| Dates Wee Watch |
New Year's Day:
January 1 - stat holiday
Chinese New Year:
January 26
Family Literacy Day:
January 27
Groundhog Day:
February 2
Valentine's for Seniors: February 10
Valentine's Day:
February 14 Family Day: February 16 |
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READ WITH ME!
Where's the Baby?
Cheryl Christian
Baby's Toys
Neil Ricklen
Baby Danced the Polka
Karen Beaumont
All About Baby
Stephen Shott
Grow Babies!
Penny Gentieu
Baby Goes Beep
Rebecca O'Connell
First Words
Usborne Look and Say
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READ WITH ME!
Cows in the Kitchen,
June Crebbin
Max's Bath,
Rosemary Wells
The Going to Bed Book,
Sandra Boynton
The Napping House,
Audrey Wood
Off We Go!,
Jane Yolen
From Head to Toe,
Eric Carle
Love you Forever!
Robert Munsch |
The Little Red Hen
Paul Caldone
Caps for Sale
Esphyr Siobodkina
Tikki Tikki Tembo
Arlene Mosel
Thomas' Snowsuit
Robert Munsch
The Very Busy Spider
Eric Carle
Jesse Bear What Will You Wear?
Nancy Carlstrom
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Peter's Chair
Jack Ezra Keats
Whistle for Willie
Jack Ezra Keats
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Bill Martin
Curious George
H.A. Rey
Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak
Green Eggs and Ham
Dr. Seuss
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READ WITH ME!
Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears
Verna Aardema
Counting Our Way to Maine!
Maggie Smith
A House for Hermit Crab
Eric Carle
Will I Have A Friend?
Miriam Cohen
Pigs!
Robert Munsch
The Aunts Come Marching
Cynthia Nugent
Go Dog Go!
P.D. Eastman |
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The Stories Julian Tells
Ann Cameron
Ramona
Beverly Cleary
The Hundred Dresses
Eleanor Estes
McBroom Tells The Truth
Sid Fleishman
The Talking Eggs
Robert San Souci
The Hockey Tree
David Ward
No David
David Shannon | |
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Greetings!
Welcome to our first online ENEWSLETTER! We hope that you will enjoy reading about the events and activities that Wee Watch has planned for your child in the upcoming months.
This method of communication will allow us to keep you better informed while at the same time helping to protect our environment by going paperless.
This newsletter is not only a communication tool, but our Wee Learn section provides great age appropriate resources for your child's development and our Play It Safe section aims to provide you with timely safety tips. | |
| TOGETHER WEE CAN |
Wee Watch has a wonderful opportunity to bring all of our homes across Ontario together to participate in activities on certain days, weeks and months. These "Together Wee Can" events are exclusive to Wee Watch. All activities are carefully chosen for their importance to children and their families. These events provide a great learning opportunity that meets the needs of children of all ages and ultimately strengthens our Wee Watch community.
In November, Providers and children donned their baking hats and aprons and hosted a "Cupcakes for Kids!" bake sale. It was a great opportunity to get the children in the kitchen, working on many skills such as pouring, mixing, measuring and to practice their creative decorating techniques! All money raised went towards purchasing items on the Sick Kids Hospital Wish List or a local hospital.
TOGETHER WEE CAN RAISE READERS 'READATHON'
Celebrated annually on January 27th, Family Literacy Day is a national initiative that promotes the importance of reading and learning together as a family. Reading to children more than once a day has a substantial positive impact on their future academic skills. In addition, research indicates children with early exposure to books and reading are better at performing mathematical tasks.
Reading stories together is an important part of the daily program in all of our homes. In celebration of family literacy and to promote the many different types of children's books, stories and authors, we have planned a "Readathon" which is scheduled for January 12 to 27th. Providers and children are encouraged to make time each day to read books from a suggested book list for all age groups. Look for the list of books they read each day. Ask your Provider if your child had any favourites.
TOGETHER WEE CAN MAKE VALENTINES
Special holidays can be a lonely time for the elderly, especially when they may be missing loved ones. Valentine's Day is a great day to show seniors that we are thinking of them and care about them A little card can boost anyone's spirits on this day.
Providers and children will be making "caring critters" cards. Agency staff will collect the cards between February 11 and 13 and deliver these to a seniors home in your area, in time for Valentine's Day. Ask to see your child's card before it is delivered. |
| WEE LEARN |
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| WEE BEGINNERS (0 - 18 months) |
Wee Beginners Article: Books! Books! & More Books!
