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Family Traditions During a Pandemic

Today’s blog was written by Anita Olson.

Many families celebrate traditions during the winter months – Diwali just passed, Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s (secular) and many other celebrations are to come. Because of Covid, this year has been a significant year of ambiguous grief and loss: loss of freedom, time with family, of financial security, jobs and loss of loved ones, to name a few. It is no doubt that how we previously celebrated our beloved holiday traditions are going to look and feel differently this year as the pandemic lingers on.

Firstly, it is totally okay to feel that it’s not fair we can’t celebrate like we did last year, with parties and family gatherings – it isn’t fair. But we also recognize the importance of keeping our loved ones healthy and safe. We can expect that staying in for the holidays without the neighbours, the in-laws and the funny uncle will feel different, because it is. The family traditions we hold dear and celebrate are like long terms routines – and routines help us feel settled, we know what to expect and look forward to them in anticipation.

This year our family traditions, or routines, are hardly anything we were expecting – and that can cause uneasy feelings. Not knowing what to expect can feel scary. But luckily there are two sides to this unexpected coin. When we don’t have a set routine to fall back on, we are nudged to flex our creative muscles! Not having a set holiday script opens up opportunity to create special new traditions for this time of year. And it may be surprising that by refreshing old traditions, new found appreciations for the holiday season pop up.

There are lots of festive ideas on how to spend this winter holiday while easily following the BC’s health minister’s guidelines – here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing;

· Bake your favourite treats while singing along to your favourite music. Ask others to join virtually and have a bake off!

· Dust off those board games and play a few.

· Have a house hold clean-out – donate old toys, clothing, kitchen gadgets to your local shelter.

· Reflect back as a family on the events you are grateful for, write them down, put them in a gratitude jar and read them out loud on a holiday you celebrate over the winter. For more ideas like this and more, check out The Parenting Place blog.

No matter how you plan to safely spend the winter break, this year will most definitely be a memorable one.

Happy Holidays!

 

Anita Olson works for Family Services of Greater Vancouver as Burnaby’s Early Childhood Community Consultant. Anita shares information, strategies and practical tools with parents through this free program. Focusing on the parent/caregiver and child relationship, Anita’s work with families aims to create and preserve loving connection and curiosity. Anita holds a current ECE licence, BA and MEd from Simon Fraser University. Contact Anita at aolson@fsgv.ca or (604)-723-9548.

Why Talking is Important?

Talking and listening to children does lots of important things: 

 

  • It improves your bond with them 
  • Encourages them to listen to you 
  • It helps them to form relationships   
  • It helps them to build self-esteem. 

 

Did you know?
Some children need a lot of encouragement and positive feedback to get talking. Others will be desperate to talk to you when you’re busy doing something else. This might mean stopping what you’re doing and listening. 

Ten tips for talking and listening 

  • Set aside time for talking and listening to each other. 
  • Listen to your children when they want to talk, have strong feelings or have a problem. 
  • Be open to talking about all kinds of feelings, including anger, joy, frustration, fear and anxiety.  
  • When talking to your child, try to remember how it was when you were a child and how you were generally attracted to those people who really listened to you. After all, children think differently from grown-ups. There are a lot of things they don’t know and a lot of things they don’t have the words to talk about. 
  • Let your child finish talking and then respond. When listening, try not to interrupt or put words in your child’s mouth 
  • Watch your child’s facial expression and body language. Listening isn’t just about hearing words, but also trying to understand what’s behind those words. 
  • To let your child know you’re listening, and make sure you’ve really understood, repeat back what your child has said and make lots of eye contact. 
  • Show your interest by saying such things as, “Tell me more about …”, “Really!” and “Go on …”. Ask children what they feel about the things they’re telling you about. 
  • Avoid criticism and blame. Work together to solve problems and conflicts. 
  • Be honest with each other. 

Did you know?
If you talk and listen to your children from a very young age, you’ll all get into habits that will be very useful once they’re teenagers. A relationship where children feel comfortable talking about what they’ve been doing and with whom, will encourage children to tell you about the details of their life when they’re older. 

 

Bernard Waber captures a parent-child conversation in his book: Ask Me 

 “Ask me what I like,” a little girl asks her father as they take a stroll through the neighborhood on a cool fall day. And so, he asks, “What do you like?” The child answers, the father sometimes probe for more information, and they continue the dialogue over and over throughout the book. You can feel the child’s energy as she provides list after list of things, she likes each time she sees something different. This is a wonderful story that shows the special parent-child bond between a father and his daughter. 

