This article will get both daycare kids and providers involved in music by making homemade musical instruments and learning the basics of playing them. So round up the kids, sit them all down, and get ready for a fun and creative musical session!

1. A Simple Drum

For the first homemade musical instrument, we’ll be making a simple drum out of an oatmeal box, here are the supplies needed:

• An empty oatmeal box with cover
• Yarn
• A Pen
• 2 Un-Sharpened Pencils
• 2 Spools
• Construction paper (for decorating)
• Crayons (for decorating)
• Non-Toxic Glue (to stick the construction paper around the drum)

You’re going to use the oatmeal box as the main part of the drum. If you feel like drawing on the construction paper with the crayons before gluing it around the drum, feel free. Be creative, let the kids use their imagination so they can make their own unique design, it’s all part of the fun!

Once the construction paper has been glued around the drum, the next step is to punch a hole (with a pen) in the top and bottom of the drum. Next, feed a piece of string through the drum, starting with the top hole and having it come out the bottom hole.

Once you’ve done this you can tie the string into a loose knot. This will act as the strap, letting the child wear it around their shoulder, down to their waist.

The last step is to glue your spoons to the pencils, making drum sticks. Once you’re done, you have your rhythm section!

2. The Horn Section

Our next homemade musical instrument for your daycare orchestra will be the horn! Gather these materials:

• Paper towel roll
• Waxed paper
• Rubber band
• Pen

First, cover one end of the paper towel roll with the waxed paper, make sure you secure it with the rubber band.

Next, punch some holes (about 3-5) along one side of of the paper towel roll (these are there for the children to place their fingers to make different sounds). Once you’re finished have your kids hum a tune into the open end of the homemade horn!

3. Shoe Box Guitar

Now the fun really starts, add some more melody with a homemade stringed instrument. Use these items:

• Empty shoe box (with lid)
• Rubber bands
• Ruler or stick

First, take the lid off the shoe box and cut a hole right in the middle of it. Once the lid is back on, get about 4-5 rubber bands of different sizes and wrap them around the box long ways, they should be fairly taut.

Just make sure the rubber bands are too tight that they snap. Now have some fun with your homemade guitar, just don’t get too loud!

Some Tips For Teaching Kids Basic Music Theory

The concept of teaching children music is a very broad topic that can fill books, but we will show you some basics as well as provide a few helpful links.

1. All About Rhythm – The fundamentals of rhythm are fairly straight forward. Start off with a basic rhythm by repeating 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 at a reasonable rate. Try and keep it consistent, if tapping your foot helps, do it. This gives the kids a fundamental rhythm to play along too.

2. Use singing to show them the basics of melody – Hum simple songs like “Mary Had A Little Lamb” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. This is a great way to introduce the kids to simple melodies that will help their ear develop.

3. Make sirens with your voice – Do a siren sound with the kids making their voice go as high and low as possible. This teaches them the basics of octaves (the high and low versions of notes).

4. Use an inexpensive recorder – Record the kids playing music, then play it back to them. This will amaze, as well as teach them the fundamentals of recorded sound. Plus, it gives them a good idea what they sound like while listening.

Have Fun With Your Homemade Musical Instruments

The sky is really the limit with this, and the fun is really endless. We hope this helps get the creative juices flowing in your daycare, not only with the creating of these homemade musical instruments, but also the journey of learning to play them.

Have fun, and keep it simple!

Some Helpful Links

Reading should be encouraged amongst children at an early age. This is so because there are many benefits that children can derive from reading. Aside from developing virtues and senses, reading also imparts knowledge and information.

Read To Children, Even At Early Ages

Reading Develops Comprehension. When children read, it is very often that they get to connect the thoughts of the story together. As children starts to read, the words and the sentences may seem like a stranger to them, but as they continually read, they will come to easily recognize words and sentences and establish the relationship between them. Comprehension is the ability of understanding a story or an idea. Thus, as children regularly read, they develop their comprehension better.

Help Develop A Diverse Vocabulary

Reading Develops Vocabulary. Different stories are written by different authors. As such, every story has a different style dependent on the style of the authors themselves. There are stories that use simple and easily understandable languages, but there are others who use the more complex one. As children read through a story, they encounter words that they might not actually understand. When this happens, they can always seek out a dictionary to look for the meaning of the word. This is one way of broadening their vocabulary. It is advisable to prepare a dictionary beside them as they read for convenience in looking up the words that they do not understand.

