Dilly Days with Beth and Joellyn: Authors of The InvestiGator Club™ for Robert-Leslie Publishing

Signs for flu shots have been popping up on the marquees of our local pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and schools this week. I checked with the Center for Disease Control to find out who should get the flu vaccine and when. The answer was that anyone who wants to reduce their chances of getting the flu should get vaccinated, especially if you are in one of the following categories:
• Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday
• Pregnant women
• People 50 years of age and older
• People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from the flu

The flu season is already underway, peaking in February. The best time to get the vaccine is early Fall. If you want more information about which flu strands the 2008-2009 vaccine protects against or where to get flu vaccines in your area, go to www.cdc.gov/flu/flu_vaccines_updates.htm.

I am sitting at my desk in Florida. Florida, whose nickname is “The Sunshine State,” has been anything but sunny for the last few weeks. Tropical storms and hurricanes have been in our weather forecast constantly. I’ve watched intently as Gustav made his way up the Gulf Coast, leaving flood waters, downed trees, power outages, and destruction in his path. Now as Hanna and Ike bear down on the United States, we’ve secured our home and gathered emergency equipment, food and water in the event that any of these storms hit us. We cautiously wait and watch as the storms churn around us, our nerves a little frazzled and our anxiety levels heightened. We are alert and ready to take action if necessary.

Young children are very susceptible to fear and anxiety about storms, too. This is particularly true if they:
• have had direct experience with a bad storm in the past.
• are sensitive to your heightened anxiety.
• have a vivid imagination.
• see and hear about the storm on TV.

So, I’m wondering what preschool teachers and parents do to reassure children and help them overcome their fears. This is such an important topic, I’d love to hear what you’ve done that works.

Here are 2 comments from parents in Orlando:

Alaina: As much as possible, I try to keep to our regular schedule. It makes my daughter feel more secure and heads off those “I’m over-tired tears.” Bedtime is the hardest time, so I make sure that we eat at our regular time, bathe, and get ready for bed as we always do. Then, we snuggle up together and I read Emily’s favorite story – Good Night Moon.

Carissa: We prepared for the storms by securing patio furniture, garbage cans, and other objects that might become airborne projectiles. Since Spencer loves to build things, I alleviated the tension by bringing the patio furniture into the playroom and letting him build forts with it. It kept him busy and his mind off the wind and the rain outside.

Please take a minute to share your experiences and suggestions.

It is natural and appropriate to integrate curriculum in the preschool classroom. During a workshop at the One Goal Summer Conference in Tampa, Florida this month, teachers and directors from across the state became active participants in Investigation Stations where literature, music, and math activities were used to introduce science-based explorations. Why? Because building background, tapping prior knowledge, developing vocabulary, and sparking curiosity and imagination are all precursors to successful exploration in science!

My thanks to the participants who made this workshop so much fun and who contributed their classroom experiences and knowledge. It was a great learning experience!

Included below are the data collecting posters and handouts so that every teacher who wants to keep children curious with some great integrated science activities will have the materials they need.

Data Collecting Posters
Boats Afloat
Color-Mixing
Go! Go! Go!
Ice Melting Contest
Sensory Station
What Do Plants Need?

Event Photos

This past weekend, I did something I haven’t done in far too long: I took a trip to the local library. As I browsed the selection, it made me realize that the local library is a resource that is underused by many parents. Even though your preschooler is not able to read on his or her own yet, a love of the library is a wonderful thing to develop at this young age. Familiarity with libraries is a great school skill to have. Regular visits will also promote appreciation for books and reading as well as encourage responsibility. Here are some suggestions and strategies to employ:

1. If your library allows, get a library card in your child’s name. Help your child understand that the card is his/hers and that he/she will be able to decide what gets checked out.
2. Establish an area in your home dedicated to library materials. Unless an item is in use, it needs to live here. On every trip to the library and back, carry out the same routine of picking up return items from this space and placing newly checked out ones here.
3. Determine for your child a set number of items that he/she is able to have out at one time. Work with your child to understand that however many items he/she returns is how many he/she can then take out.
4. Children’s library rooms usually have special sections for their youngest patrons. Point out the age-specific shelves to your child. You may decide that other materials are also appropriate choices, but set the physical boundaries so your child will know from which areas he/she may choose.

Remember that libraries contain more than just books. There will also be videos, music CDs, games, puppets, and computer software that your family will be able to take home and use. In my experience, children’s librarians really love what they do. If you ask, they’ll be happy to point out all the different services of the library and how best to use them. For example, if your child is especially interested in a particular topic at the moment, such as dinosaurs, they may be able to pull books in advance of your visit. Then you and your child will be able to go right to a stack of materials on a table upon your arrival.

Not to mention - you might find some good summertime reading for yourself!

With all this talk about nutrition and healthy choices, you may be getting the feeling that this is serious, serious business. While it is all very important, there is no need to bypass the fun. How about:

• using colorful cupcake wrappers to hold nuts and pieces of cut-up fruits and vegetables.
• using cookie cutters or ice cream molds to shape rice, scrambled eggs, beans, etc.
• having the children decorate their own placemats on construction paper. Once you cover them with contact paper, you’ll have placemats that will last through many uses.

Instead of teaching children to always clean their plates, a healthier alternative is to encourage them to eat to their appetites. Growth spurts and a child’s mood will make for inconsistent interest at meal times. By creating smaller portions, children can gauge how much they want to eat at each sitting. Establish an environment where it is perfectly alright to ask for seconds and thirds.

Where do your preschoolers eat? A positive and comfortable eating area in the classroom helps children focus on the food when it is time to eat. Provide a place for each child at an appropriately sized table.

To help transition in and out of snack time from activity times, assign children specific tasks that must be completed before and after each meal break. Perhaps it is someone’s responsibility to place a napkin at each spot or to make sure that all the garbage ends up in the garbage can. Wow parents by modeling and role-playing appropriate table manners. Have certain meals be extra special ones so everyone can practice and show-off what he or she has learned.

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the best way for children to learn about nutrition is when they are involved with actual food—”not simply answer[ing] questions in workbooks or sing[ing] songs about vegetables.”

Here’s a snack-time activity to combine healthy eating with fine motor-skill development and the proper use of utensils. Set out small containers of fruit yogurt and graham crackers. Have the children use spoons or cheese spreaders (no sharp edges) to add yogurt on top of the crackers. They can experiment and decide just how much yogurt to add to get the best taste combination.

I will be leading three presentations at this week’s National Head Start Training Conference in Nashville. They are all tomorrow, the 22nd. Whew!

• 8:00 to 9:30 am: Using a Core Curriculum that Emphasizes the Needs of Children with Diverse Abilities
• 10:00 to 11:30 am: Building Relationships Between Schools and Families
• 12:00 to 1:30 pm: A Fully Intertwined Approach to Science and Literacy

I’ll also be in exhibition booth #331 for Robert-Leslie Publishing on the 23rd and 24th.

Beth is going to be attending and presenting at the Alabama Pre-K Conference in Montgomery this week. At dinner on Wednesday night, she’ll be speaking on “This is the Bestest Day of My Life: Bringing Joy to the Preschool Classroom through Social and Emotional Development.”

Then on Thursday afternoon (3:30–4:45), she is leading the breakout session: Investigating with Science Wrapped in Literacy. You can also meet her on the exhibit floor. Please stop by and say “hi!”