Thursday, October 27, 2011

A Classic....With a Twist

I call this a classic because its something I used to do as a child.  The twist?  Do it on the light panel, of course!  This activity evolved today as my son was painting with watercolors.  Once the water turned a color, he asked me if we could do colors in water on the light panel.  So we did.  

 This is an old picture, but this is what he was doing....mixing colors.  (water + food coloring)


Then he told me he wanted "the volcano water".  I knew what he was talking about....vinegar + food coloring + baking soda....of course.  For him it was really just a fun sensory activity, but for younger children it can be a fun way to learn colors, basic skills such as squeezing (food coloring), stirring, and pouring.  There are also tons of new words that can be introduced to little ones during this activity.  We talked about the smell, the sounds, and the visual aspects.


 We poured vinegar into each section of the translucent container and he added food coloring



 We put baking soda into a large shaker (from the dollar store) and he shook out the baking soda a little at a time.



 Bubbly!  Cool!!



 Putting hands in bubbly vinegar is a must!!

My son and I went to Home Depot soon after this activity.  His hands were completely stained purple (I think the vinegar helped with that).  Some lady stopped me to tell me that his hands were purple with a look of shock on her face.  LOL!!  Then she inquired as to HOW they got that way!  Im pretty sure she walked away in shock.  It was too funny!!  I didn't even notice they were purple until she said something....which makes it even funnier to me. 
- AK
You have read this article Playing with Light / Rainy Day Play with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/a-classicwith-twist.html. Thanks!

For the "dumpers"

How do you have everything out and in glass containers without things getting broken or destroyed?
 We know that seeing some of our “Environment” pictures can be overwhelming and seem completely undoable.  It takes time, effort, TRUST, and patience to have everything accessible to the child, but its soooooooo worth it in the long run.  Not only is it empowering to the child, but it also strengthens the parent/child relationship because in essence we are telling them – “you are capable”, “I trust you” (that must feel so good to them).  We draw inspiration from the Reggio Emilia Philosophy, which is all about inspiring environments and having materials readily available to the child.  Our play rooms have been built brick by brick, per say.  Whenever we introduce a new element or material, we explore it, talk about it, and learn about its function and how to handle it together.  We have taught our children from a very young age how to handle things with care and how to respect their environment.  Accidents are just learning opportunities and messes are not typically an issue because our children have been gently guided to use the materials in functional ways.  We don’t shy away from dumping and pouring (messes), we just give them appropriate outlets to do so.  We are admittedly present with our children most of the day – and there was lots of supervision in the playrooms when they were younger.  Give it a go, take baby steps, and you will see amazing things happen!

Elaboration on Dumping and Pouring


Yes, our children dump and pour with the best of them... some more than others.  Ak's son and my oldest were never big "dumpers".  My youngest was a different story.  She LOVED to dump.  This probably went on between 11M-16M??  Instead of taking away or limiting her environment and taking away something from my oldest... we explored together.  Everything that was available to my oldest, was available to my youngest... despite their 17M difference.  I also do not plan on taking anything away from them when our newest addition gets here in less 2 weeks. Everything will be left out to explore and create!  


My oldest (17M) and AK's son (15M) exploring a dumped container of acrylic shapes.  Yes, you may dump that.  Yes, we will explore it together!  


20 Months

Giving them other appropriate outlets to dump and pour also helps.  "I know you would really like to dump that.  That would be LOTS of fun!  Let's get some bowls and cups to dump with."



22 Months and 5 Months

"You want to dump those?  Those look like they would be fun to dump on the light box!  Let's bring it out and turn the lights off!"  


9 Months

Exploring a dumped container of gems.  Yes, obviously you want to be fully present when they are this young.  I often like to lay out a white blanket to explore on.  It makes the background simple and the objects they are exploring really stand out.  


15 Months

An empty container was always on hand when my youngest was going through the "dumping stage".  "If you would like to dump that, you may dump it here."


I love the look of wonder on her face here.  It is amazing the things that can happen when we put our trust into them.    

These next few pictures were taken today. My youngest is 20 Months old now.  I am so happy that my camera was upstairs!  I love when I can capture moments like this to share with you.  This really touched me this AM and just reinforced my love for child led play.  My youngest is now over the dumping stage.  Yes, you can get there, too!  Sorry for the half nakedness and crazy hair!  LOL  It was early.  

Before I got to my camera she took out a piece of paper, glue, and glitter.  The picture below is her now going for the colored pasta.  





