Affordable educational tools at Target!

I visited Target a few days ago and found flashcards and workbooks for a $1 each! I found them in the $1-3 dollar section near the entrance. They have a variety of different flash cards but I chose sight words I, II, phonics I, dinosaurs, presidents, and states. They also have a variety of workbooks for pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. FYI the workbooks are very thin about 30 pages each (still worth $1). The flashcards are flimsy and dull but definitely do the job. Please excuse my pictures I tried to find these items on their website and couldn't.

Goldie Blox!

I can remember the first time I saw a GoldieBlox commercial. I was so intrigued and knew that I had to have it for my little girls. Goldie is an inventor who loves to build. There's a book with each set and as you read the story you're directed to begin building along with Goldie. My girls love it!

I did a little research and learned that the creator of GoldieBlox Debbie Sterling studied engineering in college. She was one of few women and wanted to inspire other women beginning with girls by creating GoldieBlox. As you may have heard in the past generally boys are better at math and science than girls. Debbie Sterling taps further into this by discussing why there is truth to that statement. Please watch the following video.

 

Only 11% of the worlds engineers are women. The amount of STEM jobs available/created are on the rise. I would love for any one of my children to develop and interest in engineering. GoldieBlox has inspired me to implement STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) play into our everyday lives. I hope she inspires you too!

If you'd like to know more about "Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science" click on the link.

Choosing The Right DayCare

Choosing the right day care for your child is one of the most difficult things to do. First I have to say do what you feel is best for you and your family. I'm only expressing what I feel from my experiences. As a friend I would say visit your local Child Care Council (Westchester NY) website. Here you will find local child care programs. Once you've narrowed it down click on Parents, scroll down to Evaluating Programs and search for complaint history of programs in your neighborhood of interest. 

Once you've narrowed down your search I would advice you to chose childcare that offers an enriched program. I have visited many day care centers that say they offer enriched programs when all they do is watch your child. The closest thing to a surety is to chose a program that is NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) certified. They're the nations leading choice for high quality early childhood education from birth to 8 y/o. The NAEYC website will list all certified programs. Please visit their website to learn more.

There are other great programs out there like Montessori, Goddard School (I've seen some that are NAEYC certified) and The Learning Experience. Goddard School would be a top choice for me.

Good luck hunting, hope this helps!

Great Workbooks For Children!

I know I've touched on this subject before but I must share a little more : ). Workbooks are great but initially I use to have a hard time deciding which books to buy with so many options out there. I've purchased many workbooks and it wasn't until a few months ago that I realized the importance of workbooks that continue to reinforce one subject before moving on to the next.

I would not recommend buying a workbook full of many different subjects/exercises (Brain Quest/School Zone-sorry). When you purchase a book that isn't focused on one subject it quickly moves the child onto the next level when they're not ready and they begin to lose interest making it difficult for you to help them. In order for a child to truly grasp something they must practice, practice, practice (familiar right). My children work on various workbooks focusing on the same subject before moving on to the next level. With that said here are some of the wonderful workbooks I have found.

1. Kumon
2. Sylvan Learning
3. I'm Going to Write!

Remember to start of with Tracing, then shapes, followed by letters and numbers. Look at their websites for further advice.

I read a few reviews of some of these workbooks and some received bad reviews. If you think one work book is going to be enough you're wrong. No one is paying me to say this..... buy them all you won't regret it, they won't go to waste. Remember you have to see, hear, and do something to really understand/grasp it. These books are repetitive but different enough to keep a child interested. Oh...! You can get a few free worksheets (just an example you should visit their entire site) on the Sylvan Learning website for each subject. Here's a link to free worksheets from another site. 

At the moment Amazon seems to sell the I'm Going To Read/Write! and Kumon workbooks for less.
Barnes & Noble sells the Sylvan Learning workbooks for less.

Hope this helps!

Preschool Prep

Preschool Prep

As you've probably already heard your child will not learn to read by watching "Your Baby Can Read." You've also probably heard that there is little benefit to watching educational DVD's. On top of that your child's television time should be limited to 2 hrs per day......... And children under 2 shouldn't watch television at all!

