As families move further into the world of high tech online interaction and into what seems like endless faceless computer/media time, we are also working more hours to keep the family afloat and sharing less actual conversation time with our children.

Computers and other media do provide information and entertainment; however they lack the ability to model appropriate emotional responses to day by day situations. These emotional skills are an important component in our children’s healthy development.

“How are you feeling today?”

This question is a no-brainer for most adults; however, it is very different for young children.  Being able to recognize our own feelings and emotions, and also being able to identify those same feelings and emotions in others, is a skill that each of us must learn. This skill is called empathy and it is an important key to helping children become well adjusted, resilient adults.

Disappointment, anger, sadness, family and peer conflicts and emotional frustration, can leave a child feeling at loose ends. The inability to understand these feelings and a lack of basic problem solving skills can easily lead a child into emotional meltdowns, tantrums, aggression or depression.  

Take some time to work with your child on developing a few simple coping skills and you will create a more harmonious family atmosphere while also giving your children some basic and useful tools that can be pivotal to their social and academic success. 

Here are some simple tips that you can use with your young child to begin this process: 

1. When you are out with your child, take the time to point out the emotions that you see being demonstrated by others around you.  For example, at the park you may see children playing happily together, you can say – “Oh, look at those children, they look so happy, they are all smiling aren’t they? They must be having fun.”  Or, if you see a conflict occuring between children, or a parent and child, you might say “He doesn’t look very happy, I think he must be feeling (sad/angry/frustrated); what do you think?” 
2. Cut out pictures which depict people showing strong feelings – happy, sad, excited, angry, surprised, disgusted, etc. try to find two of each emotion.  Glue the pictures onto index cards.  You may now use the ‘feeling cards’ for different activities with your young child. You can ask your child to match up two cards that illustrate the same emotion on each, or let them choose a card from a grab bag and name the feeling that the card shows.
3. Talk to your children about things going on around them while you point out connections to the emotions those situations bring up.  Talk about what scares them, what makes them happy, or what makes them sad.
4. Make sure your child understands that it is okay to be happy or mad or grumpy or sad.  Explain that we all have all of those feelings inside and that there are often times when people have differing emotions about the same situation, like when one child enjoys catching and looking at insects or bugs, yet another may be terrified of them.  Pointing out these differences helps children to understand that we must be aware of others’ emotional needs as well as our own.  
5. Teach your child some self-soothing methods such as taking a few slow deep breaths when he is upset; counting to ten before responding to a frustrating situation in haste; or drawing a picture that expresses his emotions.  A fun choice is take him outside to ‘run it off.’  Physical activity helps to calm down the body and the mind.

These tools, when used by a child who is feeling frustrated or angry, allow that child to feel more ‘in control’.  When a child is able to understand and cope appropriately with his or her emotions, that child feels safer and more competent, which in turn helps to boost his or her self-reliance and self-esteem. Strong empathic and emotional skills have been studied and found to increase both social competence and academic success. 

So, the next time that you ask a child “How are you feeling today?” remember that for them, it isn’t always an easy question to answer.

Summer has begun and the heat is rising; it’s the perfect time to be outside with the family having fun, and one super activity that is looked forward to by many families each year is poised to begin:

THE NEVADA COUNTY FAIR
August 6-10, 2008

Yup, I can hardly believe it is time again already. I love the fair, and have a
lot of time to enjoy it with loads of wonderful children because I am one
of the Coordinators at KIDS CORNER AT THE FAIR.

I know that family activities can be costly and that the Fair is sometimes daunting for those with very young children who are not big enough for many of the rides or who may get tired of traipsing around while the older kids are running amok, but Kids Corner is your ‘port in the storm’.

If you have children under 6 and haven’t been to Kids Corner yet you are in for a treat! Kids Corner is a wonderful place for our youngest fairgoers (ages 0 through 5 years old) to explore, play, rest, have fun, sing and dance, read stories, make art, AND receive a free book to take home. And the best part of all is that it is all completely FREE OF CHARGE once you are inside the Fairgrounds. No tickets are necessary and no lines to wait in before the fun starts.

