Is your child anxious about starting school?

Posted on July 29, 2010 by viviankirkfield

With just a few days left to July, all parents know that school is just around the corner.

Do you have a young child who is anxious about starting school? Is it his first experience away from home? These days, many children do have experience at nursery schools, daycare, and other facilities where they have taken part in sports, dance or other activities. Even those children, however, may be fearful of a new school, unknown teacher, and unfamiliar children.

How can you help relieve your child’s anxiety? What can you do to help make that first day of school one of joyous expectation?

Acknowledge your child’s feelings. We sometimes gloss over their fears and anxieties by telling them, “It will be fine. Don’t worry about it.” Worse still would be a response of “Don’t be a baby! There’s nothing to be afraid of.” For that child, there obviously is. Perhaps it would be more helpful to just listen if they are expressing their feelings. Maybe you can share similar feelings you might have had as a child.
Visit the school before the first day. Many schools offer opportunities for new students to spend some time in a classroom before the term starts. Take some photos of the school, classroom and your child in that setting and hang the pictures in your home. This will help your child feel more comfortable about going to this “new” place.
Read one or more of several children’s picture books that target the anxieties young children have regarding the first day of school. During my years as a kindergarten teacher, daycare provider and mother of three, I used picture book stories to help children cope with many of the issues they faced as they were growing up. Teaming up the story with an eco-friendly craft project and a child-friendly healthful cooking activity is a great way to encourage discussion, build self-esteem, and create a life-long parent-child bond.

Here are 3 books and accompanying activities that might help your child face the first day of school with eagerness and anticipation instead of reluctance and anxiety.

TAKE A KISS TO SCHOOL: written by Angela McAllister (For the craft activity, you can make a food chart using pictures cut from magazines and pasted on a piece of construction paper. What foods do animals eat? What foods do people eat? For the cooking experience, make pita pocket (instead of the coat pocket into which Digby put his mother’s kisses) sandwiches using store-bought whole wheat pita bread, chicken sliced from a baked chicken cutlet, lettuce, tomato, sprouts and mashed avocado.)

BILLY AND THE BIG NEW SCHOOL: written by Laurence Anholt (For the craft activity, you can make a bird feeder using 2 slices of stale bread broken in small pieces, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup chopped carrot or apple and some nuts. Make a ball, press a piece of string into the center and roll in 1/2 cup wild birdseed. When hardened, hang on a tree and watch the birds feed. For the cooking experience, make breakfast granola using 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal, 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds, 1 Tb honey, 1 Tb canola oil, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Put all ingredients, except raisins, into a large microwave-safe bowl and mix well. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir well and microwave for another 2 minutes. Stir well again and microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the raisins and let cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 4-5 cups of preservative-free delicious granola.)

THE KISSING HAND: written by Audrey Penn (For the craft activity, you can make clay handprints. I still have the ones my children made almost 30 years ago. You can use store-bought clay or make your own. Work the clay into a ball and roll it flat…about 1/2 inch thick. Put the flattened clay on a piece of cardboard and position your child’s hand, fingers spread slightly, in the center. Help your child press her hand into the clay. Let dry overnight. For the cooking experience, make thumbprint cookies. Cream 1 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup honey in a large bowl. Beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. Gradually add 3 cups flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Roll a tablespoonful of dough into a ball and then roll it in a saucer that has 1/2 cup sugar in it. Put each ball on an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart. Press down lightly on each ball with your thumb (or your child’s thumb) and fill each depression with jelly or jam. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet when cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.)

I hope this helps parents with children who are anxious about the first day of school. I know it helped mine. For more information and support on this issue, go to http://childrensbooks.about.com/b/2010/07/28/august-blog-carnival.htm where Elizabeth Kennedy is hosting a blog carnival about this topic.

Andy Rooney’s in my kitchen

Posted on July 19, 2010 by viviankirkfield

Last night, on 60 Minutes, Andy Rooney did a segment on gadgets one finds in the kitchen drawer. He said that most of the items he found in his kitchen drawer had not been used for 20 or 30 years.

