Homework is an important task in every child’s early education. It helps them retain the concepts they have learned, and it enforces accountability outside of school. There are many ways to create helpful homework habits after children leave school. Enrolling them in afterschool programs in Pembroke Pines encourages homework help, and creating the right environment at home will reinforce the importance of homework. Here are a few habits that will help children with their homework:

• Keep a routine time and place that children can do their homework. If they participate in an afterschool program, then they may finish their homework before coming home. If they do not, then set aside a quiet place that children can work.
• Observe the different ways that children respond to homework and adjust accordingly. If a child becomes easily distracted, then work together to eliminate and overcome the distractions.
• Always maintain contact with the teachers. Early education teachers and parents can communicate to understand how children respond at home versus at school. This communication can help prevent future problems with understanding concepts or behavioral issues.

If you have been struggling with your Pembroke Pines first-grader’s eating habits, then it is time to learn new tactics. You can help your child eat more vegetables by packing snacks to take to his first-grade class and masking vegetables with other foods. Let’s take a closer look at some easy ways to get your first-grader to eat vegetables.

Encourage the “One Bite” Rule

The “one bite” rule is a simple way to encourage your child to try new foods. He must take one bite of the vegetable he does not like before he can say no to eating it. This rule can prevent your child from vetoing new foods based on their look or smell before ever tasting them.

Make Vegetables into Snacks

If your child is hungry throughout the day, then that is the perfect time to encourage him to eat healthy vegetable snacks. Do not stock your refrigerator or pantry with chips, sweets, or over-processed foods. Instead, pack small, sealable cups with a variety of vegetables and salad dressing, hummus, or peanut butter that your child can grab whenever he wants. He can also bring these snacks to his first-grade class for lunches and snack time.

Mask Vegetables in Other Foods

You may help your child to get his daily allowance of vegetables by disguising them in other foods. You can cut vegetables into small pieces that will blend in with other foods. You can also puree many vegetables, such as spinach or sweet potatoes, and add them to sweets like brownies and cookies. Your child may also respond to eating his vegetables by dipping them into dressings or cheese.

Cook Meals with Your Child

It is important to include your first-grader in your cooking habits, because he can learn how to measure for his first-grade math skills. However, cooking with your child will also help him to eat his vegetables. If he has taken part in making the meal, then he is likelier to want to eat what he made.

Sensory activities are important to help your children explore their curiosity, learn more about their world, and develop critical thinking skills. Many of the activities found in the attached video can be done at home, in an afterschool program, or early childhood learning center near Pembroke Pines . Here is a better look at some fun and creative sensory activities to do with your children:

• Gather small toys that your preschool age child will love. Freeze the toys, in layers, and give your child some tools to break through the ice. This is a fun experience that can teach your child patience.
• Cook up pastas and have your children add food coloring. This creative exercise will teach them how to mix colors to make new colors.
• Place ivory hand soap into the microwave, and it will come out in interesting shapes that your children can touch and add coloring to.

Creating a solid foundation of expectations for your child can help promote his good behavior and success in school. If your student is preparing to enter first grade in Pembroke Pines this year, then read on for advice on using positive parenting to set and enforce limits that can promote a great school year.

Give Explanations

Setting boundaries is important for teaching your child what is expected of him. However, kids may become argumentative or defensive if you make rules without offering reasons for them. To help avoid this, set limits while using words rooted in positivity and let your first grader know why each limit is needed. For example, instead of instructing your child not to play with his toys when he should be getting ready for school, tell him when he should play with them and why.

Enforce Consequences

When it comes to promoting the behaviors you want to see in your child, following up with appropriate consequences for both good and unwanted actions is key. Otherwise, if positive behavior is overlooked or disruptive behavior is ignored, then your first grader may find it difficult to understand what it is that you want him to do. For example, simply thanking or praising your child when he does what you have taught him to without being told each time is an excellent way to reinforce good behaviors. In situations when your child ignores instructions or behaves disruptively, you can, for example, institute quiet time, remove toys, or take away privileges as consequences.

Work Together

Setting rules and deciding how you will enforce them doesn’t have to be a one-sided task. By discussing and making boundaries and consequences with your first grader, you can help him gain a better understanding of why certain behaviors are appropriate or not. Frame conversations like these in a positive light by avoiding negative words. Additionally, consider putting limits in writing with your child’s help, and then posting them in your home as a reminder for both of you.

Developmental milestones refer to different things that children can typically do by a specific age. If your child is entering pre-kindergarten in Pembroke Pines this year, then you can monitor his problem-solving, thinking, and learning development by understanding and watching for the cognitive milestones for 4-year-olds.

By the time they enter pre-k or reach age 4, most children grasp the concept of counting, have some understanding of time, and can recognize when things are different or alike. Also, pre-kindergarten students are often able to play card or board games, remember aspects of a book, and guess what may happen next in a story. By age 4, many children also start to use scissors, draw figures with 2 to 4 body parts, and copy capital letters.

Monitoring how your pre-k student moves, learns, speaks, plays, and behaves can help you check off these cognitive milestones and keep his doctor updated about his level of development.

