From a study forming part of the Master’s Degree Programme in Education and Child Studies at the Universiteit Leiden in the Netherlands, they posed a few questions to their students.

1. Do childhood experiences of parents impact the way in which they raise their own children?
2. What are the consequences and causes of child abuse?
3. How do genetic factors influence a child’s growth?
4. How does genetic predisposition and the environment influence a child’s growth?
5. How do neurobiological processes influence a parents and child’s behaviour?
6. In what way does day-care have an effect on the emotional development of a child and their relationship to their parents?
7. What needs to be taken into account for adoptive and foster children?
8. What early childhood experiences can affect their developmental behaviour and give rise to challenges?

We are of the opinion that all these questions are very relevant, and of course, the answers to them, even more so.

As all children are so very different, one has to know their personality to know how to raise them.  And, as per these questions, their history too, and that of their parents.

As a result, 5 trends have emerged, whereby schools and educators across the board, will be applying these in order to educate and develop the young minds in a better manner.  This particular study is from a US-based site, but rings true for how the South African school system is starting to work.

1. Assessing young learners more often

Initial testing to see where a child fits on the grid, as well as on-going tests, can help teachers and parents alike, in knowing where the child has difficulties, and where they excel.  In addition, knowing more about the child’s parents and their history, can help the educator understand the child better.

2. Early childhood programmes on the rise

Much like our GAP programmes, there are more and more of these pre-school style educational set-ups starting up.  Gone are the days of just dropping your kid at Grade 1 (or Sub A as it was in our days) and expecting them to just manage.  Early childhood programmes, which can start as early as a few months old, are essential to preparing the young ones for the world of big school.

3. Physical Fitness will be more of a focus

While kids move around a lot, the trend, once they are able to swipe their little fingers across a screen, is that they are most definitely moving less.  Child obesity is on the increase in South Africa, and the inactiveness of our youth is concerning.  The aim is to encourage children to partake in sports that can eventually be seen as lifetime sports, such as swimming, martial arts, dancing and running.  Our GAP classes are very physical, for both baby and mom!

4. Technology Integration

It is the way of the future, and we must respect that our children will be utilising technology more and more.  There are many benefits to incorporating technology, such as computers, tablets and e-learning books, into our kids’ education process.  It is in the balancing of this with the aforementioned point, that is key to a healthy lifestyle.

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Many of us use a form of fidgeting to help us stay focused. We may doodle, click a pen, tap our foot, bounce a knee, chew gum, sit on a ball, twirl our hair, play with prestik, change positions, unfurl a paper clip or hum to ourselves. While many of these are done without the knowledge of people sitting beside us, some of them could cause others distraction by the movement or noise they make. Herein lies the balance of which type of fidgeting or fidget tool is appropriate in any given environment. Occupational Therapists and Teachers have been using fidget objects for quite some time to help children to stay in a calm, alert state to help them in the classroom. The type of fidget object is quite important, just as important as its effectiveness with the specific child that is using it. Not every child needs one and because of each child’s unique sensory personality, what works for one child may have the opposite effect for another.

So how then should we decide what type of fidget tools to try out? The answer to that can best be explained by the reasons to use them in the first place. The main reasons would be to aid attention, concentration and to assist in decreasing anxiety. With that in mind, here are some helpful principles in looking at fidget tools:

• Does this have a calming effect or a distracting effect on your child? You may need to trial a few different objects before finding one that works well and this may change over time as well.
• Does this object allow your child to focus on the task at hand? All kids love to fidget! But they can fidget to play and be totally distracted by the object, so make sure the tool you have chosen has the desired effect. Generally, this means it should be something easy to manipulate with one hand, can have a repetitive motion (e.g. flicking, spinning, squeezing, rubbing) and does not require vision (i.e. could it be manipulated easily in a pocket?). These easy, repetitive movements can allow your child to still focus on the task set out for them while “mindlessly” fidgeting with their tool.
• Does this have a distracting effect on others around your child? If it makes a noise, requires large movements or lights up it is probably not a good choice for a group environment. If it requires vision to manipulate it, it will probably distract those sitting next to your child as she would need to have it in her visual field to use it and thus it would be in her friends’ visual fields as well.
• Does it require 2 hands to use? Most of the time a fidget tool needs to be used with one hand only in order to free up the other (usually dominant hand) for the task set for your child. It could be a writing or drawing task, a reading task or an object-based task. Sitting on the mat and listening to a story or a lesson may present the opportunity to use 2 hands, but this would not be the sole time requiring attention and concentration. If 2 hands are required it usually means a more complex level of coordination is needed and often eye-hand coordination as well. This negates the background, easy, repetitive nature that a fidget tool can offer in order to assist attention rather than divide it or pull it away.
• Does it have a natural flicking/fidgeting/movement component? Twirling a lock of hair, clicking a pen or squeezing a stress ball are all examples of easy, natural movements that do not require complex thought processes to achieve. These can be more habitual, background movements which do not require much energy. The more unnatural and complex the fidgeting movement that is required, the more brain energy is needed to be diverted to this task.
• Is it providing constantly changing stimulation? If the noise level, movement frequency or action, or visual stimulus changes (e.g. the object lights up when spun/flicked/twirled) then you no longer have a fidget tool, but rather an attention grabbing fidget toy. While this can provide hours of fun, it is probably not a great choice to assist with attention!
• Does my child need assistance to attend during class or dampen feelings of anxiety? For many children a fidget toy is not necessary and if provided with one they may well use it as a toy rather than a tool to assist them with learning.