 This story captures a precious moment in time every parent is bound to recognize. It reminds us of the innocence of childhood and all the wonders in the world they see, even when on a simple walk. 

The illustrations are delightful and colorful. A lovely read aloud and bedtime book. 

You can listen to Ask me by Bernard Waber HERE

 

Leaf Art

I absolutely love the colors of the fall.  If you are like me, you sure  can’t resist collecting those autumn colored leaves from the ground.

Have you ever tried pressing them and creating all kinds of fun projects with the kids? Try this simple and cute fox to start with, than you can experiment with some more complex ones.

 

What you need:

  • white card stock
  • black cardstock
  • googly eyes
  • white glue
  • paint brush to apply to glue
  • scissors
  • marker

Directions:

  1.  Head outside to find your art materials. Look for leaves with a variety of shapes, textures, and colors.
  2. After bringing all the leaves home you could rinse and pat the leaves dry.  Or, just press them as is.
  3. Pull out the leaves, gather your supplies, and get crafting!
  4. Encourage kids to take time moving the leaves around and experimenting with various shapes and colors.
  5. Once the kids are happy with their designs, they can use paint brushes to apply glue on the backs of the leaves before pressing them into place.
  6. Add the black cardstock circles and the googly eyes.
  7. Draw some whiskers.
  8. Display the finished art so the whole family can enjoy!

Looking for more ideas?

Check out this site for more leaf art inspiration.

Nature – the magic bullet?

Hello Families,

Today’s post is shared by Anita Olson, Early Childhood Community Consultant.

Anita Olson works on the traditional, ancestral, and unseeded territory of the Coast Salish peoples for Family Services of Greater Vancouver as Burnaby’s Early Childhood Community Consultant (ECCC).
She has been working with families and young children for well over a decade and as a parent herself recognizes the challenges, complexity and delight parenting brings. Understanding the foundational importance of infant and early childhood development, Anita shares information, strategies and practical tools with parents as they begin and continue their parental journey. Focusing on the parent/caregiver and child relationship, Anita’s work with families aims to create and preserve loving connection and curiosity. Anita holds a current ECE license, BA and MEd from Simon Fraser University.
If you would like to speak with Anita, email her at aolson@fsgv.ca or call 604-723-9548

Since the pandemic began many changes have ensued steering families to make decisions they never thought they would ever make. Working from home with little children banging on the door demanding fishy crackers may not exactly be what you thought going back to work would look like. The low level anxiety people are faced with everyday as the pandemic lingers on, just shouldn’t be – and yet, here we are.

Children feel stress too and are really good at letting parents/caregivers know through their behaviour. Play dates are postponed, grandma and grandpa need to stay safe and can’t help out like they use to. Parents are concerned about their children’s social and emotional development and screen time. The list goes on. Stress and anxiety are real and present for many families – all members included.

Now, I am not one for magic bullets, but that’s kind of what I’m going to share with you here. Being in nature and the benefits it creates may be as close to a magic bullet as we can get. There is an ever growing body of evidence based research pointing to the power of nature for adult’s and children’s well being. Children 3-4 years old are recommended by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology to engage in 3 hours of physical activity spread over the course of every day. Young children need to move and challenge their bodies. Parks, gardens, beaches, forests, even the back yard are perfect spaces for children to get their move on. Children who engage in nature tend to be physically healthier because;

– Heart health is better – they move more and sit less

– Have better eye health – children who spend more time outside reduce the risk of myopia (nearsightedness)

– Sleep better as the sun helps regulate sleep patterns

– Improves the immune system

If you are feeling low, being in nature may give that needed boost. There is a vast body of research on how spending time in nature actually reduces stress, anxiety and depression for children and adults. Being in nature calms the brain by reducing cortisol (the stress hormone) and boosts endorphins and dopamine (happy hormones) in the body. Walking though a forest is call, shinrin-yoku, in Japanese, which literally means, “forest bathing” because of this calming effect it embodies.

Playing in nature offers children unstructured play where the possibilities are seemingly limitless to choose and design what and how to play. By engaging with their world by their own accord, children have the opportunity to make meaningful discoveries about the world promoting creativity and imagination.

