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How Singing Helps Language Development

For kids, singing is more than just a fun way to pass the time. It packs in loads of benefits, including helping your child with language development. Dust off your voice box; these benefits are too good to leave on the table.

Auditory Discrimination

When your child was a baby, she was already soaking up the language around her. That doesn’t mean she knew the meaning of everything that was being said; babies first listen to the different sounds of language. Meaning comes later.

Hearing songs helps babies and children notice and recognize the differences between sounds. In this way, they’re building up their auditory discrimination — picking up on words that sound similar but still being able to tell the difference between, and also noticing, words and sounds that are different.

Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness refers to your child’s ability to notice, remember, and manipulate sounds. It’s a reliable predictor of later reading ability, and wouldn’t you know it? Singing helps build phonological awareness.

So many songs include rhymes, which helps your child pay attention to sounds, building up to that important phonological awareness. Rhyming is something children can understand from a young age, and the more your child is exposed to the rhyming of songs, the more their awareness will increase.

Vocabulary Development

What is your child’s favorite song? Have you ever stopped to think about the many words it includes?

Even the simplest songs include new vocabulary: In “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” your child is exposed to words like “wonder,” “above,” “world,” “diamond” and more. These words may not enter their vocabulary on a daily basis, but the repetition of the songs brings them to your child’s attention.

Hearing and repeating songs builds your child’s ear, helping them understand phrases, sentences, and syntax — and adding in new vocabulary words without even trying.

Auditory Memory

Auditory memory refers to the ability to hear information, process it,  retain it, and later recall it. This is a big academic skill, and yet again, singing will help build it up in your preschooler.

Help build auditory memory by singing songs in different ways — faster, slower, louder, quieter, silly voices, etc.

Imagination

Songs tell stories and paint pictures in our minds. Exposing your child to a variety of songs, and encouraging him to sing along, will build his imagination.

{The Importance of Storytelling for Preschoolers}

Imagination is critical, because it allows your child to make sense of the world, try on different scenarios, and enjoy life. Singing helps your child express her imagination, and it even lays the foundation of poetry basics. It also provides the opportunity for your child to express themselves in multiple ways — bringing in hand gestures, dance movements, and facial expressions as they sing.

Teach Concepts

Ever wonder why we don’t just recite the alphabet in a monotone voice? It’s learned so much easier when set to music. Songs teach character traits, the seasons, morals, counting, and so much more.

If you’re having a hard time getting your child to make their bed or brush their teeth, just set your directions to the tune of a nursery rhyme and watch your children remember the concept!

Coordination

It’s easy to put hand gestures to simple children’s songs — think “Five Little Speckled Frogs” and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Your child won’t know it, but singing and moving along to these songs is teaching coordination, fine motor skills, and memory!

Can’t remember the songs of your childhood? Glance at the list below for a refresher. Chances are, the words will come back to you. And if you’re at a loss, YouTube is your friend!

Engage your child by singing these songs during bath time, on a walk, while prepping dinner, at bedtime, or to calm a meltdown.

  • Itsy Bitsy Spider
  • Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
  • Wheels on the Bus
  • Row Row Row Your Boat
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
  • If You’re Happy and You Know It
  • Do Your Ears Hang Low
  • The Grand Old Duke of York
  • Where is Thumbkin
  • London Bridge Is Falling Down
  • Down By the Bay
  • Going on a Bear Hunt
  • Baby Bumble Bee
  • Farmer in the Dell
  • Old MacDonald
  • Five Little Ducks
  • Five Green Speckled Frogs
  • Five Little Monkeys
  • Ants Go Marching
  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  • Baa Baa Black Sheep
  • If You’re Happy and You Know It

See how we incorporate music into our curriculum every single day at UDA Creative Arts Preschool in Draper, Utah. Give us a call at (801) 523-5930, or contact us online for a tour.

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How to Encourage Courage in Your Preschooler

Children have a lot to learn about the world (don’t we all?), and preschool is a safe, nurturing environment to begin to grasp big, important concepts. Along with reading, writing, math, science, art, music, dance, and social studies, we focus on character development at UDA Creative Arts Preschool.

Most children don’t naturally have the skills of gratitude, patience, responsibility, courage, and more. Just like learning shapes, letters, and numbers, these character traits need to be taught in gentle, patient ways.

{The Importance of Teaching Character Traits in Preschool}

At UDA Preschool, the puppet Tiki helps us introduce our monthly character trait to the children.

Each week, our teacher knocks at Tiki’s house while the children ask, “Tiki, are you home?” Sometimes she’s home, and sometimes she’s off exploring, but has left a clue as to what’s happening that week.

She also has a guest house next to her home. Each month a new puppet moves into her guest house, and teaches the children about a new character trait. Kindness, Courage, Respect, and more will all take up temporary residence in Tiki’s guest house throughout the year.

With the help of Tiki and her guest puppet, we discuss character traits and their importance.

During the month of October, Tiki introduced Courage to the children. We have been learning that courage doesn’t mean you have to be perfect at something before you can try. You just have to have courage to try new things.

And preschool is the perfect learning ground for trying new things. Every day, the children are given new opportunities — maybe they’re offered a new food during snack time, maybe a new animal comes to visit for the day, maybe they’re asked to write letters that are hard to form, maybe they’ll do a science experiment, maybe they need to share a toy with a new friend, maybe they will be given the opportunity to stand in front of the class and share about themselves on their special day.