Expand Creativity And Visualization

Reading Develops Creativity and Visualization. There are some books and stories that are written in such a way that you could not wait to turn the next page. In other words, these are stories that are very exciting and thrilling that one could not wait for the next chapter. Unknowingly when this happens, children have already visualized how the next chapter would be like. Moreover in reading, they clearly form a vision of the heroes and the villains according to how they see them. Reading does not only develop creativity, but visualization as well.

Discipline And Relaxation

Reading Develops Discipline. It is not very often that you see a person jumping around and reading at the same time. When you read, you usually find a comfortable little corner, and sit for hours as you read a book. If you are a regular reader, you might be doing this more often to a point that it has become a habit already. Discipline is achieved when you would be able to do things repetitively in an orderly manner. Moreover Psychology Articles, reading also develops concentration and focus.

There may have been times where you may have felt you haven’t had enough preparation h or even nervous. These quick tips will not only show you ways of preparation for a daycare interview with a parent, but also give the best possible impression of your center.

When To Schedule An Interview

• During Nap time.
• After Hours.
• The Weekend.

Over the years, i’ve found that the best time to schedule an interview is either during nap time or after hours. If you schedule the interview while you’re supposed to be watching the kids, you will not be able to give your undivided attention to the interview.

If you prefer the parent to see the children at the facility, nap time is probably the best. But, scheduling an interview after hours is always the most calm and gives you time to focus completely on the interview. Scheduling an interview during the weekend is another great time because you have more time for preparation, plus the parents aren’t just getting off work.

Some Items To Prepare

• A copy of your daycare contract.
• Have your license plainly number visible.
• Prepare 4 references (2 from current parents and 2 from past parents).
• A daily sample menu plan.
• A daily activity sheet.

Preparation of these items is key to the interview going smoothly, also they should answer any basic questions parents should have. When giving references, make sure to give the name of the parent and their phone number.

Here is where you can download a sample daycare contract.

First Impressions Count

Another key element to preparation for your daycare interview is to make sure your facility is clean. First impressions are really important during the interview process, so spend quite a bit of time tidying up and organizing things. Make sure you don’t use overwhelming smells either, some parents can be turned off by an overwhelming perfume-y aerosol.

If you have animals, make sure you let the parent know before the interview (they may have allergies.) Right before the interview starts, it usually helps to put the animals in the other room for the short duration of the interview, but make it known that you have animals (once again, allergies purposes for the child as well.)

Tips On Finishing The Interview

One of the most important things about the interview process is to make sure you are not too pushy. Don’t pressure the parents into giving you a deposit, and let them call the shots. A follow up call is okay, but we recommend letting the parents call you first.

Honesty is another very important aspect, running an licensed business, honesty should be your first priority. Answer any questions the parents may have, and do so in the most honest way possible.

Doing interviews with parents can be a little nerve wracking, but we hope these pointers will help with preparation next time you’re feeling a little overwhelmed before your next interview. Remember, be honest, you can never have too much preparation, make the parents feel comfortable, and you should have no problem keep those daycare positions filled.

1.) Wild Flower Diapers – Natural Baby Products

A great site that sells not only great organic baby diapers, but also other wonderful organic products for babies.

Why we love it:

• Great selection of cloth and organic diapers
• Plenty of great accessories (and they’re all green friendly!)
• Loads of great information on their Cloth Diapering 101 Page.

2.) The New Parents Guide – Cloth Vs Disposable Article

The “Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers” article to end all…well you get the picture. Read this excellent article front to back, and you will learn everything there is to know about the Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers debate.

Why we love it:

• Informative well written article
• Breaks things down by: Economics, Convenience and even Skin and Health Issues
• Great set of interesting facts using real statistics!

3.) gDiapers – The New Diaper Hybrid

Hybrid Diapers. Quite an amazing concept. This company is a bit on the expensive side (you could call them “designer diapers”), but you get quite a product. It mixes both disposable (landfill free) and organic cloth diapers into one.

Why we love it:

• A great idea, some parents won’t mind paying a lot more for this quality.
• Mixes both cloth and disposable into one diaper, all without ever visiting the landfill.
• Very stylish, check out the great orange color!

4.) The Green Baby Guide Asks – Have You Tried Natural Organic Diapers?

A very small article from Green Baby Guide, but what really counts here are the comments. The two comments here are chock full of good information regarding Natural and Organic Diapers, why don’t you join the conversation!

Why we love it:

• The whole blog is great, tons of great resources for green oriented moms
• Join the conversation on this post and share some of your favorite organic and natural diapers!

5.) eHow – How to Care for Organic Cloth Diapers

For anyone looking on tips on how to care, clean and maintain your cloth diapers, this is the article for you. A step by step guide on how everything you need to know about caring for organic cloth diapers.