After considering these questions you could select a variety of objects to test out should you feel they may assist your child in the classroom or any other environment. Be sure to do this in conjunction with your child’s teacher/tutor or coach and observe the effects. Be sure to get feedback from his teacher as well as asking him which tool he found most helpful (not which one was the most fun to play with!). Some ideas of fidget tools which are usually not too disruptive in a classroom include: stress balls, prestik or putty, elastic bands or stretchy rubber toys (e.g. a worm or stretchy hand), basic fidget cubes, paper clips, an uninflated balloon filled with flour, a marble or smooth stone, a small container with a soft lid to flick open and closed (e.g. a tictac container). These all work well in an office environment to, so don’t be shy to test them out to see if you are a natural fidgeter or not!

On a more serious note, if you are concerned about your child’s attention, concentration or anxiety levels please don’t look to fidget tools to be the cure. Rather consult with a professional who can look at a holistic view and assist your child in the areas they may need support in. Using fidget tools may be a small part of that support, but finding the underlying cause and treating that would be the top priority.

So where does that leave the craze of the fidget spinners?! Are they helpful tools or really cool toys? If we take a look at our guiding questions on fidget tools, they are sadly probably not the best choice for a classroom situation. But they are undeniably very clever little gadgets that both young and old can enjoy; definitely an upgrade on the yo-yo!

Happy fidgeting!!!

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*1. Order your labels, text books and stationary early!* I have learnt this lesson this year! I left my labels to the last minute and am praying and pleading with God that they arrive in time! Not worth the stress!!

*2. Countdown the sleeps!* Children have no idea how time passes because it is such an abstract concept! Children are very concrete and by making time a concrete concept you can ease some of the anxiety when waiting for their big day! Either you can make a calendar, to count down with or you can use a wall calendar. Let your little one cross off each day or move a little animal along until he gets to the day marked for their first day!

*3. Familiarize your child with his school* Make sure you drive past your new school as often as possible in the days and weeks leading up to school. Make sure to shout ‘Hello School!’ enthusiastically or ‘See you soon!’ excitedly! If your little one is especially anxious you could try taking a photo of her new classroom and her new teacher!

*4. Make some friends* You can help your little one by arranging a few play dates in the school holidays with children you know will be in his new class. Everything is easier when you are facing it with a buddy!

*5. Bags, lunch boxes, and uniforms.* Try get your little one excited about his new school bag, lunch box, juice bottle etc. involve him and let him choose some of these items, personalize them with his name or a special bag tag or key ring etc. leave these special items for his first day so that he has something to look forward to!

*6. Be an early bird!* Try to get to school early so that you are not rushing as this can only add to his and your stress levels. Explain the school day in concrete terms, e.g. You are going to play inside, have a snack and then read a story and then mommy will be here to fetch you. Try to link an activity with when he can expect your arrival, e.g. storytime. Try your utmost to be on time to fetch him, especially in the first week of school, this will help build his trust that you will be back each day to fetch him!

*7. Get back into routine.* I am sure that like my children, yours are out of routine in the school holidays, going to bed later, waking up in the morning later etc…in the week leading up to school ease your little one back into his familiar routine. This way that first week will not be such a shock to his system!

*8. Play/ Draw School-School.* Children don’t talk about what worries them like adults do, they do however draw or play out what’s on their mind! So pull out the teddies, the cars or the Barbies and play school-school with them. Make the teddies or cars etc. get dressed, go in the car, say bye to mommy, play inside, draw or paint with their teacher, sit on the mat, play outside etc. ask lots of questions and act out all different scenarios with these kinds of games. This will help your little one mentally prepare for school.

There are many tips and hints which can make this time a special and memorable one…we would love to hear what your best back-to-school tip is? Perhaps sharing will help another Groovy Adventurer mom and Adventurer enjoy this exciting transition!