The children even get to encourage others to have courage. In September, we brought caterpillars into the classroom, and observed as they turned into chrysalises, and finally to butterflies. Now, during the month of courage, the butterflies are ready to live their lives outside.

When we released the butterflies, the children shouted things like, “You can do it!” and “Have courage!” We cheered when the butterflies finally found their courage and took flight.

How You Can Encourage Courage in Your Preschooler

Like all character traits, courage is something that can be taught. Use these ideas to encourage courage in your preschooler.

Model Courage

You knew this would come up, didn’t you? Children learn to follow what they see. That means you have to muster up your own courage, and let your child see it. If it’s difficult for you to talk to a new person, take a deep breath and go over and introduce yourself. Later, tell your child it was hard, but you did it. Let your child see that not everything comes easy to you, but you’re willing to try.

Don’t Fix Every Problem

Step back a little, and let your child problem-solve. (Problem solving is another character trait we learn at UDA Preschool!) At this age, that might mean letting your child come up with a solution for how to share a toy, struggle to zip a coat, wipe up spilled milk, or clean up the toys. It’s okay to step in and help when your child needs you — they are still developing and learning new skills, after all — but challenge yourself to wait a few beats before rescuing your child. You might be surprised at how much your child can accomplish on her own.

Talk About Courageous Acts

Regularly discussing courage will allow your child to feel more courageous while seeing more opportunities to step outside their comfort zone. Consider asking your child to tell you about a courageous thing they did or witnessed. Think of your own courageous acts from the day, and share them too.

Use a Mantra

Incorporate a mantra about courage into your day. This can then be something your child can use when he’s feeling nervous. “I have courage,” “I can do hard things,” and “I can be brave” are all simple enough that your child can recall and rely on them when faced with something tough.

Praise Effort

When you see your child take a courageous step, no matter how small, make sure to comment on it.

“I noticed you waved when our neighbor said hi” can help a shy child feel more confident in interacting with other people.

“That was great when you climbed on the new structure at the playground” can help a child feel more confident in her physical abilities.

“I’m so proud of you for standing in front of the class and sharing about your favorite stuffed animal” can help a child know they can do hard things.

We’ll be encouraging courage all month long at UDA Creative Arts Preschool. Be sure to talk about it with your child!

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9 Fun Ways to Incorporate Music Into Your Preschooler’s Daily Life

It’s undeniable that music can have a powerful effect on humans. Just think of the last time you heard a song and started dancing around or singing along. It’s almost as if the effect of the music takes over without you realizing it.

But music is even more powerful than getting you to tap your feet, especially when it comes to child development.

Music helps your child develop the skills she needs for school readiness. And we’re not just talking about help with learning intellectual skills, like reading and writing (although music works a powerful magic with those skills too!). But music can also help your child develop social-emotional skills, motor skills, language skills, memory skills, and so much more.

It should come as no surprise then, that a good preschool curriculum should emphasize music in a variety of learning situations.

At UDA Creative Arts Preschool, we use music when we teach math, science, social skills, self-discipline, literacy skills, listening skills, motor skills, and more.

{Music Matters! How Music Benefits Preschool Learners}

Recently, we installed a new interactive musical structure in our outside play area so the children can freely play, explore, work together, and use music in their pretend play.

We aren’t exaggerating when we say the children flock to the musical structure. It’s a joy to hear musical sounds mixed with laughter, cooperative language, and imaginative ideas.

To bring some of the same benefits of music to your home, try one or more of these 9 ideas.

1. Music Painting

The more senses you incorporate into an activity, the more your child learns. Incorporate sight and touch with sound with this musical activity for preschoolers.

Put on some music, give your child some paints and a paintbrush, and ask them to paint while listening to the music. Vary your selections — use classical music, jazz, pop, and more. Play fast-paced and slow pieces; loud and quiet; many instruments and solo instruments.

2. In the Manner of…

This is a fun game to let your child express themselves with music. Make a list of simple songs (Mary Had a Little Lamb, Pop! Goes the Weasel, etc.). Make a separate list of different ways your child can express the beat. Can they jump up and down? Stomp like an elephant? Tiptoe like a ladybug? Roll like a steamroller?

Call out a song from your song list, and an expression type from your other list, and have your child sing and move according to what was called out. Vary your combinations.

3. Go on a World Tour

Experience the world together through music — while teaching your child to be a better listener. Find folk songs and traditional musical styles from different countries and regions, and listen to the songs together.

Talk about what you like (“I love the strong beat!”), what you hear (“I hear a piano”), how you feel (“This song makes me feel relaxed”), what the words in the songs mean, and more.

4. Freeze Dance

This is a classic game for a reason: Everybody loves it! (It also makes a great party game if you ever run out of things to do.) Turn on some fun music, and tell your preschooler to dance. When you pause the music at random times, your child should stop and “freeze,” holding whatever position he is currently in.

5. Name That Tune

See if your child can guess a song from only a few hints. Hum the beginning, sing the start, or tap the rhythm.

6. Dance Competition

Get some exercise with your preschooler while you challenge each other to make up the funniest/happiest/saddest/highest/lowest/fastest/slowest dance moves in accordance with what song is playing. Try and match the challenge to the mood of the song. Let your preschooler suggest ideas!

