If you aren’t familiar with what I am talking about in regards to a plan, it is fairly simple. For the first, second and third placement, students have to write in-depth plans that are taken from observations in the class. I can’t remember what my observation was that led me to believe this was a great activity but in my madness I arrived at a decision on what sensory activity I wanted to do with the kids. My plan had the steps to take, the inferences I gathered and the developmental outcomes that I hoped to see.

Of course, like most well made plans, it didn’t go off perfectly and by the end of the activity I had children painted in a multitude of colors and a big box of brown sludge to clean out. I learned from that, tweaked a few things and found a better way to enjoy gelatin fun without having as much of a fuss over the mess.

*Word of caution: This can still be a messy activity so it isn’t for the faint of heart.*

What you will need:

• A large box of clear gelatin
• A large plastic tub or container
• Food coloring
• Water
• Spray bottles
• (optional: any little animals or items that you want to put in)

Directions:

1. Prepare the whole box of gelatin as it says on the box. This will leave you with a lot of gelatin so make sure you have a big enough container and a big enough space in your fridge. If you are adding animals or anything else, add them while the gelatin is still a liquid.
2. Once it sets, tip the gelatin over into the bin.
3. Fill up the spray bottles with water.
4. Add a few drops of food coloring to the spray bottles.
5. Give to the kids and allow them to explore.

This is a great activity because the gelatin looks wet. Kids expect it to splash up or for their hands to sink into it. When they feel a cool resistance, it gives them an opportunity to problem solve. Ask questions like, “Why do you think it is like that?”

The spray bottles of color also help children learn about mixing colors. They can spray one color onto the gelatin and then another to create a third color. They can also try different ways to get the colors to sink into the gelatin.

Regardless of what they are learning, the texture of the gelatin is a complete treat and one that most children enjoy.

Sirena Van Schaik

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All of them decided to spend a few moments sitting around drawing pictures and I found it enjoyable to be able to look at the little artists that had turned my living room into an art studio. It really brought home the last two posts that I have made about your budding artist and it sparked my interest in finishing off the stages of art.

The stage that I am going to talk about today is the stage of art development between the ages of 4 and 5. Again, I like to stress the “range of normalcy.” I know I have said it before but it is very important to repeat this point since it can alleviate any worries for parents that may be comparing their children’s art with what I am talking about in these posts. For those of you who are just joining us, the “range of normalcy” is the normal range of age where a skill or milestone is developed. Drawing, during the early years, is separated into three stages.

“With art, as with all milestones, a child may fall before or after the range of normalcy. I have seen 5 year olds that are only beginning to grasp the ability to form simple shapes; a skill generally developed between 3 to 4 years and I have also seen 3 year olds using symbolic representation, a skill usually developed at 4 or 5.” -this was taken from my first blog on the first stage of art: Scribbling.

Since we have already covered scribbling and basic forms, today we are going to cover the third stage, which is the representational stage of art development. This is the stage where the first drawing is believed to take place.

Generally, the first drawing will occur during the ages of 4 and 5. Children will begin to look at the world around them and try to incorporate them into their drawings. A box is a house, a circle a face, a triangle is a roof. These basic shapes will begin to become more defined and the child will begin to create more detail in the pictures. No longer will a square simply represent a house, the square will also need windows, a door, flower pots, etc.

Also during this stage, children begin to pay more attention to the detail and will begin to make shape more representational to things in the world around them. A dog is smaller than a person so in their artwork, the dog is smaller than the person walking it.

The world is a big part of this stage of development and children will draw images from their own “world”. A child who has never seen a zebra will not draw a zebra since it does not have any symbolic meaning in their own life. They are more likely to draw items that interact with them on a daily basis. People such as friends and family, are often the first drawings, or symbols as it is often called, that a child will draw. From there the child moves onto trees, houses and other things in their world.

During this stage, as well, children will begin to label their drawings more often. You will see less artwork that is labeled after the drawing takes place and more pre-thought going into the artwork. A child will sit down and say, “I’m going to draw my dog,” before he or she starts drawing a dog.

From this stage of art development, a child moves into perfecting his or her skill in art and drawing and this improvement in basic skills will continue as long as the child continues to practice it. Art is an enjoyable pastime for any child, regardless of age and allowing them the time to explore their creative sides, is a great way to help your budding artist flourish into a creative individual.

