Nothing Much?
It’s Everything!

Having a hectic day? Try spending 15 minutes with your child doing “nothing much.” Sit on the floor and watch your child play. Join in if he or she wants you to. Relax in a rocking chair together. Look out the window at the rain or snow.
Don’t watch TV. Don’t make a list of things to do. Don’t talk on the telephone.
Do nothing except be with your child. That, in itself, can mean just about everything.

Source: The Well-Centered Child,
Jan 2002

Free Fun
Things to Do

• Go outside and play ‘tag.’

• At the library, look for a book that shows you how to make a kite.

•  Play with some magnets--what do they “stick” to?

•  Looks for pictures of flowers in magazines or books.

•  Visit Shelter Gardens to look for early spring flowers. Compare them to the pictures in the book or magazine.

•  Hold someone’s hand.

•  Give your youngster a massage with baby lotion.

•  On Sunday April 23, enjoy Earth Day activities for kids from noon to 5 pm in Peace Park, downtown Columbia.

•  Draw a line on the sidewalk. Practice jumping over it.

•  Make a noise like a duck.

•  Sample at least one new activity for kids at the library. Remember to call ahead and register.

•  Do something backwards.

•  Find four things in the house that are green.

•  Go for a walk and look for cars with four doors.

•  Enjoy Parents As Teachers activities.

 Discovering nature with children

As she skips down the sidewalk after a rain, your youngster nearly steps on a slinky, pink earthworm. Bending down to investigate, she asks, “Where are his ears?”
Your first reaction may be one of disgust, “Don’t touch that!” Or your might feel embarrassed about being unable to answer her question. But you’re pleased at her inquisitiveness and want to encourage her desire to learn.
The way you deal with your child’s explorations will shape her feelings about the natural world. Your reactions can tell her that nature is something to fear and avoid, or that it’s a source of endless interest and excitement.

Foster curiosity
What can you do to foster a child’s innate curiosity about nature? How can you rediscover your own sense of wonder and share it?

 Look
In this instance, you might say, “I don’t know if earthworms have ears--let’s have a look.” Bend down together and spend some time observing in silence.
Your child’s original question might go unanswered, but she might notice that one end of the worm’s body is more pointed than the other and there’s a thick “belt” around its middle.
 

 Touch
If your child wants to pick up the worm, encourage her to be gentle and ask, “What does it feel like when he crawls on your hand?”
Instead of leaving the worm on the sidewalk, suggest that she find a safe place for it in a nearby lawn or garden.
 

 Pretend
Later, at home, you can encourage your child to wiggle across the floor like a worm, or make some earthworms in play dough.
 

 Read
If you’re still wondering whether or not earthworms have ears, you may want to visit your local library together to find a book that will help you both with answers.
 

Source: Growing Together, April 2006

“A good friend is a
special gift.”

Summer Playschool

...a great way to make new friends!

Session I...June 12-30

Session II...July 17-August 4

See enrollment form in this issue or on the CPS website at www.columbia.k12.mo.us.
Make checks out to Columbia Public Schools and mail form and check to address listed on form.
Summer Playschool is part of the Summer Enrichment Program offered by the school district.

Colic Confusion

After all the anticipation, you finally bring home your new baby only to discover that all she does is cry. And Cry. And cry some more. With each piercing scream, the idyllic family life you pictured during pregnancy fades further. You’ve heard about colic--but now you’re living it.
 

An estimated one in four babies will develop colic, a chronic crying condition that is generally diagnosed by the “Rule of Threes”: Your otherwise healthy, well-fed baby cries for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, and for longer than three weeks in a row. Colic tends to start when a baby is 2 weeks old, peaks four to six weeks later, and tapers off at around three months.
 

MYTH: A baby who has colic cries because his tummy hurts.
FACT: Although colicky babies may look and sound pained, experts say they are not. Digestive problems with formula or breast milk are pretty uncommon. According to pediatrician and Parents advisor Harvey Karp, M.D. author of The Happiest Baby on the Block, only about 10 percent of fussy babies are truly allergic to something in their milk. Still, if you’re nursing a colicky baby, you might consider altering your diet. A recent study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal found that nursing mothers who stopped eating allergenic foods--cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, and fish--had babies whose colic lessened. If you do decide to change your diet, discuss it with a doctor first.
 