7. “Meet” Instruments

Look for opportunities for your child to touch, feel, and try different instruments. Ask a friend to show your child how a guitar works, introduce your child to the high and low sounds of a piano, dust off your trumpet from middle school, get as close as possible to the orchestra pit at a performance, etc. Make instruments at home with pots and spoons, beans in jars and cups, and more.

8. Sing, Sing, Sing!

Expose your child to melodies by singing often! Even if you don’t think you have a good voice, sing along to your favorite playlist. Turn the grocery list into a song by singing it to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Sing your instructions to your child with any melody that pops into your head. (Bedtime routines might even go a little more smoothly if you sing your instructions to an old *NSync or Metallica song — you never know.)

9. Learn Nursery Rhymes

If you can’t remember nursery rhymes, look them up on YouTube or attend a story time at your local library. The rhythmic canter and the rhymes in these classics will help your child develop memory, confidence, pre-reading skills, and more.

Come check out our new musical structure, and see how we incorporate music into our curriculum every single day at UDA Creative Arts Preschool in Draper, Utah. Give us a call at (801) 523-5930, or contact us online for a tour.

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How to Help Your Child’s Language Development

how to help your child's language development

Strong language and communication skills are a critical component of your child’s education, and it’s never too early to help your child develop those skills.

It’s important to know that language is much more than what your child is saying. It’s also about what your child understands, your child’s conversational skills, and your child’s ability to understand nonverbal pieces of communication.

Pay attention to these common language deficits:

  • Syntax: This is about how your child puts words together in sentences. “Him is walking,” “Baby sad,” “Me want crackers.”
  • Following directions: Does your child understand and follow directions easily?
  • Pragmatics: This is about conversational skills. Can your child speak about her needs? Does he ask for help? Does she take turns in conversation? Can he stay on topic? Does she use appropriate eye contact?
  • Phonology: This refers to the sounds your child makes. A child with a language deficit might leave a syllable out of a word (nana for banana), leave off the ending sound of a word, use a short sound for a long one (tun for sun), or drop a sound when two are together (top for stop)

Learn more about correct speech milestones and warning signs in this blog post: How to Gauge Your Child’s Speech and Language Development

How You Can Help Your Child’s Language Development

Whether your child is having trouble with language or not, there’s plenty for you to do to help your child improve language development. Much of it can be done while you go about your day!

Sing Songs

Singing songs at any age helps with language development. Why? It increases auditory discrimination, helping your child to pay attention to different sounds. Songs often rhyme, which not only increases auditory discrimination, but also builds pre-literacy skills. The repetition also helps your child to learn new words — and remember them.

Play “Simon Says”

The game of Simon Says encourages your child to pay close attention to your words, while also following directions. When you switch it up and let your child be “Simon,” your child gets practice in putting directions together.

Tell Riddles

Tell simple riddles throughout the day. For example, “I’m thinking of something that lives outside, grows tall, stays in one place, and has leaves.” Your child might guess bush or tree, and in the process she’s connecting verbal clues to what she knows. She’s building context and increasing her language abilities.

Play with Puzzles Together

While playing with a puzzle, give your child directions. “Find the piece with the pig snout.” This helps your child connect what he is hearing with a visual piece.

Give directions that include “before” and “after” to help your child learn to follow auditory sequencing. “Before you put pieces together, turn all the pieces over to the right side.”

You can also encourage your child to ask for help if she is struggling. And the pictures on the puzzle give you both plenty of opportunity to use descriptive language. “The yellow giraffe has a long neck.” “The baby looks happy because she is smiling.”

Color Together

While you color, identify categories in the picture. “I’m going to color all the butterflies blue. What color will you choose for the butterflies?”

Build vocabulary by describing, and asking your child to describe, the pictures and colors.

Tell Familiar Stories

Find a story you won’t mind telling again and again, and tell it to your child while you’re in the car, doing the dishes, taking a walk, etc. Once your child knows the story, ask him to tell it to you.

If this is too tall an order, help him tell the story by pausing at key parts and asking him to fill in what comes next. For example, you could tell The Three Little Pigs. When the wolf comes to the door, you can pause and ask your child, “What did the wolf say?” Praise your child when he tells you the phrase.

Talk About “Go-Togethers”

What goes with a shoe? (Shoelace, sock) What goes with a toothbrush? (Toothpaste) What goes with milk? (Cookie, cereal)

Ask these questions throughout the day to give your child the chance to verbalize connections.

Categorize

Verbally group items together by asking your child to tell you all the animals, colors, toys, balls, etc. she can think of.

Sing the Alphabet

Sing the alphabet together. Watch YouTube videos of the alphabet, and encourage your child to sing along.

Identify Body Parts

Point to a body part and ask your child to identify it. (elbow, knee, leg) When getting dressed, ask your child to tell you what body part he will put into an item of clothing. For example, “What body part goes in your sleeves?

Use Fanciful Words

Expand your child’s vocabulary by using fanciful, descriptive words when you can. For example, the sky isn’t cloudy. It’s full of puffy marshmallows. The cookie isn’t good. It’s sweet, scrumptious, and tastes like happiness.

Children are naturally imaginative. Your child may already use fanciful words, so follow her lead. If she doesn’t use fanciful words on her own, it won’t take long for her to follow you.

Use Descriptive Words

Don’t be afraid to use big, descriptive vocabulary. Your child learns language by listening to you, so go ahead and use your big words! “It rained so much that the grass is saturated.” “I’m going to pull out the condiments for our sandwiches.” “That painting is a masterpiece.” “This book is nonfiction.”

