PRAISING OUR CHILDREN

This morning at the incredible years course (how to manage difficult behaviour) it was all about praise. How good consistent praise does to a child, when we should praise a child and in the different types of praise. I think that what really makes a huge difference in praising a child is labeled a praise: not just say to the child "well done" or "good boy", but tell him exactly why we are praising the child "well do for listening to mummy", "good boy you finished your colouring". Yeah, I believe that this way of praising makes much more sense for the child, so that he knows exactly what he has done good.

M. had a not so good morning in the creche. Having recognised the building she was already starting crying, asking me to take her home, but at the same time she was also walking to the entrance... When I was about to leave the skies opened and millions of tears were running down her checks! I couldn't do much, I hoped she would settle. Eventually she did. At break time I went to peep through the glass door and saw she was playing with the other kids.

When I went to pick her up I put immediately into practise what I learnt from the lesson, and I told her how good she had been waiting for mummy and playing with the other children (things that I always say but now I knew I to chose my words better).

I then went shopping and she behaved so nicely by staying in her pram without complaining, so that I decided to reward her even more by buying her a new toy for her kitchen: a kettle and a toaster. The kettle makes some sort of noise by manually activating it and the toaster makes the toast jump. They both don't require batteries and they come quite cheap at 6 pounds for the two at Argos.

ROLE PLAYING

At home we played with the new toys. I allowed her to have some water so she could pretend to boil it and pour it to make tea. She passed a good half an hour making teas!

CUTTING AND STICKING

At the creche they had set out this cutting and sticking activity and M. went immediately for the scissors and started to cut (yes she did manage to cut) some paper. That was the point when I thought right to leave which she didn't agree. So I don't think she made the most of that activity, that's why I re-created it for her at home. I bought some wrapping paper and some tissue paper and let her cut parts of them. Then I drew a girl on a sheet whose clothes would have been covered in paper cuttings later on.

M. enjoyed to much the cutting part that didn't want to do any sticking. Only cutting and cutting and cutting. I let her cut as much as she liked, and I was really impressed on how good she is for her age. Seeing that it didn't seem that she would stop cutting soon, and getting a bit bored, I did the collage with the paper pieces she was cutting. When she got tired of this activity more than one hour had passed....

IMAGINATIVE PLAY

When on monday we went to the library M. chose to take home a book we had already borrowed from the library some time ago. It is a Walker Big Books a very big book with big text and huge pictures entitled "Walking through the jungle". It is the nursery rhyme told through a book.

M. loves it because I sing the rhyme to her flipping the pages at the right time in the rhyme and we both do the actions. "walking through the jungle, walking through the jungle" (and I walk around the room) "what can you see, I can hear a noise" (I put my hand next to my hear and say ssssss) "roar roar" (I turn the page) "it's a lion, looking for his tea". And then we do running, crawling, leaping and more through the jungle copying the various animals.
I saw that the same editor has published "ten in the bed", which I want to get hold of and have fun with M.