Snow Day

We hope this message reaches you in good spirits and that you are making the most of the winter weather we’re currently experiencing.

We eagerly look forward to returning to your home to visit with your family, especially if your appointment was rescheduled or switched to virtual. Please feel free to use some of these activities as a guide for fun with your little ones, and let us know if you enjoy them or share a picture with us! Take care and keep warm!

When your child takes part in any activity he/she is looking to you. Interacting in activities with your child deepens their attachment to you and also their self confidence. Talking with children during activities about the process and providing praise for their creation is an excellent way to build social emotional development.

This Snowy Letter Writing Tray sensory exploration is a great invitation for encouraging literacy skills in preschoolers.

Supplies:

• Letter cards
• Real snow, craft snow, coconut, salt, or rice
• Your fingers!
• Cookie tray

Instructions:

Fill the tray with “snow”, we used craft snow. You could also try salt, rice, or coconut. If warm enough outside take this activity outside and write in the real snow!

There are so many great books available online. If you don't have any snowy day specific books, check out some of our favorites below that you can access from your phone, tablet, or computer!

Parents use knowledge of their child's development and focused interests when arranging daily experiences, routines and spaces for learning. In conjunction, parents guide their child by modeling and teaching social-emotional behaviors that keep him safe and engaged.

Because much of a child's cognitive and physical development happens when he is at rest, sleep is crucial to his growth. A good night's sleep strengthens a child's memory, reasoning and problem solving skills. In addition, sleep positively affects every organ and tissue in a child's growing body- building up his immune system, maintaining his growth hormones and improving his cardiovascular health.

> Today, the average age at which a child becomes a regular TV viewer is 9 months (Zimmerman, Christakis, & Meltzoff, 2007)

> On a daily basis, 83 percent of children birth to 6 years of age use screen media of some kind (Rideout, Vandewater, & Wartella, 2003).

> Surveys show that children under the age of 6 average about two hours of screen time a day (Rideout et al., 2003). Even children under 2 are averaging 120 minutes of daily television exposure, based on their parents' TV diaries (Pierroutsakos, Hanna, Self, Lewis, & Brewer, 2004).

These averages don't usually include TV time with child care providers, which often adds at least 30 to 90 more minutes a day (Christakis, Garrison,& Zimmerman, 2006; Christakis & Garrison, 2009). Add in DVD players in the car, computers in preschools, streets filled with electronic billboards,

and iPhones babies can pull out of their mother's purses, and daily screen time estimates soar.

Unfortunately, hours in front of screens often means hours lost to proper development. Even before researchers started investigating the effects of TV and technology on young children, we had decades of research telling us how much young children need responsive interactions and opportunities for self­ directed play. These are some of the things that TV and technology tend to steal from children.

But it is unrealistic and unnecessary to ask families to get rid of their screens!

Most parents find the recommendation urging parents to avoid screen time under age 2 (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011) impossible. What should the baby do while an older sibling is watching Sesame Street, when the family comes together for a movie, or while sitting in a doctor's waiting room (where a TV might be on all day)? Instead, the challenge is to help children have a healthy relationship with technology.