MYTH: Don’t bother talking to your pediatrician about colic. After all, babies cry; that’s what they do.
FACT: Any infant who cries persistently should be examined from head to toe to rule out other more serious problems. If colic is diagnosed, your child’s doctor can--and should--be a source of support. “It’s scary for new parents when a child is crying all the time, and it’s extremely helpful to talk with someone who has more experience,” says John Frohna M.D., whose daughter, now 9, had colic--an experience he still remembers vividly.
Source: Beth Kanter, Parents, March 2006.

Source: Beth Kanter, March 2006

Exploring Books with Babies

Dos and Don’ts of Reading to Infants and Toddler

• DO:
   Read aloud when you read for pleasure. Very little babies have no idea what you’re reading, so share a novel or a magazine article. That way you both get to hear terrific stories together.
•  Expose her to art. Show your baby pictures from the family photo album or interesting art books--just be careful she doesn’t grab precious pages! Babies enjoy looking at images and respond well to simple, high-contrast photos
•  Get tactile. Touch-and-feel books, like the classic Pat the Bunny, are great sensory tools. Guide your baby’s hand over various textures.
•  Follow your baby’s lead. Some babies like to open and close books, hand them back to you, or stack them like blocks. This counts as “reading,” too.
•  Keep books handy. Stow board books in your stroller, diaper bag, or high chair, at the changing table or even in the bathtub (use waterproof books).
• Be prepared for repetition. Babies and toddlers often get stuck on a particular favorite and will zoom right back to that book on the shelf, even if you offer others. Repetition and familiarity are soothing. Let your little one have her way--she’ll pick a new favorite soon enough.

•  Discourage your baby from mouthing books. This is one way she explores books; it’s part of how she learns about everything.
•  Stop reading. If your toddler crawls away, keep reading--she’ll come back (if not, try again later).
•  Get upset by torn pages. Babies are stronger than most books! Luckily, there are plenty of board books made just for the purpose of being gnawed and chewed.
•  Think you have to finish every book. You may not have reached the end of the book, but you did share some nice reading time together.
•  Give away books too soon. Even when she grows into the next stage, she may like to revisit her old gummed and torn favorites.
•  Always read at the same pace. Speed up, slow down, use different voices, and make funny animal sounds.
•  Think your baby isn’t learning. She is benefiting intellectually, socially, and emotionally from the time you spend sharing stories.

Source: Susan Straub, Director,
The Read To Me Program, as printed in Scholastic Parent & Child, Feb/March 2006
 

Babies don’t so much read books as explore them. They use all their senses to take in a book: it’s about the words, the story, the pictures, the physical book itself-- and the cuddling with you! It can take a lot of patience to finish even a short picture book with a baby, but try to keep an open mind and have fun. To a baby, “eating” a book can be just as satisfying as reading it! Just think: You’ll be rewarded with a child who loves books because she received a head start in literacy -- and in life.

Scribblers just can't help themselves...

Scribblers just can’t help themselves. They’ve just got to close their fists around those fat crayons and scribble.
Around and around they go, in circles, zigzags, blurs, and blobs. Unfortunately, scribblers sometimes like to use walls for their canvases.
If you provide an alternative for the scribbler--like a large chalkboard and colored chalk, an easel with newspaper and paint, or lots of plain paper (the back of computer printouts or a roll of shelf paper) -- you’ll have fewer pictures on your walls.
Scribbling may look like nonsense to adults, but there is some sense in it for a child.
When children learn to stop their arm movements in time, those big circles become faces. Tight, round scribbles make eyes, looser ones make curly hair.
Sweeping lines stop short for arms, fingers, mouths, and spiky hair. Pounding with the point of the crayon makes snow.
Scribbling is necessary preparation for drawing--and writing too. But it’s hard to know what to say when you’re presented with a scribbled work of art.
So, just tell the truth. “I really like purple scribbles” is probably the most honest, appreciative and gracious thing you can say!
Source: Growing Together
www.growingchild.com

