Rediscover the Library

I heard about a great new feature at the West Vancouver Library! They have book bags for various ages. Rather than running around the library with babies and toddlers in tow, they have canvas bags full of 5 theme related books, a cd, and puppet. You sign out the bag just as you would a book. What a great idea!


The library also has some great books online. This isn't something I ever thought I would use, as I'm a big advocate of paper books (one of my pre-baby lives was as a book store manager). But it's really quite fun, and another way to get toddlers and preschoolers reading, tracking, and using fine motor skills.

Nighty Night!

How many hours of sleep is your child getting? Failure to get enough sleep can lead to irritability, difficulty concentrating, and problems learning. Children under 3 years of age should sleep about 12 hours a night with a one hour nap during the day. Older children will sleep around 10 hours a night. I know it's sometimes easier to give in to unhealthy sleeping habits. Sleep deprivation can really wear you down, but the sooner you can establish healthy sleep patterns the better. Here are a few tips to remember:

- Activities leading up to bedtime should be calm and quiet.
- Establish a nightly bedtime routine so your child will know what to expect.
- Avoid using DVDs or the TV to help your child fall asleep.
- Dim the lights and any household noise to signal it is time for sleep.
- Try to help your child learn to self sooth and relax.

Don't forget to get your sleep too! (Not that I'm one to talk, particularly!)

One of my favourite nighttime rituals is one that I stole from our neighbours at the cabin (voices travel REALLY well over the water at night!). They were sitting outside on the porch before bed, and everyone had to share what their favourite part of the day was. I got the distinct impression that they did this every night. It seemed like a really great idea. Now my son and I whisper these to each other as I tuck him in.

Family Time: Here, There, & Everywhere Week 6

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING
Vestibular Stimulation: Balance is the ability to take up and maintain a body position against the force of gravity. Simple balance develops early, but becomes more complex as the brain improves its ability to integrate messages from the eyes, inner ear, and muscles in the neck. Movement and the attainment of balance depend upon this connection of messages. Moving activities stimulate the inner ear, also known as vestibular stimulation. Fluid in the inner ear passes over nerve endings, sending messages to the brain about the position of the body in space, and helps the young child counter gravity and control eye movements as well as attain balance.

Movement and Learning: Children learn best with their bodies. B providing a venue for movement, children have a chance to “try out” a variety of expressions. Being sensory learners, children should be encouraged to move, use their imaginations and large and small muscles groups, and be engaged mentally and emotionally. Physical, mental, and emotional developmental qualities of young children are so intertwined and interrelated that when one area is affected, the other two areas are equally affected.

IMAGINE THAT! Cities Week 6

Listening with intention is a strong focus of this week’s class. I’m sure you recognize the importance of being able to focus on and attend to sounds—vocal and otherwise. This ability can affect our everyday life in many ways: attending to conversation, listening for directions, enjoying the sounds of nature, recognizing sounds of caution, etc.

This week we'll listen to a song in French, to the sounds a bicycle makes, and to several different city sounds. In the City Square Listening Game, we will listen to two different sounds at one time and determine what they are. You can play this listening game at home by cutting out the last page of your Family Activity Book and listening to your Home CD 1, track 24. Match the pictures to the sounds you hear!

Our TIME: FIDDLE-DEE-DEE Week 6

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

LOUD & QUIET: Dynamics are important to the expressive power of music. As toddlers come into control of their bodies, we present them with opportunities not only to hear and identify the difference between loud and quiet sounds but also to create loud and quiet sounds with their voices and bodies and with instruments.

FIDDLE-DEE-DEE AT HOME: Check out the activity “My Own Song Book” on page 6 of the Home Activity Book. Words from favourite songs or rhymes can be used to create this special book.

COMPLETE SENTENCES: The importance of talking to a child in full sentences is paramount. This Little Piggy Played the Fiddle allows children to hear and then mimic full ideas. Books also lay out ideas in complete sentences, thus assisting full thought development.

MASSAGE OF THE NECK, SHOULDERS, & BACK: Gentle massage of the neck and shoulders creates oxytocin, a hormone that produces feelings of calm and comfort. Massage of the back provides stimulation to an area that is vitally important to child development. As the back is stimulated, it stimulates the growth of nerves all over the body.