Sirena Van Schaik

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It is always amazing how quickly a child grows. One moment they are nestled safe in your tummy and you are worrying about the delivery, being ready and a whole number of other things. The next, they are raiding the fridge and asking you why you forgot to buy the volcano flavored Yogurt Tubes.

It can be overwhelming at times but usually it is a constant state of wonder as you watch your infant grow from newborn to new adult.

For many parents, the amount of development seen in the first three months can be mind boggling and you quickly realize that this isn’t just a cute bundle of joy but also an individual with a personality. Sure there will be times when your child will show larger developments such as walking or potty training but all the small developments that are taking place now are the first in bringing your baby from the cute, sleep all day newborn to the rambunctious preschooler.

Below is a list of what your newborn should be doing by three months of age. Remember that this is a range of normalcy and many factors can come into play when you look at the rate of development. Also remember that if your child is premature, he or she may not develop as quickly as a full term infant but eventually (usually around age 4 or 5) he or she will catch up to other children in that age group.

• Is able to lift head while he is enjoying tummy time.
• Can turn head from side to side
• Should be able to lift head when he is resting against your shoulder
• Recognizes mom and dad (or any main caregiver).
• Begins to tract objects and will look at them and follow them by moving his head. He won’t track objects with his eyes only.
• Turns head towards sound.
• Watch people in his life when they are feeding him, playing with him or simply holding.
• Is able to be calmed when he is comforted.

At this age, a baby will still need lots of attention and one on one time. There is no such thing as “spoiling” a baby and you shouldn’t listen to those who say that you can. This is a time when trust is being development and reaffirming, through actions, that you will be there when your baby needs you, is the best way to help nurture the bond that you have created.

Sirena Van Schaik

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If you remember, I have already posted about the development of artistic skill already. If you haven’t read it yet or need a refresher, you can read it here.

Just to recap a few things, when I talk about any type of development, I am really looking at a “range of normalcy.” I know that I have mentioned this before but for anyone new that is joining us, I really like to reiterate my points. “Range of normalcy” is a term used to describe an average age range when a child develops a skill or reaches a milestone.

“With art, as with all milestones, a child may fall before or after the range of normalcy. I have seen 5 year olds that are only beginning to grasp the ability to form simple shapes; a skill generally developed between 3 to 4 years and I have also seen 3 year olds using symbolic representation, a skill usually developed at 4 or 5.” -this was taken from my first blog on the first stage of art: Scribbling.

Since I have already written about the first stage, scribbling, I am going to move on to the second stage called Basic Forms.

This stage usually occurs between the ages of 3 and 4 and again, some children may experience this stage sooner or later than what is the expected “range of normalcy.”

Much like the scribbling stage, I probably don’t need to really define what I mean by basic shapes. This is the stage where children begin moving away from scribbles and start forming shapes such as circles, ovals, and all the other shapes that are the staple of geometry.

This is also the stage where children are gaining more control over their fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills. Things are happening both physically and intellecutally which is enabling him to create more concrete drawings and more controlled strokes with the pencil and/or brush.

Like scribbling, this stage is still a very experimental stage in art. It is a gradual progression of experimenting with the lines that he is creating on the page and you will see it throughout that year. The first part of his 3rd year, he will draw circles and ovals and then he will progress into creating the curved line. This can often be referred to as the rainbow stage (at least by me) and I remember with my oldest, his love of drawing rainbows with any type of medium that I gave him. Rainbows was where he saw true manipulation of his lines and it pleased him to not only create one curved line but many connected to each other in a layered pattern. My youngest son is at this stage right now and I am back to a world of rainbows once again.

After he has learned to control his drawings, a child will begin drawing more complex forms such as squares and rectangles.

Also in this stage, a child begins to understand that what he is thinking and feeling is responsible to what he is placing on the paper. He is not going to sit down and say, “I’m going to draw a 5 star hotel with ocean vistas,” but he will sit down and draw a tower of squares. When he is finished, he will often tell you what he drew but it is usually a end thought. Sort of like, “My picture looks like a truck so that is what I drew.”

