At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we know how beneficial nature and the great outdoors can be for children’s learning and development. There are many ways to teach your child to appreciate nature and allow them to benefit from the great outdoors at the same time. In this blog, we are going to talk about ways you can help teach your children to appreciate nature. Read on to learn more and go explore the world with your kiddos!

Play Outside

Playing outside is a great way to get started building your child’s appreciation for nature. Just getting kids to play outside nowadays seems like a feat with technology running our lives. Let your kiddos play tag, color with sidewalk chalk, ride their bikes around the neighborhood, or play in the grass. You don’t need to go on a grand adventure to get your kiddos outside enjoying nature. Even just playing outside of your home allows kids to realize how much nature can offer and the endless possibilities.

Go On Hikes

Hikes or nature walks are a great way to immerse yourself in nature and the great outdoors. One thing to keep in mind is that kids can’t hike as far as you can. Find a trail that brings you through the heart of nature and just explore with no goal in mind. If your child wants to examine a creek for 15 minutes, let them! They are learning, exploring, and engaging with the outside world, which will help them develop an appreciation for nature. Talk about what they see, what they hear, point out different flowers and animals, and let them (and yourself) just enjoy being outside.

Climb a Tree

Kids love climbing trees. While you don’t want your little one climbing to the very top of a tall tree, letting them climb some branches, in arms-reach of you, allows them to get closer to nature, touch the bark of a tree, and examine a tree up close. They may notice a bug they have never seen before, or touch sap that makes them question why the tree is sticky. These are great learning opportunities and allow their curious minds to start moving at full speed.

Go On a Treasure Hunt

Treasure hunts are fun for kiddos and a great way to get outside. Make a treasure hunt of different things that are found in nature and go exploring with your kiddos. Let them work through their treasure hunt as you explore different outdoor areas. Not only is this a great way to get outside, but it is also a great way to ensure your children actually notice the outside world and nature! People can get so stuck in their own worlds from time to time, so helping your child learn how to look around and take in their surroundings can help them continue to use this skill into adulthood.

Take Pictures

Taking pictures is a great way to capture memories, but it is another great way to get your kiddos to notice their surroundings and observe nature. Get disposable cameras for your kiddos and go on a nature walk. Let them take pictures of whatever they find interesting or beautiful. When you print out the photos, they will be excited to revisit these pieces of nature that caught their interest and be able to look at them for years to come.

Get Lost

Go find a natural area and just explore. Get lost (not physically, but mentally). Make no other plans that day, pack snacks and drinks, and let your kiddos just explore. Jump in puddles, play in a stream, collect rocks, bring a sketchbook and let your kiddos draw different plants, and just enjoy nature. Allowing your kiddos to just completely become engaged with nature is a great way to help them learn to appreciate it.

Let Kids Be Kids

Let your kids be kids when they are outside. Kids want to dig holes, pick up bugs, dig their toes in the mud, and chase geese. When you go outside, don’t tell your children what to do or how to engage with nature, just let them do what feels right to them. We all interact with the outdoor world differently — allowing your child to do what they want can help them grow an appreciation for the great outdoors.

There are so many ways to get your children to appreciate and enjoy nature. Our biggest suggestion would be to not force anything and just let them explore. Talk about what you love about nature and show your appreciation. Eventually, they will learn to do the same.

If you are looking for a great child care center for your child that allows them to engage with nature and learn in a fun and beneficial ways, be sure to check out Growing Kids Learning Centers. We have locations throughout Indiana and can ensure that your child is always able to socialize with others. Contact us to learn more!

The post How to Teach Your Kids to Appreciate Nature appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

Helping your child develop a love for learning can help them stay curious throughout their entire lives, constantly looking for new things to learn. If you want to raise your child to have a desire to always learn, there are some things you can do!

At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we offer a variety of child care programs that help your child begin to learn at an early age. We make learning fun, engaging, and rewarding, helping your child develop a desire to learn more! Be sure to check out our child care programs and get in touch to learn more about our centers. For now, continue reading this blog for tips on helping your child develop a love for learning.