Your child may understand the meaning of the word from the context of your sentence, or they may ask you what you mean. Either way, your child is going to be exposed to a rich vocabulary, giving him much more to draw from when expressing himself.

Talk, Talk, Talk

Just keep the conversation going. Talk about what you see, what you’re doing, what you wish, events or holidays coming up, your child’s school, your pet, favorite colors, anything. Talk a lot, always giving time and space for your child to respond. Listen to what your child has to say, and treat their thoughts as valuable. They are!

At UDA Creative Arts Preschool, we understand the importance of catching language challenges early. That’s why we bring in a speech therapist each year to evaluate each child — at no cost to our families. Our curriculum also includes teaching children correct speech sounds in fun and interactive ways, as well as providing ample opportunity for children to express themselves in a variety of ways.

Give us a call at (801) 523-5930 to schedule a tour and see the preschool in action.

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Why Your Child Should Play at the Playground

benefits of playground play

You know your child enjoys the playground, and you feel great about the exercise it provides. But when you take your child to the playground, you’re also giving her many, many more benefits that extend further than you might expect.

Play Benefits Children

Before we even get into the specific benefits of playground play, remember that play, in and of itself, is actually a critical component of a child’s development. It’s not just a nice thing to do. Play is how children learn. It also helps them develop confidence, dexterity, strength, imagination, math skills, and so much more.

{Why Your Child Needs Play-Based Learning} 

Full-Body Exercise

Playgrounds give your child the chance to get their full body into their play, which means they get to exercise their body from head to toe. Monkey bars increase upper body strength, climbing the ladder to the slide strengthens the legs, swings give a chance for grip to be strengthened while legs get stronger, and more.

Unstructured Play Allows for Growth

At the playground, your child can jump, run, and skip from activity to activity as his mood pleases. Unstructured play puts your child in control, lets him discover what he loves, and encourages him to try new things. Interacting with other children is often simpler in an unstructured environment where children can move from trying one thing to another with ease.

Learn Social Rules

It doesn’t take long for kids to learn to wait their turn for the slide. Older kids even develop sophisticated rules for how long a person can stay on a piece of equipment before letting another child try. (Forming a line and counting to 100, etc.) Children have to learn how to cooperate.

On the playground, children are also more free to interact with children of different races, ages, and economic status. There isn’t any ranking on the playground, which is just how it should be.

Therapeutic Benefits

benefits of playground play

Sand and water features are known to help reduce anxiety, provide a way for positive self-expression, and to provide a way to calm down. When these elements are present in a playground, your child has the chance to unknowingly gain therapeutic and emotional benefits.

Resilience

Children learn resilience as they try different playground equipment. Maybe they can’t get very far on the monkey bars at first, but as they watch other children swing along, they’ll try to go farther. Maybe climbing the slide ladder seems scary, but they’ll give it a try for the fun payoff of sliding down.

Because the equipment is fun, and because other children are also navigating it, your child will have the chance — and the motivation — to try, try, and try again.

How a Swing Can Help in Whole Child Development

At UDA Creative Arts Preschool, we make intentional choices about the equipment we put in our outdoor play area. Everything we have chosen is there with a learning objective in mind — to help your child develop and grow mentally, physically, and emotionally.

For example, we chose our swing specifically because it is difficult to climb onto and hard to balance on. This helps the children to develop upper body strength.

And we don’t just let the tricky swing dangle out of reach, frustrating the children. We actually coach the children on how to use their arm muscles to pull their weight onto the swing. This helps them listen, follow directions, and receive a big, fun payoff.

The swing is also tipsy, which helps children develop their core strength and balance as they conquer it.

It’s a difficult piece of equipment for most children in the beginning, but every child eventually masters it, overcoming fear, frustration, and doubt.

They also count to take turns to use it, and cooperate by pushing each other (Bonus: They’re learning Newton’s laws of motion along the way!)

So the next time you head to the playground, pat yourself on the back. You’re giving your child a mental, emotional, and physical boost. Well done, moms and dads!

To learn more about UDA Creative Arts Preschool in Draper, Utah, contact us online or give us a call at (801) 523-5930

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Playing with Your Food Is a GOOD Thing! The Benefits of Playing with Food for Preschoolers

“Don’t play with your food! It’s bad manners!”

We’ve had this concept drilled into us from the time we were small, and chances are that we’re drilling it into our children too. And while we don’t think every meal should be a handsy free-for-all, there are plenty of reasons why playing with food could be a beneficial bonus in your preschooler’s life.

Using More Senses Helps Kids Learn Better

The more senses that are involved in an activity, the more your child is going to learn — and retain. Playing with food allows your child to see, smell, feel, hear (what does it sound like when you squish a pea or snap a pretzel?), and even taste. This sensory experience helps with language development, problem solving skills, concentration, and comfort in trying new things.

Playing with Food Decreases Food Battles

We often get into battles of wills at the dinner table. “Eat three more bites, and you can have dessert/go play with your friend/watch a show.” But kids know you can’t actually force them to eat, and so it’s common for them to choose a meal as a time to exert their independence.

Playing with their food removes the battle and gives children a sense of control. It helps them develop curiosity about the food and approach it on their own terms.

Give your child more opportunities to play with new foods, and you may see less resistance during meals.

