Down With UP

"The first sister is corn, she grows tall and strong and helps the second sister, bean, by allowing her vines to climb up her stalk. In return, bean gives corn the nutrients she needs to grow. Pumpkin or squash is the third sister and she grows low to the ground throughout the corn field. Her large leaves help to keep the weeds under control and the soil moist."

• Sort The Beans - Make 15 piles (one for each type of bean) and have your child sort the rest of the beans in the soup mix. Talk about and compare the piles of beans. Point out the difference in size, color, and shape. Tell your child the name of each kind of bean.
  
  
• Count the Beans - Count the beans in each pile. How many of each kind of bean are there? Depending on the age and ability of your child, show them how to skip-count by 2's, 5's, etc.
  
  

• Stuff brown paper bags with newspaper so that they have a round shape. Twist the top closed and secure it with strong tape. Paint the round part of the bag orange and the twisted top green - so it resembles a pumpkin. Let dry. Make several of varying sizes to create your own paper pumpkin patch. Use markers to make faces on them!

• Cranberry Float - Do cranberries float? Get a pan of water and drop in some fresh cranberries. Fresh, ripe cranberries have small pockets of air inside that enables them to float. Rotten berries will generally not float. Invite your kids to float all of the cranberries in the bag and sort the fresh, floating cranberries from the rotten, sunken ones.

• Bounce The Cranberry - Because fresh cranberries have pockets of air inside of them - they bounce! Let your kids try bouncing some cranberries. Keep the fresh ones, and discard the rotten ones that don't bounce.

• Cranberry Dissection - Cut a cranberry in half and show it to your child. Inside the berry, you will see what looks like 4 little pockets in a cross pattern. That's where air becomes trapped inside the fresh berry allowing it to float and bounce. Notice the tiny seeds inside as well.

• Describe a pumpkin. Purchase a pumpkin at a grocery store or a u- pick pumpkin farm. What color is it? What does it smell like? Rap on the pumpkin, what does it sound like? Is the pumpkin smooth or rough? Is there a stem? Which part is the top? The bottom? Is it light or heavy? How much does your pumpkin weigh? (Put it on a scale to find out.) What shape is it? Is it square or round? Does it look like a circle? There are no right answers - simply questions to spark thought and maybe a little discussion depending on the age of your child.

• Do pumpkins sink or float in water? Test it out in a large tub of water to find out. (The bathtub will work.) If they float, do they float stem up (right-side up), stem down (upside down), or sideways? If your pumpkin floats, can you guess why? (Pumpkins should float because they are hollow inside and filled with air making them buoyant.)

• How big is your pumpkin? Measure the distance around your pumpkin - be sure to explain you are measuring the "circumference" or the distance around a circle. Next, measure the distance around your preschooler's waist. Was the pumpkin's circumference bigger or smaller than your child's waist? Use words like "circumference" when talking to your child - it will increase his/her vocabulary and lay a foundation for understanding math concepts.

• What's inside the pumpkin? Cut off the top of a pumpkin and let your little one look inside. Is the pumpkin mostly full or empty? What does it smell like? What do they see inside? How many seeds do you think are inside the pumpkin? Write down your child's guess.
  
  Next, scoop out the seeds and pulp with your hands. What do the seeds and pulp feel like? Are the seeds hard or soft? Is the pulp gooey, slimy, and squishy? Use lots of words to describe the sensation and textures. Be sure to point out where the "meat" of the pumpkin is - the part we eat. Wash the seeds and dry them with paper towels. Spread the seeds out on the table. Are all of the seeds the same size? Count the seeds. How many are there? Compare it to the number they originally guessed.
  

• Match leaves you find on the ground to the trees they came from.
• Step on leaves that have fallen to the ground and listen to their crunchy sound.
• Scoop leaves into a pile and jump in them.
• Toss a bunch of leaves in the air and try to catch them as they float to the ground.
• Take along a bag to collect fallen leaves. When you get home, sort the leaves according to shape, size, kind, and color and talk about the differences you see. Count the leaves.
• Talk about the colors you see. Leaves contain a pallet of color at this time of year including gold, yellow, orange, red, burgundy, brown, and green in all kinds of combinations and patterns. Your children may ask why the leaves turn color. You'll find a very simple explanation along with suggestions for leaf-themed arts and crafts activities in our Fun with Fall Leaves article.
  