Carrying it to the art table.


Adding to her masterpiece  :-)  


Putting it back after she was done... with no prompting or guidance.  Yes, your child can do this, too!  


When I asked her what she was making. 

"Rain, Mommy.  Rain, rain, go away" 

What a beautiful rain shower it is!

This is why our materials stay out at all times.  This is why we put in the time and effort to teach and to explore together.  This is why we trust our children.  

Give them an opportunity and YOU WILL see amazing things happen.
You have read this article Child-Guided Play with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/for-the.html. Thanks!
Monday, October 17, 2011

A playroom... that grew over time

I know as a lot of you look at our "environment" pictures it may seem a little overwhelming.  I just wanted to show you that our playroom did grow over time... and it still continues to grow/change.    

It was not in our budget to just make it the playroom it is today.  I can't tell you how many times I have switched this room around.  

A little history...

We moved from South Florida to NC.  When we first moved here, we moved in with my MIL in her 3 bedroom house.  We had 2 bedrooms to our name.  




This is my oldest daughter (11 Months) playing at her "art table" in her bedroom at my MIL's.


Where it all started...


After a move, a new job for my husband, baby #2 due in 2 months, and my MIL's passing, we moved into our new house.  Yes, we go through changes/challenges, too!  





I don't have a lot of pictures, but as you can see here our art table made it against the wall under the window.  



The art table became an "art corner"



Adding little by little. 



How our art supplies first started off.  



One shelf along the wall was added and we chucked the alphabet letters (it was too busy).



Then we added another row and our dollar tree buckets... as seen in the background. 



The walls got some color!  The art table moved to the middle of the room for a bit.  



The mirrors and shoe organizer were added.  The finished artwork display also got a facelift.  :-)  



As you can see, it STILL is changing.  The last few months my daughters have been painting a ton.  My oldest has been using the scissors and cutting paper a lot.  I wanted to display the paints/papers/scissors in a different way because of that.  Paints went out on the shelf instead of in the paint box, and the paper and scissors are now on the wall for easier access.  


Before


After... 
My husband added a shelf into the built-in's for Playmobil play.  


Before


After...

Empty containers were moved to kitchen area since they were used over there the most.  Magna tiles were moved to magnetic white board because my daughters use them to make houses for their magnet girl.  We added a play-doh section for my youngest since it's one of her favorites right now.  


Before


After...

One couch was taken out of the reading area as they seem to migrate to their rooms to read.  Kitchen was added for their dramatic play.  Peg board was added to organize white/felt board materials that get a ton of use.  

This is a playroom that has grown over almost 2 YEARS!  I am sure it will change again when baby 3 gets here in 3 weeks.  

If you start off little by little (just like we did) you can have an amazing space that works for YOU.  

RL 

You have read this article Environment with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/a-playroom-that-grew-over-time.html. Thanks!
Sunday, October 16, 2011

For My Son

This has a little to do with PLAY and a LOT to do with INSPIRING!  Hope you like it.

- AK (MESE, MECD)




You have read this article Connection with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/for-my-son.html. Thanks!
Friday, October 14, 2011

Light Panel - Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

A light panel is an illuminated board.  (There are also light boxes and light tables - same concept, just different construction.)  Light panels have tons and tons of uses and bring an added dimension to play – LIGHT!  They are a fabulous way to optimize sensory play (and even academic endeavors - for older children)....and did you know that light can be therapeutic for some children?  Oh yes!!  Here is our article, published in an online magazine that shows the endless activities and fun a light panel can bring - 


click here:

 Light table in our playroom.  Light table accessories hanging on pegboard.

Click HERE for more inspiration!
Click HERE for great light panel activities!


A light panel is fun for all ages!

We have had our light panel since my son was born (for 3 years).  Here he is exploring on it as an infant.


This is RLs youngest daughter as an infant exploring and learning the color green on their light panel.  


 This is the homemade light box AB made for her daughter.  Clear bin and Christmas lights - simple.  You can add some parchment paper to the inside of the lid to distribute the light more evenly.


Everyone can enjoy a light panel/box/table.   
Click HERE to see some you can purchase. 
Click HERE to see a do it yourself version. 

Also check out our pinterest page for more inspiration.