You will hear it all. I believe there's some truth to it but I do what I feel is best for my children. Yes, all my children (4, 3, 1 y/o) watch television but it is limited and controlled. I do use educational DVD's because I feel they can help reinforce what I am teaching my children. Remember everyone learns differently. Some learn by seeing, doing, and/or listening.

My oldest daughter learned her ABC's mostly by watching the DVDs along with the use of flashcards, and workbooks. My middle child, she's a different type of learner. I have played these DVD's numerous times and there isn't anything I can do or say to keep her seated long enough to watch the DVD from beginning to end. I still play them everyday. My 1 y/o (20 months) will sit and watch the DVD's! He can identify some of the letters in random order.

I have many different educational DVD's such Baby Genius, Brainy Baby, Your Baby Can Read, Baby Einstein, Preschool Prep, etc. My favorite set of DVD's are Preschool Prep. They use sight-recognition techniques to help kids aged 9 months to 7 years understand concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, letters, letter sounds, sight words and much more. I've never used their workbooks but they have many books and flashcards to help reinforce what's on the DVD's. 

From time to time you can find the DVD's on sale at Groupon.com They're currently on sale now

*In case you're wondering why start at 9 months it's because that's when you're child's vision is fully developed and it's when they begin to understand the world around them. This is the best time to start teaching your child!

To learn more about what type of learner is your child please click on the link.

Liberty Science Center

I'm always on the hunt for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. I want to keep my kids hungry for learning. FYI girls begin to lose interest/confidence in science and math around 4th/5th grade. There are many things that contribute to that loss of interest/confidence that I will share on another post. In the meantime I'll just say I feel it's important for me to keep my children interested.

I visited the Liberty Science Center in NJ last weekend. It was a rainy day and the perfect time to visit. My kids had a blast and we spent close to four hours there. There are four floors full of exhibits. It's a place everyone should visit. There's something there for all age groups.

Have fun exploring!

Singapore Math

My 4 y/o recently started  Singapore Math Earlybird workbook and textbook. She loves them and I think it may be because the math is interactive, simple, and gradually progresses. Singapore Math is used in many schools and by homeschoolers. I first heard about it during a private school tour at Hackley School in Westchester County, NY. This is if not the best one of the best schools in Westchester county. I continued to do my research and found that Hunter College Elementary and many other great parochial/non-parochial private schools are using the program.

I was drawn even more to the program when I learned a little more about Common Core math. I found similarities between the programs. FYI in case you're not aware, one of the reasons common core was developed is because our children have not been able to compete on an international level. Common core has adopted some Asian methods of teaching math similar to Singapore Math.

For me this is reason enough to expose my kids to it. I can go on and on about Asian math and reasons why they have excelled at it more than we have but I'll save that for another post.

Handwriting Without Tears

I love Handwriting Without Tears. I have purchased many workbooks and this has worked best FOR ME (my kids). While I was searching for daycare I found a few (Montessori, The Learning Experience, Goddard School) using HWtears. My girls are currently attending a learning center named Eye Level and they have also use handwriting without tears for beginning writers.

I love Eye Level and cannot thank them enough for what they've done with my children. I will write about them later (soon).

FYI if you're looking into daycare look for a daycare that is NAEYC certified. Their standards focus on focus on the advancement of children’s learning and development.

Pre-Writing Skills

Before I introduced writing I began by introducing shapes. Drawing shapes to help prepare children for writing. For example, a triangle is similar to an A, a circle can be a C or O and so on. Before you work on writing the letters of the alphabet I would encourage you to work on shapes. There are tons of workbooks out there that you can purchase. If you've been to the book isle at Toys R Us then you know exactly what I am talking about. *You can also find them at any learning or book store.

These books are inexpensive and are a great start. You can also find free worksheets online.