Why we love it:

• Another great eHow article with step by step tips
• Easy to follow, you will become a master at caring for organic cloth diapers in no time!

The proposal is one of five recommendations from the president’s Middle Class Task Force, which was established one year ago this week.

It comes as an increasingly populist White House struggles to regain political momentum among middle-class, independent voters frustrated by the slow pace of the economic recovery.

Obama will push to increase the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit rate from 20 to 35 percent for families making under $85,000 a year. Families making from $85,000 to $115,000 also would see an increase in their tax credit, the official noted.

At the same time, lower-income families would receive a $1.6 billion increase in child care funding, the largest one-year increase in two decades.

In addition, the White House will propose limiting a student’s federal loan payments to 10 percent of his or her income above a basic living allowance.

The administration also will push for the creation of a system of automatic workplace individual retirement accounts, requiring all employers to give workers the option of enrolling in a direct-deposit IRA.

Fourth, the White House will propose expanding tax credits to match retirement savings, while also enacting new safeguards to protect retirement savings.

EXCERPT FROM: CNN Politics
Contributor: CNN’s Suzanne Malveau
Full text available at CNN Politics.

Being a first time parent is a very exciting and nerve-wracking time. You want your baby to be normal. However, normal is different for every human baby.

So you really have to figure out what is normal for your son. However, there are some developmental milestones which can be used as guidelines for normal development:

At 4 months:
Your infant’s vision is fully mature and your child should be tracking objects with his eyes. Play games with your child to encourage him to move his eyes and follow your face or a puppet or ball.

At 5-7 months:
Your child should be sitting up independently. Prior to sitting up on his own, he may be able to do a tripod sit which means he can sit using his hands to help hold up his body. Your infant needs opportunities to develop his neck and trunk muscles.

Allow your child time on the floor to roll around and let him learn to keep his head upright. Most babies do this without much effort. However, if your infant is not able to keep his head up, you should consult your pediatrician.

At 6-10 months:
Your baby will likely be crawling. Most babies learn to sit before they begin to crawl. Initially an infant will get on all fours and rock back and forth. Eventually, they can figure out that they can travel by crawling.

Babies can crawl in several different variations; some crawl backwards, some use the wounded shoulder crawl with only one arm, some use alternating arm and leg. It all works out the same. But crawling is an important developmental milestone.

In fact, some developmental specialists recommend that infants crawl on smooth surfaces and not padded carpet to gain the most developmental benefit. If your son is not crawling by one year, you should discuss this with your pediatrician at his one year physical.

At 10-13 months:
Your baby will be walking. Before he learns to walk, he will cruise. That means he will walk holding on to furniture or push toys. As he gains more confidence, he will walk a few steps and then ultimately walk independently.

When children are learning to walk, bare feet is best. If he must have footwear, a flexible sole is mandatory. Soft leather moccasins work well also. When your child is running, he will need a regular shoe.

While these guidelines are meant to be helpful, please notice that there is a wide range of normal in children. For the most part, young infants love being sung to, rocked and played with. Enjoy making up silly games with your child and making him laugh.

Sing all your favorite lullabies and rejoice in the fun of being a kid again. With this approach, your child will likely have normal development. However, if something catches your attention, please discuss this with your pediatrician.

Required:

• Flour
• Salt
• Oil
• Alum
• Container
• Cookie Cutters
• Kitchen Implements
• Food Coloring

Here’s a classic hit with kids (and parents) of all ages. It’s easier to mold than clay – and easier to clean up after, too.

The cooking part is for grownups only. Combine 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 tablespoon of powdered alum. (You can find alum in the spice aisle.) Add 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 cup of boiling water. Stir the mixture until it’s cool, then knead in food coloring. (Your child will love to help out.)

Once the play dough is ready, give your kids cookie cutters, rolling pins, a garlic press, spatulas, or anything else that can be used for shaping and cutting. Pass out play dishes, pans, flatware, and so on, in case your kids feel like throwing a play dough party.

The stuff can last for months. Always keep the dough in airtight containers when it is not in use – otherwise it dries out. (Fortunately, you can rejuvenate even the most crusty play dough by resealing it in a container after sprinkling it with water. After a day or so, take it out and knead it. It will be as good as new.)

2. Make Paper Chains

Required:

• Construction Paper
• Safety Scissors
• Adhesive Tape

You probably remember these from grammar school. Paper chains are the construction-paper links that make for festive decorations at holiday time – or anytime your kids want.

Cut a number of small strips of construction paper about six inches long and one inch wide. (Use safety scissors.) The strips should be uniform in size, but of different colors. (Monochromatic chains are boring.)