Village: Hickory Dickory Tickle & Bounce Week 6

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

DORIAN MODE: Much of the Western music encountered on a regular basis is either major or minor; yet there is a range of other types of scales (or modes) that can be used in music as well. Sulla Lulla uses the dorian mode. Dorian mode can be demonstrated using the pattern of eight white keys on a piano beginning on D and ending on D at the next octave. Modes are used in some church music and in folk songs and jazz.

RECEPTIVE & EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE: Understanding language and talking are two different processes. Both require that a child hears well enough to distinguish meaningful sounds. Understanding is a sensory perception process sometimes called receptive language. A child will understand many words before she starts to use them in speech. Speaking is a motor process – getting the muscles of the tongue and mouth to function together just right to produce the desired sound. This is often referred to as expressive language.

ROCKING: Rocking has so many advantages for your baby. It soothes, provides rhythmic motion, and promotes muscular strength, control, balance, and lateralization (development of the right and left sides of the body).

FUN & LEARNING: If an activity is not fun for your child or you, don’t do it. When we say “fun” that means that the child’s mind is engaged, that the child feels capable and powerful. Delight is a key ingredient in all learning. If the child is frustrated, stop the activity and offer it at a later date.

LEARNING TO RELAX: We know as adults that we encounter stress, but we may forget that babies also experience stress and frustration as a natural part of learning and growth. Helping your baby learn to intentionally relax will serve her well all her life as she encounters the stresses of the world.

PENTATONIC SCALE: The pentatonic scale can be demonstrated using the pattern of five black keys on the piano. Scales of this type are widely distributed geographically and historically, e.g., in American Indian music, European and Anglo-American folk music, and in musical cultures of the Far East and Southeast Asia.

Be On the Lookout

The RCMP - North Vancouver Detachment has issued the following alert:

February 21, 2007

Further to our fanout of February 15th regarding the black "babysitter" van, be advised there have now been four sightings of this van around schools in the North Vancouver and West Vancouver areas. During two of these incidents, children were approached by the van and spoken to by the male driver. In the other two incidents the vehicle was witnessed driving in the vicinity of schools, however no children were involved.

The vehicle description is a black van with the word "babysitter" on the rear of the van in white lettering.

The suspect description is as follows:
Dark skinned male in his mid 30s with dark shoulder length hair and a goatee, possible a small moustache.

If you witness this van, please note the licence plate number if possible, and call 9-1-1 immediately.

North Vancouver School District
721 Chesterfield Avenue
North Vancouver BC V7M 2M5 Canada
Phone 604.903.3449 Fax 604.903.3448
E-Mail psampson@nvsd44.bc.ca

Get Your Tickets!

The Optimists of the North Shore support children locally. Their motto is "to bring out the best in kids" - who doesn't want that?

They are doing a fundraiser next Thursday, March 1st. Proceeds go directly to helping families on the North Shore who have children undergoing cancer treatments.

You can support their cause and support the arts at the same time. Buy your tickets to "The Motor Trade" playing at the Deep Cover Shaw Theatre. Tickets are $15, and $5 from each ticket will go the Optimists. You can purchase tickets by calling Mary, President of the North Shore Vancouver Optimists, at 604.929.3902.

There will be a silent auction from 7pm until the end of intermission. The play starts at 8pm.

I am unable to attend, but will purchase 2 tickets. The first person to email me will receive 2 free tickets to the show!

Add a little spice to your workout routine!

I've committed to the Sun Run training after 10 years of good excuses (well, not GOOD excuses...). I've only had to do one run on a treadmill so far, but these guys make me want to try it again!

Yay, You!

What a computer should do.
Click HERE to feel good.

(Enter your name, it's worth it!)

Family Time: Here, There, & Everywhere Week 5

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

Audiation: People can “hear” words even when they read silently inside their heads. In music this concept is called audiation, which is basically “thinking” a song inside our heads without singing. A good example of this is the song Bingo where children audiate the first few letters and just sing “N-G-O”. The development of audiation creates an understanding of music that allows a person to consciously predict patterns in unfamiliar music, and this act of predicting exercises active listening skills, creativity, and the imagination.

Singing & Speaking: Singing ability is related to the ability to control speech fluctuations, and speech activities appear to help develop tuneful singing skills. The ability to sing and the ability to converse with expressive speech are closely related. Playing with rhythmic speech (chants, poems, rhymes, etc.) as well as simple tonal melodies help the child develop both singing and speech skills.

