It’s National Book Month, which means there is no better time to help your child develop a love for learning through reading. Children who read are more likely to perform better in all school subjects. They have larger vocabularies and are more confident in their academic career. Reading is fundamental for children of all ages. The toddler and preschool years are the best time to help your child develop a love of reading. Read on for some great tips to help your child fall in love with reading and learning.

Make It Fun

If you make reading seem like a chore, your child is likely going to treat it like a chore. Reading should be another form of playtime. Show your child that reading is a special time for you to spend together. Choose a special place like a cozy chair or hammock to cuddle and read a book. Read stories in exciting voices to make the characters come to life and enhance your child’s experience. Kids today are used to videos and apps, so anything you can do to make the story more exciting is a plus!

Discuss and Extend

After you have finished the book, have a discussion with your child. Talk about parts they did or did not like. Analyze choices the characters made. Ask your child questions about setting and the plot. Kids love to share their opinion and getting them to talk about what they read will help with comprehension. Once you have finished a story, see what connections you can make. If the characters in the book baked cookies, make cookies. If they created an art project, let your child do a similar project. Making connections with the book strengthens comprehension. It also gets your child excited about what happens in the story.

Choice

During the toddler and preschool years, your child is beginning to show preference for everything. This includes food, characters, clothes, and even books. Let your child choose the books that interest them. At this age, the most important thing is to develop a love of any type of reading, so let your child pick books on any topic. If your child has a choice, they are more likely to want to spend time reading. Take your child to the library or bookstore to see what is available. Let them browse the books and pick a few which sound or look appealing.

Variety

Try to encourage your child to read a variety of books. At this age, kids tend to have favorites, and books are no exception. Your child may have a book they want to read over and over (and over!). Repetition of a favorite book is actually a good thing.  It helps your child learn important reading skills like text direction, sight words, and prediction. Reading a variety of books is also beneficial as it allows your child to learn about new situations and topics. Help your child to choose books from many genres, both fiction and nonfiction. If your child only wants to read their favorite book, compromise by agreeing to read it first then a new book after.

Think Outside the Book

Reading does not have to be limited to only books. Encourage your child to find text everywhere. If your child asks a question, look up the answer on the internet together. By making reading and learning into a game, your child becomes even more engaged. Read the back of the cereal box and signs on the street. Look for things to read in stores. Visit a zoo, or museum, or aquarium. These places have a lot of information to read and learn. Your child will have a fun visual experience to go along with their reading.

Set a Good Example

Children imitate their parents. If your child sees you reading, they’ll know it is important to you, and will want to copy you. Show your child that you are dedicated to reading and learning. Curiosity should not end with childhood. Set aside time each day for yourself to read and learn. Encourage your child to read alongside you and discuss what each of you are reading.

Developing a love for reading and learning in your child is simple. You can start during National Book Month and continue through the rest of the year. Children are born wanting to know more about the world around them. Show them that reading is a gateway to anything and everything they could want to know!

There are many ways that you can use the fall season to increase your child’s vocabulary in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Speech and language experts say that your child must hear and say a word 17 times before they master it. You can use the beautiful autumn temperatures to go outside and teach your child by using different preschool activities. According to experts at Colorado preschools, building children’s vocabulary is everyone’s responsibility.

Visit a Farm

Autumn is a great time to visit a farm. There are so many vocabulary activities for preschoolers that can occur there every day. There are several farms in the Colorado Springs area open to the public. These include:

• Anderson Farms
• Happy Apple Farm
• Long Neck Pumpkin Farm
• Miller Farms
• Pantaleo Farms
• Venetucci Farm
• Wishing Star Farm

Each of these farms is set up differently. Many offer the opportunity to pick your own apples from their orchards. Or you can pick pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. These activities can teach vocabulary to preschoolers like orange, crunchy, dry, and scratchy. Some farms offer fun performances geared for preschoolers where words are introduced to children. Other farms offer the opportunity to interact with animals. This is where you can talk about how animals’ coats feel or their colors. Chances are that your child will be having so much fun that they don’t even realize that they are learning.

Go on a Hike

Autumn is the perfect time to take your preschooler on a hike. To keep your preschooler engaged, consider making it a scavenger hunt. This allows your child to look for specific items while they build their vocabulary. Concentrate on words that will help increase your child’s vocabulary like big, small, orange, red, dry and crunchy.

There are many possibilities around Colorado Springs including:

• Garden of the Gods Park
• Red Rock Canyon
• Cheyenne Mountain State Park
• Midland Trails
• Helen Hunt Falls
• Mt. Hermann Trail

If you are afraid that little legs cannot handle a hike yet, then consider heading to one of the local parks. You can still talk about different color words and textures. Consider making a big pile of leaves and jumping into it for a fun activity that your child is sure to remember.

Explore a Museum

Many Colorado Springs museums are planning special activities this fall. This makes them great places to build your child’s vocabulary. Speech and language development takes place in a Colorado Springs preschool, it also happens in the real world.

Consider building aviation vocabulary words with a trip to the Peterson Air and Space Museum. It is a delightful place to introduce words like flying, planes, and weather. Depending on your child’s level, you may even be able to introduce some specific terms. This includes propellers, wheels and nose gear at the museum.

Fall is a great time to go to the Penrose Heritage Museum. Your child can see 31 horse-drawn carriages and 13 motorized vehicles. Use this experience to build transportation vocabulary like drive and tires.

The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum is where over 60 vintage motorcycles are featured. It is always a great place to build your preschooler’s vocabulary.

The Halloween Train Ride at the Royal Gorge Route Railroad is a fun activity where you can teach a lot of vocabulary words during the two-hour ride.

