Here are a few ideas of other things to do during Turn Off Your TV:
1. Volunteer in a school to teach reading, math, computer skills.
2. Learn to play the guitar or other musical instrument.
3. Attend community concerts.
4. Organize a community clean-up.
5. Put together a puzzle.
6. Visit the library. Borrow a book. Attend library activities.
7. Go ice skating or roller skating.
8. Listen to the radio.
9. Visit the zoo.
10. Paint a picture, a mural or a room.
11. Attend a high school sporting event.
12. Find out about your area's community center or park's activities.
13. Go swimming. Join a community swim team.
14. Read a book aloud to your younger sister/brother.
15. Plan a picnic or barbecue.
16. Go bird watching.
17. Volunteer for a community organization or charity.
18. Play with your pet.
19. Go dancing.
20. Write a letter to a friend or relative.
21. Learn to cook.
22. Plant a flower, vegetable or herb garden.
23. Read magazines or newspapers.
24. Plan a slumber party.
25. Start a neighborhood basketball, soccer, or kickball game.
26. Go camping (even if it's just in the backyard!).
27. Join a choir.
28. Go through your closets and clothes. Donate surplus items to Goodwill, the Salvation Army or a local rummage sale.
29. Start a diary/journal.
30. Go to a museum.
31. Take a nature hike. Collect seeds and leaves. Make a collage with the materials you collected and post it on the refrigerator.
32. Play cards.
33. Start a community exercise group that power walks, runs, or bikes.
34. Read a story to your younger brother or sister.
35. Get out the family photo album. Research your family history.
36. Go listen to a local band.
37. Make crafts to give as gifts.
38. Make up a story and write it down.
39. Learn to say simple phrases in a few different languages.
40. Ask an older family member to tell you a story about his or her childhood. Write about it.
41. Learn some new riddles or jokes.
42. Bake two batches of cookies; one for your family and one for a neighbor.
43. Watch the night sky through binoculars; identify the different constellations. Observe the moon.
44. Visit a local bookstore.
45. Go to a movie with your family or friends.
46. Walk to work or school.
47. Start a kids bowling league.
48. Train for a 5K race.
49. Teach a neighbor about a computer program.
50. Go fishing.
51. Begin a family project.
52. HAVE A PARTY TO CELEBRATE A TV-FREE WEEK.
These were prepared by tvturnoff.org. You can find more information at http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/turnoffweek/TV.turnoff.week.html
Thursday, March 31, 2011
National Turn Off The TV Week
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT TV from tvturnoff.org
•Number of 30-second commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
•Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
•Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
•Percentage of children ages 6-17 who have TV's in their bedrooms: 50
•Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
•Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
•Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500
•Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
ABOUT TV-FREE AMERICA AND THE NATIONAL TV-TURNOFF WEEK
TV-Free America is a national nonprofit organization that was founded in 1994 to raise awareness about the harmful effects of excessive television-watching and encourage Americans to reduce the amount of television that they watch--and replace TV time with activities that lead to more literate, productive lives and engaged citizenship.
•Number of 30-second commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
•Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
•Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
•Percentage of children ages 6-17 who have TV's in their bedrooms: 50
•Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
•Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
•Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500
•Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
ABOUT TV-FREE AMERICA AND THE NATIONAL TV-TURNOFF WEEK
TV-Free America is a national nonprofit organization that was founded in 1994 to raise awareness about the harmful effects of excessive television-watching and encourage Americans to reduce the amount of television that they watch--and replace TV time with activities that lead to more literate, productive lives and engaged citizenship.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Choosing A Good Book For Your Child
How to Choose Good Books For Your Child
“One approach is to look for award-winning books. There are two famous awards for children's literature made each year by the American Library Association that are good indicators of quality work: the Caldecott Medal for illustration and the Newbery Medal for writing. But these are given to only two of the approximately 2,500 new children's books published each year,” according to Kathryn Perkinson from the United States Department of Education. Your local librarian can give your recommendations of books best suited to your child’s age and interests.
You can also go to http://www.parents.com/fun/book-gallery/ to find some of the best books for your child, organized by age. Scholastic also has many suggestions for books to read with your infant and toddler at http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/choose-books-for-your-baby-and-toddler/.
Reading a variety of books to children including alphabet, number, narrative, predictable, rhyming, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry books give children a vast experience with books.
Reading books with a plot also teaches children that stories have a beginning, middle, and end which helps with their recall and their ability to comprehend sequences of events.
For young children you want to make sure the books are durable, so choosing a cloth book for babies and a cardboard book for toddlers is a helpful so they can explore the books on their own.
Happy Reading!
“One approach is to look for award-winning books. There are two famous awards for children's literature made each year by the American Library Association that are good indicators of quality work: the Caldecott Medal for illustration and the Newbery Medal for writing. But these are given to only two of the approximately 2,500 new children's books published each year,” according to Kathryn Perkinson from the United States Department of Education. Your local librarian can give your recommendations of books best suited to your child’s age and interests.
You can also go to http://www.parents.com/fun/book-gallery/ to find some of the best books for your child, organized by age. Scholastic also has many suggestions for books to read with your infant and toddler at http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/choose-books-for-your-baby-and-toddler/.