Playing with Food Helps with Food Aversions

If you have a picky eater, you know how tough it is to get them to try anything new. Letting children play with food lets them experience the food through different senses. They’ll feel the textures with their hands instead of their tongues, which is much more approachable. They may take the time to smell the food or inspect it visually.

And when playing is allowed, pressure is off. This gets your child comfortable with the food so that when it’s presented as a consumable part of a meal, they may be more willing to try it.

Kids Learn Through Play

Kids learn about their world through play. They learn cause and effect, bravery, language development, and so much more. When a child is allowed to play with a food, they’ll learn more about that food. They might ask curious questions, or become fascinated by the food’s details. Again, this will help them get more comfortable with unfamiliar foods.

Let your child guide goldfish crackers on a swim through a new soup. Use bell peppers or apples as sponges for paint. Set broccoli up as a forest for your child’s small animal toys.

But Isn’t It Wasteful to Play with Food?

“You’ll finish your dinner because there are starving children in _______ (fill in the blank).”

Many of us heard this when we were growing up, and it’s a fair point. How can we play with food, when children around the world don’t have enough to eat on a daily basis?

Katie from Preschool Inspirations offers some grounding perspective. She points out that in the United States, we are surrounded by wealth and abundance. Taking showers, driving cars, shopping in a supermarket, and more are all privileges we freely enjoy. And while we know these privileges aren’t available to everyone, we still don’t deprive ourselves of them.

This doesn’t mean we should use our resources wastefully with no regard to anybody else. But perhaps it’s a good idea to focus our efforts on making a difference, like donating generously to someone in need.

Katie also suggests that when playing with food, to use foods that are expired, food that would have been thrown away (maybe you spilled a bag of pretzels or maybe the apple is too bruised), and foods that benefit nature — like birdseed projects done outdoors.

How to Play with Food

  • Let your child cook with you. Try your best not to stress out over messes; this is part of the sensory process.
  • Choose fun ways to present food from time to time. Put chicken on kabob sticks, arrange fruit in rainbow order, cut food into different shapes, let your children build their own tacos, etc.
  • Use food as the subject of an art project. While you prepare dinner, leave an extra cucumber or broccoli stem on the counter and ask your child to draw or paint it. Tell your child to give it arms and legs, change its color, or even come up with a story about their drawing.
  • Have a fun taste test. Choose different food items you know your child likes, and take turns being blindfolded while feeding each other bites of the food. Everyone will have fun as you guess what you’re tasting.
  • Pick your favorites. Buy several types of one kind of food — apples are a good idea. Taste each variety, and vote on your favorites.
  • Before a bite, ask your child what that food will sound like when it’s chewed. Will it be crunchy, soundless, squishy? Similarly, ask your child to describe its appearance or smell.
  • Make food into a math problem. Ask your child to count their grapes on their plate. Then ask them how many will be remaining if they eat one. What about two?
  • Have your child help you make dinner more colorful. What foods can you add to your chicken dinner to make your plates more like the rainbow?
  • String cereal on yarn.
  • Use apples, bell peppers, or potatoes as painting stamps.
  • Use food as checker pieces.
  • Make faces with different food items.
  • Play with pretend food. Invent the wackiest recipes you can.

At UDA Creative Arts Preschool, we eat healthy snacks every day and give the children opportunities to play with their food, prepare their own food, and try new foods. To learn more about UDA Creative Arts Preschool in Draper, Utah, contact us online or give us a call at (801) 523-5930

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The Importance of Storytelling for Preschoolers — It’s Not Just for Fun

the importance of storytelling for preschoolers

We all know the importance of reading to our children, but the act of storytelling is just as important. And while it can involve books, storytelling doesn’t have to come from words on a page. Learn about the importance of storytelling for preschoolers — and how you can incorporate it into your daily life.

The Importance of Storytelling for Preschoolers

A good story keeps kids (and adults!) engaged. Just think about how your favorite movie keeps you glued to your seat, even when you have 100 other things to do. When it comes to oral stories, all cultures have their own stories they tell again and again until they become a part of the culture. Think of the metaphors, phrases, and lessons we attribute to stories like Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, The Grasshopper and the Ant, and so on. Stories help children and adults alike learn lessons, relate to others, and so much more.

Stories Introduce New Vocabulary

When you tell the story of Cinderella, you introduce words like “cinder” and “ashes.” You use the word “ball” to describe a formal dance. Exposing your child to new words wrapped up in a story makes it easier for your child to understand and remember new vocabulary.

Stories Develop Imagination and Curiosity

When your child listens to a story, she imagines what you’re describing. She may even begin to imagine next steps. She’ll have questions about why different characters made the choices they did. And when she steps away from the story, she’ll keep thinking about it. Aspects of the story will change and grow, and they’ll show up in her pretend play, conversations, and more.

Stories Build Listening Skills

Babies and small children are soaking up and absorbing everything around them. When you tell stories to children, they absorb language and their listening skills grow stronger. And because stories are so fun, listening isn’t as difficult as it could be in other situations. And this helps children learn to listen more closely in other situations as well.

Stories Build Connection

There’s the storyteller, and there’s the listener. The very act of storytelling brings people together to share a common experience. The interaction between speaker and listener is interactive. Not only that, but when you tell stories, you share emotions and experiences. And stories about a child’s cultural heritage will help him feel more grounded and connected to the important people in his life.

