16-MONTH CALENDAR

Grow STRO

16 Months of Tips & Activities for Enhancing Child Development

ALL CHILDREN

need to feel that they are CAPABLE and COMPETENT human beings.

Quote from The Common Sense Guide to Your Child's Special Needs by Louis Pellegrino, Brookes Publishing Co.

October

Activities adapted from Helping Your Family Thrive by Meme Hieneman, Sarah Fefer, Shane Isley, & Missy Sieders, Brookes Publishing Co.

4 Ways Families Can ENCOURAGE DESIRED BEHAVIOR at Home

• For example, instead of just assigning chores, you could create a list and allow each family member to pick what they want to do.
• Link consequences to behavior.

STORYTELLING AND PLAYING TOGETHER

support communication, language, and the beginnings of literacy.

Quote from Developmental Parenting by Lori A. Roggman, Lisa K. Boyce, & Mark S. Innocenti, Brookes Publishing Co.

November

Activities adapted from 14 Tips for Nurturing Young Children's Communication & Language Skills blog post (December 9, 2021) Brookes Blog.

• Use rhymes and songs to reinforce language. Choose two to three nursery rhymes or songs that you and the child enjoy. During the day, recite or sing one or more of these with the child.

Deep learning

happens in shared states of

Quote from Early Social-Emotional Development by Nicole M. Edwards, Brookes Publishing Co.

December

4 Things to Do This Winter to Boost Your Child's Development

• Have your child write a letter or draw a picture to include in cards to close friends and family.
• Choose activities that involve both gross motor skills (throwing snowballs, sledding, climbing a snowy hill) and fine motor skills (putting a face on a snowman, collecting and sorting objects).
• Carve out time for chats.

Inclusion

is the celebration of diversity put into action.

2024

4 Tips for Structuring Inclusive Activities

1. Support participation. Use a variety of ways to help children join activities and sustain participation. Provide lots of interesting materials to entice children to the activity.
2. Children can be successful and feel trusted and safe when adults provide consistent expectations and responses.
3. Be consistent.

Sharing one's feelings

is essential in building emotional intelligence in children.

February

Activities adapted from 10 Activities for Teaching Young Children About Emotions blog post (January 26, 2021).

3 Ideas for Teaching Kids About Emotions

• Choose a book about feelings to share with children. Be sure to point out all the actions or ways in which the characters behave when they're acting on their feelings.
• Create a spinning wheel that features different feeling faces. Give each child a chance to spin. Ask them to identify the feeling and talk about an incident that made them feel that emotion.

By talking interacting

with their parents build unique human gift language and with children, help them the uniquely man of image.

Activities adapted from Talk to Me, Baby!, Second Edition by Betty S. Bardige, Brookes Publishing Co.

4 Fun & Easy Language Boosters

1. Role Play. Kids love taking on new and different roles—and it's the perfect opportunity to help them expand their language skills. As you engage in everyday activities, join them in pretending to be favorite characters from storybooks or TV shows.
2. Let children handle, smell, and taste diverse foods with different flavors and textures. Chat about the colors, tastes, and textures, as well as where the foods come from and how they are harvested or prepared.
3. Practice the ABC song rhymes, and counting.

EVERY CHILD

has the right to be included in their world, including the right to regular

Quote from Children in Action: Motor Program for Preschoolers (CHAMPPS) by Paddy C. Favazza & Michaelene M. Ostrosky, Brookes Publishing Co.

2024

Activities adapted from ASQ-3 Learning Activities by Elizabeth Twombly and Ginger Fink and ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activities & More by Elizabeth Twombly, Leslie J. Munson, and Lois M. Pribble, Brookes Publishing Co.

3 At-Home SPRING ACTIVITIES to Boost Your CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT

• When April showers put the brakes on backyard play, ask if your children would like to build a special hideaway. Have the kids build a tent by draping old sheets or blankets over furniture. Once they make their tent, they can play in it, eat lunch inside it, or read books together with a flashlight.

Understanding of others in

the feelings and needs is a long learning process in young children's lives.

Quote from Little Kids, Big Worries, by Alice Sterling Honig, Brookes Publishing Co.