My husband and I saw an add on TV last night for a new series called "Baby Borrowers." Babies and toddlers are turned over to teen couples - to give them an idea of what it takes to care for a baby/tot. The first thing out of my mouth when I saw the ad was, "Where are they getting the children to turn over to the teens? What parent in their right mind would volunteer their little one for this show?" Today, I got an email about it from an unlikely source - ZERO TO THREE. This organization is pro universal preschool (institutionalizing little kids in public preschoools) - yet look what they have to say about "Baby Borrowers" below.

Will wonders never cease? I applaud ZERO TO THREE for taking this stand. Now, I wish they'd take their own advice and quit banging the universal preschool drum.

"It's not TV, it's birth control" is how NBC promotes its new reality series "Baby Borrowers." On June 25th, the show will be launched on national television as an "intriguing new social experiment that asks five diverse teenage couples to fast-track to adulthood by setting up a home, getting a job and becoming caring parents." Unfortunately, the NBC series exploits very young children in the pursuit of entertainment.

The babies and toddlers participating in this series will be separated from their parents and caregivers for three days. Unfamiliar teenagers will take care of them during this time. This setup can be very harmful for the babies and toddlers involved.

For the past 80 years, many studies have shown unequivocally that babies and toddlers suffer when they are exposed to this kind of prolonged separation from family and left with people that they do not know or love.

As all parents know, babies and toddlers are very distressed by separation. They cry, cling, and search for their parents. The longer the separation, the more upset they become. Some children are unable to sleep and refuse to eat. The responses routinely last long past the child's reunion with the parent. Prolonged separations heighten young children's separation anxiety and damage their trust that their parents will be available to protect and care for them. Children can become angry and rejecting of their parents after being reunited with them, damaging the fabric of the child-parent relationship.

These findings have become the basis for a new science of early childhood. A robust body of early childhood development and brain research clearly confirms the critical nature of early development. It is a time when young children form attachments with parents and caregivers, develop security and a sense of self, and learn what to expect from the world around them. Studies show that babies and toddlers need to feel safe and secure in order to form a positive sense of self, to form healthy relationships, and to feel confident to explore their world. This sense of security is dependent on the availability and stability of their trusted primary caregivers. Being separated for a three-day period from a parent or trusted, familiar adult, and being thrust into the care of a total stranger who has no experience with the child how he or she is comforted, likes to be fed, held, etc.—and who has no experience caring for young children at all, can be very stressful for the child.

As a "safeguard," NBC has hired a nanny to be nearby in case there are concerns. However the nanny is no more familiar to that child than the two strangers who will be caring for him for three days. The nanny does not know him or what his signals mean—such as what he needs when he cries out in the middle of the night, or how he shows he is hungry, tired, or is overwhelmed and needs a break from play. Moreover, even though the parents of these young children are watching via closed-circuit television, the babies are not aware of that and have no way of knowing how long the parents will be gone.

Legitimate social experiments are not conducted on national television or on reality shows. "Baby Borrowers" may have a catchy theme, but it exploits young children with potential harmful consequences. This is no social experiment. It is an extremely misguided endeavor that puts at risk our most vulnerable citizens, young children who need our love and protection.

We welcome your feedback on our ZERO TO THREE Alert at tsalyers@zerotothree.org.

ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families 2000
M St. NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 (800) 899-4301 (703) 661-1500

Labels: baby borrowers, NBC, parents, preschool, zero to three

Are children raised in poverty better off being institutionalized as one reader suggests? You decide...

I must tell you that I was a bit disappointed upon reading the overview of your website on your home page. What a negative twist you put on public institutions implementing preschool programs.