Good luck for your first days!

Lotsa love

Lourdes xoxo

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Hopefully I can help some of you feel comfortable with this daunting prospect and get past all the initial feelings of insecurity, denial, anxiety or even anger, and take something positive out of this experience and maybe even get to a place where you can use the information you have been given to better support and build your child’s growth and development!

*What is a school readiness assessment?*
Children are often taken either individually or in groups with a remedial teacher or a Psychologist and they perform a series of short, age appropriate test items. These test items are then scored according to standardized age norms so that areas of strengths and areas of weakness can be identified. The screening emphasizes more than just cognitive development. It looks at the importance of social/emotional development, health, and physical well-being. It’s far more than testing if a child knows a certain number of letters and numbers because all areas of development are connected together and that is what makes a child ready to tackle Grade 1!

*Why do schools need to do these school readiness assessments?*
Research shows that early intervention is best and without a baseline assessment minor challenges which your child may have can be missed by their teachers, which later can translate into major academic challenges. By just knowing where a child needs extra input you and the teacher can support that child’s needs and can possibly avoid children being referred for therapy at a later stage! For those who aren’t ready for school, good school readiness screenings can find deficiencies and good teachers can catch them up to their peers. School readiness screenings also give information to schools as well as to departments of Education where skills are lacking in general or across the board of children. This information helps teachers modify and edit their curriculum to ensure that gaps don’t persist in future grades.

*Aren’t we over analyzing our kids these days and looking for problems?*
“I didn’t need all this fancy stuff when I was growing up -and I was fine when I started Grade 1!!!” I have had SO many parents say something similar to this at the beginning of therapy and then as they see progress happening and see small everyday tasks becoming easier for their little ones, they change their mindset! Yes, we were fine and so would your child be if we went back to not doing school readiness assessments or referring for therapy, however, the “cost” of life can be reduced if we equip our children more from a young age and ensure that foundational skills are intact before we expect higher level skills to develop. The educational curriculum is getting increasingly more difficult and the workload is much greater than when we were at school, and each year this level seems to increase! Our children are under increasing amounts of pressure from younger ages!

*Some areas of challenge were highlighted in my child’s school readiness screening, what now?!*
*BE POSITIVE* about the transition! I cannot stress this enough! Be very careful of what you say to your children about Grade 1. Also be very aware of what you are saying to other moms or dads while your little one is within earshot – even if you think they are not listening, trust me they ARE! Supportive parenting and stimulating home environments have been shown to be among the strongest predictors of school performance during primary school and beyond (Bradley and Corwyn 2005; Burchinal et al. 2002; Morrison and Cooney 2002; Richter 2004; Rogoff 2003; Werner and Smith 2001; Whiting and Edwards 1988).
Parents’ education goals for their children and their beliefs, attitudes, and commitment to education are considered to be crucial for school success (Alexander, Entwisle and Bedinger 1994). So, *believe in your child – be his biggest fan!*

*Sing, tell stories, read books and play games or do puzzles* with your child! Switch off the TV, the cell phone, the radio and dedicate a small amount of time to uninterrupted play time with your child! Please do not pull out the crayons and the paper, there are so many more fun ways to have fun while learning!

*Be responsive to your child’s needs and requests for attention.*
Research shows that children whose mom’s are in tune with their needs have a larger vocabulary and better cognitive skills, enthusiasm and persistence for learning compared to children whose mothers do not demonstrate the same degree of responsiveness(Eshel et al. 2006). Supportive families and healthy relationships are the building blocks of children’s social and emotional development required for success in school. So invest in “dates” with your daughters and spend time bonding with your sons!

*Dads get involved!*
Although it’s usually moms or grannies doing the homework and attending the school functions the father’s involvement in early childhood is increasingly being acknowledged (Britto, Engle and Alderman 2007; Cabrera et al. 2000). When dads get involved studies show that children’s language skills, cognition, academic achievement, and social and emotional competence improves (Cabrera et al. 2007; Downer 2007; Flouri and Buchanan 2004; Lamb 2003).

Lastly, if you thought that this school readiness was only done to prepare your child, you are wrong! It’s done to prepare the school and YOU, the parent! By talking about all these necessary skills needed for Grade one, the school, the child and the parent can all acquire the competencies required for a smooth transition to BIG SCHOOL!

I found this really interesting paper about school readiness in my research for this post, so if you would like some light bedtime reading follow this link: <http://www.unicef.org/education/files/Chil2Child_ConceptualFramework_FINAL(1).pdf>

Good luck for the New School Year and the exciting “firsts” it will hold for you and your child!