Discoveries on colours, patterns and shapes found in nature make the great outdoors the perfect place to begin learning about early math concepts and language development. Research on learning outcomes for school aged children with regular access to outdoor lessons show significantly stronger reading and writing skills than for children without these nature experiences. The sights, sounds and smells of nature help calm the nervous system cultivating better focus and concentration, both key factors to learning.

There are also many studies linking time spent in nature reducing ADHD symptoms. Being outside matters!

Getting outside and into nature has benefits for the entire family. Family programs held outside, such as Strong Start, offer families a special gift. These outdoor programs allow for multi-generational shared learning and exploration in an environment rich with information that promotes physical and mental well-being. So, it may not be the magic bullet – but it’s close!

https://www.csep.ca/home https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/42/eaba2578 https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/sour-mood-getting-you-down-get-back-to-nature https://medium.com/parentingplace/nature-walks-f9971e064c0 https://www.ementalhealth.ca/Canada/Nature-and-Why-Its-Essential-For-Kids-Brains-Information-for-Parents-and-Caregivers/index.php?m=article&ID=52861 https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-need-to-spend-time-in-nature/ https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/kids-vs-screens https://www.outdoorplaycanada.ca/research/#:~:text=There%20are%20many%20evidence%2Dbased,(e.g.%2C%20increased%20happiness) https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_ways_nature_helps_children_learn https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/spend-time-in-nature-to-reduce-stress-and-anxiety https://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/mental-health-benefits-outdoors/

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is a day to remember people who fought and died in wars. It is on November 11th. On that day in 1918 came the end of World War I with Armistice with Germany.

Remembrance Day was started in 1919 by King George V of the United Kingdom. On the same day, other countries also have days to remember war and soldiers.

Traditions:

Lest we forget

There are some things that people do on Remembrance Day at 11:00 AM. That is when the World War ended. At a ceremony for Remembrance Day, a tune called “The Last Post” is played on a bugle (or sometimes a trumpet). Then there is two minutes of silence. At the end of the silence, the bugle plays a tune called “Reveille”.

In many countries, many people wear a poppy on Remembrance Day, and for a few days before. The remembrance poppy is an artificial flower to commemorate those who died in war. People bring wreaths made of poppies to Remembrance Day ceremonies. The poppy is a symbol to show they remember the wars, and the soldiers who fought in them. Poppies were chosen as a symbol because they often grew in battlefields after the soldiers stopped fighting.

 

How Can You Be Part of Remembrance Day?

 

WEAR a Poppy—You can find poppies at many of your local stores or Legion halls. Donations are voluntary and what you can afford to offer.

ATTEND A CEREMONY online- show your appreciation for those who have dedicated their lives to serve this glorious country that we call Canada.

OBSERVE a 2-minute moment of silence—On November 11th at 11:00.

Let your child see what you do to honour veterans. Talk to them about Remembrance Day if they ask questions.

When you’re explaining the meaning behind Remembrance Day to your preschooler, gauge how your child is feeling and what they’re ready for. You’re the best judge of how your child will react, but kids often understand more than we give them credit for. Explain as much as your child can handle. It’s okay if they don’t understand everything you say. Every year they’ll learn more.

 

Please join me for simple poems for preschoolers about Remembrance Day here.

For older children or adults please check out my favorite poem “Why Wear a Poppy?” – By Don Crawford here.

 

We remember.

Rain Cloud in a Jar Experiment

What you Need:
  • A large jar
  • Small cups for food colour
  • Gel food colouring or washable watercolours
  • Shaving Cream (not a gel version)
  •  Droppers

 

Directions:
  1. In a small cup, mix the food coloring with some water
  2. Fill the large jar with water until it is about 3/4 full.
  3. Place the jar and the cups of colored water on the table. Place a pipette in each cup of colored water.
  4. Right before the kids are ready to do the experiment, spray a bunch of shaving cream in the jar until it is just a small bit above the top of the jar.
  5. Ask the kids to pick up some colored water with a pipette and squirt it on top of the shaving cream cloud. Repeat this step one or two more times but pay close attention to what is happening below the cloud!

The colored water will begin to seep down through the shaving cream and into the water below. Just like rain!

How it Works

The shaving cream represents the clouds, and the water represents the air. The colored water represents rain. As the colored water saturates the “cloud”, it gets heavy and eventually is so heavy that it can no longer hold the water. It “rains” down into the jar – through the “air.” It is just like real rain falls through the air.

Rain

Rainy days are here! What can you do with a preschooler on rainy days?

Experience it and learn about it.

