Jj is for Jottings 166. Motor Skills and Screen Time in Preschoolers, Part 2.
As promised in the previous article on motor skills and screen time, in this article we will cover suggestions for both gross and fine motor activities, providing both fun and skill development for your preschoolers. And these suggestions are easy to set up, and many are portable. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 165. Motor Skills and Screen Time in Preschoolers.
We will now look at the topic of motor skills and screen time in preschoolers in some detail. In Creativity in Children, Part 1 I noted a deterioration in young children’s fine motor skills over the last few years. I suggested that creative activities involving fine motor skills may have been partly or completely replaced by screen time. It is not just fine motor skills which suffer from replacement by screen time, but gross motor skills as well. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 164. More Benefits of Handwriting.
The title refers to more benefits of handwriting because some time ago I wrote an article on how handwriting boosts brain power. This time, we are looking at different aspects of the positive effects of handwriting on our lives. And some of these may never have even crossed our minds. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 163. Language Development and Singing to Babies.
We’ll now have a look at the relationship between language development and singing to babies. This ties in closely with the previous article on the connection between literacy and music. If you haven’t read it, I advise you to, since it creates a more rounded picture than this article on its own.
Before you take fright at the idea of singing, you will find that there is much value in rhythmic speech, as you will see when you read on. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 162. The Connection Between Literacy and Music.
There is a strong connection between literacy and music. Here, music includes learning a musical instrument and/or singing. It actually goes further: children who learn and practise music also have improved performance in executive function, arts and mathematics. (The core areas of executive function are working memory, inhibitory control, and selective attention.) Let’s go into why this is the case. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 161. What is Phubbing?
Question: “What is Phubbing?” Answer: “Telephone snubbing.” The word comes from ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing’. It is the act of ignoring people in favour of a telephone. Look around you in almost any public place and you will see numerous acts of phubbing occurring. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 160. Creativity in Children, Part 2.
Following on from Part 1, we will now go into more activities in greater detail in Creativity in Children, Part 2. In order for creativity to flourish, it is important for us to slow down and create the time and headspace to allow room for creativity. Don’t fall into the trap of having your child’s time completely filled with planned activities. There needs to be unplanned time when you can seize the moment, rather than bustling along to the next activity. Simply getting out and about can lead to all sorts of observations and spark creative thoughts and ideas. And leave those screens at home. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 159. Creativity in Children, Part 1.
Walk into any preschool/kindergarten and you see that they provide many opportunities for creativity in children. Why is that? Because arts and crafts are one of the most important ways to help children develop and grow between ages 3-8. Here is a chart of communication milestones as a point of reference. Creativity isn’t just about art and crafts, but they are major avenues for growth and development at these ages. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 158. Smartphones in Schools.
A few days ago (July 2023) in Australia, smartphones in schools were banned. Some states had already banned or restricted their use, but the ban is now nationwide. The ban also includes smartwatches. There are quite a few reasons to ban smartphones in schools given below, but there is also the overriding factor of how smartphones affect the brain.
Smartphones in Schools. “I’m not going to have a smartphone – and I’m not going to school, either.”
Jj is for Jottings 156. Speech Sound Problems: /th/
The speech sound problem /th/ is more complicated than many other sounds. This is because in some parts of the English-speaking world, substituting /f/ for /th/ is normal, part of a dialect. In this case it is not a speech sound problem. Continue reading