- AK (MESE, MECD)


You have read this article Playing with Light with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/light-panel-who-what-when-where-why-how.html. Thanks!
Thursday, October 13, 2011

SENSORY TABLES

Last week RL created an album on our Facebook page totally dedicated to Sensory Tables.  The pictures in the album....seen HERE....are proof that a sensory table doesn't have to be a "table", it can be any type of container, with any type of material in it.  

My son when he was 11 months old in a pool of tinsel

Sensory activities provide children with another meaningful avenue for learning. A sensory table or a sensory tub full of various sensory materials is a worthwhile investment for hours of learning, exploring, and fun. Because children learn best by having "hands on" experiences with materials, sensory experiences are vital to young children's learning. 
 
- AK (MESE, MECD)

You have read this article Sensory Activities with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/sensory-tables.html. Thanks!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Therapeutic Process of Play



“Play relieves feelings of stress and boredom, connects us to people in a positive way, stimulates creative thinking and exploration, regulates our emotions, and boosts our ego.” (Landreth, 2002)
Working with kids, teens and parents who are trying to cope with overwhelming emotions and destructive behaviors is an intense way to learn the real power of play. Beyond all my formal education, the theories I learned, and the research papers and books I’ve read (and continue to read), witnessing the ways in which play can heal and empower individuals and families has been influential to the way I view and interact with my own daughter, and how I conceptualize her play. I believe play is therapeutic for people of all ages, but since the focus here at PAHM is children, I want to focus on how it helps kids work through everyday emotional (sleep issues, death of a family member), physical (tying shoes, sensory issues) & relational (fighting with siblings, aggression) challenges. Play has the power to help children work through their fears, anxieties and conflicts in ways that talking simply cannot. Play also has the power to heal and strengthen the parent-child relationship by bringing the focus to the parent-child relationship and away from the problem. Even those of us in the field of therapy understand the healing process of play is somewhat of a mystery, and yet there it is for us to witness every day. The following essay is a combination of how I approach play with my daughter and some of the basic principles of play therapy simplified for everyday use with our children as they play.
“Birds Fly. Fish Swim. Children Play.” –Gary Landreth
1. Choosing Toys: As an practicing advocate of "Simplicity Parenting," our family has very few, if any, battery operated, singing, flashing, etc. toys in the house. I feel they limit creativity, and frankly they drive me more than a bit bonkers. Luckily child-focused research on learning, creativity and motivation supports the notion that such toys limit creativity, decrease attention span and lower motivation to learn. So I don't feel too guilty about limiting the toys that are invited to play in our home. J So what kind of toys do we have? Children need open ended toys to encourage creativity, critical thinking and expression of the child’s thoughts needs and feelings: anger, fear, sadness, joy, surprise, disgust. Here is a list of toys with open ended therapeutic value; while it is not exhaustive, it is a good place to start:
  • Real-Life: Dolls, bottles, doctor kit, phone, dollhouse, family figures, play money, cars, kitchen utensils, a variety of animals, doctor kit
  • Aggressive: dart guns, rubber bendy knife, rope, animals, soldiers, bop bag, mask
  •  Emotional Expression: playdough, crayons, paper, scissors, tape, egg carton, deck of cards, soft foam ball, balloons, magic wand
  •  I think it is also helpful, though not essential, to have a medium of play, such as a large pan or sensory table of sand, beans, or water to hide, bury or build.
A word about aggressive play and toys: There is a misconception that allowing children to play with aggressive toys such as guns and knives will teach them to be aggressive. But child development research, and play therapy research in particular, shows children need to  express their aggressive emotions in play in order to release them, rather than carrying them throughout the day (to school, the grocery store, grandma’s house, etc.). Everyone has negative feelings that need to be accepted, noticed and expressed in healthy ways in order to release them; children are no different. Our job as parents is to guide them toward appropriate expressions of their negative emotions, “you’re really angry and you want to hit mommy, but mommy is not for hitting. You can hit the pillow or you can stomp your feet and say ‘I’m really angry!’” Developing emotional intelligence is key to raising healthy, compassionate and capable children, and play combined with appropriate boundaries teaches them emotional intelligence.

