Infant/Toddler Network Meetings
Next meeting: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Location: Hucklebug Child Care Centre, 45 Alma St., Havelock
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?address=45+Alma+Street&city=Norwood&state=ON&zipcode=K0L&country=CA
Time: 6:30 - 8:00
Topic: Join us for a lively discussion about the benefits of stepping back and watching even when we really want to step in!
Summary of March meeting: Despite a beatiful and unseasonally warm evening, 9 participants came to Les Petit Curieux. We watched 4 short video clips. 3 were of babies and toddlers sharing toys with little adult intervention. The 4th was a youtube clip made by a parent of an infant using an Ipad and a magazine with comments included. See the links below.
There was discussion around the ways to support infants and toddlers when a toy is wanted by more than 1 child. There was also discussion around the impact of technology on the children growing up today.
http://www.janetlansbury.com/2011/10/should-we-stop-babies-from-taking-toys-another-respectful-debate/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk
Notes from January meeting:
A large group of 18 gathered to hear practical ideas for sensory activities for using with toddlers and infants. Bonnie Kimmett presented a wide range of activities and extensions. She stressed the importance of playdough in particular (see attached reference).
One point she made was that playdough can easily be seen as a behaviour management tool. With a teacher sitting at a table and engaging with the children, it is easy to have several children focused and interacting with each other and the adult.
Some examples of ideas were:
· Making a simple yeast based dough to use involves touch (making the dough), smell (the smell of the baked product), taste (of the completed product) - ( recipe be added to website soon)
· Cooking instant rice and then using a graph to record their taste preferences for spicy, salty and sweet. This activity involves contrasts in touch, sound and taste as well as bringing in an element of math.
A couple of participants also brought ideas to share:
· One was for infants in particular and involved giving each child a small amount of applesauce to explore on a flat surface and then sprinkling in some cinnamon.
· A second one involved using numerous ice cubes in a sensory bin. Along with plain ice cubes, colourful plastic or regular ice cubes are added with bowls, tongs and scoops.
"Why Play Dough" handout
Bonnie's Pretzel Recipe
Notes from the November 16th meeting:
We began with a discussion about possible topics for the coming year:
Outdoor play ideas
Art activities that are baby friendly
Dealing with hitting and biting
Transitions
Programming ideas
Science activities
Guest speakers (i.e. Health Unit)
We broke into small groups to discuss ideas and challenges with transitions. Here are some of the ideas that were brought back to the group:
The importance of songs and singing. Also, songs can be specific to different transitions (i.e. going outside) which helps to make it easier for the children to know what is coming
The importance of lots of advance notice and repetition. It should be very a specific.
Fidget toys and picture cards (of the next activity) can be used
Giving the child a task such as “ Bobby, find your hat” can get the children focused on doing something ( their own hat rather than someone else’s)
Resources and links from past discussions
Do you have a resource or link to share? Contact RTB to get your information on the website.
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