The Joy of Music: Music is unique to humans. Music is as basic as language to human development and existence. Through music a child gains insight into herself, into others, and into life itself. Perhaps most important, she is better able to develop and sustain her imagination. Without music, life would be bleak. Because a day does not pass without a child’s hearing or participating in some music, it is to a child’s advantage to understand music as thoroughly as she can. As a result, as she becomes older she will learn to appreciate, listen to, and partake in music that she herself believes to be good. Because of such cultural awareness, her life will have more meaning for her.

IMAGINE THAT! Cities Week 5

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

This week we'll play several “stop and go” games. As you know, the concept of “stop and go” is an important one for your child to learn. The ability to control our movements is important in many situations, including walking in a big city and when we are among a large group of people. We will walk, tiptoe, and gallop to drum cues listening carefully for the “ready stop” which indicat time for us to stop our movement. You can play this game at home with your child by moving to the sounds of Home CD 1, track 10.

The introduction of a statue game reinforces the “stop and go” concept this week. Children love to “pose” and are given ample opportunity to pose as imaginative statues. We will sing Walk All Around (Home CD 1, track 22) and pose at the end of the song. This is another fun game you can play with your child at home, thus helping to solidify the learning taking place through Kindermusik!

I hope that you and your child are finding this class a meaningful and fun learning environment. If you have ideas or observations you would like to pass along to us, please feel free to send me an e-mail, give me a call, or chat with Sarah after class.

OUR TIME: FIDDLE-DEE-DEE Week 5

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNERS: Young children learn by doing. Fun activities that link developmentally appropriate movement experiences with language are most effective for teaching concepts and vocabulary to these experiential learners.

FIDDLE-DEE-DEE AT HOME: Even as toddlers are experiencing a language growth spurt, they will enjoy learning the quiet language of signing for a few words. Animal names are a fun place to start. To say “mouse” in American Sign Language loosely make a fist, then extend your index finger and gently flick it along the tip of your nose twice. Check page 10 of your Home Activity Book for more about signing.

Village: Hickory Dickory Tickle & Bounce Week 5

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING
INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIPS: Face-to-face communication, along with touch, vocalization and body posture, are key elements in establishing interactive relationships.

HUMMING: Humming along with the music provides a pleasurable experience for your baby. Your baby held close will feel and enjoy the comforting vibrations of the adult’s body while hearing the soothing sounds of the hum.

BENEFITS OF CHIME BALL PLAY: Balls are classic children’s toys. Chime balls have the added interest of a sound contained within them. When your baby plays with the chime ball, she experiences tactile and auditory stimulation, and her play helps her on the path to developing understanding of cause and effect, eye-hand coordination, and sound localization. All this while she’s having fun!

Can you hear what I hear?

Listening is such an important skill for children to acquire. Among other areas, it plays a vital role in language development, conversation skills, and academic success. When you speak, your baby probably listens intently while studying your face. Allow time for him to respond back. This will help him understand a conversation involves both listening and speaking.

In Kindermusik class, we listen to a variety of sounds and label what they are. Focused listening activities like this help children practice tuning out distractions while interpreting and understanding one sound. You can play this game at home too. Take your baby or older child on a sound scavenger hunt. What sounds can you identify? Be sure to try to mimic the sounds for some added language development.

Happy Valentines Day!

Here's a great theory on how Valentines Day began. It appeals to my love of academic theory and the perpetual quest for personal betterment. Thanks for sharing, Molly!

Valentines Day didn't start with romantic love at all. The very first Valentine was written some umpteen years ago, when a woman wasn't supposed to know the same things as a man. Probably some time in a century when they would even kill a free-thinking man, like Socrates.

Still, there was a young woman who sought a tutor of her own. In secret they would meet under a tree on a hill where he taught her how to reason, read books and world maps, and he taught her the rhetoric of politicians and scholars.

It wasn't long before the girl's father found out. This being a punishable and scandalous crime, the man was sentenced to die. On the day of his execution he sent the girl a note, which was, in fact, the very first Valentine.

On the front was a hand-drawn picture of a tree where they used to sit, with the following words on the inside:

"Never stop learning. Never stop growing."

This would be my Valentines wish for all the 'Notable Kids' out there!

Finger Painting Gets Fancy!

It's cold and flu season, especially here in Vancouver apparently. Remember to keep your little ones at home if they're suffering from anything that oozes in technicolour. You are more than welcome to do make-ups during the semester at any age-appropriate class. Some classes are full, so make sure to call or email if you're coming to a make-up.