Reading a variety of books to children including alphabet, number, narrative, predictable, rhyming, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry books give children a vast experience with books.
Reading books with a plot also teaches children that stories have a beginning, middle, and end which helps with their recall and their ability to comprehend sequences of events.
For young children you want to make sure the books are durable, so choosing a cloth book for babies and a cardboard book for toddlers is a helpful so they can explore the books on their own.
Happy Reading!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Literacy
Literacy is the growing ability of children to construct meaning from print. The ability to read and write begins at birth as parents talk and read to infants and toddlers. Literacy skills, which are the ability to listen, speak, read, and write are all interdependent. These skills open to door to academic achievement and provide lifelong opportunities for learning, exploring, personal expression and pleasure.
Partner's In Education Conference
Don't miss our conference, "Partner's In Education," April 2nd at RVCC!! The keynote will be presented by nationally renowned, Gigi Schweikert. The topic will be “The Power of One Positive Person,” Have you ever thought about the incredible power you have to make a positive difference in the lives of those around you? The positive ...choices you make each day, the ways in which you help others, and even your smile can change the course of a day, and in some situations, the course of a life. Join the NJCCA for this informational and humorous keynote session that will renew your spirit and affirm your commitment to working with young children and their families. One positive person does make a difference. Is that positive person you? It can be you!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Benefits of Reading
Benefits of reading!
• It’s rewarding. Reading to your child can be one of the most rewarding activities you share. There’s an emotional closeness and connection that comes from a shared interest. That connection will change through the years, but the times spent together reading will have helped to establish it and ensure that it grows.
• It’s an active mental process. Reading makes you use your brain! While reading, you engage your mind in thinking and reasoning to understand things which are unfamiliar to you. You become smarter! Children’s books often include many pictures which give the child a viewpoint on what is happening in the story. Children enjoy the activity of pointing out the shapes and pictures they recognize. Activities that involve identifying items helps increase a child's image recognition skills.
• It can help improve your vocabulary. Reading can introduce new words you wouldn’t be exposed to otherwise (especially in challenging books). You also learn to infer the meaning of new words by reading the context of the other words in the sentence. Toddlers who are developing speech patterns and verbal recognition often prefer the same books over and over again. The language and pictures appeal to them and the repetition of the same stories and rhymes can be very beneficial to their acquisition of language.
• It gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places of the world: You can learn about the lives of other people by reading about them. Reading increases awareness and gives you insight into the diversity of people, their customs, and their lifestyles.
• It can help improve concentration and focus. Reading books requires you to focus for longer periods than when you read magazines, Internet posts or e-mails. Those are necessarily smaller chunks of information, but books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate to read, with practice, your ability to concentrate will get better.
• It helps build self-esteem: The more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. With more knowledge comes more confidence. More confidence builds self-esteem. Five year olds who are starting to read often want to read the same stories over and over because they recognize the words and this creates a level of comfort. When children practice on new books and new words, they build their confidence.
• It can help improve memory: Many studies show if you don’t use your memory, you lose it. Reading helps you stretch your memory “muscles” by requiring you to remember details of facts and figures and, in literature, plot lines, themes and characters.
• It can help improve your discipline. Making time to read is something we all know we should do. Add book reading to your daily schedule and stick to it.
• It can help improve creativity. Reading on a variety of subjects exposes you to new ideas and more information. It helps develop the creative side of your brain and adds to your thinking process. Reading with children fosters an appreciation for the entertainment and educational values of books. Books can fire the imagination by introducing new concepts and experiences. Most children enjoy playing make believe and pretending. Reading with them provides new ideas for their pretend play.
• It’s rewarding. Reading to your child can be one of the most rewarding activities you share. There’s an emotional closeness and connection that comes from a shared interest. That connection will change through the years, but the times spent together reading will have helped to establish it and ensure that it grows.
• It’s an active mental process. Reading makes you use your brain! While reading, you engage your mind in thinking and reasoning to understand things which are unfamiliar to you. You become smarter! Children’s books often include many pictures which give the child a viewpoint on what is happening in the story. Children enjoy the activity of pointing out the shapes and pictures they recognize. Activities that involve identifying items helps increase a child's image recognition skills.
• It can help improve your vocabulary. Reading can introduce new words you wouldn’t be exposed to otherwise (especially in challenging books). You also learn to infer the meaning of new words by reading the context of the other words in the sentence. Toddlers who are developing speech patterns and verbal recognition often prefer the same books over and over again. The language and pictures appeal to them and the repetition of the same stories and rhymes can be very beneficial to their acquisition of language.
• It gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places of the world: You can learn about the lives of other people by reading about them. Reading increases awareness and gives you insight into the diversity of people, their customs, and their lifestyles.
• It can help improve concentration and focus. Reading books requires you to focus for longer periods than when you read magazines, Internet posts or e-mails. Those are necessarily smaller chunks of information, but books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate to read, with practice, your ability to concentrate will get better.
