Para los Ninos: Loving Limits -- February 24, 2105

It is always fun to have Miss Tiffany visit!  Today she talked with our caregivers about reinforcing good behavior and setting limits.  Some of the strategies she mentioned include:

• Establish routines
• Appreciate your child's unique qualities
• Listen to your baby's cry
• Set limits
• Be firm and react calmly
• Teach your child self-control
• Give choices
• Really listen
• Praise and encourage

Then we read...

How About a Hug? by Nancy Carlson

Sometimes a hug is just what you need!

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen

There will be no pouting or shouting or moping or moaning when the lights go out because dinosaurs kids everywhere know how to behave at bedtime!

As always, Miss Tiffany brought some awesome activities!  My favorite was ABC Cream...

Let's practice making letters and writing our names in the shaving cream!

We also played What's in the Bag? and made our very own Hug Hands to share with our family members when we have to be apart.  For more information regarding the Loving Limits program, check out http://www.cmhouston.org/loving-limits on the Children's Museum website.

Quiet and Loud -- February 17, 2015

We continued our journey into the land of opposites with books about quiet and LOUD!

Be Quiet, Mike by Leslie Patricelli
Mike the Monkey is reprimanded for making noise when he taps pencils and clangs trash cans...  Until he sees a drum set in the music store and puts his hands-on talents to work in a most impressive way!

Who Said Coo? by Deborah Ruddell
Lulu is one seriously sleepy pig.  But every time she snuggles in her cozy bed, she's disturbed by the noises of two naughty birds outside her window...

Craft Time can be quiet...

Or LOUD!

Houston Grand Opera: First Songs -- February 3, 2015

What a special treat to have a special guest from the Houston Grand Opera present a program for African American History Month entitled Peace, Hope, Dreams.  Miss Megan led us in several songs, dances, fingerplays and...  STORIES!

All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka
Celebrate the colors of children and the colors of love...  Not black or white or yellow or red, but roaring brown, whispering gold, tinkling pink and more!

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
Babies are born in many different places, under many different circumstances...  But what do they all have in common?  Ten little fingers and ten little toes!

Sleep by Charles Anthony Silvestri
Based on lyrics written for a choral piece, we explore a child's journey into dreams.
















Miss Megan also shared a few of Mem Fox's Read-Aloud Rules:

1. Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud. From birth!
2. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot!
3. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
4. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
5. Please read aloud every day because you just adore being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.

Day and Night -- January 27, 2015

As we continue our adventure in the World of Opposites, let's take a look at night and day!

Yes Day! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
A little boy gets everything he asks for on Yes Day, a special day that only comes once a year.

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na
While other animals sleep at night, some quietly and other noisily, some alone and others huddled together, a wide-eyed owl watches.

Be AMAZED as DAY...

... turns into NIGHT!

Stop and Go -- January 20, 2015

Let's look at OPPOSITES!  We'll begin with stop and go...

Get Up and Go! by Nancy Carlson
Let's get up and play a sport, or an active game, or trying skating or dancing! Moving makes us feel good.

The Bus Stop by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Kindergartners gather for their first exciting ride on the school bus!

We made our very own TRAFFIC LIGHTS at Craft Time!

Bear With Me -- January 13, 2015

We enjoyed a bear-y special storytime today!

Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.
A bear cub meets a red fox, a blue heron and many other animals as he looks for his mother.

Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson
While taking a walk with Mouse, Bear meets many other friends and sees colors everywhere.

We made bear bookmarks for the craft today!
He hugs your spot so you can pick up where you left off.

Para los Ninos: Self-Esteem -- January 6, 2015

We're so happy Miss Tiffany brought the Children's Museum of Houston Para los Ninos program to us today! She spoke briefly with our caregivers regarding strategies to improve a child's confidence:

• Watch what you say
• Be a positive role model
• Identify and redirect your child's inaccurate beliefs
• Be spontaneous and affectionate with your child
• Give positive, accurate feedback
• Create a safe, nurturing home environment

We read...

Thank You Bear by Greg Foley

Despite the criticism of others, a bear finds the perfect gift for his mouse friend.

I Like Me by Nancy Carlson

By admiring her finer points and show that she can take care of herself and have fun even when there's no one else around, a charming pig proves the best friend you can have is yourself.








Miss Tiffany shared some really neat activities with us too!

First we tried...  FACE PAINTING!

Then it was off to make FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS!

And we finished up with these CONFIDENCE BAGS!
On the outside, we wrote things we like about ourselves physically...
Then on the inside, we listed our good qualities that you can't see, like patience and creativity!