Here are some fun things to do with your hands if you find yourself at home with a whole lot of time. These pictures make me think of Zoo Train, one of my favourite Our Time camps! Have fun making all of the animal sounds with your little one.

FAMILY TIME: Here, There, & Everywhere Week 4

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING
Conversation: A dialogue between two partners is a conversation when it consists of multiple, balanced turns around a shared topic. Unlike other types of communication, which involve communicating concrete needs, wants, or delivering instructions, conversation focuses on interaction. Conversational interactions with young children, like the one about frogs in Frog Kiss, should involve:
- short turn taking, in which the adult and child engage in actions with or without objects
- following the child’s lead in terms of interest
- a playful atmosphere – enjoy the time spent together
- modeling communication techniques, including “commenting”, “describing”, and “requesting information”

The Value of Play: Play is a natural activity for children. The child at play is self-motivated and actively engaged. Whereas games are governed by rules, the value of play is that it provides freedom from evaluation and judgment. The freedom of a playful atmosphere fosters intellectual development as well as self-construction and the development of personality.

Awareness of Meter and Steady Beat: When attention is focused on the first beat or syllable of each measure, children are encouraged to become aware of larger groupings or the meter in music. Focusing attention on the smaller rhythmic subdivisions within each measure encourages children to become aware of steady beat. The awareness of meter and steady beat develops an aural listening capacity in the child that will help her better perceive nuances and meaning in spoken language.

IMAGINE THAT! Cities Week 4

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

I hope you and your child are enjoying the many sounds of the city through the many sounds on your Home CDs. Traffic Jammers (Home CD 1, track 2) is always a favorite of the children, sure to elicit lots of laughter. Listen for the great diversity among musical styles on the CDs. For example, jazz abounds in songs such as In the City and The Broom Man; traditional songs are heard in The Wheels on the Bus, Where Has My Little Dog Gone? and many more; and classical music tracks include Mussorgsky’s The Market Place at Limoges. These are just a few examples of the wide variety of pieces on your Home CDs. Exposure to many types of music allows your child’s appreciation for and understanding of music to grow.

OUR TIME: FIDDLE-DEE-DEE Week 4

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING
CONVERSATION SKILLS: The echoing in the Tick Tock vocal play begins as imitation but can develop through improvisation on the part of the teacher or the children. The exchange, whether imitative or improvised, allows children to experience the give and take of conversation. This is vital to the development of conversation skills which is an important element of social development.

PRAISE THE ACCOMPLISHMENT: In acknowledging a child’s choice to participate it is important to praise the accomplishment rather than to make a global comment such as “Good girl!” or “Good boy!”. When the latter type of praise is used frequently, there is the danger that the child might interpret the absence of such praise to mean, “I’m a bad boy” or “I’m not good enough.” Example of appropriate praise include the following: “Great job. You played the drum!”; “You’re good at that!”; and “You did it!”

Village: Hickory Dickory Tickle & Bounce Week 4

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING
SELF-AWARENESS & SOCIAL INTERACTION: The Heigh-Ho, Hello song acknowledges your baby’s developing self-awareness by addressing her individually. It also encourages social interaction by inviting her to respond with a greeting – whether that be to look, coo or wave for the first time. You may find that your baby learns new behaviours from singing this song each week.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: The more you expose your baby to language through speech and song, the stronger his language skills will be. Language acquisition is a gradual process that involves many facets of development including: listening, facial interaction, symbolic play, means to end behaviour, object permanence, imitation and vocal chord development. Vocal play, as in Morning Song, can aid in your baby’s language acquisition.

BOUNCING: Bouncing provides vestibular stimulation to keep your baby attentive and alert. It also helps to increase muscle tone, as the child has to adjust her posture to stay upright while being bounced to keep from falling over.

BABY BELL CHALLENGES & BENEFITS: As your baby handles and moves the bells, she experiences cognitive and physical challenges and reaps benefits as she overcomes these challenges. She has the opportunity either to use her fine motor skills to grasp the bells between thumb and index finger or to use a fisted grasp pattern. She can practice using whole arm movements and simple wrist movements. Depending on her age she may practice transferring the bells from one hand to the other or reaching for the bells at a distance.