How to Incorporate Storytelling into Your Family’s Life

With Netflix, movies, podcasts, and more, the art of storytelling is increasingly something that is done for us, rather than by us. If you aren’t a natural storyteller, it will take a little bit of conscious thought to incorporate more storytelling into your family’s life. Use these tips to help.

  • Read! The more stories you read, the easier it will be to share stories.
  • Treat your life as a story. Everything you do is interesting (even if you don’t think it is!). Tell your children stories about when you were their age. Turn your grocery trip into a story: that person who cut ahead of you in line was rude, and you felt upset — that’s a story! Train yourself to see the story in your daily lives.
  • Ask your family members for stories about their lives, and retell those stories to your children.
  • Start a story at the dinner table, and “pass” it from person to person until you have a whole new story!
  • Look at old family photos and tell the stories of what was happening.
  • Learn a traditional story together. Tell it during bath time or while driving in the car. Ask your child to tell it to you. (The Three Little Pigs is a great one to start with because the repetition is easy to remember.)
  • Take turns telling a traditional story, but change up some of the elements, like character, setting, or even the ending.
  • Act out family stories or traditional stories.

At UDA Creative Arts Preschool, stories feature heavily in our curriculum because we understand their power to connect, teach, and strengthen children. To learn more about UDA Creative Arts Preschool in Draper, Utah, contact us online or give us a call at (801) 523-5930.

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44 Things to Do with Your Kids This Summer

We’re halfway through summer, and keeping kiddos busy, enriched, and entertained is starting to feel like a chore. Some of us used up all of our creativity in the first two weeks of summer!

Not to fear. Browse this list, and find something new to do this week — and the next… and the next.

1. Go on an outdoor treasure hunt. Find something enticing to hide, stash it in a place you won’t forget, and draw a basic map to get to the treasure. Bonus: This helps with reading (even if you only use shapes in your map, you’re helping your child practice pre-reading skills), following directions, and patience!

2. Make ice cream sandwiches. Sure, you can buy ice cream sandwiches (and that’s a fun treat and activity too!), but making your own is a fun, novel activity.

Buy or make soft cookies. Scoop a spoonful of ice cream onto the flat side of one cookie (if you make your own cookies, make sure you wait for them to cool). Place the flat side of another cookie onto the ice cream, and press the sandwich together. Wrap it in tin foil and stash in the freezer. Now you have a delicious, cold treat to grab when it’s hot — and your child can take pride in having helped to make it!

3. Eat ice cream for dinner. Trust us — your kids will remember this experience forever. (Just don’t make it a habit!)

4. Make your own ice pops with juice or blended fruit.

5. Make a fort. Indoors or outdoors, a fort is a perfect place to spend the afternoon. Drape a sheet over a few chairs or over a low-hanging tree branch, and enjoy playing, reading, listening to music, and more inside!

6. Go to a farmers market. Give your child a few dollars to spend, and let her pick out a new or familiar fruit or veggie for dinner..

7. Pick berries. Picking your own berries is a great sensory experience for a preschooler. The colors, the tastes, the scents, the feel… it can be a delight to gather delicious berries on your own. It’s definitely different from selecting a basket at the grocery store. Go to PickYourOwn to find farms where you can pick fruit in your area.

8. Explore a nearby state or national park. Take advantage of the junior ranger program at national parks where children learn to explore, learn and protect.

9. Go for a hike. Find a new favorite trail for your family. Handy hint: Walking sticks help with preschooler endurance.

{How to Keep Your Preschooler Engaged on a Hike}

10. Find a new trail for bike rides. Do you have bike paths near your house or in your town? Challenge yourself to find a new one.

11. Go to the library. Participate in summer reading programs, get library events on your calendar, and make sure to let your child learn the joy of wandering through the library stacks to find a new book.

12. Go ice blocking. Sledding in the summer! Buy an ice block from your local grocery store, grab some winter gloves and a towel, and head to a nearby hill. Wear the gloves, place the towel on the ice block, and take a ride down the hill sitting on the ice block!

13. Put a twist on your sidewalk chalk art.
-Print out images of your child’s favorite cartoon character to copy.
-Create a family mural, in which each person contributes their own drawings.
-Make a path for your child to follow on a bike or by foot. Make zig zags, spirals, curves, and more. The only rule is your child has to stay on the path!

14. Go to a museum. Children’s museums are great, but try an art museum too!

{How to Take Your Preschooler to an Art Museum}

15. Explore new splash pads. You’ve probably been to most or all of the splash pads in your area, but what about the next town over? And the one beyond that?

16. Explore new parks. Create your own ranking system in your phone (number of slides, amount of shade, etc.) as a fun way to keep track of your favorite parks together.

17. Paint the fence with water. For a mess-free, but cooling, “paint” experience, give your child a few paintbrushes and a bucket of water. Let him “paint” the fence, front door, sidewalk, and house.

18. Paint rocks.  Leave your creations around the neighborhood for other kids to find.

19. Go for a day trip visit to a nearby city.

20. Vote for your favorite candy and/or ice cream. Like March Madness? Create your own brackets for the best candy and/or ice cream. After tasting and voting as a family or with friends, advance the winners until you have the final verdict.

21. Try a twist on s’mores. Use different candies and flavored marshmallows until you find your favorite combination.

22. Put up a tent in the backyard. Spend the day playing in the tent (find a shady spot to set it up!), or haul out your sleeping bags for a camping night in the backyard.