The children will be led in musical games, singing, and dancing throughout the day at our ‘Corner Stage’ at the rear of the Kids Corner area.

And this year kids can create a “Wish for the World” ornament to decorate
and hang on our Magical Wishing Tree! As in previous years, Bubble Play,
Clay Creations, Water Exploration and a simulated ‘Milking Cow’ will also
be available to be enjoyed. As always, you will leave with a small farm animal
toy and a free book in hand for each child under 6 and you will also take home (if you like) your child’s crafts and a BIG SMILE!

Kids Corner is open each day of the fair from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm – there is water available for thirsty little ones and benches available for parental relaxation while the kids are exploring our many activity areas.

An infant changing and breast feeding area is available as well. Rocking
chairs and a changing table are provided by the Breast Feeding Coalition
in a shaded area in the Kids Corner enclosure to allow for your comfort and
privacy.

You can also save 50% of the admission fee for the fair by pre-ordering your tickets at the following link until August 5th: http://www.nevadacountyfair.com/fair/tickets.html

Or, for general information and the full fair schedule, you should check out this link: http://www.nevadacountyfair.com/fair/

All in all, it promises to be another great year at the fair, the time goes so fast, don’t let it slip by without visiting us at Kids Corner this year. We are located between the Kiddie park entrance and the Railroad Museum to the West of Gate 1.

Enjoy the rest of your summer . . . can’t wait to see you at the fair!!!

Hi!  I am writing from the “Grass Valley School Readiness” office and we are getting really excited about our new program to be launched in September.  We will be bringing a new curriculum to Preschools and Caregivers in the district.  This curriculum is called “Second Step:  A Violence Prevention Curriculum”. 

I will be training teachers to use the Second Step Curriculum in their preschools and I wanted to share a little with everyone about the program.  

Four of the larger preschools in the area who have shown an interest in Second Step have been chosen to be trained in how to use it with their students at the preschool level.  After these schools have received the training I will be training four additional schools, and as time and interest permit, I will continue to train throughout the year. 

The focus of Second Step is on assisting children with the recognition and understanding of their emotions and the emotions of others and to provide them with efficient problem solving skills and emotional coping mechanisms.  This is taught with the aim of reducing anger and violence in the classroom and at home, as well as to increase social competence in children’s day to day interactions. These skills have been shown to increase success for children in school and in later life.  In a 2007 study of 142 elementary school students, University of Delaware researchers Caroll E. Izard and Christopher J. Trentacosta found that students who seemed adept at managing their emotions were also the ones teachers rated as more academically competent.

The Committee for Children (which produces this curriculum) takes pains to tie the Second Step curriculum’s goals to academic objectives: It publishes a chart identifying the ways each Second Step unit can support skills in math, science, health, and language arts. (See link at: http://www.cfchildren.org/) 

Second Step is a research based curriculum which, since 1987, has been used in North America and overseas.  The three major units of the program are Empathy Training, Emotion Management, and Problem Solving.  

To match the needs and abilities of younger children, the Preschool/Kindergarten level of the program contains only three steps:  (1) “How do I feel?” (2) “What is the problem?” and (3) “What can I do?”  These steps are at the core of the more sophisticated steps provided in the curriculum used with older children. 

Using these three simple steps, children are taught how to “read” and interpret internal cues, external social cues, and generate possible solutions to the problem through a series of 20 to 30 minute lessons given once or twice a week.  At the pre-K/Kindergarten level, these lessons include:

*Dealing with Losing Something
*Dealing with Distractions
*Fair Ways to Play
*Dealing with Name Calling
*Learning to Have Fun with our Friends
*Joining In
*Dealing with Being Hurt

The lessons are taught in a lively, interactive, child-friendly way using puppets, role playing, and discussion revolving around a photograph that depicts some aspect of the lesson being learned. Following, is a link to a Sample Lesson Card from the program. Each Second Step Lesson revolves around one of these Lesson Cards. http://www.cfchildren.org/media/files/ssp_pk_lesson.pdf. 