VARIETY OF MOVEMENTS: The Sonata for Flute dance helps to develop the vestibular system. The variety of movements linear and rotary helps your baby develop a sense of gravity, balance and where his body is in space. The linear movements are soothing and the rotary movements are stimulating. A well-developed vestibular system provides emotional security, good muscle tone and develops auditory language processing and visual-spatial processing.

Sharks, Turtles, & Octopi - Oh My!

Warren & I went scuba diving this morning. It felt great to get out there again - especially in the warm water!


White tip reef sharks lurking in the coral.


Lots of enormous turtles. Good news: they are no longer on the endangered species list, but they are still protected by State law.


A wonderful find! A little octopus that gave us quite a show!

And I was singing songs from Creatures at the Ocean the whole time!!!

IMAGINE THAT! Cities Week 3

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

As the children become more and more comfortable in the Kindermusik setting, I find that they are able to contribute more and more to their class experience. One of the many benefits of Kindermusik is that in a small class, your child is able to offer ideas upon which activities may be builtand developed.

This week, Hey Lolly (a silly song!) becomes even funnier as the children offer their own silly words to insert. We will sing and laugh to “Hey monkey…Hey bubbly…Hey wiggly….”

Also, the children will “find lost dogs.” Imagination abounds at this age and, when given the opportunity, the preschooler always amazes us with the many details of their own story!

P.S. Have your child bring a favorite stuffed animal to class next week.

OUR TIME: FIDDLE-DEE-DEE Week 3

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

THE VALUE OF REPETITION: Growth and development of the child from birth to seven years old take place primarily through the child’s body experiences. Repetition aids in solidifying the brain’s neural pathways which are formed through experience of activities.

CREATIVITY: Activities that provide an opportunity for flexibility, change or rearrangement encourage creativity. The creative process enhances the child’s ability to think in different ways, extending the thought process.

PRETEND PLAY: Imitation is the first stage of pretend play. As imitation evolves it becomes more imaginative. The complexity of pretend play can be seen when the child re-examines life experiences by adding or changing the happening. Benefits of pretend play include: vocabulary development, social skill development, differentiation between reality and fantasy, and emotional support.

MUSICAL VARIETY: Experiencing musical variety is essential to a complete musical education. Listening to the non-Western instruments featured in the recording of Usagi, Usagi and hearing and singing music in non-Western tonalities present the brain with new patterns and information to interpret, or new food for thought and brain development.

Village: Hickory Dickory Tickle & Bounce Week 3

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

TOUCH: Touch is your baby’s first language. Through the nurturing touch of infant massage, you communicate deep love and respect to your child in a language he or she understands well.

REPETITION: Your baby can enjoy and activity for many repetitions. With this “practice” new connections are made in your baby’s brain, actually helping it grow, and your baby experiences the satisfaction of intentionally causing an effect in his world. In one study on this subject, an 11 month old joyfully rolled a ball to a willing adult playmate 180 times before losing interest! Sound familiar?

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT & MOVEMENT: Brain development is directly linked to movement. Holding your baby in different positions develops different neural connections in the brain.

MAJOR SCALE: This song, which illustrates the lesson focus of up and down, also presents a fundamental musical pattern for your baby to hear, a major scale. Babies’ brains are primed to scan their world for patterns such as this. Since the Bell Ringing Tune is sung on repeated nonsense syllables or one-syllable words rather than lyrics, the pattern in made all the more simple for your baby to detect.

Whale Watching

We've got some calmer weather, and so we went for a whale watching tour with The Pacific Whale Foundation. They have naturalists on board to explain all that you see (or don't see). We got lucky and had lots of breaching whales, some dolphins that came right up to the boat, and a bunch of sea turtles as we were coming back in.

Jacob liked the dolphins the best. Piper slept nearly the whole time on my lap in the bowels of the boat. Fortunatley, I've been on a few tours before, and didn't feel too left out.

Check out the site above, as there are lots of neat video clips of whales for little ones to watch with you.

Sorry for the lack of posts and photos. Poppa likes to use his camera (actually, it's Granna's), and we don't have the right plug to upload all of his amazing pictures! We'll try to use ours a little more regularly!

Aloha!

We arrived in Maui after a long flight. Piper & I met a lot of people while standing at the bathrooms. That will happen when you're there for 5 hours!

The weather has been stormy. Big waves have washed away the beach, and we've had quite a bit of rain. It should get nicer by Saturday. Today we'll hit the aquarium for a while.

Despite the rain, we still manage to exhaust ourselves by bedtime!