2. Setting the stage for play is important. Chaos in the home creates anxiety in children, whether the chaos is emotional (yelling) or physical (disorganization). Children feel less anxious when toys are organized, rather than scattered or piled up in boxes where they have to dig around to find them. In our home we decided to display certain toys on shelves (2-3 books, paper, markers, blocks, dolls, kitchen) and put specific toys in bins (paint, dress up, soft animals, doll accessories) for space and functionality reasons, but they always go back in the same box and returned to the same place. In addition to decreasing a child’s anxiety, toy organization also increases their ability to access that toy when they seek it out. I quickly discovered that in order for us to get and stay organized we also had to simplify; we gave away many toys and we put the rest away to swap out every few weeks. I’ve also found that displayed toys and boxed toys change over time; your child will lead the way in this matter as well.
Shelves: 3 books, 3 animals, paper, markers, crayons, scissors
Boxes: musical instuments, baby supplies, kitchen supplies

Kitchen, light table, play space
Shelves: blocks, light table supplies, puzzle

This is "behind the scenes" in the above picutres (LOL)
Addi orchestrated a morning meeting with animals, books & letters
3. So how does play "work"? Children want to connect with us and they want know we care about their thoughts, feelings and needs. Play is a wonderful opportunity to do this while also giving them the opportunity to work through the everyday challenges they face. Our role is to allow the child to lead in play while we follow without making suggestions or asking questions. Parents can join in the play when invited or to help a child become interested in play, but children make all the decisions and find their own solutions without our interference. Sometimes this means it’s important to “play dumb” in order to empower our children, “you want me to open that? Hmmmm. Show me what to do.” Our purpose is not to frustrate our children, it is to empower them; our goal is to help children feel capable in the presence of adults who seem capable of doing everything with great ease. Most importantly, this means we need to be present with our child while they play. There are several important ways to demonstrate our attentiveness:
  • Body language conveys strong messages, so our body should be facing our child.
  • Tracking our children’s play  it is a way to let them know we’re present, paying attention, and interested without leading or making suggestions: “you’re stacking those up,” “you’ve decided to put that there.” “you’re thinking about what you want to do next.”  When Addi is playing I don’t usually name an object unless she has given it a name. For example, if she’s playing with blocks I don’t call them blocks unless she does - a square block might represent an airplane or a bed. So I just follow her lead. 

Addi invited her Dad to play...he's in "jail"

  • Similar to tracking is reflecting our child’s feelings. Reflecting helps our children feel understood and communicates our acceptance of the many feelings they experience no matter how big the feelings. This teaching of emotional intelligence gives children the words they need to recognize and accept their feelings and  release them in behaviorally appropriate ways: “you’re excited you got that open,” “You’re sad grammy left,” “you’re angry about losing the game.” The key is to remember that all feelings are acceptable; behaviors sometimes need limits. 

  • Which brings us to the importance of appropriate limit-setting. No one can play freely if they are first bombarded with a bunch of rules to follow, so it’s important to hold off on stating limits until the moment they are needed. Limits are stated in ways to give children responsibility for their own actions and behaviors: “I know you want to pour water on the baby, but the baby is not for pouring water on. You can pour water on the bush or in the sensory table.” Or “I know you want to throw the jar, but the jar is not for throwing. You can throw the pillow or the ball.”  It is equally important to only impose limits necessary to keep everyone safe and the toys intact. Some toys may be okay for destruction (common destructive toys are army men, egg cartons, paper and balloons) – everyone’s threshold for this is different, so you will have to decide what’s right for your family. Be consistent, and remember it’s okay to change your mind, just let your kids know “I made a mistake. I thought I would be okay with you breaking that, but now I’m not okay with it. Let’s play with that gently. You can destroy the egg carton or tear paper instead.”
Addi loves to paint on herself.
We have established that sharpies are for paper.

A note on emotional responsiveness: Gary Landreth, a premier therapist and researcher calls upon us parents to “be a thermostat, not a thermometer!” It is our job to reflect the child’s feelings, not take the child’s feelings and make them our own. This can be difficult to do and may take quite a bit of practice. Imagine your child gets very angry and starts to get physically and verbally aggressive. You have two choices, you can absorb her anger and begin shouting back, which escalates everyone’s behavior and leaves you both miserable. Or you can look at her anger without judgment and reflect them back to her “you are feeling really angry with me right now. I know it is really hard to stop when you’re having so much fun.” This responsive statement is empowering for everyone: your child feels heard and understood without feeling attacked, and you remain the calm eye of the storm. No one gets sent to their room, no one’s heart is beating out of their chest, and the relationship remains intact.



Playing with our children and allowing our children to lead play their are two of the greatest gifts we can give them. Whether your child is working through her own "stuff" or just occasionally has an unexplained sullen mood, learning to help our children work through their struggles can benefit both our children and our parent-child relationship. While this is certainly not an exhaustive "how to" article, it can serve as a place to start. For more information or training please check out the books in the resources (listed below) and look for a Filial Training workshop in an area near you.


