Many parents probably recognize that being outside in nature is good for their children’s health. And the kids who play outside are smarter, happier, more attentive, and less anxious than kids who spend more time indoors. 

There are a few things we should know about why nature is good for kids’ minds.

It builds confidence:

Kids play in nature has more advantages than most types of indoor play. There are infinite ways to interact with outdoor environments and it will let your child choose how he treats nature. (Meaning: he can learn how to control his own actions.)

It improves social connection and creativity:

Letting kids spend time in settings with natural elements or giving them structured nature experiences can make for a calmer, socially safe, and fun learning environment. Playing in nature also allows kids to interact meaningfully with their surroundings. They can think more freely, design their own activities, and approach the world in inventive ways.

It teaches responsibility:

It can teach a child to take care of the living parts of their environment. For example; they can learn what happen when they water a plant or forget to water a plant.

It gets kids moving and makes them think:

Most ways of interacting with nature involve more exercise than sitting on the couch. It can get benefits for the bodies for a child. Moreover, the nature creates a unique sense of wonder for kids that no other environment can provide. 

It reduces stress and fatigue:

Studies have found that holding a class outdoors one day a week can significantly improve the daily cortisol patterns of students—reflecting less stress and better adaptation to stress—when compared to kids with indoor-only instruction. In natural environments, we practice an effortless type of attention known as soft fascination that creates feelings of pleasure, not fatigue.

In conclusion, the nature can definitely help your kids to increase their creativity, social connection and responsibility. At the same time, you will be creating a way for your family to spend time together that will increase your connection to one another.

Ref: https://www.childrenscolorado.org/

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/

The ability to communicate effectively is a key skill, and the better we are at it, the better our quality of life will be.

We begin communicating from the moment we are born; letting our mothers know we have arrived with our first cry. As a child develops, it is important we nurture their communication skills so they are capable of expressing themselves, clearly and confidently, in all aspects and areas of their life.

If we consider the stages of a child’s development: they communicate first with their parents, then with siblings and friends, and then with other adults such as their school teachers.

A child will learn to communicate by watching and listening to their parents, and then mimicking their words and actions; the more you communicate with your child, the earlier and quicker they will develop these skills.

Reading is a great activity to help improve your child’s communication proficiency; it develops their language acquisition and introduces them to range of vocabulary, helping them to communicate with ease and clarity. As they get older, reading together provides an excellent opportunity for discussion, creating an environment where a child can comfortably and confidently get used to articulating and sharing their ideas.

Through interaction and play with siblings and friends, a child will develop social skills and interpersonal skills alongside their communication skills. These skills will make them feel at greater comfort in social situations, where they will find it easier to strike up conversations with peers, and make new friends. Through these relationships, they will also hone their listening skills as well as their ability to empathize and interpret non-verbal communication cues.

When a child begins school, presentations, class discussions, dramatizations, and oral exams will become regular activities for them, all of which will call directly upon their verbal communication skills; likewise, they may, as part of the application process, have to go along to an interview when applying to a secondary school or sixth form. In these situations you will want a child to feel confident, not only speaking in front of a crowd or meeting a new acquaintance, but also assured in their own ability to converse fluently and make a good impression.

A child who is good at communicating verbally will find it easier to produce written communications, and thus will likely perform better in their school exams and written assignments.

Looking to their future, being able to communicate with employers is crucial, no matter what industry or career you are in. Good communication skills are listed amongst the most desirable skills on nearly every job specification, and will give you an advantage over your colleagues when competing for additional responsibilities.

Being able to deliver instructions, lead meetings, carry out presentations and liaise with clients, consumers, suppliers etc., are just some of the communication skills needed to successfully gain those bigger opportunities.

Like any skill, communication skills can be developed and refined with practice, but by helping develop good communication skills in a child from their youth, you are equipping them straight away with the skills to build a successful future.

Reference: https://www.kumon.co.uk/ 

Painting with young children not only helps their creative development but it also stimulates their brain. Stimulating children’s brain can also help other areas of their development. When setting up a painting activity for young children, stop and think about what areas of children’s development it may be helping.

Most children enjoy a good messy painting experience, this will allow them to freely express themselves and develop their creativity. Young children will use their bodies to move around exploring as they go, whereas non mobile children will need further support in making sure they can access all the resources. Painting can provide children with vast amounts of learning, this may be developing their fine pincer grip or learning about color mixing. The opportunities are endless hence why painting should be accessible to children throughout the week.

Painting doesn’t just have to be about sitting at the table with a paintbrush and paint, be creative and offer it to children in different ways, large-scale painting is great for developing those social skills. Lay a large plastic sheet on the floor and place the painting resources on the floor. Children will freely enjoy rolling around on the paper making those all-important marks. Painting is very much a tactile sensory experience and for some children getting messy can be distressing, however, a high portion of children will love a good old messy session.

All of the above will give some fantastic results and is a great way of extending children learning opportunities.

Painting is a great way for children to communicate their thoughts either verbally or in the marks they make. Many opportunities can arise from a painting activity leading to exchanges in conversations, which is a way in for adults to listen and ask questions.  Children will often show their feelings through their marks instead of talking to adults, on these occasions, practitioners need to respect this and ask questions in a tactile way and not over question them.

It is important that childcare practitioners are confident in the experiences they are offering children. It is not about practitioners thinking they have to be great at painting it’s about offering children the tools and resources to allow them to develop the necessary skills and build on what they know. Practitioner’s role is to scaffold the children’s learning and help them reach their full potential.

Source: KELLY

Have you ever seen a child smooth cool finger paint over a sheet of paper with both hands, pulling her fingertips through the paint to make squiggles?

Children go through different stages of development over the years. And they learn more from books that have pictures and labels for people and things on the pages.

Are there children around you or in your home who are using the phone? And have you  studied how screen time can affect children? 

How does it affect a baby’s brain? 

According to the structure of the brain, our behavior, the brain deals with emotions. The brain  creates. In addition, language skills; balance; the brain controls all the senses of touch. 

Let’s see what this has to do with phones. 

The phone has a blue light. The light emitted by blue screens, such as TV screens and Phone  screens, can definitely damage the brain. 

Not in a day. 

It can happen if you use it every day for about 4 or 5 hours. All of this has been tested by  researchers. 

Therefore, do not use cell phones or screens to keep children quiet. For them, life can be  quiet.

If you think they need to use it for it, first, researchers have looked at children’s screen time.  Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your child’s age. 

Screen Time for Kids  

New recommendations: The longtime “no screen time before 2” rule is out. Here are the latest  recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

[ https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-And-Watching-TV-054.aspx ]

• 18 months or younger 

No screens are still the best. 

Researchers said that children at this age should never look at a screen. But sometimes they  allow for video calls. For example, when they are having a conversation on the screen with a  parent or someone. The exception is live video chat with family and friends. 

• 18 months to 2 years 

Limit screen time and avoid solo use. At this age, we can only permit limited screen time but  it is important to avoid solo use. We can use education and knowledge videos for a limited  time. 

The important thing is that an adult should be around. You need to determine which programs  to watch and which ones to watch. Choose high-quality educational programming and watch  with kids to ensure understanding. 

• 2 to 5 years 

Limit screen time to an hour a day. 

Parents should watch as well to ensure understanding and application to their world.

• 6 or older 

Place consistent limits on the time spent and types of media. 

I think now you will be clear already why you control your children’s screen time?

Thank you!