An interesting observation by many involved with teaching Second Step is that not only are the children receiving benefits from the program but that staff is also working more harmoniously after being exposed to the Second Step lessons as they internalize the skills they are teaching to the children.   

It will be very interesting to watch this program grow and to track changes in behavior and coping skills of the children in the participating preschools; I will keep you updated on our progress!

On a related note – I was browsing an interesting website today called the “Greater Good Magazine” Greater Good is published quarterly by The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Greater Good advances the Center’s mission to ‘sponsor and disseminate leading scientific research into the roots of everyday altruism, healthy relationships, and happy children’.  I was reading the listing of their beliefs (bulleted below) and felt it was very much in line with exactly what Second Step is aiming for:

• The human inclination toward goodness is strong, but it can be strengthened by specific social conditions.
• The good of society as a whole can be promoted through the science of positive and “prosocial” emotions and behaviors — for example, by studying emotions and behaviors such as compassion, respect, joy, trust, love, empathy, gratitude, and tolerance.
• People who possess the inner resources necessary for their own emotional well-being will help foster social well-being through their behaviors toward others. At the same time, social harmony helps foster mental health at the individual level.
• Similarly, social well-being in our communities begins with well-being in children and families.

This site also features an informational page on parenting called the Half Full Blog: Social Science for Raising Happy Kids. (http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/tools.html) Take a look and get some good tips and advice on parenting.  There is a lot of interesting information there. 

Deciding upon the appropriate amount of television viewing time for children can be a tricky decision for parents, who may wonder: ‘What are they watching?  What are they learning?  Is it okay to let them watch just long enough to vacuum and make dinner? How long is too long? Are they too young?’  Well, here are some answers to those questions AND some questions for you too.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no TV at all for children under 2 and no more than two hours a day for older children.  With that guideline set firmly in mind, there have also been studies on television and its impact on children and families that support the fact that television, in regulated doses, for children 3 and older, can be beneficial in some ways.

The research found that there is evidence to suggest that educational television programs, such as Sesame Street and Mister Rogers, can aid in the acquisition of general knowledge plus improve overall cognitive knowledge among young children.

There is also evidence in the literature that children’s imaginative play can be positively affected by television content. Furthermore, there is evidence that educational television programming that emphasizes diversity can improve children’s racial attitudes. (See article at: http://www.seattlechildrens.org/ )

For some good information on how to make television a more positive experience for your family, check out this link to an article regarding guidelines provided by the AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) at http://www.aacap.org/

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Here in Nevada County, Grass Valley School Readiness in collaboration with Family Connections of Nevada County has been producing a local cable children’s television show called George and Willy’s World for over a year now.  We want to hear your opinions about the show.

George and Willy’s World is geared for children aged 3 to 6 years old.  The show features storytelling, family activities, crafts, and interviews with local community members.  The show’s host, Corlene Mapes, is a popular 3^rd grade teacher at Hennessy Elementary School.  She is joined each week by George and Willy, two lovely reading assistance dogs who work with local libraries and various schools in the area.   

This program is aired on Channel 11 (NCTV) every Wednesday at 8:30 am as well as on Fridays at 4:00 pm.  George and Willy’s World is also available for viewing online and DVD’s of the episodes are available for your checkout at both the Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City and at the downtown Grass Valley Library.

For those of you who have never seen the show, you may preview an episode here:  http://video.google.com/ .  Your input on the show would be GREATLY appreciated. 

For those of you who have watched the show, we would also be very interested to know how often you have watched the show and how old are the children that watch it with you?

There are 40 episodes available for viewing online; after watching one or two or three of them, if you could take just a moment of your time to give us your thoughts on what you liked or didn’t like, or just to pass on some ideas for future program guests or activities that you think your child would like to see, we would love to hear them – please email your comments to GeorgeAndWillysWorld@yahoo.com or, alternatively, you can send regular mail to George and Willy’s World, c/o Grass Valley School Readiness, 235 South Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA  95945.

We know you care about what your children are watching, and so do we.  Let us know how you feel we are doing with the George and Willy’s World program, or how we can improve, and we will look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions to guide us in future programming decisions.