Dancing is Great Kids’ Exercise

Music and Movement Helps Brain Development

  When adults turn on any kind of music or sing even off key young children naturally move and sing along. Brain research suggests that music and movement help both sides of the brain learn to work together. First gather all kinds of music, cardboard and plastic containers and paper core rolls, small ball, and wooden. Music activities do not require store bought instruments, specific skills, nor special competence to experience joy. Adults and children can enjoy peppy music in the morning and relaxing soft music at lunch, during car rides, before naps and bedtimes. Some children who have difficulty going to sleep even after their bedtime stories may fall asleep with soft classical music. Children who may not talk a lot yet often will sing words with adults.

Marching Bands and Exercise

John Phillip Sousa Had It Right!! 

 John Phillip Sousa had it right! Sing a march and get moving. Since many people don’t have marching music, go to You Tube and search for your favorite college band. Then make assorted drums from boxes, plastic containers, and wooden spoons and reinforce the them with layers of packing tape.  Listen to the beat and drum together. Boxes of different sizes make different sounds. Drum soft, loud, fast and slow. Then pick up the drums and march around the house. Marching is great exercise. You can play follow the leader, march right, march left, march backwards, and turn around. Young children can make up their own marching routine.

 You can also make a homemade kazoo by folding a piece of wax paper over the tooth edge of a comb and hum through the tissue paper. For a trumpet cover one end of a paper towel roll with waxed paper and secure it with a rubber band.  Punch a row of holes along one side of the roll with a pen tip.  Hum into the open end. To make chimes, tie washers on to a ruler and play with a spoon.

Karaoke Fun

Children love to sing along. 

Make Homemade Instruments 

They learn words very quickly. Songs like “Bingo” drop off letters and keep everyone thinking. Children love the beat of show tunes like the Sound of Music’s “Do Re Mi”, rock, country, jazz, patriotic, Latino, religious songs, or the latest children’s movie tune. If you don’t know the words, do it Elmo’s way—La, La, La, La. Most words are available on line for free though. Google the song title and you’re ready to sing. Your public library often has a good variety of music cd’s and song books. Add some costumes and give each child an opportunity to sing their favorite song. You can record a short movie with your phone to send to relatives who need a little cheering up. 

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

For more go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.

Using Technology to Connect with Grandchildren

Children’s technology skills and time on devices can be good 

  Start by asking grandchildren to show you what they do on the computer which varies widely among families and ages. Inquire after you have taken a library computer course so you know what they are talking about and can use some of the vocabulary. Chromebook computers can cost under $200 and teens can set them up once you have the Internet.

Library Tech Classes

  There are so many classes at libraries taught by very patient people. This skill is just another challenge to meet, overcome, and embrace. Besides once grandparents take a class, learn the basics, and take good notes, grandchildren will teach the rest. Warn them ahead of time to be patient teachers. It is their turn.

  What should grandparents learn? How to use the Internet. Once on the Internet librarians will teach how to do some very fascinating searches for information and entertainment.

Keep in Touch

 You can set up and master e-mail.  Many accounts like g-mail are free. Then you can send messages once a week even to your college grandchildren. They will love the friendly words of wisdom, love, and a few bucks by old fashioned mail, too.

  You can learn how to use Face Time to see and hear grandchildren. It is free.

 Your family can also set up a private Facebook group for the immediate family. Keep a notebook for all of your passwords and notes. Let them know you will need help from time to time, fair warning.

  Many people now use Facebook 

Talk While Using Online Games and Devices 

for writing quick notes, clicking thumbs up, and sharing photographs.  Instagram is another place for photos. Let grandchildren know you want to be a part of their lives.  It is a lonely world sometimes if grandparents don’t know some of these basics. In addition to staying in touch with you, they will be staying in touch with cousins and extended families.

  With a little practice you can send out Internet Memes.  These are funny images or short videos like silly animal videos that little grandchildren will enjoy. You’ll never worry about your emails being unread if you send a funny video link.

  Talk with children while they show you how to play some games such as “Draw Something”, “Words with Friends”, “Ticket to Ride”,”Minecraft”, “Carcassonne”,  “Pokémon Go”, Sesame Street  and Lego games on their devices. Sites like Pinterest, Crafter, and You Tube are other sites to share activities and science with children. The khanacademy.org helps with all homework. Librarians will also share the dangers of the Internet’s “wild West”, also a part of technology, unfortunately.

 For more information, read this article summarizing a study following grandchildren and grandparents’ shared use of technology, Connecting Grandparents and Grandkids Through Technology  

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

For more go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.

Playing Store and Learning Economics

Teach Personal Finance - A Lifetime Lesson

Playing store with preschoolers teaches personal finance lessons of saving, spending, wait until later, and opportunity cost. These are lifelong lessons that go beyond shopping.

 Turn a shoe box into a cash register. Then add some real or play money, things to buy and sell, small box attached to a string for a scanner, shopping bags, sale signs, and clerk’s name tag. Children can draw signs or make a little newspaper ad. 

Learning Economics

  Practice playing store at home or children’s museum play store. Stuffed animals and dolls can go “shopping” with you and also learn to make wise economic choices. 

You can make rectangles of paper marked with $1 for easy counting and bring a handful of pennies for the register. For store merchandise use Play Dough or real food items, toys, Lego construction, books, dolls, stuffed animals, anything around the house.

  Together put prices on items and display them in columns and rows on a counter top. Sort materials according to categories--certain colored cars go together, etc. Keep it simple. Each item is worth $1 or a few cents to start. Have a conversation about what items will sell the best and why? Conversation is a key ingredient in preparing children to read.

Opportunity Cost

   Now take turns choosing items and checking out. Purposely, have enough money for some items and not enough for others so you are forced to make choices. Play act that you are disappointed you don’t have enough money but handle that disappointment well.  

Take Your Dolls & Stuffed Animals Shopping

Practice saying, “Oh well, maybe later. I will save up my money.” What a useful economic phrase to teach! It’s also a good way to teach preschool children to work through a disappointment without a tantrum.

  Adults are teaching opportunity cost which is choosing one thing between several equally desired ones. This important concept teaches children that sometimes you can’t have everything you want. Sometimes you must give up the opportunity or delay it for another time.

   Think of other real situations to role play. Look at newspaper ads and have a sale. Make some printed signs and drawings to keep every time you play. If there is only one left and it’s very popular, increase the price (supply and demand).

  All of this involves thinking out loud and conversation. Most important, keep the activity fun and short.

Role Play with Real Situations

 When interest wanes, pack up the store for later. The key to preschool care is a variety of short activities varying between active and quiet times with rest and nutritious snacks.

Learning responsible personal finance begins in preschool. Teaching opportunity cost and “maybe later” helps with other experiences in life when children must make difficult choices. 

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

For more go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.