23. Go stargazing in the backyard.

24. Set up an obstacle course inside or outside.

25. Have a game night. Invite the neighbors over, or have a fun family game night. Snacks should be included, obviously.

26. Give your child a box. Or a bag. Seriously. See what she comes up with.

27. Make up stories.

28. Use craft sticks to beat boredom. Spend a few minutes writing acceptable quiet activities on craft sticks — reading, coloring, calling a grandparent, playing dress-up, stacking cups, etc. When your child inevitably says he’s bored, let him pick a craft stick and do the activity it instructs.

29. Read a chapter book together.

30. Have a picnic with themed food.

31. Go on a pajama walk. Surprise your kids at bedtime and announce it’s time for a pajama walk. Let them bring their stuffed animals as you walk around the neighborhood dressed and ready for bed.

32. Get a giant poster or large piece of butcher paper. Lay it on the floor, and let everyone color on it. Trace hands, feet, and bodies for extra fun.

33. Have a toy wash. Wash cars, Barbies, and other toys outside in buckets of water.

34. Play dress up.

35. Do yard work together. Buy kid-sized shovels and gloves to make your child feel included.

36. Deliver treats to firefighters. Have your child make a personalized thank-you card to include with the treats.

37. Make and deliver thank-you cards to your librarians.

38. Have a bike parade. Invite the neighborhood kids to decorate their bikes and join in a parade. Get the other parents to be parade spectators.

39. Visit a local farm.

40. Take a tour of a local factory.

41. Be a tourist in your town. Look at tourist websites for your town. Is there anything you haven’t done?

42. Cook together. Designate one night a week as your child’s night to cook. Let him plan the menu, and help him prepare the meal.

43. Go to an outdoor movie.  Many cities around the country show outdoor movies during the summer. If your preschooler can stay up late from time to time, this is a great, free, fun thing to do as a family   Here is a list of local outdoor movies for Utah in 2019.

44. Play balloon tennis. Grab some paper plates, glue, balloons, and giant craft sticks. Glue the sticks to the backs of paper plates, and hit a balloon back and forth.

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How to Schedule Your Preschooler’s Day at Home

If you have small children and you stay at home and/or work from home, it’s not always easy to know what to do with your kids. Sometimes, the days are so packed full of tasks, chores, and errands that there’s no time for anything else. And some days, when your child is bored and your creativity is short, you don’t really know how to keep your child occupied.

Use these tips successfully schedule your preschooler’s day at home.

Create a Routine

Children do well when they know what’s coming next. Putting a routine in place will help your child cooperate with the tasks of your day.

If you’re a go-with-the-flow kind of person, that’s okay. You don’t need to have a routine that’s planned to the minute. Make your routine as structured or non-structured as you need. But there should be some basic markers that you meet around the same time each day.

Start with meals and naps because these happen at roughly the same time each day. Then, build your structure from there.

Plug in chores, reading time, outside time, errands, play dates, outings, and more into time slots that make sense for your lifestyle.

If you don’t want to use specific time slots, think instead in sequences: After breakfast, we clean up and head outside. Before nap, we read two books. Doing the same basic things in similar orders each day ensures you’ll accomplish more of what you need to do, while allowing your child to feel secure in knowing what to expect.

Read

Small children need to be read to every day. If your life is busy, this can be hard to fit into your day.

One way to make sure you read often enough is to do it at the same time every day. Maybe you read a book before nap time or bed time. Maybe you read immediately after cleaning up breakfast dishes. Maybe you read out loud while your child takes a bath. Whenever it is, sticking to the same time each day will help both you and your child come to expect the activity.

{8 Ways to Help Your Preschooler Fall in Love with Reading}

Chores

Is there anything harder than staying on top of chores when you’re at home with small children?

While you’ll want to do some chores on your own because it’s simply easier that way, try and involve your child in some chores every day. You have to get the dishes cleaned up, after all. Instead of letting your preschooler scamper off, have her help you load the dishwasher.

Have your child wipe the baseboards as you sweep, put toys away before you vacuum, set the table while you make dinner, sweep the porch while you weed. Keep in mind that your child won’t do a perfect job, and sometimes won’t even do a passable job. Sometimes, you’ll have to help. And that’s all okay. Keep encouraging your child to learn new skills and take ownership of chores. He’ll get better and better as time goes one.

Play

Children learn best through play, so make sure there’s plenty of time in your day for your child to play. You can play with your child, but you don’t need to entertain your child 24/7. Independent play is also an important skill your child should develop. Plus, it gives you a break!

Tips to make independent play a success:

  • Don’t expect your child to spend hours playing independently. Sometimes, even a few minutes is difficult in the beginning. Be patient, and build length gradually.
  • Do another task near where your child is playing. You don’t have to be right by your child, but being close enough helps your child feel safe and comfortable. Eventually,  your child may want to play alone in a separate room.
  • Provide simple toys.
  • Keep toys and materials within reach and easy to find.

Get Outside

Plan for some outside time each day. This could be as simple as taking a walk around the neighborhood or running out into the backyard.

Or you could go on an outing to a park, on a hike, to a nature center, or somewhere else away from your home.

{Why Your Preschooler Desperately Needs Time Outdoors — and What to Do Once You’re There}

Errands

If you can manage your errands with your kids, incorporate those into your day. Errands are actually good for children because they learn patience, see how people interact within our society, learn to follow directions, and more. That being said, not every errand is going to be successful. Try to be aware of your child’s limits, and schedule your errands for the times of day when your child will be well rested, well fed, and more likely to be agreeable.