Resources:
Sue C. Bratton, Garry L. Landreth, Theresa Kellam and Sandra R. Blackard, “Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) Treatment Manual.: (2006).

Garry L. Landreth, “Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship.” (2002)

Kim John Payne and Lisa M. Ross, “Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Kids.” (2010)


Need more reasons to believe in play? Play helps children:

·         Become more responsible for behaviors and develop more successful strategies.
·         Develop new and creative solutions to problems.
·         Develop respect and acceptance of self and others.
·         Learn to experience and express emotion.
·         Cultivate empathy and respect for thoughts and feelings of others.
·         Learn new social skills and relational skills with family.
·         Develop self-efficacy and thus a better assuredness about their abilities.

Children can express their troubles in play more easily than they can express their thoughts and feelings verbally: "toys are like a child’s words and play is the child’s language." (G. Landreth). Through play children can learn more appropriate behaviors, encounter the corrective emotional experience necessary for healing, and experience the resolution of inner conflicts or dysfunctional thinking.



You have read this article Child-Guided Play / Connection / EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE THROUGH PLAY / Environment with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/the-therapeutic-process-of-play.html. Thanks!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Window Art

Materials:

Glue (Best to use a clear glue... elmers clear, modge podge, rubber cement)
Assorted gems/tiles etc
Picture frames (ours were purchased at Dollar Tree)
Foam Brush


The Invitation

I put the light box out, but this does NOT have to be done with light.  My daughter just chose to do it this way.  



Assorted gems.  
These were all purchased at the dollar store except the two cups on the left and right hand side.  Those are translucent tiles that were purchased HERE  The tray was also purchased from Dollar Tree.  


Assorted picture frames... purchased at Dollar Tree



Take the backing off the picture frame and just leave the glass.  
Dumping the glue.  



Spreading it out. 


Placing on gems

We placed the gems on so you can see the front of the frame. However, if you want your objects behind or in front of the glass is up to you. For the gems we did them in FRONT of the glass. We did this for two reasons. 1. I wanted the girls to be able to feel/touch their creations. 2. The dollar store frames are not the thickest/best quality in the world. A few of the gems were bigger than the actual thickness of the frame. I wanted the hanging to be flat up against a window/wall. 

A few pictures down, you will see some leaves we did.  Those are BEHIND the glass.

Also, if you are going to hang them on the wall you can just leave the backing on if you don't want a see-trough effect. 




Finished.  

My daughter used a TON of glue.  You do NOT need to use this much.  The thinner the application the better the translucent result.  Also, these were originally done with white elmers glue.  A clear glue will give you the best result.  

By the end of the day we ended up doing SIX of these!  My daughter loved it.  :-)  



We used translucent tiles/gems etc because I plan on hanging these up in the window.  You do not have to use something translucent.  You can also just do a plain mosaic to hang on the wall (keep the backing on).  Put your own creativity into it and work in your child's interests.   You can even just paint on the glass if you really want to (see my youngest's painting below)!  So many different options for this.  It also makes it very easy to display the artwork!   :-)
She later on asked to use leaves.  We didn't have any dried leaves handy so we ended up pulling these off one of the plants in the play room.  If you use decoupage glue or modge podge it will work great with dried, pressed leaves.  Not only will it preserve your leaves, but it would create a wonderful window hanging.  When the leaves start changing color around here we definitely plan on doing this again!  


AK's son did this one.  This was completely child guided.  HE CHOSE to use the halloween gems.  :-)  Halloween gems were purchased at Michael's Craft Store.  




My 19M old daughter would rather paint... so we painted.  This is acrylic paint.  




I superglued suction cups onto the back of the frame to hang them on the window.   



 This was a total experiment for us. Still learning! Next time we will use a clear glue. These were done with white elmer's glue... so you can see the results we got.  We have created quite a few more since this post.  I will post more pictures with our new results.  :-)  

My daughter couldn't wait to hang them up!  


Here some we have been working on the past week or so.  :-)  





Clear Elmer's glue on left.... regular Elmer's glue on right.  Big difference!  



Keep in mind the heavier the object you put on/the bigger the frame... the heavier the picture is going to be.  You may have to adjust your hanging method.  

RL  
You have read this article Clay and Crafts with the title October 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2011/10/window-art.html. Thanks!