Avoiding Bedtime Uproar

Around the age of two years, many children suddenly begin to resist going to bed. Until now, your child went to bed willingly or at least without much objection. Now things are different. He hangs back. He clings. He wants a drink, a favorite toy. He may even have a temper tantrum.
Why this sudden reluctance to go to bed? Your toddler is tired and sleepy. Why is he fighting sleep so much?
Your toddler has learned that objects and people do not just vanish when they are out of sight. As he develops his “conservation of objects,” he also develops a feeling of security about these objects and a strong feeling of possession. If he goes into another room, leaving his favorite toy behind, he knows that it will be there when he comes back.
But sleep is different! Suddenly your child becomes aware of sleep as different from waking, and he is afraid of what might happen to his familiar world while he sleeps. So he clings to the security of the known, the security of what he can see and touch.
At this stage of development, a bedtime routine will pay off in terms of family calm and toddler behavior. Elements of this routine depend on your family’s particular lifestyle.
Some children want to say “good night” to favorite toys or give a good night kiss to every member of the family, including Spot and Fluffy.
 

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow,
yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher

 6 Ways to Be a More Patient Parent

1. Know what makes you angry, and do your best to avoid those triggers. Does it drive you crazy when you’re running late and your daughter dawdles? Pick out her clothes the night before, and set your alarm ten minutes earlier. Do you shout whenever your kids squabble over a toy? Decide on a better, quieter consequence, and use it at the first sign of a fight.
2. Make a request only once. If your child blows you off, don’t repeat yourself. That just trains him not to take you seriously the first time. Instead, give a logical punishment. If you asked him to put away his toys and he didn’t do so in a timely manner, for instance, pick them up yourself, and don’t let him play with them again for a few days.
3. Take a long-term approach to tackling behavioral problems. “Most parents want a quick solution, but behavior takes time to change,” author Rod Wallace Kennedy, Ph.D. says.
 

FUN IN THE TUB! Who needs rubber ducks and plastic boats when cheap stuff you already have around the house will keep kids splash-happy?

• Raid your kitchen for plastic containers, funnels and pitchers. Watch the fun as your little rascal transfers water from the tub to her toys, a second bucket, onto her head, the dog, the floor ... OK, that’s enough fun.
•  Give your child soaped-up paintbrushes to clean between toes and behind ears.
•  Kids find it oddly satisfying to fill up an eyedropper and then empty it drop by drop. Toddlers can practice fine motor skills as they squeeze the dropper to make it work--even pretending to drip “medicine” into a rubber dolly’s eyes.
   

• Spray bottles come in all sizes and colors. Kids love pulling the trigger and getting everything wet. Close the shower curtain, and let your little one spritz away! (Stay close to supervise.)
•  Intended for paint, kid-size foam rollers work equally well with a bar of soap. Your child will gain a useful skill as he lathers himself up, plus he’ll ooh and aah when you roll the sponge up and down his back!
•  Little ones can use a can of foaming body soap with a shaving brush to play “Daddy”--a Popsicle stick makes a great razor. Or let them lather foam soap across the bath tiles--use the brush to make designs.

Grocery store
Games

Make shopping more enjoyable for you and your children by involving them in simple games. Choose games that will enhance their thinking and language skills, such as the ones lsited below:
n Name that thing
Seat your toddler in the shopping cart, and name things you see - banana, celery, bread. Or ask your child to name them. Talk about how you use the product. Ask questions, such as “What do we use this for?”
With preschoolers, play a version of “I Spy.” For example, say “I spy something yellow and long. We eat it in pudding.” Take turns spying and guessing.
n One of a kind
Choose some product that you buy in quantity like potatoes or apples. Show your child that each item is slightly different. Apples, for example, can vary in shape, coloring and blemishes. Have your child choose one and examine it carefully. In the checkout line or at home, see if your child can find that same apple. As a reward, she gets to eat it or decide how to cook it.
n What’s that?
Say: “Close your eyes. “I’ll put something in your hands to see if you can tell what it is.” Pull something with a distinctive shape, like a box of salt or gelatin, off the shelf. Caution: Avoid breakable items such as glass jars and eggs. Help your child notice the shape, weight, smell, and texture and then guess what it is.
n Balancing act
If your child is crabby or overactive, pick up a roll of paper towels or a package of paper napkins. Say: “Balance this on your head until I count to five (or until we get to the end of the aisle)”.

Source: TEXAS CHILD CARE, Fall 2004.
 

