ready by 5 "cookbook"

An easy to follow “cook

book” to prepare your

child for school

Fun visual and performing art

activities to stimulate

growth and development

A “feast” of information for

ages 0-5

Ready by 5 Recipes

By Jill Dischler

A chef’s guide to childhood development

2

“Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our

greatest national resource - the minds of our children.” –Walt Disney

A

The child’s mind begins to learn the day he or she is born. From there, a child continues to learn through language, motor skills, stimulation, and experience. Including the arts in a child’s education is crucial for developing a well-rounded student. “The arts motivate and engage children in learning, stimulate memory and facilitate understanding, enhance symbolic communication, promote relationships, and provide an avenue for building competence” (The Task Force on Children's Learning and the Arts & Goldhawk, S., 1998, p. v). The following is a “cookbook” that contains a series of “recipes” for different visual and performing art activities. These activities cover ages 0-5 in order to prepare children for school.

3

Menu

Ages 0-1 Appetizer

Ages 1-2 Soup

Ages 2-3 Salad

Ages 3-4 Entrée

Ages 4-5 Dessert

Bon Appétit!

4

A B

D C

First Course- Appetizer Ages 0-1

Your child should be able to…

• Respond to people’s voices by turning their head and eyes. • Vocalize with some intonation and begin making repetitive

sounds. • Respond to objects and people they can see and touch, and

voices and music they can hear. • Make meaningful noises, coo, and babble. • Respond to friendly and angry tones of others’ voices. • Will begin to be able to rollover and sit upright by the end of this

stage.

5

Bouncing baby - Play music while holding baby tight and bounce to the beat. Add different sounds and noises and hum along. Dance baby, dance! - Move baby’s arms and legs while singing the “Hokey-pokey”…make sure to use smiles and facial expressions! Peek-a-boo Pillow - Instead of a typical game of peek-a-boo, use a pillow, stuffed animal or other soft material to hind behind. Let baby touch and feel the textures while trying to find you! Monkey see, monkey do - Use non-toxic water based paint for baby to play with. Use large sheets of paper and guide them to drawing lines and shapes. Repeat verbally the shapes you are drawing together.

Bruschetta Babies

Serves 1-2 parents, grandparents, friends, family, siblings, and a baby…

Ingredients:

• 1 cup music • 2 lbs. pillows • 3-4 tbs. non-toxic water based paint • 1 large paper

Additional items: Tomatoes, basil,

mozzarella, garlic, olive oil, and toasted

Italian bread…just kidding!

DIRECTIONS

6

Second Course- Soup Ages 1-2


• Copy others’ actions and voices, speak in two-word (short) sentences, name objects, and can look at books on their own.

• Build thoughts, mental pictures, and verbal labels associated with learned concepts.

• Can stand on tiptoes, catch a ball with arms and chest, and walk up and down stairs.

• Unbutton large buttons, and unzip large zippers. • Begin to match, sort, and learn where objects belong. • Show curiosity and recognize themselves in a mirror or photograph. • Demonstrate vocabulary growth up to approximately 200 words. • Use words to express feelings.

7

The Terrible Twos Split Pea Soup

Serves 1-2 parents, grandparents, friends, family, siblings, and a toddler…

Ingredients:

• 5 cups music • 1 “potato” • 5-12 colorful crayons • 1 large paper • 2 oz. of facial features

DIRECTIONS

Add salt and pepper to taste!

Repeat the Beat - Play music as you jump, stomp, spin, and clap with toddler along to upbeat music. Clap hands and stomp feet to the beat of the songs. Count each clap to begin teaching your toddler numbers. Hot Potato Pat-a-Cake - Sing songs such as “Hot Potato” and “Pat-a-Cake” along with motions and tossing of a plush toy or “potato.” Encourage motor skills and hand/eye coordination. Feature Finder - Begin to repeat and point out facial features to your toddler. Then let your child find the features on his/her/your face by pointing. Rainbow Recognizer – use a box of crayons to let your toddler name colors. Have your child choose colors out of the box as you name them and color shapes. Then ask them to choose a specific color to see if they can recognize it within the box.

8

Third Course- Salad Ages 2-3


• Develop symbolic thought and build mental concepts or mental pictures.

• Make first representational drawings. • Engage in self-directed imaginative play. • Listen, repeat, and experiment with words on an increasing basis.

Speak in sentences with three or more words. • Understand self in relation to others. • Can paint with large brush and tear paper. • Complete a form puzzle with large knobs. • Begin to turn pages one at a time. • Can repeat representative gestures and motions such as “Itsy, Bitsy

Spider,” or “I’m a Little Teapot.”

9

Silly Strawberry Spinach Salad


Ingredients:

• 4-5 instant Instruments (cooking pots, pans, plastic utensils, tissue boxes, etc.)