Connect the two ends of the strips with a small piece of transparent tape. Then links the next one inside it and connect it in the same fashion. Repeat…and repeat…and repeat. Deck the halls with links of construction paper!

Beware: This is addictive!

3. Macaroni Cards

Required:

• Paper
• Macaroni
• Glue
• Tempera Paint

Why should your kid bother with those stuffy preprinted greeting cards? When holidays, birthdays, or other special events roll around, have your child put together a deluxe macaroni card.

These are cards that use dry, uncooked macaroni noodles (or any other variety that suits your child’s fancy) as decorative elements. You glue them into place with nontoxic glue, let them dry (a couple of hours will usually suffice), and then decorate the cards and the noodles with tempera paint. They make quite a statement! (Only one warning is in order: If you plan on mailing the cards to a friend or a loved one, be sure to use adequate cushioning; it’s no fun if the noodles crack. Popping the card into a standard envelope will only invite the wrath of the Postal Service’s automatic sorting machines.)

The cards are perfect for birthdays, Mother’s, Father’s, or grandparent’s Days, Hanukkah, Christmas, or just about any other occasion – including no reason at all.

4. Juice Bar Delight

• Juices
• Paper Cups
• Spoons
• Refrigerator

In the summertime, your kids may be used to slurping down lots of frozen “pop” bars. The only problem is, these treats have minimal nutritional value (most are essentially colored sugar water). Plus, they’re expensive. Why not make a project out of making your own juice bars with your kids?

All you need are a few paper cups, some reclaimed, washed plastic spoons, and a bottle or two of your favorite fruit juices. Pour juice into the cup, set the spoon in (it will freeze at an angle, but that adds to the character), and place the cup in the freezer. Approximately two hours later, run the cup under warm water and you’ll have a delicious homemade frozen treat.

Your kids will eventually find themselves experimenting with various juice combination, some of which will be quite tasty. We can vouch for apple/cranberry juice bars; other, more adventurous flavors proved too intense to sample. You’d flinch, too, at a gourmet tomato juice/pickle drainings/peach nectar bar.

5. Set Up A Scavenger Hunt

Required:

• Paper
• Crayons or Markers
• Household objects

Optional:

• Paper or cloth
• Basket

Did you ever go on a scavenger hunt at a birthday party or at a summer camp? If not, you missed out on one of the great rambunctious joys of youth. Here’s how you can recapture the fun.

Make up a list of objects around the house, your backyard, your neighborhood – as far as you want to extend the hunt. Be very specific. The pre-reading set can enjoy the fun if you give them a picture list; draw simple pictures of the objects they are to find. Keep it easy – a blue sock, a red truck, a book about teddy bears, and so on. Give your child the list and a bag or basket specifically decorated for the occasion, and be sure to tag along for the fun.

Have everyone work together on one list, time the hunt, and encourage the team to work even faster the next time. Alternatively, you might have your kids make a list of things for you to find. If you have trouble, just ask a toddler for help – these things are often clearer when you’re closer to the ground.

The key to helping children foster friendships in the preschool environments involves teaching them to cooperate with peers, role playing and modeling by adults, and cultivating environments that foster the development of friendship skills.

Teaching Children to Cooperate with Peers

In order to help preschoolers learn to get along with each other, child care providers should first take into consideration childrens’ interactions when grouping children together. Sue Adair, Director of Education at Goddard Systems, Inc, recommends that child care leaders encourage small group interaction, and pair socially competent children with shy or less socially skilled children.

Susan Cooper, educator, author, and member of Applied Scholastic International, suggests that several times each day educators stage activities in which children need to communicate with other children. Instead of the educator asking questions, he or she should have a child ask a question and then relay the answer. The more often children can interact with children and learn communication skills, the better chances of other social skills building on this basic foundation.

Dr. Susan Bartell, child psychologist and author of The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask [Sourcebook, 2010], offers the following quick tips for teaching children to get along with peers:

• Role model empathy and cooperation in adult friendships and relationships (kids learn from watching).
• When playing with children, don’t always let them win. This teaches frustration tolerance and the ability to play with others in all circumstances.
• Be prepared to intervene and help kids negotiate difficult situations, they aren’t old enough yet to work it out themselves. Young children need guidance. They need an adult to give them the words and to teach them how to see the other person’s point of view.

Childcare Providers Can Nurture Friendship Skills

Child care providers can implement activities and prepare environments in order to enhance childrens’ learning of friendship skills. Begin with scheduling time each day for free play. “This is not free for all play but an organized time each day for children to play with children. This gives them a chance to interact and practice [friendship] skills,” says Cooper. However, there must be close supervision. The child care provider should always emphasize cooperation and facilitate it. Children can misinterpret the skill set, so an adult needs to be there to get it back on track quickly.