Rewards Board

 

Good for Me Rewards Kit 

Yes, I will try anything to get my kids to listen. I actually overheard a mom telling her children they would receive stars for good behavior. It seemed like a great idea and I must say this rewards board works like a charm. The only problem is it can be expensive if you leave it up to your kids to determine what their reward will be.

My children are 4, 3, and 20 months. My son is the youngest although his name is on the board he's really not included. I use this board to teach my girls to control their emotions (tantrums), encourage sharing, build patience, ask once, and to keep their hands to themselves "no fighting!"

Use this or any board to help your child strengthen weaknesses.

Talk to your child.

Children whose parents speak 2000 words an hour have higher IQ's. I was always told "talk to your child, you have to do a lot of talking." I thought okay of course I am going to talk to my child. Well when I say talk to your child I don't mean just talk, I mean talk annoyingly so.

For example, talk about what you are doing at the time that you're doing it.

• Good morning
• I am going to pick you up off your crib
• Lets change your diaper
• I am going to take off your pants.
• Your diaper is dirty I am going to throw it in the garbage.
• This diaper is clean. Lets put it on.
• Lets put your pants back on.
• Now we will go downstairs
• Let go in the kitchen
• I am opening the refrigerator and taking the milk out.

Annoying yet? I'll stop there I think you get the picture.

Your child will learn so much just by you talking to them all the time about everything no matter how redundant you or others may think it is. Start early, although most children can't speak at 9 months they certainly can understand the world around them. Talk to your child using more advanced vocabulary, ask challenging questions, engage them at dinner. Give verbal instructions describing how to do something. Relate materials in books to objects and events in your child's life, ask who, what, where, when, and why questions about the story. Encourage your child to participate. Just keep talking!

7 Abilities every child needs to succeed in school.

There are seven learning abilities that various tests measure. These tests cover all the abilities educators believe children must have to do well in the classroom. The results of the test may determine how your child is grouped (ability tracking) slow, average, or advance. As a result children are instructed differently. Those placed in advanced groups are given richer content than those placed in slow groups. Over time the gap between the two groups widen making it impossible to catch up, limiting the abilities of the slow group.

7 Learning abilities:

1. Language
• Receptive
• Ability to tune into and understand the language you hear.
• Expressive
• Ability to use words orally to express ideas and feelings in a clear, organized manner.
2. Knowledge/Comprehension
•  Your child's understanding of information, social standards of behavior, and common sense that kids their age generally understand.
• Ex. Colors, shapes, seasons, holidays, farm animals, fruits, vegetables, etc.
3. Memory
• Long-term
• Ability to retrieve learned information from the past or after a delay.
• Ex. Why do we wear hats?
• Short-term 
• Ability to retrieve information just given.
• Ex. Can you repeat.......?
4. Mathematics
• Ability to work with simple computation skills.
• Ex. patterning, sequencing, ordering, classifying, and comparing.
5. Visual-Spatial Reasoning
• Ability to reason and solve problems using pictures, images, diagrams, geometric shapes, maps, and tables.
6. Cognitive Skills
• Abstract/Symbolic Thinking
• Ability to make generalizations based on concrete experiences.
• Sequential Thinking
• Ability to think about information in a particular order, recognize patterns, and be able to anticipate and predict what will happen next. 
• Ex. Being given pictures of a child taking a bath, putting their pajamas on, and going to bed and asked to put them in order. 
• Conceptual Thinking
• A set of features that together form a category of ideas or objects. 
• Ex. An apple is a red fruit we eat and grows on trees. Or a plane is a means of transportation, fly's high in the sky, and has wings.
• Problem Solving 
• Ability to respond when faced with a challenge involving unfamiliar information or processes. 
• Ex. Putting a puzzle together or recreating a block configuration/pattern.
7. Motor Skills 
• Ability to control hands and fingers.
• Ex. Pencil grip draw/write, cutting with scissors, folding paper, buttoning/unbuttoning, playing with small toys/blocks, etc. 