After this stage is the third and final stage that occurs between 4 and 5. This is considered to be the stage where the child’s first drawings take place and it is the stage where representational art begins.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed this post on your budding artist and I hope that you have already filled your shelves with art materials.

Sirena Van Schaik

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It is important to remember that when we discuss any type of developmental milestones, we are looking at a “range of normalcy.”  There, I said it again, that term, and if you are just joining us, the “range of normalcy” is a term used to describe an average age range when a child develops a skill or reaches a milestone.

With art, as with all milestones, a child may fall before or after the range of normalcy. I have seen 5 year olds that are only beginning to grasp the ability to form simple shapes; a skill generally developed between 3 to 4 years and I have also seen 3 year olds using symbolic representation, a skill usually developed at 4 or 5.

Today, however; I’m going to discuss the first stage of art: Scribbling.

I probably don’t need to explain scribbling to you since everyone has watched a child sitting with a paper and crayon; her arms making large movements as a line slashes back and forth on the paper.  To many parents, this doesn’t really look like art but it is.

In the scribbling stage, children are experimenting and exploring.  They are figuring out cause and effect since their actions are creating a reaction; a big splash of color on the page.  They are also learning about colors, textures and the many materials that they can use.

As they age, and ultimately practice using the materials and not eating them, they begin to develop fine motor skills that enables them to control the scribbles.  This fine motor training will set into place the building blocks for printing in the future.

The drawings progress from being random scribbles to being representative of objects.  They may look like scribbles to you but to your 3 year old, they are rainbows or cars or even family portraits. 

When my youngest son was 2, he became enamored with the milky way.  Every time he would sit down with a marker or crayon, he would draw these swirling scribbles and then label the picture for me.  “This is the milky way, mom.  See here is the central bulge and here are the four arms…”

The picture always looked like a confused knot of scribbles to me but to him each scribble opened up a world of wonder, a universe to explore.

And that is what scribbling is.  A means to open up a universe of creative expression. Without scribbling none of the other art stages would develop and it would be like trying to learn how to talk without being able to babble first.

So if you haven’t started drawing with your young toddler, run out to the store and invest in some paper, paint, markers and any other art mediums that you feel are safe for your child.

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I actually was on a hormonal roller coaster as my hormones went back to normal but there was much more than that.  I was sleeping less, and suddenly my life was not completely mine anymore.  I had to learn how to cope with not only a new role and schedule in my life but also with the care for someone else.  I wasn’t completely lost when it came to giving care.  I was after all an Early Childhood Educator and I was fresh out of college with a shiny new degree when my first son was born.  I wasn’t shocked by any of the things that was going on but I quickly realized that all the courses in the world and all the experience I had taking care of other people’s kids, really meant nothing when it came to taking care of my own. I was, like millions of other parents before me, a new parent and I was (and am) going to make my share of mistakes.

Still, as I held my children close to my chest, rocking them in their little nursery and singing songs like “Baby Beluga,” “The Unicorn,” and our all time favourite “Crazy by Patsy Cline.”  I didn’t worry about all those mistakes but simply enjoyed the quiet moments with my new babies.

Your baby during the first month:

During the first month of your baby’s life, he will spend a lot of time sleeping and eating but there will be moments when he is awake and experiencing new things.  The main focus of interest will be on mommy and daddy and it is very important for trust to begin at this age.  Cuddle your baby, talk to your baby and above all else, hold your baby when he is crying.  Although there are methods of child raising that recommend having babies cry until they sooth themselves, it should never be practiced with a child that is this young.  They simply do not have the knowledge or skills to sooth themselves and need a caring parent to sooth them.

In that first month, you will also find that your baby is crying often and it is not a planned behavior.  A newborn infant really has no other way to express his emotions.  When something is bothering them, they cry.  It can be difficult to deal with at times and if you find that you are becoming frustrated with the crying, it is time to take a break and ask for help. 

Caring for your new baby is very time consuming but i don’t really feel that it can be measured.  You care for your baby’s needs by feeding him every 2 to 4 hours and changing his diapers, between 6 to 8 diapers per day.  You give him a bath every other day to keep him clean and to avoid drying out his skin and you care for his umbilical cord until it falls off at 10 to 14 days.  You do all of these things but you also spend hours running your finger over his smooth cheeks, placing your hand on his chest to make sure that he is still taking deep, peaceful breaths and you hold him as snuggles against you. 