It made me think about my kitchen gadget drawer (don’t we all have one?). So, this morning, I decided to empty it and check out what was in there.

Here is a list of what I found:

Rubber gripper for opening bottles (I use this ALL the time)
Graham Kerr sheet metal thing with ruler marking on one side (maybe for pastry making…have never used it)
Orange cylindrical plastic thing (lemon juice extractor?)..I actually have 2 of these
Wooden honey dipper (not sure what you call it…when I need honey, I use a spoon)
Green plastic grapefruit sectioner (we don’t eat grapefruit)
Orange Tupperware spreader/spatula (never used…will take it out of gadget drawer so I will have it when I need it)
Yellow plastic cylindrical thing labeled Sunkist (maybe for extracting juice from an orange)
Old-fashioned metal garlic press (I usually hit the garlic clove with the flat blade of a big knife)
Wooden double mini rolling-pin (didn’t know I had this…could have used it several times in the past)
3 top-notch wine bottle openers (my husband has a small glass of wine with dinner and I don’t drink)
Old-fashioned metal can opener (just in case the electric can opener doesn’t work, I guess)
Lobster/crab leg cracker and set of picks
Red plastic flour scooper (why isn’t it in the container with the flour)
A dozen assorted wine bottle corks (I keep throwing them away and my husband keeps putting them in the drawer)
Broken tea strainer
Metal melon ball scooper (I can’t remember the last time I scooped melon balls)
Vacuum pump and rubber corks for sealing open wine bottles
Wooden roller thing (not sure what it is for)
My oldest son’s original baby spoon (he turns 38 this month)
Set of cheese spreaders/cutters (use them at Christmas)
Set of 4 multi-colored mini rubber prep bowls (so small I don’t know what I could prep in them)

And that’s it! Do I just put it all back? Dump some of it?

What’s in your kitchen gadget drawer? I’d love to know that I’m not the only one with items I have never used and have no clue what they are for.

Mastering tasks and skills

Posted on July 17, 2010 by viviankirkfield

Building self-esteem is an ongoing life-long task. But the foundations of it are laid in the first five years of a person’s life. As parents, we need to start in the very beginning and try to ABP…always be positive…not easy to do, I know.

One of the most important components of developing high self-esteem is mastering tasks and skills. When children are able to DO something themselves (lace up shoes, brush his own teeth, write her name, get dressed by himself, help set the table, etc.), they gain a sense of confidence and competence that encourages them to tackle new challenges.

Here is an excerpt from my new book, SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING.

A great picture book to read to your young child:

LEO THE LATE BLOOMER: written by Robert Kraus and illustrated y Jose Aruego

Story summary: A little lion named Leo is unable to do the things his animal friends can do, such as write his name, draw a picture, eat neatly and talk. His father is very worried and questions Leo’s mother. She reassures him that Leo will learn to do everything in his own time. In the end, she is proved right and Leo masters all these skills with great finesse.

Positive Parental Participation Note: Parents are often tempted to compare one child in the family to another, or they read a book on child development and carefully note at what age their child should be walking or talking or mastering one skill or another. Of course, it is important to be aware of the various stages of a child’s physical, intellectual and emotional development because the earlier a problem is detected, the faster help can be obtained. However, it is also important to realize that each child matures at his or her own pace.

COOKING: CHILD-FRIENDLY LION’S CANDY

These healthful candies are out-of-this-world…and so easy to make. Your child’s self-esteem will bloom right before your eyes as he helps to prepare this delicious treat.

You will need: 1/2 cup peanut (or other nut) butter, 1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup instant dry milk, 1 Tb honey, 1/2 cup finely chopped raisins, dates or other dried fruit, 1/2 cup cocoa (optional) and a large bowl.

Blend together nut butter and ground sunflower seeds.
Stir in dry milk, honey and dried fruit. Mix well (with hands, if necessary).
If the mixture is too dry, add some liquid milk; if too wet, add more dry milk.
Form into teaspoon-sized balls. Roll in cocoa powder, if desired.
Makes about two-dozen balls. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.