Let Them Explore Their Interests

It is natural that people want to learn more about what interests them and get excited when they discover new things about their passions. Allowing your child to explore their interests can help them develop a love for learning, no matter what their interests may be. As your kiddo grows, their interests will likely change. If your child goes through a space phase, bring them to a planetarium. If they go through a dinosaur phase, bring them to a museum to look at fossils and learn about the dinosaurs that once roamed the places you called home.

When you give your child a chance to explore what interests them, you are showing them that learning can be fun and exciting. This gives them a chance to learn something that excites them rather than just the typical subjects they learn in school. While the information they learn in school is important, it may not excite them like learning about sharks does. Allowing them to explore their interests gives them an opportunity to be excited about learning.

Surround Them With Books

Books are a beautiful thing that can transport us to another world, inspire imagination and curiosity, and help us learn. When you surround your kiddos with books, not only will they be more motivated to read, but they will begin to realize how much they can learn from books. Take trips to the library and let them pick out some books that interest them. Read them together, talk about what you learn. This is a great way to not only help your child develop a love for learning, but reading as well! Books are a wonderful source of learning and knowledge, and with so many to pick from, your child is sure to find something that they enjoy and can learn from.

Provide Hands-On Experience

Hands-on experiences are not only a fun way to learn but they can help your child actually absorb what they are learning better. There are many ways to create hands-on experiences while learning. If your little one is learning to count, you can use any type of object, like buttons or blocks, and have them use those to help them count. If your child wants to learn something about science, try finding a fun science craft project online to do with them.

Providing your child with hands-on experiences can help them grasp the concept better and allow them to feel more confident in their learning. Get creative with hands-on experiences. If your kiddo is in the dinosaur phase, buy some toy dinosaurs or fake dinosaur bones and bury them in your sandbox, get them the tools to uncover the hidden fossils and help them learn about what it is like to be a paleontologist. Even something as simple as crafts is a great way to give your child hands-on experiences and help them learn!

Understand Their Learning Style

There are a variety of different learning styles and understanding your child’s will not only help you teach them but can make learning more enjoyable for them. While there are quizzes online that can help you determine your child’s learning style, you may be able to figure it out just by observing them.

The learning styles include:

• Visual Learning: Your child will be able to process information best when it is present in writing or images. Your child likely is very observant, has a good memory, and enjoys art if they are a visual learner.
• Auditory Learning: If your child is an auditory learner, it is likely that they like to hear information, are a good listener, follows directions well, have verbal strengths, and may have an aptitude for music.
• Kinesthetic Learning: These types of learners absorb information best through movement and touch. They likely count on their fingers, use hand gestures, like to do it themselves, and may excel in sports, dance, and other physical activities.

While it is likely that your child uses all of these methods to learn, there is one that is probably stronger than the others. By understanding the type of learner your child is, you can help make absorbing the information easier for them and make learning more fun.

Ask Questions

Asking your child questions is a great way to help them learn and get excited about what they are learning. If your child is reading a book about the ocean, ask them what the most interesting thing is that they learned, what sea creature is the most fascinating, or what type of creatures they think live at the bottom of the ocean. By asking the right questions, you can boost their interest, make them more excited to learn and discuss with you, and show them you are interested in what they are learning as well.

When you ask your child about school, try to avoid the basic “how was school today?” or “what did you learn” questions. These don’t inspire them to think or excite them. Instead, try something like “I heard you were learning about animals around the world. Which did you like learning about the best?” This type of question engages them, makes them think about what they learned, and allows them to discuss why they liked one thing more than others.

Have Discussions

Along with asking your kiddo questions about what they are learning, have discussions with them about different things. If you are driving with your child and see something that sparks your own curious thoughts, mention it to them and ask them what they think about it. Discuss the world, the way things work, and have intellectual conversations with your kiddo (ones that they can understand and contribute to). Having these types of discussions with your child can help to stimulate their mind and help them feel as though they have something important to say.

You can also have discussions with them about what they are learning in school. Let’s go back to the example of asking them what animal they like learning about the best. When they answer, start a discussion. Ask them what other animals they learned about, why the specific one caught their attention, share any information that you know about that animal, and have discussions about whatever they are learning. This is a fun way to engage with them and allow them to think and learn more.

