Click inside for the weekly family rail, with indoors entertainment tips, a review of “Tangled” and more. Or check out these links:
Tip of the Week
With many families "cocooning" this holiday and avoiding holiday travel, parents and children may be in search of some fun, engaging and age-appropriate activities over the winter months and beyond.
- Seasonal hands-on camps: For parents, seasonal day camps offer great solutions to help them organize their children's holiday time off while providing their children with engaging and hands-on educational activities and themes. Kids can have a blast and busy parents get the gift of knowing that their children are continuing to learn and discover during the holiday break.
- Don't forget to play: The colder weather outdoors offers a good excuse for good old-fashioned indoor play time. Play is the natural work of children and essential to learning. Through play, children develop social skills, the ability to solve problems and the courage to express their ideas. The following are some quick tips for educational and fun family playtime:
* For infants, playing peek-a-boo will help baby recognize your voice.
* To help infants and toddlers develop fine motor skills, provide a variety of soft, easy-to-grasp toys, such as soft blocks or plush toys.
* Blow bubbles with your child and watch them have a blast as they chase and catch the bubbles - both reinforce motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
* Toddlers and preschool children like tactile activities like digging in sand and dirt. Make a simple sandbox out of a large shallow bin. Vary the items you put in the bin for your child to explore. Some suggestions: sand, rice, packing peanuts, cornstarch (great to play with and easy to clean up when it dries) dirt or dried macaroni.
* For preschool age children, play listening games such as Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light.
* Involve your preschooler in everyday math - How many steps to the garage? How many dollars to buy that toy?
* Play board games as a family - rolling dice, counting spaces and problem solving are all involved in this type of activity.
* Use stuffed or plastic animals and cardboard boxes to help your child create a zoo, a farm or a wildlife reserve - dramatic play builds vocabulary, social skills and creative thinking.
- Winter reading: Nothing is better than snuggling up to a great book with your child. Reading to a child, as early as infancy, on a regular basis is by far the best way to encourage a budding reader. In fact, studies show that reading to an infant promotes early language acquisition and literacy development and, later on, achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school. The winter months are a perfect time to begin a reading routine with your child that can jump-start a yearlong love of reading.
Family Screening Room
Rated: PG (for brief mild violence)
Synopsis: The long-haired Princess Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but when she falls in love with a bandit who was passing by she must venture into the outside world for the first time to find him.
Violence/scary rating: 2.5
Sexual-content rating: 1.5
Profanity rating: 1
Drugs/alcohol rating: 2
Family Time rating: 2. This is one of the best family movies of the year.
(Ratings are judged on a five-point scale, with 5 being “bad for kids” and 1 being “fine for kids.”)
“Elf on the Shelf,” by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell
Ages: 3 to 8
Synopsis: “The Elf on the Shelf” is an activity the entire family will enjoy. Based on the tradition Carol Aebersold began with her family in the 1970s, this cleverly rhymed children's book explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, the elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location. This activity allows The Elf on the Shelf to become a delightful hide-and-seek game. Each Tradition-in-a-Box comes with a scout elf, a hardbound children's book and a keepsake box for easy storage.
Did You Know
According to a study in Neurology magazine, there is no danger in moms breastfeeding while on epilepsy medicine.
GateHouse News Service