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September 2024
Fun activities, aligned with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards,
to help prepare children for school success!
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We're in the Living Room! | |
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Babies
Put on a music or sing a nursery rhyme and help your baby clap hands, wiggle feet, bicycle legs. Show and help your baby to clap hands, wriggle fingers, twirl, and bob up and down. Read more!
Toddlers
Save clean containers of all shapes and sizes, like yogurt containers, margarine tubs, and plastic spice jars for your toddler to play with. Talk about which ones are big, and which are little. Encourage and help them put the small container inside the big container or to add items (like blocks) into the containers. Talk about when the items are in and when the items are out of the containers. Let them practice putting the lids on and taking them off. Read more!
Preschoolers
Low-adhesive tape, like masking or painters tape, can be used to make a road map in the living room. Working with your preschooler, ask where the roads should go. Will they go over a sofa? Under a table? Behind a chair? Once created, they can use toy vehicles, dolls or toy animals to follow the roads. Ask where the roads lead and what they will find at the end. Read more!
Kindergartners
Make giant ice-cubes by using clean yogurt, cottage cheese or sour cream plastic containers filled with water, then set into the freezer. Add a small item to the water filled container, like a small toy or other item. Have your kindergartner decide what item will be added. Is it too big or will it fit? Can they see the item once the ice is frozen? Once it's frozen, remove it from the container and use the ice block as ice puck. Kick or push the ice puck in the grass or hard area, like a sidewalk. How fast will it melt? What happens when it melts? Provide your kindergartner opportunities to touch the containers, feel the water before and after freezing, feel the weight and compare the containers empty, filled with water, and filled with ice. Read more.
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12 Family and Friends Books
Ciencia Magica enla sala de estar by Richard Robinson
Please, baby, please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee
Who’s in my Family by Robie H. Harris
More More More, Said the Baby: Three Love Stories by Vera Williams
Annie Rose is My Little Sister by Shirley Hughes
Lion in the Living Room by Caelaach McKinna & A. R. Stone
Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg
Toot & Puddle You Are my Sunshine by Holly Hobbie
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Max’s First Word by Rosemary Wells
Hunter’s Best Friend at School by L. M. Elliott
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Print this list!
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Is Your Family Ready for An Emergency?
September is National Emergency Preparedness Month. Use this month to help your family prepare for an emergency like floods, fires, winter storms and more.
Check out these resources to help your family prepare for emergencies.
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Pennsylvania Emergency Preparedness Guide: This guide will help you become better prepared by learning about different kinds of emergencies, how to create emergency plans and kits for your home, your vehicle and your workplace, and how to plan ahead if you have a special need.
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Family Communication Plan for Parents and Kids: Guidelines to help your family determine who would be your out-of-state point of contact, and where you would meet away from your home.
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Helping Children Cope: Tips to help children recognize their reactions during and after emergencies, and also help children cope with their emotions.
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Ready Kids: Ready Kids has tools and information to help before, during and after disasters. Play games, learn about disasters, and get tips to prepare before a disaster strikes.
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Tax Tips for Families
Raising children is an expensive endeavor, so money saving tips are always welcomed. The Internal Revenue Service has resources available for parents that have given birth to a child, expanded their family through adoption, and for grandparents raising their grandchildren.
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The Importance of Breakfast for Kids
Breakfast is an important step to refuel the body for both children and adults. Skipping breakfast can make kids feel tired, restless, or irritable, making it harder for them to learn! Breakfast eaters get better grades and score higher on standardized tests. And kids who participate in school lunch programs have fewer absences from school.
Kids who eat breakfast also tend to eat healthier overall and are more likely to be physically active — two great ways to help maintain a healthy weight.
This article from KidsHealth has some great breakfast tips to help fuel your kid's body and mind and get them set on the path of learning.
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Five Ways to Encourage Vegetables
Many young children can be choosy eaters, especially when it comes to eating vegetables. It can take them 10 or more tries before they like a new food. Keep trying – it will help them have healthier eating habits later. Here are five ways to get started:
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Eat together. Let your child see you enjoying vegetables at meals and snacks.
- Prepare together. Teach your child how to tear lettuce or add vegetable toppings to pizza.
- Get colorful. Choose different colors of vegetables to eat.
- Make vegetables fun. Read about them in books. Plant a seed and watch it grow.
- Share the adventure. Try a new vegetable each week.
Check out the USDA's Nibbles for Health Newsletter, Encouraging Vegetables, for more ideas!
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Read Aloud for 15 Minutes Per Day
The start of the school year sets the tempo and often brings chaos in its early days, therefore, it is very important to maintain good habits during this time. Reading aloud for 15 minutes every day can serve as a calm point during a hectic day and help your child develop. Find many useful free resources here.
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Free Mobile App - Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know
It's easier than ever to get health information. But sometimes, it’s difficult to weed out the good information, which is scientifically accurate, from the bad information, which is not based on science. This is especially true for vaccines.
In a continued effort to provide the public with information about the science, safety and importance of vaccines, the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC) has available a popular, award-winning mobile app, called Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know. Anyone can access vaccine information wherever and whenever they need it.
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Buckle Up for Safety
Make sure your child travels safely! At the www.pakidstravelsafe.org website, sponsored by the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, find all types of travel safety information to keep your child safe. Search for car seat recalls, locate a car seat loan program, find a car seat fitting station locations, and access a child car seat technician to ensure the correct installation of a car seat in a vehicle.
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The Monster in Your Home
There may be a monster in your home and it's right in front of your eyes. It's your television or tablet!
Spending time watching TV or using a tablet means your child may not be engaged in creative or learning activities, like reading, playing or just being a kid.
Many homes have one or more TVs or tablets. Too often, a child's free time may center around what's playing on TV or on the tablet. Watching excessive, or inappropriate shows or games can lead to:
- violent and aggressive behavior,
- obesity,
- poor body concept and self-image, and later,
- substance abuse and early sexual activity.
Get tips to help your family tame the monster in your home and take control of your family's TV or tablet habits.
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September Calendar of Activities to Support Early Learning Staff and Families
September is National Preparedness Month to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. Find preparedness tips for your early learning program, your health, your home, and your community.
Check out the September Calendar of Activities to support Early Learning Professionals and staff with activities and information to help prepare children and their families for school success.
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