The days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are dropping. For parents and students, these changes mean the end of summer break and the beginning of a new school year. If your child is enrolled in summer camp in Pembroke Pines , then continue reading for tips on helping her with the transition to school this fall.

Get Back on Schedule

Even though your child is keeping busy at summer day camp and benefiting from regular mental stimulation, there is a good chance that she, like many other students, is in a summertime mindset that may make it difficult for her to get back into learning mode. One way to help prepare your child for the transition from camp to school is to make a gradual return to a normal schedule. For example, you might get her back on a good bedtime schedule or set aside time for learning that will be replaced with homework once the semester begins.

Spend Time in Nature

For kids in summer camp, their break from school means lots of time spent outdoors surrounded by and experiencing nature. To make the transition back to a classroom setting an easier one for your child, think about how you can incorporate outdoor activities into your normal routine. To do this, you could start taking daily walks to the park, arranging weekend day trips to the forest, or helping your child start her own backyard garden.

Talk About Any Fears

Some kids are always excited about going back to school. Others, however, face anxiety about entering a new classroom setting. If your child experiences fear about leaving summer camp and beginning a fresh school year, then set aside time to address her worries, and speak with her about the fun experiences she should look forward to and all the friends she can make. Finally, you can even approach this with a role play technique by setting up a classroom at home and arranging learning activities for you and your child to complete together.

Whether through an after school program in Pembroke Pines , time spent in the backyard, or activities that you arrange for your family, allowing your child to enjoy unstructured play outdoors offers many benefits. Watch this video to learn about the importance of getting back to nature in childhood.

Today, many children are spending less time outside than ever, which may have an impact on their development. For example, executive functions like critical thinking, problem-solving, and organizing are best-developed in outdoor, unstructured play environments. Also, researchers know that the brains of children are developed in a more critical way when exposed to an outdoor setting. Finally, when outside and playing with peers, children tend to utilize critical social skills and competencies that they may not in an indoor, structured play environment.

Summer camp is practically a rite of passage for kids. In Pembroke Pines, summer day camps feature lots of fun activities and opportunities for kids to make new friends. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for parents to get children to eat healthy foods while at summer camp. The trick is to make healthy snacks look fun to eat. You can see some demonstrations of this when you watch this interview with a registered dietitian.

She explains what she looks for in a healthy snack—primarily a combination of lean proteins and complex carbohydrates to give your child the energy needed for summer camp activities. For instance, you can add a little mustard to some low-sodium turkey slices, and wrap them around a thin, whole grain breadstick. Pack pepper strips and carrot sticks to dip into some low-sugar, plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. You could also stuff some granny smith apples, cinnamon, and low-fat ricotta cheese into a whole grain pita pocket.

Your rising pre-kindergartener will make some important strides this upcoming school year. Pre-kindergarten programs in Pembroke Pines lay a foundation for both academic success and socio-emotional growth. No two kids progress at the same rate, but in general, you can expect your four-or five-year-old pre-k student to exhibit greater independence in social situations. At the same time, your child may want to please his or her friends and fit in with them.

Pre-k students usually separate more easily from parents, as they grow closer to their teachers and other trusted adults. They may also take the initiative in social situations, such as by suggesting a fun activity, engaging in complex pretend play, and offering to share with a friend. As your child acquires greater mastery with academic skills and self-care abilities, his or her self-esteem will flourish. You’ll start to notice your child using more complex language to express feelings. Although your child will develop better coping skills, he or she will still seek adult guidance when emotions become overwhelming.

Even if your child has attended structured early childhood education programs, the kindergarten year is an exciting milestone, as it’s considered the first year of formal schooling. Your child’s education in Pembroke Pines encompasses important academic skills like math and literacy, but it also involves personal growth and socio-emotional development. Encourage your child to reach for the stars, but have reasonable expectations and give your son or daughter the freedom to simply enjoy childhood.

Nurture your child’s independence.

When your son or daughter reaches kindergarten age, he or she will start displaying greater independence. Encourage this by teaching important self-care skills. Teach your child how to button up clothes, tie shoes, and wash hands. Position the milk jug and snacks on a lower shelf in the fridge, and let your child serve him-or herself. Spills are to be expected, as your child is still learning self-care skills.

Read every day.

Reading with your child every day is one of the most impactful ways to support your child’s education. It lets your son or daughter naturally absorb the rhythm and structure of sentences, and simply get absorbed in the magical world of stories. Reading with your child nurtures the close bond you share with him or her. It sparks your child’s imagination and entices his or her curiosity.

Create a musical home.

Every child has artistic tendencies, and nurturing them supports your child’s self-esteem and sense of wonder. Music also encourages a strong vocabulary, better memory, and dynamic social skills. Sing with your child in the car, or start a band in the kitchen by tapping on overturned pots and drinking glasses. Talent is not important, but enthusiasm is.

Talk often.

When your child was an infant, you probably learned that talking to him or her frequently supported healthy development. During the kindergarten age, this fact still holds true. Encourage your child’s oral language skills by actively listening to him or her, asking open-ended questions, and letting your child know that what he or she says is important to you.