GPP: Creative Play Supports Emotional and Cognitive Development

August 4, 2016

Creative Play Supports Emotional and Cognitive Development

Creative or imaginative play may look like just a game of pretend, but it is about so much more than that. Play is how children learn best!

What Are the Supplies Needed at Home to Foster Creative Play? The best creative play supplies are ones that you already have:

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Pots, pans, and utensils for pretend cooking. Ever pretend that you were a chef at a restaurant or used a pot as a drum?
Scrap paper, washable markers, paints, tape, glue and other art supplies provide endless fun.
Card board boxes and sheets make the best forts!
Old clothes, shoes, and bags can be used for dress-up.

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What Are the Benefits from Creative Play?

Social Development – Creative play enables children to increase their emotional maturity and social competence by practicing their verbal and nonverbal communication, and sharing of materials.

Physical Development – Children’s fine and gross motor development is enhanced through imaginative play.

Language and Literacy Development – Pretend play helps children to understand language, learn new words, and make connections between the written and spoken words.

Cognitive Development – Unstructured creative play has shown that children are more attentive to teacher instruction afterwards.

Emotional Development -- Through play, children receive support in expressing and coping with their feelings as well as think out loud about both good and bad experiences.

Need Ideas for Creative Play with Your Child?

Birth to 1	1 to 2	2 to 3	3 to 4	4 to 5
Mirrors securely placed on their level give them a playmate to imitate.	If you can stand the noise, toddlers love to play with pots and pans. Safe items from home make the best toys to boost creative play.	2yr olds need creative play to explore/express their feelings. Games of dress up, dancing and finger painting are fun activities.	Imitation is the best form of flattery and essential for creative play. Swap roles with your child as she pretends to cook and you eat!	Give your child access to art materials and found objects to support creative play. A cardboard box is a castle today, tomorrow a car.
Simple Water Play. Grab a pan, fill it halfway with water and place a towel. Let the splashing being!	Lets paint with this Scented Edible No-Cook Fingerpaint Recipe for Babies & Toddlers. Click Here for the recipe.	Let's turn a box into a magical box, boat, vehicle, kitchen, or table. Click Here for more ideas.	Time to make some music! Classic Beating on Pots & Pans.	Polka Dot Slime Recipe. Click Here for the 3-ingredient recipe.
Explore Cotton Balls (wet & dry)	Babies love to explore things. Make Discovery Bottles with a few items around the house. Click Here for more details.	Let's make a Lava Lamp. Click Here for a recipe.	Let's make a Lava Lamp. Click Here for a recipe.	Simple play makes for the best play. Let's make a Bubble Wrap Runway! Click Here for more details.

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GA Parent Power (June 2/2): Car Seat Safety

June 1, 2016

Is Your Child’s Car Seat Safe?

We know that keeping your child safe is always at the top of your mind. While there are many things beyond our control, vehicle safety as it pertains to car seats is not one of them. Having your child in a car seat that is safely installed and correct for her age is the most effective device in preventing serious injury or death in a vehicle crash.

However, more than 75% of car seats are installed incorrectly. On top of that, many parents are unaware of Georgia’s car seat safety laws and are using inappropriate car seats for the age and size of their child.

Here’s some tips and resources to help ensure that your child will be as safe as possible when traveling in a vehicle:

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Unsure if your car seat is installed correctly? Stop by your local fire department and ask for a free safety check.
Be sure to check out Georgia car seat laws and suggestions to make sure your child is in the car seat that is right for her.
Keep rear-facing car seats turned towards the rear until your child no longer fits in this position.
Be sure to read your car seat’s instruction manual and register on the company’s website in case of recalls or safety notices.
Never, ever leave a child in a parked vehicle without an adult present. Heat strokes do not require temperatures to be especially hot or for a child to be left for a long period. Be sure to always #LookAgain to make sure that all children are out of the vehicle.

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Suggested Resources for Car Seat Safety:

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GA Parent Power (June 1/2): Early Literacy

June 1, 2016

What Does “Early Literacy” Mean?

Early literacy does not mean early reading instruction or that your child should be reading as a baby, but it does refer to what children know about reading and writing before they actually do either one. For instance, learning their ABC’s is only one of the pre-reading skills that children need to help them learn to read and write.

How Can You Support Early Literacy with Your Children at Home?

There are six early literacy skills that help children become ready to learn how to read, and they are best taught through talking, reading, singing, writing and playing with your child beginning at birth. The six skills are:

Print Awareness: learning to use and love books. You can help with this by reading to your child from birth; letting your baby play with books (even if it means that some pages might get torn or chewed on); reciting nursery rhymes.

