12-MONTH CALENDAR

Growing

12 Months of Tips & Activities for Enhancing Child Development

Inclusion

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Inclusion is the celebration of diversity put into action.

Tips for Structuring Inclusive Activities

1. Support participation.
   Use a variety of ways to help children join activities and sustain participation. Provide lots of opportunities.

2. Be consistent.
   Children can be successful and feel trusted and safe when adults are consistent in their approaches.

Sharing One’s Feelings

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Quote from The Social-Emotional Learning Toolbox by Kathy L. Perez, Brookes Publishing Co.

3 Ideas for Teaching Kids Emotions

1. Feeling Wheel Game.
   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 way.

By talking and interacting with parents, they help their children build the uniquely human gift of language.

Quote from Developing Early Comprehension

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.

Every child has the right to be fully engaged in their world, including the right to regular physical activity.
Quote from Children in Action: Motor Program for Preschoolers (CHAMPPS) by Paddy C. Favazza & Michaelene M. Ostrosky, Brookes Publishing Co.

3 At-Home Spring Activities to Boost Your Child’s Development

1. Build a rainy-day hideaway.
   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.

Understanding the feelings and needs of others is a long learning process in young children’s lives. Quote from Little Kids, Big Worries by Alice Sterling Honig, Brookes Publishing Co.

4 Ways to Show Children Diversity Strength

1. Teach children it’s okay to ask questions.
   Rather than stigmatizing questions, encourage curiosity.

2. Have conversations about stereotypes and biases.
   To support children’s development of compassion and understanding, explicitly tackle stereotypes about looks, skin color, cultural beliefs.

3. Set a good example.
   Stay mindful that children look to you as a model. Seeing you respond to diversity in a supportive, empathetic way will teach them positive lessons.

3 Skill-Building Summer Activities To Do

1. Bring the beach to your backyard or balcony.
   Fill a small plastic pool with sand and bury seashells in the sand so that children can dig for them.

2. Make paper-plate sand pictures.
   Have your child glue sand to the bottom of a paper plate and decorate with underwater items.

Early Literacy Skills

1. Help children make their own books.
   Homemade books are a great way to practice literacy skills.

2. Play with rhymes.
   Play rhyming games of coming up with words that rhyme with a particular word.

5 Things Caregivers Can Do to Ease Anxiety

1. Teach children to recognize and name feelings.
   Help children identify emotions to improve their social interactions.

2. Provide increased structure.
   Structured environments can ease anxiety in children.

Activities to Boost Child Development

1. Get outdoors every day.
   Go somewhere new together to strengthen communication skills by discussing the outing ahead of time.

2. Play skill-boosting games.
   At the store, have your child search for specific letters and numbers.

Trusted Tools to Support Healthy Child Development

• www.agesandstages.com
• www.aepsinteractive.com
• Explore the books featured in this calendar!