It is often surprising that during the first month, your baby is already learning and will meet a few developmental milestones in that time.  By the end of the first month your baby should:

• Stop crying when you comfort him.
• Nurse well, whether this is through breastfeeding or through bottle feeding
• Look at you when you are holding him
• Startle at loud noises

Make sure that while your baby is going through all these new experiences that you take the time to have a few experiences just for you.  Make sure that you do something for yourself each day and that you try to sleep whenever baby is sleeping.  Also, don’t worry about the laundry, dishes or any other chore.  They will get done sooner or later and the emphasis at this time is caring for yourself and your baby. 

Above all else, simply enjoy these quiet moments because as motherhood has taught me, the older your child gets, the further apart those quiet moments become.

Sirena Van Schaik

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Anyway, as I was sorting through some of the reference materials, I came across an excerpt by Helen Keller (1880-1968) in my many handouts, that is wonderful and I wanted to share it with you.  If you are unfamiliar with Helen Keller, I would strongly recommend her book, The Story of My Life.  She was an amazing woman that accomplished much in her life. 

This little excerpt that I am sharing with you was inspired by Dr. Montessori, the founder of the Montessori curriculum that is still taught by many schools and has been incorporated into many toys that we find on the market, but we’ll talk about models of education at some other time.  For now, let’s simply enjoy the words of Helen Keller because they are very accurate and true.

“I believe that every child has hidden away somewhere in his being noble capacities which may be quickened and developed if we go about it in the right way, but we shall never properly develop the higher nature of our little ones while we continue to fill their minds with the so-called basics.

Mathematics will never make them loving nor will accurate knowledge of the size and shape of the world help them appreciate its beauties.

Let us lead them during the first years to find their greatest pleasure in nature.

Let them run in fields, learn about animals and observe real things.

Children will educate themselves under the right conditions.

They require guidance and sympathy far more then instruction.”

I know you are probably wondering why I posted this when I talk about teaching history and science and having mini projects but everything that I mention goes with the poem above.  The mini projects are there to help you open up the world of possibilities for your child.  When he or she opens a door to explore the life-cycle of a butterfly, having a parent who can guide him or her through the door will enable your child to learn in a way that is beneficial and fun.  Remember that children learn through play and making learning an enjoyable and play filled experience will pave the way for learning as they grow.

So I hope you enjoyed Helen Keller’s words and sorry if I waxed poetic.

Sirena Van Schaik

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At a year old, your baby has already accomplished so much in his or her short life.  He should have tripled his body weight, at least, with some kids gaining more and he should be well on his way to eating solids.  The last year has brought many firsts but don’t worry, your baby will have many more firsts to come.  Developmentally, your baby should be able to crawl, and should be pulling himself up with the help of furniture.  Some children are even walking at the age of a year but remember that the range of normalcy for walking is between 11 to 18 months of age.  Some children walk at a much later age and it can be perfectly normal for them, however; please talk to your child’s pediatrician if you are concerned with their development.

A few other skills that your baby should have built on by the age of one are the following:

• Shows emotions
• Is able to hold a sippy cup or a bottle on his or her own.
• Will play games with people.  Things like repeating sounds, peek a boo, etc.
• Your baby should understand simple requests like, “Touch your nose. Don’t touch, ect.”
• Should be able to move into a sitting position without any assistance.

There are many developmental checklists available for parents, but the one that I found the most helpful is the Nipissing District Developmental Screen.  I have used the checklists as both an Early Childhood Educator, assessing the developmental strengths of children in my class and also as a parent.  Each checklist has some wonderful tips on how to encourage your child’s development.  I would strongly suggest ordering the series of checklists that they have.  If you are from Ontario (I’m not sure how it works in other provinces or countries), you should receive them after you have had your baby, but if you didn’t receive them I’m sure that you can order them right from Nipissing.  Here is a sample checklist and the homepage for Nipissing. 