 Infant Massage
Day & Evening series

 Infant Massage classes are offered regularly for P.A.T. parents & their infants from 3 weeks to 8 months.
 

April Classes:

Tuesday Morning...

April 11 & 18, 10:00-11:30 AM

Thursday Evenings...

April 20 & 27, 6:00-7:30 PM

May Classes:

Tuesday Morning:

May 16 & 23, 10:00-11:30 AM
 

 Please bring lotion and a blanket or pillow for your baby.
 

The guide, Nurturing Touch, ($5.50) is available for purchase.
 

 Call 214-3955 to register. Minimum of 5 registrations are needed to hold the class. Maximum number 10 families for day; 12 for evening.

Thank you for your support of Parents As Teachers!
 

Thanks to these businesses for their support of our parent/child activities.

© Hy-Vee
© Sam’s Club
© Wal-Mart
 

© Amy Cohen - donation of parent education books

Swing $25, high chair $25, seat $15, rocker/glider $30. Amy, 234-2575.
Toddler bed & mattress $30, Walker, like new $25. High chair $15, Potty chair $10, Maternity clothes, L & XL. Boy’s clothes. Regina, 424-1887 & leave msg.
Evenflo exersaucer, perfect condition, adjustable & collapsible for transport, 6 different toys attached, $35. Tracy, 882-8443.
Open top 3-speed baby swing used once $35. F-P jungle play mat, $10, Neg. F-P kick gym $10, Neg. Angela, 875-4689.
White Jenny Lind crib - no mattress $50. Moya, 447-3585.
Maternity clothes, S, M - all seasons. Baby clothes, 9-9 months, boys & girls, all seasons, & other baby items. Charissa, 442-6504.
Evenflo convertible carseat 5 pt. harness with orig. instructions $25. 10 blue children’s hangers, $1. 30 white children’s hangers, $3. Sharon, 441-5465.
My First Leap Pad in Leap Pad backpack with 6 games, $50. Christine, 424-9088.
 

Wanted to Buy:

F-P Big Action Garage (not Little People garage) 4 stories with elevator & lots of ramps - about 2 ft. tall. Tami, 499-4962.
Fort with slide, swing. Also climbing wall. Will disassemble and move. Charrissa, 442-6504.

• The PAT newsletter is published bi-monthly -- 6 times/year.
• Ads are limited to used items for children & families, 1-time insertion.
• Mail, fax (214-3998) or bring ad to PAT office by Friday, May 19 for February/March edition.
• Newsletter is now on our website: www.columbia.k12.mo.us/pat.

Special events at the
Columbia Public Library Parenting Workshop:
Food, Fitness & Fun for Parents
Monday, May 1, 6:30-8:30 pm
 

•  Parents, learn about the new USDA food pyramid, balancing ‘energy in’ and ‘energy out’ and fitting more fun physical activitiy into your child’s day.

• Cosponsored by Columbia/Boone County Health Dept. & Parent Education Committee. Registration begins Tuesday, April 18
   

Library Events
for Parents & Kids
For more information and to register for these events, call the Columbia Public Library at 443-3161.
 

• Saturday, April 8, 11:00 - 11:45 AM Storyteller Priscilla Howe and her playful puppets celebrate WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD.
   

• Sat., April 15, 9:15 - 10 AM, Countdown to Kindergarten, for children entering KDG in fall 2006, along with a parent. No siblings, please. Registration begins Tuesday, April 4.
  Friday, April 21, 7 - 8 PM, Mid-Missouri Storytelling Festival. Registration begins Tuesday, April 11.

•  Tuesday, May 16, Music & Movement for 1 1/2 to 3 year olds with a parent. 9:30 - 10 am or 10:30 -11 am. Registration begins Tues., May 2.

•  Thursday, May 18, Music and Movement. Registration begins Tuesday, May 2. 9:30 - 10 AM, ages birth - 1/2, or 10:30 - 11 AM, ages 3 - 5.
   

• Thursday, May 25, Dance Fitness for Children. Parental participation required. 9:30 - 10 AM, Age 2, or 10:30 - 11 AM, Ages 3-4.
   

•  Thursday, May 25, 7 to 7:45 PM Columbia Community Band - small ensembles will perform a variety of pieces for families.