• 1 cup of nursery rhymes • 3-4 tbs. crayons • 5 coloring books

Add lemon zest to zest up your salad!

DIRECTIONS

Insta-Instrument – Search around the house with your child to find objects that could be instruments or make sounds. Play music together as your child discovers new sounds and beats. Eyes, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes – Sing “Eyes, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” with you child and teach them different parts of the body. Have them stand up, move around, and do different exercises that point out body parts and how they move. Fill in the Blank Rhymes– Sing nursery rhymes with your child and have them fill in the blank to words you leave out, such as “Humpty-Dumpty sat on a ________. Humpty-Dumpty had a great _______.” Teach them words as they play along. Character Coloring Book – Choose a selection of character as well as educational coloring books. Teach your child to stay in the lines and focus on motor skills.

10

Fourth Course- Entrée Ages 3-4


• Ask many questions, mainly those that begin with “why.” • Talk about things and make up stories. • Print large capital letters using pencil or crayon. • Cut figures with scissors, and may be able to print first name. • Push and pull a wagon. Attempt to get dressed on their own. • Gain a sense of direction and relationship to others’ space. • Begin to show social skills and manners.

11

Toddler Tenderloin Steak


Ingredients:

• 3 oz. socks & oven mitts • 3-4 colors of Play-Doh • 1 package of dance moves • 4 cups of fun music

DIRECTIONS

For medium rare, cook until approximately

145°

Sing-a-long Songs – Choose your child’s favorite songs (from nursery rhymes, books, movies, radio, television, etc.) and write down the lyrics. While singing together, point to each major word so children begin to recognize letter/words/sounds/meanings. Freeze Dance – In order to get your toddler up and moving, play a song and randomly stop the music and say “freeze!” …then continue the music and say “dance!”…repeat. This game will not only put a smile on your child’s face, but it will also foster listening, following directions, and movements! Puppet Play– Scour the house for different possible puppets (oven mitts, socks, a washcloth, etc.) and let the imaginations flow. Help your child by developing characters and voices. They will get a kick out of the silliness! Play-Doh Pets – Molding clay is a great way to get your child’s motor skills un and running. Use Play-Doh to create animals while teaching animal sounds and fun facts.

12

Fifth Course- Dessert Ages 4-5


• Can copy simple geometric figures, dress self, and use more sophisticated utensils.

• Use language to express thinking and increasingly complex sentences in speaking to others.

• Express their own feelings when listening to stories. • Enjoy using words in rhymes and understand nonsense and using humor. • Can be very imaginative and like to exaggerate. • Say and begin writing the alphabet. • Can identify what is missing from a picture (such as a face without a nose.) • Can identify basic colors.

13

Preschooler Pudding

Serves 1-2 parents, grandparents, friends, family, siblings, and a preschooler…

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. musical instruments • 2-5 Chairs • 5 cups of silly songs • 3 oz. paint, pencils, paper, brushes

Not a fan of chocolate? Make

Jell-O instead!

DIRECTIONS

Band Buddies – gather a group of children (or adults) and give each a musical instrument (whistle, drum, triangle, etc.). Have the “band” play their instruments together to form beats and melodies. Musical Chairs – Place a series of chairs for every player (or only two if there is no one else), play music, stop, and see who can grab a seat first! Continue to remove chairs as players drop out of the game. Simon says – this is the most basic of games to play pretend. Have your child follow directions while acting out different movements, sounds, facial expressions, and any other dramatic action. Paint by Numbers – Make your own paint by numbers set and create/print a picture, split it into numbers with corresponding colors and teach coordination, neatness, counting, and naming colors!

14

Following a child’s development physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially is very

important at any age. The learning environment, interactions, and activities are vital in

accomplishing these developments. The visual and performing arts also aid in this process and promote creativity and imagination. “As they

engage in the artistic process, children learn that they can observe, organize, and interpret their experiences. They can make decisions, take

actions, and monitor the effect of those actions. They can create form and meaning where none existed before. The arts experience becomes a

source of communication and interaction for children and adults” (The Task Force on Children's Learning and the Arts & Goldhawk, S., 1998, p. v). Using this book as a guide has hopefully prepared you and your child for school and has helped you

understand the steps in development and the importance art has in this process.

15

References

The Task Force on Children's Learning and the Arts: Birth to Age Eight, &

Goldhawk, S. (1998). Young children and the arts: Making creative connections. Washington, D.C.: The Arts Education Partnership. Retrieved from http://www.aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=21

Images Courtesy of… http://thegourmandmom.com http://childrencareers.blogspot.com www.foodrenegade.com http://silimac.com www.kidsawakening.com http://simplyrecipies.com www.lifesambrosia.com www.beantownbaker.com www.parent24.com www.belch.com

Jill Dischler November 26th Child Growth and Development

ready by 5 "cookbook"

Documents