Today’s families are busy (and scheduled) more than ever. With grocery carts that provide a toy car to ride in (far away from Mom or Dad) and DVD players in cars, there can be too many “no talk” zones. And why is that important? Because, as Dr. Catherine Snow, one of the most expert researchers in the area of early language and literacy learning says, “Everyday conversation is the basic activity in the world for three-to-five-year-olds…. For young children, it’s through the talk that learning goes on.” And that keeps being a benefit as your child grows. The tangible benefits of regular conversations with our children include:

• improved vocabulary
• strong listening abilities
• improved thinking and reasoning abilities
• broadening of knowledge
• understanding of more complex concepts
• strengthened family relationships where learning happens in a comfortable supportive environment

Did you know that the vocabulary level of children in 1st grade can predict at least 30% of their success in comprehending what they read when they are 16 or 17? So, what do the conversations look like in order to have those results? They don’t need to be overly structured; sometimes great conversations are simple ones in which you talk about the sounds of words, make rhymes, play with changing the first letter of your child’s name and being silly together. 

In any case, we need to be careful that our conversations are full of more than just “correcting and directing”. The more complex the sentences, the more unique and interesting words that are used, the more you explore ideas by talking about them, the better the benefit. Reading aloud with your child and talking about what you are reading is also a terrific way to squeeze in some chat time. Don’t be afraid to allow interruptions and ask questions that start with “how” or “why”. You’ll be amazed at what your child tells you! Chat while you function in the world – at the grocery story (have that child up close to you when they are small, walking by you and helping with the shopping as they grow), while driving to the bank, soccer practice, or school. Reconnecting with a quick talk when your child and you meet up in the afternoon or at day’s end keeps you connected. Discuss openly situations you encounter together and help your child understand the world. Talk a bit when you say goodnight. All of this contributes to a literacy-rich environment which will help your child build the tools for coping with the fast amount of information (a lot of it still in text) that we must deal with in our modern society. Carrying on regular, generous, thoughtful conversations takes an effort on the parent’s part. There are few other activities that bring such strong results, before your children are readers, as it establishes a strong foundation that will bridge over into their reading abilities, even as they go on to learn how to read for themselves. One last reminder: Don’t make your conversations too structured. Avoid: “OK, we’re going to talk now because we need to.” The more natural these conversations are, the more your child will integrate these habits and skills into their everyday lives. They will have ready connections between the academic language they are learning to read in school and what they have heard and used at home. And, as I always say about reading, conversation is a tool for life.

Cathy Puett Miller AKA The Literacy Ambassador is a national literacy consultant, author of the new eBook, Powerful Picture Books: 180 Ideas for Promoting Content Learning (available at http://www.inspiringteachers.com/catalog/ebooks)/powerful_picture_books.html and, soon to be released Anytime Reading Readiness: Fun and Easy Family Activities That Prepare Your Child to Read. Visit her website at www.readingisforeveryone.org for even more tips and ideas to grow your children’s literacy in fun, playful ways.  New titles available in November, 2009 at http://www.maupinhouse.com/puettmiller.php.

Spring has sprung and I’m awed by the wisdom of two year olds!  The ONLY place they want to be is “outzide,” chasing birds, comparing sticks, picking dandelion blossoms, digging in the dirt.

Watching.

Alert for all that unfolds before them-whether it be garbage trucks or crawling ants!

Follow the lead of the child and you’ll be partner to amazing discoveries.

Kids need time and space to discover their comfort in the outdoors without scripted direction.  Many parents remember fondly the adventures of their own extended free time outdoors. Meghan Frances writes the following:

As a child, I loved going outdoors for its own sake, but looking back, I value the gifts it gave me: a strong, healthy body; an up-close-and-personal relationship with the birds and bugs and plants of Northern Michigan; a resilience borne of the many scraped shins and bike crashes I never let slow me down; and the joy of knowing that every day held adventure and excitement right outside my front door.

Nevertheless, the same parents report by the time their children reach school age they don’t want to play outdoors, that they seem incapable of making their own fun.

In the April 23, 2009 issue of Good Housekeeping, Meghan Frances offers suggestions on countering the resistance to unstructured outdoor play; she addresses issues ranging from parent fears regarding safety to children’s resistance (video games, nobody to play with, no time in a busy schedule).  A reprint of her article, How to Get Kids Outdoors, is available through the Children and Nature Network (the organization that formed after Richard Louv published his best selling book: Last Child in the Woods; Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder).  As with any “behavioral intervention”, expect to see acceleration in resistance before new behaviors emerge!  The investment of time and attention will be well worth it.

Less is more

Less is more is a statement we at Little Little Little passionately believe to be true. Parents who carve time for their children to just “go play”, drawing upon their own resources and ideas, give a fabulous gift!  What a bargain!

Photo credit: Kudos to the extraordinary macieklew, who posted the shot on Flickr.com and allowed sites like mine to use it through Creative Commons copyright.

National Institute for Play

• Play is hard wired in animals and in humans–children and adults
• Play is central to learning and creative thinking
• Play and work are related; play increases efficiency and productivity
• Play is no less important than oxygen, a powerful force that may even determine the likely survival of the human race!

· SO–make time for play, unstructured, open-ended play every day

· Protect time for play and honor it as important for your child’s development, at least as important as structured activities!

Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood

· Cartoon, storybook and movie characters are licensed for marketing to babies toddlers and children (Companies spend about $17 billion annually marketing to children, a staggering increase from the $100 million spent in 1983)

· Everything from macaroni to sheets to toys may carry messages of “you have to have me”, messages designed to make children nag their parents into buying products

· Youth marketers employ child development specialists to “turn young children into consumers”

· Parents can resist reinforcing the power of licensed characters by:

o avoiding licensed products for as long as possible

o sharing awareness with other parents (in some preschools, parents have agreed to not send kids to school with clothing, backpacks, lunch boxes and toys that carry licensed images)

o making school age children aware of marketing intent

· Parents and teachers can advocate that schools be “commercial free”

· Parents can join the advocacy effort through campaigns to direct concern to corporations and policy makers

Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment (T.R.U.C.E.)

You willl find great, downloadable documents and guides for parents as well as teachers

· Children use play to actively construct knowledge, meet social/emotional needs, and acquire life skills. (Big, important stuff, just from “playing”!)

· The content of meaningful play comes from each child’s own experiences, not from re-enacting the scripts of movies and videos

· SO–

o Provide uninterrupted daily play time [2]

o Organize play materials so they are easily accessible and so that you communicate respect for their value.

· Simple toys will provide the most value and most hours of creative play (blocks, puzzles, basic vehicles, dress-up props).

· Great toys enhance children’s natural ability to engage in imaginative, meaningful play by allowing them to try out their own ideas and solve their own problems.

· A toy that “performs” has more limited play value

· Look for more child power and less toy power!

· Parents can join one another to limit children’s screen time, limiting TV, movies, videos, computers, DVD’s and video games in favor of open-ended, problem-solving free play.

Children & Nature Network (C&NN)

The Children and Nature Network is a grassroots movement that began after the publication of  Richard Louv’s bestselling book, Last Child in the Woods; Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. You will find so many family-friendly tips and resources, from ways to organize your own local family nature groups to maps on nearby nature-filled resources!  

Research

A growing body of research links our mental, physical and spiritual health to the complex link between children and nature.

· Children need lengthy, unstructured free time in nature every week—every day, if possible!
· Check the many research findings and you’ll learn:

• Children are smarter, cooperative, happier and healthier when they have frequent and varied opportunities for free and unstructured play in the outdoors.
• Between 1981 and 1997, the amount of time children ages 6 to 8 in the U.S. played decreased 25%, by almost four hours per week. (Hofferth & Sandberg 2000)
• Dr. Stephen R. Kellert of Yale writes, “Play in nature, particularly during the critical period of middle childhood, appears to be an especially important time for developing the capacities for creativity, problem-solving, and emotional and intellectual development.”
• It’s important to share experiences with a child. Dr. Louise Chawla writes, “The very fact that a parent or grandparent chose to take the child with them to a place (in nature) where they themselves found fascination and pleasure, to share what engaged them there, suggests not only care for the natural world, but, equally, care for the child.”
• Advocating for greener school grounds may impact children’s learning. “Nature Nurtures: Investigating the Potential of School Grounds.” © 2000 Evergreen ( www.evergreen.ca) reports that benefits to students improve academic performance.

• Natural playgrounds (White and Stocklin 1998) are designed to stimulate children’s natural curiosity, imagination, wonder and discovery learning as well as nurture children’s connectiveness with nature.

• Natural playgrounds and children’s extended time playing there offer far more than physical exercise (and an answer to childhood obesity), their use for academic discovery is well documented
• Children with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are better able to concentrate after contact with nature (Faber Taylor et al. 2001).
• Children with views of and contact with nature score higher on tests of concentration and self-discipline. The greener, the better the scores (Faber Taylor et al. 2002, Wells 2000).
• Children who play regularly in natural environments show more advanced motor fitness, including coordination, balance and agility, and they are sick less often (Fjortoft 2001, Grahn et al. 1997).
• When children play in natural environments, their play is more diverse with imaginative and creative play that fosters language and collaborative skills (Faber Taylor et al. 1998, Fjortoft 2000, Moore & Wong 1997).
• Exposure to natural environments improves children’s cognitive development by improving their awareness, reasoning and observational skills (Pyle 2002).
• Nature buffers the impact of life stress on children and helps them deal with adversity. The greater the amount of nature exposure, the greater the benefits (Wells 2003).
• Early experiences with the natural world have been positively linked with the development of imagination and the sense of wonder (Cobb 1977, Louv 1991). Wonder is an important motivator for life long learning (Wilson 1997).

And now, Children and Nature Network has added a social website where people can share, learn and lead in the growing movement to reconnect children with nature.  www.childrenandnature.ning.com

The Alliance for Childhood

You will discover:

• Links to new research and public education campaigns about healthy childhood
• Position paper publications on important issues (2009: Crisis in the Kindergarten)
• Ways you can partner to advocate for policies and practices that support children’s healthy development, love of learning and joy in living

Other Thoughts:

Give yourself permission to step back and allow your children some independence to explore life through their play.

With toddlers, make some time to sit back a bit, watch and enjoy!

o You don’t have to be interacting, directing, analyzing every moment to be a good parent!

o Even a very young child needs time to direct himself, to discover the fun HE can uncover in the sand, the dirt, or the playroom!

With preschool and primary school children, make a safe place where they can sometimes play together without adult direction and too much intervention

• Even children of the very best parents will benefit from the opportunity to create play scenarios that help them process their own family dynamics
• Mom or dad monitoring every moment may inhibit[3] some of that processing!
• Organized sports and artistic lessons can be important, but try to honor time each day for children to “be” rather than to “do”, giving them ample opportunity to reach inside themselves for fun, to build their own resourcefulness