Teachers and educators can provide an environment that is set up with defined spaces for learning centers so that children have clear boundaries when playing. “Make sure there are enough centers to accommodate all children, offer items that promote social play, such as dress clothes, puppets, and figures. Make sure that there are enough for every child to carry out their plans for play and therefore, do not get frustrated waiting for what they want to use,” says Adair.

Preschool teachers and daycare center educators can help nurture friendship by modeling the good communication and listening skills. In addition early childhood educators must show empathy, sharing and consideration.

There’s usually no course at school, no helpful hints on TV and observing parents can be confusing at best. Typically, parent’s money management skills are often either not what we’d like them to be or our finances are so complex that how we handle our money doesn’t mean much to a child.

To make matters worse, kids today have more money to spend and develop financial styles at a younger age than ever. Before you know it, kids can develop bad habits that can last a lifetime.

In fact, most parents don’t deal with their kids’ money management problems until their children are adults. By then, these problems can be both costly and emotionally charged. Young children provide parents the best opportunity to encourage good financial habits and avoid problems that will develop latter in life if this area is neglected.

The only way kids will learn to manage their money is through their own experience and the guidance you, as parents, may give them. In other words, kids learn from trial and error and role models just like the rest of us. And if they can’t learn as children, the price of adult mistakes can be great in terms of money and relationships.

What Do I Do?

The first step, and the subject of this feature, is to Give ‘em an allowance!
Here’s why your kids need an allowance:

• Having a regular amount of their own income is the only way kids can learn to manage money.
• They need to be able to make mistakes when the cost is minimal.
• Knowing the limit of available funds forces kids:
  • To think about how much things costs, and
  • To make spending choices between the many things that they may want.
• They have more appreciation for the things they buy when they use their own money.

When Do I Start?

Once your child shows both an interest in and an understanding of the concept of money – the fact that it can be exchanged for goods – they are ready to start learning the basics of money management. For many kids, this may be as young as three or four. Their first allowance should be given at a minimum of once a week.

How much should I give?

Some would say a dollar for each year of age. Others would suggest you match the amount their friends get. Neither approach is really much help.

When coming up with the amount, try this:

• Determine how much money you already give them. If your kids don’t get allowances, you are managing their money for them by deciding what they will buy and what they will do. Their role is salesperson and manipulator. Let them learn to manage their own money. Stop doing all the work. Total up the amount you are giving them now. Give that to them as an allowance and let them make their own decisions. You’ll save money and avoid some of life’s major battles.
• Make a list of what they are expected to pay for with their allowance. Once you have the amount, sit down with your child and make a list of everything they are expected to pay for. This solves the conflicts that may come up in stores and as they walk out the door to go to the movies. The total required becomes their allowance. As their needs change, so can the amount. Be open to reviewing it when appropriate.

Keep in mind the fact that kids have three uses for their money – spending, saving and sharing. Consider all three areas when you are coming up with the amount. In addition to setting the allowance, this process puts an end to the constant requests to buy this and that and to give them money to do whatever their hearts desire.

Should I Tie Allowances To Chores?

Do you believe your kids have a certain amount of responsibility around the house just because they are members of the family? If so, those responsibilities have nothing to do with allowances. In fact, if those responsibilities are not fulfilled, the loss of privileges would probably be more appropriate than the loss of allowances.

How can a child manage their money if they don’t know how much they will be getting on a regular basis? On the other hand, if a child does not need their allowance that week, is it acceptable not to do the chores? And finally, do we want your children to ask “How much?” every time you ask them to do something around the house?

Remember, the purpose of an allowance is to give your children the opportunity to learn how to manage money through their own successes and failures and the input of their parents.


]]> http://daycarecafe.com/teaching-kids-how-to-manage-money-through-allowance/feed 0 http://daycarecafe.com/accident-report http://daycarecafe.com/accident-report#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:47:13 +0000 admin http://daycarecafe.com/?p=1009 Print

Accident Report

Child's Name __________________________________________________________________

Date Accident occured _______________ Time Accident occured _________________

Injury Description __________________________________________________________________

What was child doing when the accident occured _________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

First aid applied ______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Additional Information __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Was parent contacted _______ Which parent __________________________________

Who contacted parent _______________________________________________________

Time parent was contacted ______________________________________________

Special request by parents for action taken?________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Provider Signature: ________________________________Date________________

Parent Signature:__________________________________Date________________

]]> http://daycarecafe.com/accident-report/feed 0