These learning abilities can help you give your child the best possible academic start. Work with your child to build on them. You don't have to drill your kids or spend countless hours working on them (although you can without them knowing it). Try to spend 15-25 minutes a day on learning focused activities. In this blog I will share how I work with my kids to improve their abilities. My teaching begins from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep. It begins with talking. Talk, ta-talk, ta-talk, talk, talk. 

Please see my post on What type of learner is your child? to effectively improve your child's learning abilities. 
 

Testing For Kindergarten

For a while I had been searching the internet for a book that would tell me the things I needed to know to get my child ready. I came across Karen Quinn's "Testing For Kindergarten." I can not say enough good things about this book. This book has taught me most of what I know up to this point. She also has two websites  http://www.testingmom.com/ and http://testingforkindergarten.com/  Her websites share information from how to chose a school to how to prepare your child, and to top it off if you become a member you will have access to some of the best educational websites available to your child. 

What type of learner is my child?

The most effective way to help your child is to determine what type of learner they are. There are four learning styles for children between the ages of 2-4 and they are:

1. Introverted Learner
• Needs alone time.
• Can spend an extended amount of time with one activity.
• Needs time to digest information.
2. Extroverted Learner
• Prefers to work with someone.
• Dives right in and learns by trial and error.
• Likes very hands on activities.
3. Perceiving Learner
• Needs constant change.
• Makes learning an adventure.
• Allow child to determine when to stop.
4. Judging Learner
• Thrives on routine and structured learning.
• Wants to know beginning and ending times.

By recognizing how your child learns, you may be able to pique their interest and explain tough topics. If you are wondering what are your child's weaknesses. I will attempt to help you discover them in another post when I discuss the 7 learning abilities your child needs to succeed in school.

Welcome!

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about. Did you know that your child will receive some form of intelligence test by the time they’re five?

While attending public school my daughter was evaluated in pre-k4 using the Brigance Inventory of Early Development II Standardized Creative Curriculum Development Continuum for Ages 3-5. This test measured her social/emotional skills, cognitive skills, communication skills (expressive & receptive), physical development (motor domain & gross motor), and self help (daily living & adaptive behavior domain). This test and others similar to it are used to track students and can be used for ability grouping.    

My daughter has also taken the Early Childhood Admissions Assessment (ECAA) test for kindergarten entrance to private school. There are different forms of ECAA tests my daughter took the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence III (WPPSI-III). This test has eight sub-tests, four of which measure verbal skills and four of which measure non-verbal skills. 

There are many different types of intelligence test. The test taken will depend on the type of school you’re trying to get your child into. This is not a blog that will help your child study for a test. This blog is intended to help you teach your child the basic things they are expected to know by the time they enter kindergarten. Using the tools on this blog should help you give your child an academic start that will help them qualify for the best educational opportunities available to them.

About Me!

I grew up in the NYC public school system. I have a B.A. in criminal justice and B.S. in health education N-12. I am no psychologist or English major but I am a determined mother of three with a goal in mind. When I moved to the suburbs I felt my school district would be good enough for my children since they were better than what was offered to me. Well......... after I had my children I began to look further into what my school district has to offer compared to other schools. I have decided that my school district is not the right environment for them.

I have a 4 year old, a 3 year old, a 17 month old and I am determined to get them into some of the best schools in New York. This goal can be challenging especially when you don't have the extra finances to help you accomplish it. This past fall I applied to three schools for my oldest daughter. She was denied into two of the three and put on a waiting list for another. I blame myself for not teaching my daughter enough. Yes, myself because there's so much we can do as parents without putting any pressure on our kids. I have made learning fun in my household or at least I try. I have educated myself on how to accomplish my goal and continue to do so. I will share with you what I've discovered and continue to discover through my journey in round two. I will re-apply to the three schools again this fall and three other schools.

Although my goal is to get my children into  private school ultimately my goal is to set the stage for academic success. If you don't have the same goal as I, I still feel your child can benefit from this blog. If you have any information that would be beneficial to my children or those of the readers of this blog please feel free to share it.