Vocabulary: learning new words and understanding their meaning. You can help with this by speaking the language you know best to your child; pointing out words and their meaning as you explore the world around your child; pointing to words on the page as you read.

Narrative Skills: being able to understand and tell stories and describe events. You can help with this by talking to your child as you go about your day and letting him know what you are doing; asking him questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer; encouraging him to repeat words; playing imaginative games and making up stories.

Phonological Awareness: being able to hear sounds in words. You can help with this by reading animal sound books as well as rhyming and song books; listening to music during transition times and in the car; playing rhyming games.

Letter Knowledge: recognizing that the letters are different from each other and have different names and sounds. You can help with this by helping your child learn her shapes as it will be crucial for learning her letters; reading and rereading colorful board books; making letters using play-dough, chalk, paint and even sticks while outside.

Print Awareness: understanding that print is everywhere and has meaning. You can help with this by encouraging your baby to play with books and turn pages; reading books that have a few simple words in large, clear fonts; making books together from a story your child has made up.

Check out these resources to learn more about early literacy development and to find more ideas on how you can support each pre-reading skill as your child ages:

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GA Parent Power (May 2/2): Child Care Provider Month

May 20, 2016

It’s Georgia Child Care Provider Month! Show Your Love!

In Georgia, May is Child Care Provider Appreciation Month! While we advocate for celebrating these Very Important People all year round, we hope that this month you will take a little extra care of the people who take care of your family!

How can you show your child’s caregiver how much she means to you and your family? See our ideas below, and follow the links for even more fun.

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Have your child draw a picture of her child care teacher, and caption it with what your child loves best about the teacher.
Email the child care provider you attended and let him/her know how much they meant to you as a child.
Take your caregiver some fresh picked flowers from your own garden.
Simply share how much you appreciate her care and love of your child during drop-off or pick-up one day.
Find out what her favorite gourmet coffee is and surprise her with a cup one morning.
Purchase some new books for the classroom and dedicate them to your child’s teacher as an appreciation gift.
Organize with other parents to provide a handmade meal she can take home with her after a long day at work.

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Still need some more ideas? Try these links for help:

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GA Parent Power (May 1/2): Look Again!

April 25, 2016

Don’t Forget to #LookAgain to Prevent Vehicular Heatstroke Deaths in Children

Each year we hear of a child’s death due to heatstroke from accidentally being left in a car. These deaths are preventable. Below are some tips for parents and caregivers to follow so this tragedy doesn’t happen to you:

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Never, ever leave a child in or near a parked vehicle alone, even for a short amount of time.
#LookAgain: Always be sure to check the back seats and under the seats before locking and leaving the vehicle.
Create a reminder system that lets you know your child is still in the back seat (ex. tie a ribbon around your wrist while your child is in the car or place your purse/briefcase in the backseat so that you have to open the rear door).
If your child is in child care, ensure that you know your provider’s policy regarding class trips and drop-off; how do they verify that every child has left the vehicle? Do they have more than one person checking and counting that all children have exited?
Make sure parked cars around your home are kept locked at all times and discourage playing in cars.

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For more information, please see:

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GA Parent Power (Feb 2/2): High-Quality Care

February 10, 2016

Why Should Parents Care if Their Child is in a High-Quality Early Learning Program?

Decades of research indicate that children who receive high-quality care and learning from an early age have lasting positive effects such as entering kindergarten ready to learn, better behavior and health, higher graduation rates, lower juvenile crime, decreased adolescent pregnancy rates, and higher job earnings.

It is crucial for a child to receive quality care from birth as social, emotional, cognitive and physical development is interrelated and begins right away. Neuroscience shows that a child’s brain grows the fastest during these first three years of life, providing the foundation for all future learning. Disparities in development, especially with children in lower income homes, are evident as early as nine months of age.

A child’s every day experiences and surroundings, whether it is in the home with his family or outside the home with a child care provider, influence his development and learning. Parents should look to provide their child with a high-quality, rich learning environment that includes a selection of toys that are age-appropriate and promote interest and development; books and music that provide exposure to lots of words; a care-giver who is attuned to their child’s individual needs, supporting his curiosity and nurturing his growth.

Thankfully in Georgia, through the Quality Rated program, parents have an easy way to distinguish early child care programs that have been identified as providing high-quality experiences. Our 877-ALL-GA-KIDS free resource assists parents in their search for the best early child care possible by incorporating the Quality Rated star rating system in the search criteria.

More resources for learning about the importance quality plays in child care:

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