2024

5 Steps to Cultivating Empathy

1. When did you feel the same way?
2. How does the other person feel? How would you feel in that situation?
3. Ask what the person is feeling.
4. Let them know that you care through your words and actions.

Children as young as 6

are aware of race and are beginning to form ideas about diversity.

Quote from Coaching for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging in Early Childhood by Anni K. Reinking & Laycee Thigpen, Brookes Publishing Co.

Activities adapted from 45 Strategies That Support Young Dual Language Learners by Shauna L. Tominey & Elisabeth C. O'Bryon, Brookes Publishing Co.

4 Ways to Show Children That Diversity is a Strength

1. Teach children it's okay to ask questions. Rather than stigmatizing questions, show children how to ask them sensitively and appropriately.
2. Express positive interest in diverse cultures. Show genuine enthusiasm when children share something about themselves or their culture.

There is always something new to learn.

Quote from The Project Approach for All Learners by Sallee J. Beneke, Michaelene M. Ostrosky, & Lilian G. Katz, Brookes Publishing Co.

2024

Activities adapted from 14 Skill-Building Summer Activities To Do with Young Children blog post (June 16, 2020).

3 Skill-Building Summer Activities To Do with Young Children

• Fill a small plastic pool with sand and bury seashells in the sand so that children can dig for them. Put on sunglasses and lay out on beach towels together (don't forget sunscreen!).
• Bring the beach to your backyard or balcony. Fill a small plastic pool with

Early experiences HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR lifelong CONSEQUENCES.

2024

08 AUGUST

• Squat down or sit beside them. Comment on what the child is doing or seeing.
• Use language to help toddlers interpret their world. When you see a puzzled or fearful expression, find a simple way to explain what is going on or what is going to happen.
• Say things like "I can't pick you up right now, but I can watch you go down the slide." "It's almost lunch time. One more slide, and then we'll go inside."

Children learn how to

09 SEPTEMBER

Activities adapted from Tackling the Tough Stuff by Angela Tomlin & Stephan Viehweg, Brookes Publishing Co.

5 Things Caregivers Can Do to Ease Young Children's Anxiety

1. Provide increased structure.
2. Prepare children for events they might find scary.
3. Select age-appropriate activities. Be sure that young children are engaged with activities that are appropriate for their developmental level and don't contain frightening imagery that can increase their anxiety.
4. More structure in the home environment (as well as child care and school) is likely to ease anxiety in any child.

Quote from Early Social-Emotional Development by Nicole M. Edwards, Brookes Publishing Co.

2024

10 OCTOBER

• To strengthen your child's communication skills, plan the outing together ahead of time and talk about the things you'll be seeing and doing together. On the way home, ask questions about what your child did and what their favorite parts were.
• Enhance errands with simple skill-boosting games.

11 NOVEMBER

Activities adapted from Pause and Reflect by Dana Childress Brookes Publishing Co.

5 Tips for BUILDING A RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP with Parents

1. Be mindful of physical barriers and body positioning.
2. Share something about yourself (within professional boundaries).
3. Be responsive, collaborative and reliable. When problems arise, work together with the caregiver toward possible solutions.
4. Minimize distractions that create a barrier between you and the caregiver.
5. Be respectful and compassionate. You are a support to the family, and it is your job (not theirs) to meet them where they are.

Quote from Building Preverbal Communication & Engagement by Lesley B. Olswang, Julie Feuerstein, & Gay Lloyd Pinder, Brookes Publishing Co.

2024

12 DECEMBER

Activities adapted from ASQ-3 Learning Activities by Elizabeth Twombly and Ginger Fink and ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activities & More by Elizabeth Twombly, Leslie J. Munson, and Lois M. Pribble, Brookes Publishing Co.

3 Fun Indoor Activities that BOOST Young Children's Development

• Make a simple concentration game with pairs of duplicate playing cards, or make your own cards out of duplicate pictures or magazine ads. Start with two or three pairs of cards. Turn them face down and mix them up. Let your child turn two cards over to see if they match. If they don't, turn the cards face down so they can try again.

Trusted tools to support healthy child development

• Check milestones and catch potential delays early.
• Developmental screener.
• Engaging activities to share with parents.