Young children explore language by experimenting with sounds, social babbling, and words. Although wee ones have a short attention span, they may love to have you read the same book over and over. Hearing words helps them become familiar with them. They will begin to point to pictures to get you to name them. Soon they will be able to repeat them. To help you make sure your home inspires language opportunities for your wee one, here are some tips to help choose age-appropriate books:
1. Easy to hold and easy to clean, cloth and soft vinyl books are great introductions to print. Infants can mouth, scrunch, and drop it without any damage to the books.
2. Good quality nontoxic board books, especially those where the pages seem to spring up, offer very young children books they can manipulate independently and enjoy over and over again.
3. Some children prefer books with photographs, while others like books with built-in activities - images hidden under flaps.
4. Look for books that have objects and activities that are familiar to them.
Note: Taken in part from Early Childhood Today
Let's Play:
Rolling Book: Glue bright pictures of zoo animals on the outside of a round oatmeal box. Cover the box with clear contact paper. Let your child roll the box around to look at all the pictures, while you describe the animal and the sound it makes. This activity can be made even more stimulating by sealing a bell or macaroni inside for sound and gluing fake fur around the ends to feel.
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 WEE EXPLORERS (18 months - 3 years) |
Wee Explorer Article: Dramatic Storytelling
When you read aloud to your child, it is important to capture and then keep his attention to help him love books. Your child will look forward to story times with you as you bring characters to life. Here are some suggestions that will help you bring stories to life for your young listener.
EYE CONTACT - This is the best part of telling stories. If you are reading a book, become familiar with it beforehand so that you are able to look at your child and draw him into the story, especially that squirmy one.
VOICE - You can show feelings by changing the volume or pitch and how quickly you speak.
EXPRESSIONS ON YOUR FACE - As you talk, use your face to show the emotions of the characters or the scene. (Watch him copy you!). In fact, overdo it. This helps to keep your child's attention.
BODY MOVEMENT - As a storyteller, you need to think about what the characters in a tale are like and let your body "talk" such as footsteps, animal movements, pretending to be shy, etc.
Always look for places in the story where your child can help you tell the story such as repeating phrases, making animal sounds, etc. Soon he will be able to read to you!!
Let's Play:
Feltboard Storytime
Make a feltboard by gluing a large piece of felt onto the side of a cardboard box such as a pizza box. From smaller pieces of felt cut out animals, leaves, circles and squares, people, houses, cars, etc. Tell a story or sing a song using your felt shapes to illustrate it. The shapes can be stored in the box for next time. |
| WEE BUILDERS (3 - 4 years) |
Wee Builder Article: Creative Ways to Share a Story
If you want to add spice to story time, why not try some new ways to share stories? Tap into your creative talents. By using different ways to tell stories, you'll be building vocabularies, listening skills, and the love of reading.
1. Prop Stories - These are a favourite with young children since they keep children moving. Use props such as teddy bears when reading "Going on a Bear Hunt".
2. Baggie Stories - Take pictures or search magazines for pictures of children doing activities such as hanging up their coat, reading stories, eating snack. Paste them on cardboard cards and insert in Ziplock Bags. These can be changed to suit the seasons, age of your child or even family vacations.
3. Diorama Stories - Diorama stories use simple shoe box settings to tell a story. They can be easily made with a large tissue box cut in half on the long side diagonally. Decorate the inside as scenery and use toy people or animals for characters.
4. Musical Instrument Stories - Let your child use instruments for sound effects and rhythms in certain places of a story.
5. Puppet Stories - Use sock or finger puppets to tell a story or sing rhymes and songs. Note: Taken in part from Everyday TLC Let's Play:
Paper Bag Puppet: Let your child create paper bag characters to a story using paper lunch bags, yarn, fabric, felt, glue, paint, markers, etc. Create faces and glue them to the bottom of small paper bags to make puppets, using the fold of the bag as the mouth. |
| WEE LEARNERS (4 - 5 years) |
Wee Learner Article: Print Rich Environments Print rich environments give your child the opportunity to recognize print in his surroundings, understand that print carries meaning, know that print is used for many purposes. Your home can be a great learning environment to enrich your child's literacy skills. Print is everywhere! A print-rich home. Have meaningful words taped, glued, or written on objects and equipment. Quote your child's artwork. Ask your child to tell you about their paintings and drawings and write his narrative on the painting. Signs and charts. From ABC charts to maps, posters of colours and shapes, decorate your child's room with educational material that will make letter recognition an everyday activity. Remember to keep these items at a child's eye level.
