Kids will continue to develop. The great news is that there are simple, easy and inexpensive things families can do at home to help support development. The even better news is that not only is are these things beneficial to kids, they are also good for parents and other caregivers!

• Plan family mealtimes. Choose a meal during your day when your whole family can sit down together and eat. Research shows that family meals are good for our brains, bodies and spirits. For young children, family mealtime has been shown to boost vocabulary. Family mealtimes also influence academic success even more so than the time your child spends doing homework! Family meals do not have to be gourmet and can be any meal during the day. Some families find that dinner/supper works best for family meals while other families find breakfast to be a good time to all eat together. Research shows kids who eat family meals have more balanced diets, eating more fruits and vegetables. Family meals have also been shown to lower the risk of kids participating risky behavior, like smoking or drinking. They have also been shown to lower the rates of depression in teenagers. A key to making the most of family mealtimes is to turn off distractions. In our house we turn off the tv and put our phones away so that we can join in conversation. We are not able to eat together everyday so our goal is to have 4 to 5 family meals a week. When our kids were younger we would all share our highs and lows from the day during mealtime to encourage conversation. You can also find some great conversation starters at The Family Dinner Project. 

• Practice serve and return. You might be wondering what exactly serve and return is. Simply put, serve and return is like a game of tennis. The child serves by paying attention to something and the adult returns by interacting with the child in a caring and responsive way. The cool thing about serve and return is that it builds your child's brain. There is a lot of research available that shows the important connection between brain development and caring, responsive interactions with an adult. Kids who experience these types of interactions typically hear more language. Neuroimaging has been used to show greater activity in children's language processing center of the brain from these types of interactions. These caring, sensitive relationships are also linked to cognitive competency, stronger secure attachments, emotional regulation, social skills and more. There are 5 easy steps to practicing serve and return with your child. 
• When a child serves, share their attention. The serve might be pointing at something, looking at something, or saying a word or sentence. Focus your attention on whatever they are focused on. 
• Encourage and support your child while returning their serve. You can do this by saying encouraging words, offering help, playing with them, facial expressions or physical affection. 
• Use words. Name what your child is focusing on. For example, a child might hold up a toy cow and say "Moo!" You could return this serve by saying, "That's right. A cow says Moo" or "You have a cow. A cow says Moo."
• Keep the interaction going back and forth by taking turns. Be sure to wait for your child to respond to your return. This wait time is so important to keeping the interaction going. 
• Notice when your child is done with an activity and ready to move onto the next thing.

        To see serve and return in action check out this great video here.

• Spend time outside. Spending time outside has many benefits for both children and adults. Kids who spend time outside are physically healthier. Children typically move more when they are outside, whether it is running, jumping, riding a bike or throwing and kicking balls. All of these different movements improve children's motor development. They also benefit from the aerobic exercise. Kids are less likely to be obese if they spend time playing outside because tend to burn more calories and build stronger bones and muscles. Spending time outside participating in unstructured play helps build cognitive and social/emotional skills. Unstructured play is child-driven. Adults can be involved in the play, but the children are driving the play, setting the rules, etc. Kids are more inventive and have the opportunity to use their  own abilities to explore when they are involved in unstructured play. They have the chance to practice turn taking, sharing, negotiating, cooperation, and communication when they play with friends, siblings or adults in unstructured play. And additionally, being outside in nature has been proven to reduce stress. Being outside also allows children to explore with and practice using all of their sensory skills. Kids are able to touch, smell, hear, see and possibly taste when they are outside in nature. They might see a flower, smell a flower and touch a flower, thus engaging 3 out 5 of their senses. Spending time outside can also increase your child's attention span. Spending time outside engages our kids' curiosity. It also encourages them to be more self-directed and spend more time on one activity. Kids who spend time outside are exposed to more sunlight which helps boost their Vitamin D. It also activates the part of the brain that is responsible for a strong immune system and happiness. Being outside can help improve your child's mood and make them happier. And when adults spend time outside, they also benefit in many of the same ways as kids. 

• Read books, tell stories and sing songs together with your child. Reading, story telling and singing songs help to build your child's vocabulary. The size of a child's vocabulary when they enter kindergarten is important to becoming a successful reader. These activities can also jumpstart your child's imagination. They can reenact books or stories that they have heard or create their own stories during their play. Kids can also learn social skills through books and stories. Songs and rhymes help improve listening skills as well as expose them to vocabulary. Make reading and storytelling a part of your daily routine. Some of my fondest memories of my children are around the books we shared when they were young. Even the books that we read over and over and over again! 

