On-the-go conversation games

Since my kids were small, we've played a handful of games in the car on the way to work, school, and on errands.  It's amazing how fun they still are after several years!  These games are often a great way to get my children to converse with me, and for me to connect with them, so I don't feel like just a chauffeur!  Our favorites are "guess this character" and reading half of a road sign so they can guess the other half.  Here's another idea that's great for on-the-go fun that will have you and your child talking!  Thanks to Family Fun magazine for this idea.

Celebrate the first day of Summer!

What better time than now to have a summer picnic?  Imaging laying out in beautiful weather, relaxing with your loved ones, listening to music, and enjoying some delicious treats...now it's time to plan that picnic!

Here are some excellent ideas from food and drink recipes to storage, supplies, and travel blankets, courtesy of Parents.com.  Enjoy, and have a happy Summer!

  

  

Bathtime fun with cork boats!

We found this great craft idea that will have your child feeling like an admiral of the ocean sea!  These cork boats are easy to create and will be so much fun to play with.  Thanks to Kate's Creative Space for this fun craft.

Alison Gopnik: What do babies think?

We stumbled across a great discussion from Alison Gopnik about how babies think.  Alison Gopnik is a professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkley.

Such a great presentation that every parent should see. Check it out!

Special thanks to TED for allowing our blog to share and get great discussion and thought going!

Music for Kids Summer Line-up

This is too good to pass up and who doesn't love free music! 

The Music Division and Austin Public Library have partnered to host Music for Kids. Music for Kids is a six-week summer concert series featuring local, live musical performances suited for kids and teen youth at library locations throughout Austin.

Performances are free and appropriate for the whole family. All are welcome and invited to attend.

Music for Kids Summer Line-up

Date	Musician	Time	Location
6/24/13	Lucas Miller	4 pm	Howson Branch
6/27/13	Neal Kassanoff	2 pm	Pleasant Hill Branch
6/28/13	Lucas Miller	2 pm	Terrazas Branch
6/28/13	Neal Kassanoff	2 pm	Faulk Central Branch
7/2/13	Lucas Miller	2 pm	Cepeda Branch
7/3/13	Gina Chavez	2 pm	Ruiz Branch
7/8/13	Gina Chavez	2 pm	Spicewood Springs Branch
7/9/13	Gina Chavez	4 pm	Twin Oaks Branch
7/10/13	Neal Kassanoff	2 pm	Windsor Park Branch
7/11/13	Neal Kassanoff	2 pm	Carver Branch
7/15/13	Neal Kassanoff	4 pm	Old Quarry Branch
7/16/13	Gina Chavez	2 pm	Southeast Austin Branch
7/17/13	Gina Chavez	2 pm	Little Walnut Branch
7/18/13	Neal Kassanoff	2 pm	University Hills Branch
7/24/13	Lucas Miller	2 pm	Hampton Branch at Oak Hill
7/24/13	Neal Kassanoff	4 pm	Manchaca Road Branch
7/25/13	Lucas Miller	4 pm	Milwood Branch

Who's Ready for Kindergarten?

   Pre-kindergarten graduation is bittersweet at The Children's Center of Austin. It's amazing to watch our children grow by leaps and bounds. It can be difficult for us to let go our of children as they embark on their new journey to kindergarten. We know that when our alumni students arrive to kindergarten, they are confident and ready!

The expectations of kindergarten go beyond being able to recognize the alphabet and numbers. Here's what our community kindergarten teachers want.

• An ability to listen. Can your child sit for a story or activity for a period of time? Something as simple as sitting down and listening to a captivating story promotes rich language, develops attention skills, and will help build your child's concentration. It's important to read to your child and ask questions about the storyline. Active listening is important to a child's learning process. 

• Socially and emotionally apt. Children need to learn and work together in a group setting. Even at kindergarten age, children can sometimes still be territorial about toys and friends. Children need to be given the opportunity to practice their problem solving and negotiating skills with other children in the way of taking turns, using their words to convey their feelings about people and situations. If you find that it's difficult to for your child to initiate problem solving, encourage them to convey their concerns about the situation and allow processing time for your child to come up with ways to resolve the situation. 

• Strong fine motor skills. Children need strong fine motor skills in order to cut, paste, and even hold a pencil. A way to strengthen the small muscles in your child's palm and fingers is by crafting. One of our favorite activities is stringing cereal on to string or pipe cleaners. Sorting beads by color is another fun solution for building fine motor development. 

• Self independence is key. Children need to learn how to button their coats, tie their own shoes, go to the bathroom and wash their hands, open and unwrap their lunch items. 

• Letter and number recognition. Children entering kindergarten should be able to distinguish upper and lower case letters. Children should also recognize and be able to show the value of numbers. 

If you are in the area and would like an visit a pre-kindergarten classroom, please call us at 512-266-6130. We would love to meet you and your child. 

Ways to Get Preschoolers to Stop and Listen

Ever feel and sound like a broken record when you are trying to communicate with your preschooler?We do too sometimes. Getting a child to stop and listen can be hard, especially if your child is engrossed with an activity and it's time to move on to something else. Here are some tips on how to help your preschooler stop and listen.

1. Walk over to your child. It's just much more easier than shouting across a room and more effective just to walk over to your child or a group of children. Position yourself at eye level with your child and communicate with he/she in a friendly and positive manner. Children have a tendency to tune out others around them.

2. Eye contact is key! It's really important that children try to make eye contact with you. Children will look around and sometime avoid making eye contact. When this does happen, we remind the child and say, "When you look at me, your eyes tell me that you are listening to me" or "I need to see your eyes" also works too. Please remember to be communicate in a friendly and positive manner.

3. Your message should be short, sweet, and to the point. Children are not fans of listening or being lectured for extended periods of time. Convey your message quickly and effectively.

4. Practice makes perfect! You may have a child who refuses to look at you or even not want to listen to your words. You may want to lead your child to another quiet area away from other children and adults. Children (and adults) don't enjoy being called out or redirected in front of a group. Treat and communicate in a manner in which you want to be treated or communicated with.