Preschooler

Book Recommendations For Every Age!

lba-admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 19:25:45 +0000

Book Recommendations For Every Age!

lba-admin Wed, 11/09/2022 - 14:25

Reading to your child can help instill the joy of reading and create a passion for a lifetime. Read aloud books encourage them to look, point, touch, and answer questions. Designating a time to spend with your preschooler can improve language skills by copying sounds, recognizing pictures, and learning new words. Visit your local library to find the book recommendations listed below.

Newborns

Guess How Much I Love You? by Sam McBratney

This picture book follows the story of a baby & daddy hare and centers on the question of how much you can love someone. Just when the baby hare thinks he has come up with a greater way to show his daddy how much he truly loves him, his daddy’s love becomes even greater. This classic story, with its captivating visuals, is a great bedtime story to close out the day with your baby.

One Year

The Baby’s Catalogue by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

This near wordless picture book includes numerous things that babies and families do on a typical day, including feeding, sleeping, playing, and working. It begins in the morning with babies in bed and then carries on throughout the day. The illustrations are captivating and this book is filled with easily recognizable objects that are perfect for your toddler!

Two years

Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats

Toddlers will especially like this beautifully illustrated story of a young boy, Peter, that lives in the city. He hears an older boy whistle and is determined to learn how to whistle too so he can call his dog, Willie. Peter quickly finds out that whistling is more difficult than he imagined. His determination and perseverance finally pay off and he whistles all the way home!

Three Years

Where’s Spot? By Eric Hill

It’s time for dinner and Spot is nowhere to be seen. Where could he be? This repetitive tale features Sally, Spot’s mother, searching for him all over the house. Toddlers love lifting the flaps to find out where Spot might be hiding. These hide-and-seek flaps encourage curiosity and interactivity. Not only is this book fun, but the simple This book is a lot of fun and the simple, repetitive text is perfect for encouraging speech and language in little ones.

Four Years

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham

One hot, sunny day, Mr. Gumpy takes his friends on a river boat ride but it doesn’t go quite as planned! This clever story is perfectly paced and includes enough clues in the illustrations to help readers predict what will happen. The tone of the book is gentle and wholesome and this story will keep readers laughing until the very end, even if you have read it multiple times!

Get Scholastic’s best book recommendations delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for their parent newsletter. If you have a favorite book that you would like to share with us, let us know!

Teaching Your Child Kindness & Love this Valentine's Day

lba-admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:37:59 +0000

Teaching Your Child Kindness & Love this Valentine's Day

lba-admin Mon, 02/13/2017 - 13:37

While we love to buy little chocolate hearts and toys for Valentine's Day for our children, why not make this Valentine's Day a little extra special? You can do this by teaching your preschool child kindness, compassion and love by helping and caring about others in your community.

Raising children who are kind and compassionate is an important goal as a parent. Every parent wants their child to grow up to be a kind, thoughtful and loving adult. The training can start now while your child is young by learning to help others and doing nice things for others in small simple ways.

Here are just a few ideas that you can do to help teach your child about kindness and love this Valentine's Day:

1. Draw or color a picture for a neighbor, friend, family member or teacher at your early learning center. Explain to your child that you care about them. It is sure to put a smile on their face when they receive their "kindness gift"!

2. Have your child pick out a few nonperishable food items to donate to your local food pantry. Show your child that you are helping others with their basic needs.

3. Have your child share a toy with a friend. Teach your child the importance of making others happy by being kind.

4. Make a special treat for the birds or animals. This is a fun and easy way to teach your child that kindness is important for all living creatures. It is easy enough to do with a pipe cleaner, ribbon and a few Cheerios. Form into a circle, string the cheerios around and hang on a tree with a ribbon.

These few simple ideas can make a big difference in lessons that will last a lifetime in the heart of your child. Happy Valentine's Day from Lightbridge Academy!

Thanksgiving Survival Guide for Working Parents

lba-admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 13:47:26 +0000

Thanksgiving Survival Guide for Working Parents

lba-admin Fri, 11/18/2016 - 08:47

The holidays are right around the corner, and for working parents that can mean an added level of stress to an already tight schedule. Cleaning the house, shopping for the food, and purchasing decorations can all seem very daunting, while still managing to care of the kids. Here are a few "Dos" and "Don'ts" to make your holiday run more smoothly and to help you keep your sanity.

1. Don’t "force" your child to eat new foods. Thanksgiving dinner usually involves food that many infants and toddlers are not used to eating. Rather than trying to force them to eat Grandma's spicy sweet potatoes and have a meltdown, allow them to eat a few simple things they like. It may just be a little turkey and a dinner roll, but it's worth every minute of peace.

2. Don't lose the nap. Holidays are usually longer days with many new experiences for a child. New foods. New environment. New people. These experiences can put a normally happy baby in sensory overload. Try to time your child's nap with the card ride to Aunt Janet's. Or if you are staying home, invite your guests after your child wakes up. This will make for a happier day for everyone.

3. Do praise good, appropriate behavior. Is your child doing well greeting guests? Setting the table? Cleaning up their toys? Make sure to let them know! Positive reinforcement not only works, but it also helps build a child's confidence.

4. Do a special craft. Children LOVE to be involved in everything. Why not let them make a keepsake for each place setting? A simple pinecone painted with glitter and a colorful fall ribbon will make a child proud of participating in the family celebration.

5. Do have quiet activities during clean-up. After a long day with family and friends, it's time to clean up. A new coloring book, play-doh or activity book can work wonders while mom and dad put the house back in order.

These simple ideas will hopefully make your Thanksgiving run a little more smoothly this year. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Lightbridge Academy!