While there is a lot of upheaval in our daily lives, there are a lot simple ways we can support and encourage our kids' development. Just take it one day at a time. And despite the changes we are experiencing, children will continue to develop following a predictable pattern. Just take it one day at a time. And remember that the most important thing kids need to be successful is one loving adult in their life!

Change, Change, Change but Not Everything!

My family has experienced a lot of change over the past 6 months. My kids switched from in-person to distance learning. My husband started working from home and not traveling. We missed out on baseball and lacrosse season. My oldest graduated from high school in a virtual ceremony. Time spent with friends and family changed. My oldest daughter moved away for her first year of college. My two kiddos at home are experiencing school in a new way again. Whew! I am exhausted and slightly overwhelmed by all of this just typing it! I know my family isn't the only family weathering a lot change and upheaval from all that is going on in the world. One thing that has gotten me through this whole global pandemic is thinking about things that have remained constant for our family. 

 

Since this is the first blog of the new school year and the school year looks different than it ever has before, I thought it might be good to focus on things that have stayed constant for kids, family and our program. 

 

First, parents - you are your child's first and most important teacher. This is one of the tenets that Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) is built upon but it can also feel overwhelming for parents to hear this. Rest assured we aren't suggesting that you need to find the newest reading curriculum or run out and grab alphabet flashcards. What we know is that you know your child best. You know what they love, what they dislike, what they enjoy, what makes them crabby, what soothes them! The list goes on and on. All of this knowledge makes you best suited to teach your child all sort of things. Whether it's talking about colors, counting or sorting while playing with their favorite toys, or helping your child learn to start managing their emotions, you know what your child needs. 

Second, kids learn best through play! You don't need anything fancy to teach your child. They just need to play. And playing with you, their first and most important teacher, is powerful in so many ways. According to Psychology Today, parent-child play, both physical and pretend, "is linked with the child's competency, gross motor skills, peer group leadership, and cognitive development...Interactive play can also help a child learn how to regulate their emotions better." 

 

And finally, children's development is both universal and individual. All kids no matter where they are in the world follow the same basic pattern of development. For example, they typically lift their head up, then roll over, then sit up, then crawl and then walk. However, any parent who has had more than one child can tell you that these things might not happen at the exact same time. My daughters were both walking shortly after their first birthdays. My son didn't start walking until he was almost a 1 1/2 years old but once he started, he took off running! It is important to remember not to compare our kids to other kids because we know that each child has their own individual path of development. Your child’s early learning teacher or your health care provider can be a great resource for discussing concerns you may have about your child’s development. Another resource, Help Me Grow, provides many resources about the development of young children for parents.  These resources include information on developmental milestones, YouTube videos, caregiver strategies to support development, screening and evaluation, and how to talk about developmental concerns. 

With all the changes families have had to face, it is important to all of us at South Washington County Schools to be one of the constants for families. We know that the look of our programming, whether ECFE classes or preschool, may be different but we are striving to still provide the same quality learning for both parents and children. Here are just a few ways that we will be connecting with families this year. 

• Home Consultations-Parents can request a virtual consultation with aLicensed Parent Educator to discuss a variety of different topics related to parenting and/or their child. Some common topics covered are bedtime routines, mealtime, dealing with strong emotions, soothing your baby, and so much more! These consultations are available for families with children age birth to grade 3. Request yours today at https://forms.gle/6s3GRnuqTxhQ2Z2u7.
• Preschool Text to Connect-This is a simple way to learn more about your child's social emotional development. Parents of kids in threes or fours preschool who sign up for this program receive two text messages per week, a fact about social emotional development and an easy to implement tip to support that development. Sign up is easy. Threes preschool families can text @48k6e7 to 81010 to automatically join. Fours preschools families can text @97ka9ba to 81010 to automatically join. 
• ECFE Classes-We are offering both in person and distance learning classes for the fall for families with children birth to age 5. For more information on classes please see our brochure. There is still space available in some classes.
• Special Events – All expectant parents and parents of babies, ages birth to 8 months are invited to an ECFE Virtual Community Baby Shower on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, 6:00-7:00 pm.  This event is FREE, but RSVP is required by visiting https://sowashco.ce.eleyo.com.  Use course number CP007-02 to register.
• Facebook-Like us on Facebook. Our South Washington County Early Learning page is a valuable resource for families. It is a great place to find program updates but that is not all. We post fun early childhood activities, like Circle Time Videos, that you can use at home. It is also a great place to find valuable and reliable parenting resources. 

 

Throughout this period of change, remember to focus on those things that remain constant in your life. South Washington County Schools Early Learning Program is here for you and ready to connect with support and resources during this unprecedented time.