Lourdes XOXO

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So at the end of this term, why not park the chocolates and flowers or hand creams and try one of these ideas?

1. *Stamps or stickers:* Teachers are always stamping or stickering our children or their works of art, so I am sure they would love some variety. The crazy store has some really cute stamps and stickers for really affordable prices!
2. *Books:* All schools have story time at the end of the day and although there are some really cute all time favourites that all teachers have, perhaps add to her collection with some of your own favourites!
3. *Puzzles:* The trick to mastering puzzles is practice and variety! Help add to your classroom’s puzzle collection!
4. *Music:* Some classrooms have music playing in the background, add some of your own favourite kiddies CD’s to her collection so that she doesn’t go crazy listening to the same song over and over!
5. *Foot care:* Teachers are on their feet all day and hardly get a chance to sit down! There are some really lovely foot creams, scrubs, and treatments which would make any teacher sigh with relief and gratitude!
6. *Team up:* Instead of buying one small gift – why not get a few moms together to buy a really nice expensive gift for the teacher or her classroom?! Perhaps a few moms could club together to purchase a laminator or a ring binder or sponsor a massage, mani or pedi for the teacher?!

What will I be doing this year?! I have found the most amazing gift – but I can’t let the cat out the bag just yet so as not to spoil the surprise! What are some of your ideas?! Please share them so we can shower these very important people with love and affection in a thoughtful and meaningful way – without breaking the bank!

Good luck for the run up to the end of the term!

Have a groovy day!

Lourdes xoxo

The post The season of goodies, gifts and goodbyes appeared first on Jump Leap Fly.

I absolutely love school holidays and look forward to spending some fun filled hours with my boys, not having to share them with the rush of the school morning and the routine of the school week! However….I can definitely appreciate the few hours each day that the boys are at school. Trying to grocery shop with 2 little people in tow ranks very low on my list of fun or even practical tasks to do! Seen as we also celebrated a birthday these short holidays, they really were jam packed, so now that the last term of the year has begun I am trying to regain a sense of balance and normality that works relatively well for our family. How are you feeling about the start of another school term?

There is a part of me that longs for another holiday sometime soon….the kind that includes a spa day, reading a book, no cell phone reception and endless amounts of chocolate!!!!

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While it may be tempting to send your groovy adventurer to the same school at the same time as his closest friends, (or the children of your closest friends!) it is vital to choose a playschool best suited to his temperament and developmental stage. Look carefully at playschools, take your time and don’t be scared to ask questions. Spend some time chatting with the prospective teacher to get an idea of the possible goodness-of-fit between them and your groovy adventurer (e.g. some adventurers need lots of hugs and physical contact during their day and some carers naturally offer this, others will place more focus on verbal affirmation).

Ask about:

• the size of the classes and the school;
• the ratio of carers to children;
• discipline methods used;
• routine;
• the amount of free play;
• outside play facilities;
• how long the school has been running;
• whether it is a licensed school;
• the first aid training of the carers;
• what qualifications the carers have;
• what kind of academic pressure is placed on the children (e.g. being expected to sit still for long periods and complete tasks far above their abilities, a strong focus on pen and paper tasks, etc)?

Some groovy adventurers will not be ready for playschool yet. Look out for clues that your little one may give you regarding his readiness, such as:

• asking for play dates often;
• getting bored at home;
• being able to communicate his needs;
• being able to play confidently with another child (with limited input from adults);
• being able to comfortably separate from you for a few hours at a time (e.g. visiting Granny or a friend without needing you to stay with him);
• being able to focus on an activity for 5 to 10 minutes without being constantly distracted;
• being willing to contribute positively within the boundaries of a group (e.g. accepting discipline, taking turns, listening to instructions, etc).
• being able to follow simple instructions;
• being able to eat a snack on his own;
• having an awareness of his toileting needs (even if he is still wearing nappies).

You may want to put off starting at a new school if there has been a big change in your family’s life. While moving house or welcoming a new sibling into your family are generally positive events, your groovy adventurer might feel too overwhelmed to deal with another big adjustment at the same time.

If either parent has changed jobs, recently started working or travelling for work this may also take your adventurer some time to process. The loss of a close family member may be another reason to postpone starting school.

Once you have chosen a school, remember to prepare your little one with a countdown calendar, putting some photos of the school and the staff up for him to see, talking about what his day may be like, letting him play with and explore his school bag, telling him when you will be back to fetch him (e.g. after snack time or after story time) and visiting the school with him before hand.

Happy hunting and remember to hold back your tears for after you’ve dropped him off! Plan a coffee date with a good friend for that first morning!

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