Fall is a great time for visiting the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo because of Boo at the Zoo. While your child is having fun, you can also help them build their animal vocabulary. Additionally, this event is a great time to teach manner words like please and thank you. Extend your teaching by visiting the May Natural History Museum. They have a large insect collection your children will adore, and you can talk about size and color words.

Fall is the perfect time to plan activities to teach vocabulary to preschool students. Take your child to a u-pick orchard, explore pumpkins where they grow and introduce fun farm animals. There are many hiking paths in the Colorado Springs area that are perfect places to help your child build their nature vocabulary this autumn. Finally, do not overlook visiting the area’s other museums filled with child-friendly activities. It all helps your child to build their vocabulary naturally.

We’ve all been there. It’s 5 o’clock, you’re in Target to grab some last minute items, and your little one starts to have a marketplace meltdown in the middle of the aisle. Then all eyes are on you and the situation at hand. It’s a tough situation to be in!

Parenting is one of the easiest jobs to have an opinion on, yet it remains one of the hardest jobs in the world. Here are some guidance strategies I’ve come up with to help you handle your next Marketplace Meltdown. Believe us, we know it happens.

First thing is first, try to remove your emotions from the moment. I get it; you’re tired, or you’re nervous, or whatever, but your emotional response will only add fuel to the fire. Take a deep breath and start thinking about cause and effect.

What caused the meltdown? Was your child not getting their way? Is there a sensory overload happening? Or is it simple? Your child is simply tired, and doesn’t understand just yet another way to communicate how they’re feeling. Find your cause and take it from there.

Remember your child deserves to have his feelings heard, regardless of your public location. Keep their feelings in mind as you’re maneuvering the situation.

Next, IGNORE the passing eyes of strangers. Chances are, you will never see them again and their opinion of you and your family does not matter. Do not make excuses for his behavior nor should you apologize for it. Give apologies where apologies are due if it is the case, otherwise don’t let it bother you. Focus on your child and let the naysayers pass on.

Now, let’s follow up with consistency. How would you deal with the cause at home? So maybe your son is tired in the middle of Target and you can’t exactly get in some comfy clothes and lay in bed. BUT, maybe you offer some cuddles to soothe him and sing a favorite song. You can easily do that in aisle five, too! Or what if the meltdown was a result of not being willing to buy that piece of candy. Well how would you handle that tantrum at home?

For me, when my son decided to scream in the middle of the botanical gardens for some candy, I removed him from the shop (the situation.) I then let him sit down on the side of the sidewalk to express his frustrations. I was firm with him, letting him know we would NOT be getting candy due to his behavior.

This particular time took about ten minutes, with people looking at us as he sat on the sidelines kicking and screaming. I had my back turned to him, making it known I would not give in to his ways. He eventually calmed I spoke to him in a calm voice about what had happened. I let him know that it is okay to be frustrated, but gave him words to express himself. This is the exact same thing I would do at home.

The big thing here is consistency and not giving in. YOU are the adult and the parent, YOU get to determine how to run the show. If you succumb to your son’s want of candy, you just reinforce that behavior, meaning he will associate the tantrum to receiving his want.

Despite all this, you can prepare ahead of time to try and avoid it all! Be clear about your expectations and rules during your trip. Keep these expectations simple and constant, meaning they can apply to almost any outing. Further, talk to your kid. Communicate with them what is happening so they know what to expect. Let them know of your plans after work or school. They want to be communicated with just as much as we do. You can start this early on, so as your child grows older, the easier it becomes.

I hope some of this helped you ease your worries about those marketplace meltdowns. This happens to every parent, keep these tools in your pocket and put them into practice. It all comes down to:

1) Remove your emotion-filled response
2) Determine your cause
3) IGNORE the strangers
4) Remain consistent 
5) DON’T give in!

Good luck and thank you for reading!

Ms. Caitlin
Wellness Coordinator
Young Scholars Academy

I had waited 9 months for the day to come. I didn’t think I would be scared until the actual day came — and I was! Thankfully I had a lot of support through friends and family. I ended up being in labor for 35 hours, which left me exhausted. After my baby (finally!) arrived, all I wanted to do was stare at him and hold him, bonding to this tiny newness. When we were released from the hospital all I could do was create a plan to be the best mother I could be.

The moment when we find out we’re pregnant is filled with excitement and anxiousness. We then spend countless hours thinking of how we are going to shape our kids into the adults the world needs. It’s hard to get caught up at times with the future that some parents find it hard to parent in the moment. The time will come for life lessons; be sure to take the time and bond with your baby.

When your children are younger, they want to hang out with you every second of the day, so take the advantage! Once they’re grown it’s harder to even have just a dinner with your kid, so make every second count. My dad would bond with me by playing music, helping him build & fix things. He took the time to cook with me, help create our own rap songs together and even bond with me over household chores. It wasn’t the activity in itself that was fancy; it was the time he took to spend with me that meant it all.

A phrase I think is very helpful is “quality over quantity”. Now that I have my own son I take the time listen to music, dance, and sing with him. I know how much it meant to me as a child, so I want to share that with him. His dad has bonding moments too–he even takes the morning to read scriptures with him, play hide-and-seek and make him laugh before our day begins. Whatever way you and your child bond, do more of that.

Newborn bonding can mean having your baby lay on your chest, (skin-to-skin is huge!) Breastfeeding and feeding in general is another huge way to bond with your child. Give yourself enough time to feed and don’t rush the process. Feeding is one of those things kids will have control over their entire lives, so keep that in mind!

All we recommend is listening to your gut, doing what is best for your kid and taking time for the small moments.

Visit www.kidshealth.org/ for more ideas about bonding and its importance.

Thank you for reading,
Ms. Tenesha
Health & Safety Coordinator
Young Scholars Academy