 With that, I want to sign off today with a video of babies doing what they do best, being there cute little selves.  Enjoy

Sirena Van Schaik

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I wasn’t actually nervous but as each person reflected their own opinion on the matter I quickly began to stress about it.  Wait a minute, he’s 7 months old and he hasn’t crawled yet, now he’s 8 months old and he hasn’t crawled yet.  What is going on?  Fear found a nice spot in my stomach and I repeatedly searched through my various resource materials from the books I had in college on Child Development to the countless handouts I had picked up at various workshops and parenting classes.  I’m sure that you have probably been in the same place and maybe you still are.  There is so much stress with having to wait for that developmental milestone where you can say, “Whew, my child is just like all the rest, maybe even better because he or she did this before everyone else.”

If you are worried about your infant’s development, you should sit back and take a deep breath and remember this phrase, “Range of Normalcy.” 

Repeat that over and over to yourself and whenever someone asks if your child is crawling or has accomplished any other developmental milestone, say, “No but he is still in the range of normalcy.”

You will hear me say it often enough in all my developmental articles and all it refers to is the normal range of ages where a milestone takes place.  So with crawling, the range of normalcy is 6 to 10 months.  Yes some children crawl before 6 months and others crawl after 10 but the majority of children crawl between 6 to 10 months.  I knew this when I had my first son and I still stressed over his lack of interest in crawling.  In fact, my son didn’t crawl for the first time until he was just over 10 months old, on Father’s Day of all days!

Now that you know the range of normalcy for crawling, there are a few things that you can do to help promote crawling in your child.

1)  Get down on the floor with him or her.  Nothing encourages play and crawling more than if their mom and dad are sprawled out on their tummies moving around the floor with their child.  Not only does this give you a chance to play with your baby but it gives you the opportunity to see the world from his or her vantage point.  You can find little safety risks and deal with them before your baby gets a chance to pursue them.

2)  Place toys in front of your baby just out of reach so that rocking motions forward will bring the toy into his or her grasp.  Your baby will start reaching and will be encouraged to move forward.  This also helps with other developmental milestones such as hand eye coordination, and grasping.

3)  Limit the amount of time that you place your baby in a walker.  I’m not a big fan of walkers since they are the cause of many infant related injuries and there are some studies that point to walkers causing developmental delays but I have been guilty of using the saucers without the wheels.  They can be a great toy for any infant old enough to hold himself up but they should only be used for very short periods of time.  Even though many studies disagree over the impact, the chance of there being an impact is enough to avoid using them excessively.

4)  Remind yourself that your child will develop at his or her own speed.  If you have concerns and if your child is not crawling by 12 months of age, please speak with your pediatrician.

One last note about crawling:  Some children do not crawl, they go from sitting up to walking while others will scoot on their bottoms instead of crawling.  There is nothing unusual about this and you shouldn’t have any concerns if your child gains his mobility by sitting and scooting.  In the end, every child will find his or her own way in a manner that is uniquely theirs so just enjoy and love every moment of it.

Happy crawling,

 Sirena

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With spring only a few days away, I thought it would be wonderful to start with something for Easter but then I decided that maybe you would like to know a little about me instead of just jumping into the wonderful world of kids crafts, helpful tips, and the sometimes (or is that all the time) crazy world of parenting. 

So a little about me.  My name is Sirena Van Schaik and you might have seen my work in a few places or this might be the first time you have seen me.  Writing wise, my work has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Child’s Soul, Southern Families Magazine and on several different websites and magazines, not all of them relating to parenting. I am very excited about writing for That Parent Place because it is something close to my heart.  Yes, I am a mother of two but I am also an Early Childhood Educator, graduating with honors and several awards.  I worked in the ECE field for 7 years in every age range from infant to school age, and I enjoyed working with children and their families. I am also always thrilled to return to my field and use my degree.

I will be the first to admit that despite all the training, I do not know everything there is to know about parenting (actually far from it) but hopefully with the help of many professionals, other parents and just a general love of learning, I will be able to act like I do.  If there is ever anything that you disagree with, please feel free to email me at sirena_vanschaik@yahoo.ca or comment here.  I will triple check my facts, admit when I’m wrong (hopefully not too often) and correct the mistake. 

So, I am looking forward to posting and hopefully, I will have some guest bloggers in the future to create a well rounded parenting resource for you.

All the best,

Sirena Van Schaik

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