 

​Go for a walk in the rain. Feel the water running and dripping. Catch drops on your tongue. Look to the sky and see the clouds the rain is coming from. Search for a rainbow (is the sun out?)

Water play, with plain water. Use sieves, watering can, hoses and tubes, etc. Make “rain”.

Measure rainfall during the day in a clear plastic cup marked with permanent marker measurements. Write it down. Measure again tomorrow and compare.

Count the puddles in the yard. Puddle jumping and splashing.

Explore an umbrella.

 

Possible Discoveries

​Rain is water. It falls from clouds when the clouds become too heavy with water drops. When it rains, everything without protection gets wet. What are some forms of protection? (Homes and other buildings, umbrellas, coats and hats, cars, and other vehicles etc)

People, animals, and plants need rain. Do you know why? Water supports life – we all need to drink water every day to help us grow and stay healthy. Plants need water to grow. What might happen if plants did not take in enough water?

We also need water to wash ourselves. If we had no water to wash ourselves, what might happen?

Sometimes rain is very light, and sometimes very heavy. Vocabulary: sprinkle, spit, downpour, shower, mist, deluge, flood, drizzle etc

 

For Circle Time about Rain click here.

Bat Silhouette Halloween Art

A splash of color and a few dabs on the paper and you have an easy and gorgeous Bat Silhouette Halloween Art.

What you need:

  • white card stock
  • black cardstock
  • scissors
  • marker
  • sponge brush or use finger tip
  • paints
  • optional – tape

Directions:

  1. Fold a sheet of white paper in half.
  2. Draw two bat “halves”.
  3. Cut out along the drawn lines to get the bat silhouettes.
  4. Prepare your paints – we used white, yellow and orange in our project.
  5. Place the bat silhouette on the black paper. If working with younger kids, secure the bats by making a roll of  tape and sticking it on the bat – press the bat on the black paper – the tape will hold it in place and it will be easy to remove afterwards.
  6. Dab the sponge brush (or your finger tip) in colors and start dabbing all around the bat cutouts. Add more paint, until you are happy with the intensity and spread of the paint.
  7. Remove the bath silhouettes. All done, this simple Halloween art project is complete.

Check out the video of this art project here.

Try this art project with different silhouettes and background colours, like pumpkins, ghosts or black cat.

Dress Up Play: “Who am I?”

Children seek dress-up out naturally.

Here are the benefits of playing with costumes.

  1. Dress up play fosters the imagination

Children have vast, open imaginations. When children play dress up, they root their imaginative stories in reality for a short while, giving them a chance to explore it more thoroughly.

For example, if your child dons a fireman’s hat, he practices helping people, community service and bravery.

  1. Dress up play lets them explore themselves

By pretending to be other people, children experiment with new ideas and behaviors. They can decide what they like and what they don’t.

  1. Dress up play strengthens relationships

Playing with costumes is a strong lesson in empathy. By “living” the life of someone else, your child has to put themselves in that person’s shoes. How do they feel? What are their motivations? How would they behave in certain situations?

  1. Dress up play improves communication

Dress up forces children to experiment with new language. They have to anticipate what, for example, a ballerina would say, or how a space explorer would speak. This gives them chance to practice with words and phrases they wouldn’t normally use.

Halloween is a good time to let children play dress-up games.

 

Keep a variety of dress-up items on hand. Garage sales and thrift stores are great, often inexpensive sources. Unlike an expensive ready made costume that a child uses to be a single specific character it is preferable to have “open ended”  non gender specific dress up ideas that can be used by a child in a multitude of different ways.

Stock a dress-up box or trunk with these essentials to encourage creative storytelling play.

  1. Scarves or play silks are the most versatile, and therefore most essential item for storytelling play. They can be worn as a head covering, a scarf, a skirt, a dress. They can become water or grass in the setting or used as a bag to carry items. The options are limitless — just like kids’ imaginations!
  2. Toss hats, purses and bags, glasses, jewelry or other accessories into the dress-up box for kids to incorporate into their characters’ ensembles.
  3. The right prop can inspire a story and make excellent gifts for kids to include in their creative play. Ex. Swords and shields; Wings and cape
  4. Recyclables: Even better than specific props, “trash” can be a real treasure in imaginative play. Like with scarves, kids can use their imaginations to turn boxes and bags into costumes or props. Ex. Boxes and paper bags; Paper-towel and toilet-paper rolls; Old socks or scraps of fabric

Happy dress-up! Happy Halloween!

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