And there’s no shame in putting off some errands until there’s someone else available to take care of your kids!

Outings

Along with getting outside each day, going on special outings is good for both children and parents. The zoo, museums, the library, playgrounds, and more offer chances for both you and your child to bond over learning and experiencing new things. Plus, they’re a lot of fun!

Be Flexible

Things will fall apart some days. That’s just a fact of life. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to create perfectly structured days every single day. If your child is melting down at the park, it’s okay to go home and relax. If you feel overwhelmed with your to-do list, it’s okay to throw it out for a while and come back to it later.

A basic structure will help keep you moving forward, but flexibility is key in reducing stress.

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9 Things to Do During the Summer to Prepare for Kindergarten

get your child ready for kindergarten

It’s here already! How did you get to this place so quickly? This is the summer before your little sweetie goes to kindergarten, and whether you’re excited, scared, tearful, or all of the above, you’re probably wondering what you can do to prepare your child for kindergarten.

First things first. Don’t get stressed out this summer about getting your child ready for kindergarten. This should be a fun and exciting time of life. Don’t feel pressure to push your child to meet milestones. Remember that your child learns a lot every day through play, routine, and observing life. Your child is soaking up knowledge simply by talking with you each day.

{Pretend Away! Why Your Child Needs Pretend Play}

The following items aren’t meant to overwhelm. Rather, keep them in mind and try to incorporate them throughout your summer days. We’ll give you tips on how to do that. Keep reading!

1. Have Play Dates

In kindergarten, your child will need to know, and continue to learn, how to share, take turns, respect other people’s bodies and property, and more. Play dates, whether formally set up with parents in attendance or casual playtime with the neighbors, are helpful for developing these social skills. Give your child opportunities to play with other kids her age this summer.

2. Practice Name Writing

Your child will need to write his name on his kindergarten work, so take the time now to let him practice both his first and last name. You can buy a special notebook, or just use loose-leaf paper. Or have him practice with sidewalk chalk or paint. Let him spell it out with pretzels or raisins at snack time. Ask him to spell his name as you’re driving in the car.

3. Practice Letters and Numbers

Find opportunities to practice letter and number identification. This doesn’t have to always mean worksheets. Point out letters in your daily life, encourage your child to sound out words on the cereal box, ask her what letter comes next in the alphabet, and encourage her to write the names of her family members or her favorite toys.

Count items out loud, challenge your child to count as high as he can, and ask him to identify numbers in addresses as your drive.

{8 Ways to Lose the Flaschards: Make Alphabet Learning Fun}

4. Teach Your Phone Number and Address

By kindergarten, your child should have a good handle on his phone number and address. One simple way to teach these is to set them to the tune of a simple song. Try “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Then, as you go about your day, sing your phone number or address. Sing it while you prepare lunch, while you’re driving in the car, when you take a walk, etc. After your child has heard it, encourage him to sing along.

Let your child type your phone number into your phone.

To help your child write her phone number, post it where she can see and get familiar with its appearance. Let her trace the numbers. Encourage her to copy the numbers. Eventually, ask her to write the phone number and address from memory. Praise her for her efforts, even if she doesn’t get it perfectly. Give her plenty of opportunities to try again!

5. Read

prepare your child for kindergarten

Reading is a crucial skill for every person, and while your child doesn’t need to be independently reading before kindergarten, exposure to books and reading in all forms is going to help with his future academics.

Incorporate reading into all aspects of your day. Pick a regular time each day to read to your child. If she can read, select books at her level and ask her to read them to you. Encourage her to look at or read books on her own.

Let your child see you read a recipe, read a map, read street signs, read books, and more. Bring your child into your reading world by pointing to the words in the recipe as he looks over your shoulder. Ask him to help you find a street name by telling him the first letter to look for. See if he can find the letters of his name as you run errands.

{8 Ways to Help Your Preschooler Fall in Love with Reading}

6. Do Chores

Chores are a great way to teach your child responsibility, as well as following directions — two things she’ll need to have a handle on in kindergarten. Every family does chores differently, but figure out your rhythm. There are certain chores, like making the bed, that can automatically be done every day. And then you can add additional weekly chores or projects that make sense for your child.

You can have your child set the table, weed the garden, make her bed, fold his laundry, feed the cat, help prepare meals, sweep, vacuum, empty wastebaskets, dust, and more. Remember it will take time to learn how to do the chores properly.

7. Work on Independent Tasks

In kindergarten, your child will need to use the restroom by himself, so use the summer before kindergarten to make sure he’s able to do all the required steps. Help him learn how to button and unbutton, zip, put on and take off a coat, and tie shoes. Just take one skill at a time, and help him work on it each day.

8. Eat Independently

If your child will be eating snacks or lunch at school, make sure she can eat the whole meal on her own. Can she unzip and zip her lunchbox? Open her packaged snacks? Open and close storage containers? Use plastic forks or spoons? A great way to make sure she has these skills is to eat lunch out of her lunch box a few times throughout the summer.

9. Have Lots of Free Time

Remember to give your child plenty of free play time. Children learn best by playing, and much of preparing your child for kindergarten actually will come in the everyday, informal moments. Plus, your child needs time to be herself and be confident in who she is, and free time is likely to give that to her.

Always remember: It isn’t a race. Let your child progress and develop at his own speed while you work to prepare your child for kindergarten.