Parent Club was invited to the Indigo Kids Round Table session where there was much discussion about kids and learning.
We just had to share it with the Club!
BOOKS
Did you know kids learn approximately 800 words per year?
The perfect bedtime story should be 5 minutes or less. Popular stories include: Dr. Zeuss, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Giving Tree, Where the Wild Things Are.
Board books with pleasing rhymes are perfect for infants and toddlers.
Robert Munsch is silly and fun.
Reluctant readers enjoy the Diary of a Wimpy Kids and Bones series.
Reading improves vocabulary which impacts elementary school results.
PLAY
Learning through play teaches reinforces to kids that they can handle the world. Playing peek-a-book teaches object permanence (is Mom still there behind her hands or gone forever?)
Open-ended toys (particularly for ages 0-6yrs) are important teaching tools for kids to learn/find things for themselves. Open-ended toys include: building blocks, balls, animal figurines, finger painting, etc. Kids need to learn how to create/build not just memorize facts. Parents often look for an “end result” (i.e. create the craft on the box) however a “whatever you get” result is also very valuable in learning and playing.
When gift-giving, keep in mind classic toys like board games which stimulate thinking skills yet are tons of fun. Monopoly for example teaches math (and is oodles of fun).
THE EXPERTS:
Kathy Buckworth – Moderator: award winning writer and all-around cool mom.
Dr. Kang Lee – Early Childhood Expert: Director and professor of the Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto, OISE.
Kate Baldwin – Toy Expert: President of Brands in Balance with over 25 years of experience in the Canadian toy industry.
Minnow Hamilton – SavvyMom.ca: an on-line mom expert.
Trevor Dayton – Indigo Kids Expert: Vice President, Kids and Entertainment at Indigo Books & Music, Inc.
"Reluctant readers" I love that term, I have a reluctant reader at home…it was such a struggle in grade 1 to get him to read anything…let alone a french book (he is in french immersion). At the beginning of grade 2 a friend of mine leant me her Captain underpants collection to read to my boys, my sons love it so much now I use reading them chapters of it as rewards…each night they get one chapter just becuase reading is important, one good bedtime behaviour chapter (to inspire focus during the getting ready for bed stage), two chapters for any english book they read to me and 3 chapters for any french book they read to me…generally we end up reading about 6-8 chapters a night (lucky for me some chapters are really short!!)They love it and I feel good that they are so excited about reading in general…so nice to be able to reward reading with reading!!Question – does anyone know of a series similar to Captain underpants for girls? My younger son is able to keep interested in these chapter books mostly because they have pictures on every page and are so silly, works great for boys but not sure girls would be as interested. I have a friend with two girls ages 5 and 7 (same as my boys) who would like to find a similar chapter book series to read to her girls at bedtime.
We have all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books along with both of the Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta series.My favourite bedtime books for my kids when they were infants and toddlers were Goodnight Moon, The Hungry Caterpillar and Moo, Baa, La La La. My kids remember every word and can still recite Moo, Baa, La La La today – many years later. Cheers,Eden
Graphic Novels for girls: (as recommended by my favourite teacher-librarian)- Babymouse- Babysitter's Club- Princess Kilala (check the spelling on that one)- Totally Spies
Wow Eden…my boys love exactly the same books!!! The Bone series has been fantastic for my "reluctant reader" as well. We're also very lucky that we have a fabulous male teacher (grade 4) who gives the boys the greatest novel suggestions. He often tells them stories about he was "just like them" at their age!
Want to know what the experts like? Check out their favorites in our award winning toys guidehttp://www.gifts.com/christmas/award-winning-toys