• It helps build self-esteem: The more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. With more knowledge comes more confidence. More confidence builds self-esteem. Five year olds who are starting to read often want to read the same stories over and over because they recognize the words and this creates a level of comfort. When children practice on new books and new words, they build their confidence.
• It can help improve memory: Many studies show if you don’t use your memory, you lose it. Reading helps you stretch your memory “muscles” by requiring you to remember details of facts and figures and, in literature, plot lines, themes and characters.
• It can help improve your discipline. Making time to read is something we all know we should do. Add book reading to your daily schedule and stick to it.
• It can help improve creativity. Reading on a variety of subjects exposes you to new ideas and more information. It helps develop the creative side of your brain and adds to your thinking process. Reading with children fosters an appreciation for the entertainment and educational values of books. Books can fire the imagination by introducing new concepts and experiences. Most children enjoy playing make believe and pretending. Reading with them provides new ideas for their pretend play.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
30 Ideas To Encourage Reading
What you can do to help your child be successful at reading:
1. Babble back to your infants
2. Use “parentese” with your infant (high pitched voice)
3. Encourage conversation
4. Teach site words. e.g., McDonalds, Lucky Charms, Barney
5. Dramatic play and using props such as puppets can be great opportunities for conversation
6. Speak another language you are wiring the brain for a lifetime of multiple languages
7. Encourage drawing and inventive spelling
8. Script – write their story and make it into a book
9. In addition to reading stories, include rhymes, songs and other languages (Frere Jacques)
10. Place labels on furniture and objects in your child’s environment to create a print rich environment
11. Make shopping lists with your child
12. Read and cook recipes together
13. Look for letters on the Menu when you go out to eat
14. Look in magazines for pictures that begin with the letter you are studying and cut them out.
15. Make an alphabet book
16. Read a book and then ask children a few questions to test their comprehension
17. Glue letters from an alphabet cereal on a piece of paper.
18. Put alphabet cereal on a plate and help children make their names out of the cereal
19. Keep magnetic letters on the refrigerator.
20. Make up silly songs starting with the letter you are studying.
21. Talk to your child
22. Sing with your child
23. Read to your child everyday
24. Make up silly rhyming songs with your child
25. Provide writing materials
26. Limit television watching and when you do watch, be sure to guide your children to appropriate shows
27. Role model reading
28. Visit libraries and bookstores
29. Select a quality child care program
30. Read to children and ask them to predict what will happen next.
For more information, visit the “Reading is Fundamental” website at:
http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/getting-your-child-to-love-reading.htm
1. Babble back to your infants
2. Use “parentese” with your infant (high pitched voice)
3. Encourage conversation
4. Teach site words. e.g., McDonalds, Lucky Charms, Barney
5. Dramatic play and using props such as puppets can be great opportunities for conversation
6. Speak another language you are wiring the brain for a lifetime of multiple languages
7. Encourage drawing and inventive spelling
8. Script – write their story and make it into a book
9. In addition to reading stories, include rhymes, songs and other languages (Frere Jacques)
10. Place labels on furniture and objects in your child’s environment to create a print rich environment
11. Make shopping lists with your child
12. Read and cook recipes together
13. Look for letters on the Menu when you go out to eat
14. Look in magazines for pictures that begin with the letter you are studying and cut them out.
15. Make an alphabet book
16. Read a book and then ask children a few questions to test their comprehension
17. Glue letters from an alphabet cereal on a piece of paper.
18. Put alphabet cereal on a plate and help children make their names out of the cereal
19. Keep magnetic letters on the refrigerator.
20. Make up silly songs starting with the letter you are studying.
21. Talk to your child
22. Sing with your child
23. Read to your child everyday
24. Make up silly rhyming songs with your child
25. Provide writing materials
26. Limit television watching and when you do watch, be sure to guide your children to appropriate shows
27. Role model reading
28. Visit libraries and bookstores
29. Select a quality child care program
30. Read to children and ask them to predict what will happen next.
For more information, visit the “Reading is Fundamental” website at:
http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/getting-your-child-to-love-reading.htm
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Read Across America
Schools all over the world will celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday on March 2nd. It is also the start of “Read Across America”, the National Education Association’s annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.
Reading is one of the key components for academic success!
Help your child fall in love with reading by making it a special time with you!
Here are a few tips to help your child become a reader:
• Talk with your child — even infants — this increases language development.
• Make reading time fun by being animated and dynamic when you read!
• Role model reading.
• Ask open-ended questions that encourage a sense of wonder, imagination and creative thinking. Typical open-ended questions are “How” and “Why” questions and questions that don’t have one specific answer. They teach children to think and be creative!!
Reading is one of the key components for academic success!
Help your child fall in love with reading by making it a special time with you!
Here are a few tips to help your child become a reader:
• Talk with your child — even infants — this increases language development.
• Make reading time fun by being animated and dynamic when you read!
• Role model reading.
• Ask open-ended questions that encourage a sense of wonder, imagination and creative thinking. Typical open-ended questions are “How” and “Why” questions and questions that don’t have one specific answer. They teach children to think and be creative!!
Upcoming Conference on Early Childhood Education by RVCC & NJCCA
Check out our flyer for this conference on April 2nd, 2011.
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