Scan supermarket shelves.Help your children check the grocery list, locate the correct aisle, scan product labels.
Navigate a map.Invite your children to join your search for street names on a map before you head to a new location.
Post Information. Feature posters, calendars, and bulletin boards that display information.
Browse a menu.Browse the menu with your children while you wait for food in a restaurant. Teach them how to select healthy items.
Let's Play:
Words in My Neighbourhood - Next time you go for a walk, both you and your child take a camera and take pictures of street names, signs, store names, enter and exit signs, names of schools. Print the pictures and let him make his own sign book.
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| WEE EXPERTS (5 - 6 years) |
 Wee Experts Article: Reading Along Can Be Appealing
Reading aloud is good for young readers. It builds concentration, confidence and language skills. But sometimes children are uncomfortable with this activity. Parents can help by practicing at home. These steps make it easy:
1. Scan the story first - review difficult words together before reading.
2. Have your child read silently before saying the material aloud.
3. Read the story to your child at least once before she reads it to you.
4. Take turns reading parts of a story. You read one line or paragraph. Then your child reads one and so on.
5. Correct your child's reading errors only if they affect the meaning of the story.
6. Read stories that including a running dialogue. Have fun talking "in character", using different voices and mannerisms.
7. Show pride in your child's progress. Compliment her efforts whether or not she makes mistakes.
8. Keep it up. No child is too old to read with parents. Note: Taken from Helping Children Learn - Marguerite C. Radencich Let's Play:
ABC Apple Rings Core an apple. Cut the apple into 4 rings. Let your child spread apple with cream cheese spread. Let your child sprinkle Alphabet cereal letters on top of the cream cheese. See if your child can recognize some of the letters. |
| WEE MENTORS (6+ years) |
Wee Mentor Article: Book Worms For Life!
In this age of technology - iPods, computers, cell phones and other gadgets - it's no easy task getting children to read. At home, continue making time for reading in the evening, together or independently. Keep in touch with what children are interested in. Giving children the opportunity to read what interests them will more likely keep the routine in place. Keep in mind the book's learning benefits:
1. Non-fiction texts build vocabulary and world knowledge.
2. Rhymes and poems encourage playing with language.
3. Books with predictable patterns give children the support they need in order to read independently.
4. Reading to your child above his reading level helps develop reading vocabulary.
5. Re-reading of familiar books builds confidence.
6. New versions of old favourites keep the plot lines and characters fresh and interesting.
Provide opportunities for success. Wee Mentors are great role models to younger children. Not only will younger children benefit from this quality time with their sibling, it provides an opportunity for your child to strengthen his reading skills and succeed in being a great storyteller!
Note: Taken in part from www.peelschoools.org
Let's Play:
Homework Can Be Fun: Continue to build literacy skills without your child knowing it by playing games such as Boggle, Scrabble, Bingo, Trivial Pursuit, any game that involves letter and sound recognition, spelling words and reading instructions.
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| PLAY IT SAFE |
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Play It Safe - Winter Coats and Car Seats - Check for Safety!
As the coldest part of winter approaches, parents everywhere bring out their babies' winter coats or snowsuits to keep children warm during travel. However, thick winter coats or snowsuits can compromise your child's car seat safety. In order for a baby car seat or booster seat to function properly, the straps need to remain tight against the child's chest. Winter coats and snowsuits change the way a child fits into the car seat.
Check All Winter Coats for Car Seat Safety
It's easy to check and see whether a baby's winter coat or infant snowsuit is too thick to be safe in a car seat. Take the car seat into the house.
1. Put the winter coat or snowsuit on your child.
2. Put your child in the car seat and buckle the harnesses as you normally would before car travel. Adjust the straps to the appropriate fit for your child.
3. Take your child out of the car seat without loosening the straps at all.
4. Take the coat off your child.
5. Put your child back in the car seat and buckle the harnesses again, but do not tighten the straps.
6. If you can fit more than two fingers under the strap, the coat is too thick and may not be safe for use with the car seat.
When buying winter coats, keep thickness and car seat safety in mind. Polar fleece jackets and snowsuits are warm but thin, making them a smart choice for winter baby wear.
Note: Taken from about.com by Heather Corley.
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Sincerely,
Leslie Wilson
Wee Watch
905-479-4274; 1-800-663-6072
Fax: 905-479-9047 | |
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