Did you take into consideration the vast number of children under the age of 5 being raised in poverty situations, single parent dwellings, drug or alcohol addicted parents, in the foster care system, etc, etc,? Unfortunately for these children preschool and their preschool teacher offers the only stability and structure in their lives. It isn't necessarily due to larger entities wanting to "make a profit".

I found it even more hypocritical of your site to print the following statement: "These misguided preschool proponents encourage unproven methods of instruction that cause undue stress in young children leading to learning and behavioral problems." Upon delving a little further into your website and links, I found that you are promoting developmentally inappropriate activities for parents to use with their preschool children.

Perhaps you might take a step back, do a bit more research and rethink the message your website is promoting.

Shelli L.

Dear Shelli,

I must tell you that I am deeply offended by your comments regarding the well-researched efforts of some of the best qualified and highly motivated advocates of preschoolers. Let's take a look at your comments, one by one, shall we?

"I must tell you that I was a bit disappointed upon reading the overview of your website on your home page. What a negative twist you put on public institutions implementing preschool programs."

"Public institutions"; now that just about says it all. You must not have any children, because if you did, would you really want them institutionalized? As for "public". If you have been following the progress of our "public" schools, you would realize the horrible trend that has been set already. There are many fine private preschools for the children of parents who need them. These will no longer be affordable, once free public preschools (read "day care") are firmly in place.

That is when choice goes out the window. As for quality, public programs don't have a stake in the outcome, once there are no more choices (as in "private preschool options"), there is no motivation for public school institutions to strive to do better. This promotes a steady downhill spiral, as we are already seeing in our public schools today.

"Did you take into consideration the vast number of children under the age of 5 being raised in poverty situations, single parent dwellings, drug or alcohol addicted parents, in the foster care system, etc, etc,?"

Are you saying that because my parents were poor and my father was an alcoholic that I would have been better off spending my days in a public institution? Being poor doesn't mean you lock a child up and throw away the key. My mother never put any of her children into daycare, we had a rough time, but we learned to play together with what we had available. It gave us an opportunity to use our imaginations. No, life wasn't easy for us, but I certainly don't believe daycare or preschool would have made my life any better.

As an adult, when my own child was five, we were homeless for about a year. We still managed to care just fine for him. Was life easy? No. But just because things get difficult doesn't mean a parent is incapable of caring for and making the best decisions for their own child.

"Unfortunately for these children preschool and their preschool teacher offers the only stability and structure in their lives."

This is just plain ridiculous. I had plenty of structure in my life and so did my own son. Poverty isn't illegal! It's not a disease: It is merely a financial state that some find more important than others. I guess according to you, if a parent is poor, loses their job or home, they are no longer qualified to be a parent? What planet are you on? Look around and wake up. People have been poor from the beginning of time, it doesn't make them ignorant or incompetent.

"It isn't necessarily due to larger entities wanting to "make a profit"."

Why exactly do you think public schools are trying to expand? Watch the news - they are closing more and more schools, because parents are finding other alternatives. The public schools are the worst. If they don't manage to pull in the preschool crowd, even more schools will soon close their doors. My question to you is, why should we trust the public school system with our preschoolers, when it has failed in every other arena where it operates? Isn't it enough that Johnny can't read, so now Johnny's little sister Suzie shouldn't be taught to read either?

"I found it even more hypocritical of your site to print the following statement: "These misguided preschool proponents encourage unproven methods of instruction that cause undue stress in young children leading to learning and behavioral problems.""

Apparently, you haven't done your homework. Try reading the research, it's posted on this site as well.

"Upon delving a little further into your website and links, I found that you are promoting developmentally inappropriate activities for parents to use with their preschool children."

Since you weren't kind enough to provide any actual details, I have no further comments to offer.

I recommend that you read the actual research documents available on UniversalPreschool.com and various other websites. Be sure to check the researchers' methodology and don't forget to glance at who is actually footing the bill for the research. Many times that is what gamblers like to call a "tell." Then get back with me, if you have some intelligent comments to make.

Thank you for your comments.

Regards,

~Annette M. Hall
Public Liaison for the abolishment
of all Universal Preschool Programs

Labels: behavioral problems, daycare, poverty, pre-k, preschool, private