Learn With Them

It is true that we learn something new every day, whether we realize it or not. And if you don’t think you learn anything new, children are a great resource for you! Not only can kids teach you fun things that they learned in school, but they also have curious minds. They may look at a duck swimming in a puddle in the middle of winter and wonder how they don’t get cold, while you may just look at a duck and not think twice about it. When your kiddo asks how the duck doesn’t get cold, don’t just shrug it off and say you don’t know. This is an opportunity to learn!

Instead, say “I am not sure, but let’s find out!” and then go home and do research with your kiddo. This will teach your child that even adults don’t know everything, you are constantly learning, and when you show an interest in learning new things, they will be more likely to develop a love for learning as well. This can be a fun way to bond with your child, learn new things, and keep their curious mind at its full potential as they age.

Show Your Own Love For Learning

While learning with your child is a great way to show them that you love learning, you can also demonstrate this by learning on your own. Pick up books that teach you about whatever interests you. Watch documentaries while you prepare dinner. Share interesting facts with your child that you just learned. By setting an example and showing them just how fantastic it is that we can constantly learn new things, you can help them develop a love for learning that will last a lifetime.

Helping your child develop a love for learning is not difficult, just be enthusiastic about learning yourself. And be sure to give them the best start to education possible by enrolling them at Growing Kids Learning Centers! We have locations throughout Indiana, allowing you to find a location close to home. Contact us today to learn more and start following these tips!

The post Tips For Helping Your Child Develop a Love For Learning appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

Creative play is an important part of your child’s growth and development. This is something that can help them learn and develop new skills that they will use throughout their lifetime. Encouraging creativity and creative play in your young children can help them throughout their development.

At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we encourage our students to use their creative side and take part in creative play. We know the benefits that creativity can provide your children and how it can boost their development. In this blog, we are going to talk about the importance of creative play and how it can benefit your child’s development.

What Is Creative Play?

Creative play is honestly just children being children. When they create different scenarios and act them out or use their toys to create a story, this is them engaging in creative play. While children can play creatively on their own, nowadays, technology often takes over their attention, which can kill creativity. It is important for you to encourage your child to play creatively and give them the tools to do so. These tools include open-ended toys, such as blocks, clay, and other similar toys, as well as arts and craft items.

Benefits of Creative Play

Creative play can help your child with a variety of different developmental skills. While many parents think creativity just allows children to be imaginative, it actually can help in every aspect of their development.

Emotional Development

When children take part in creative play, they are able to improve their emotional skills. Creative play often leads to children making up scenarios, stories, and other games, which can often help them work through feelings and emotions. While children may not know how to express their own feelings, they may have an easier time doing it through their action figures or dolls. In our previous blog, we discussed how to teach your child about their emotions. Allowing them to play creatively is one additional way to help your child explore and express their emotions. Creative activities give your child a positive outlet for expressing their emotions.

Social Development

Creative play also allows children to interact with others and learn different social skills. When your child plays dress up or even does arts and crafts with other children, they will be able to learn how to communicate with others and socialize in a fun and unique way. Even if your child is playing alone, creative play can allow them to learn how to socialize with others. If your child is playing with their action figures alone, they will likely have them converse, allowing your child to practice conversation and learn how they would respond when talking with others.

Language Development

As we just mentioned, creative play allows your child to interact with others for practice conversations through their toys. This allows them to build a bigger vocabulary and develop better communication skills. They will develop language skills as they play!

Cognitive Development

Your kiddo will also be able to develop their intellectual skills through creative play. They will have several opportunities to practice problem-solving skills and start to learn more about language, cause and effect, and so much more. Creativity can lead to curiosity which can lead to your child learning more about different things that interest them. Your child will be able to develop math skills, reading skills, thinking skills, and many other cognitive skills. Creative play and different creative activities can help your young kiddo develop more intellectual skills.

Motor Development

Creative play can help your child develop their motor skills as well. Arts and crafts and other similar activities will allow your child to develop their fine motor skills. From cutting paper to using a paintbrush, your child will be able to continue working on their fine motor skills. When your child plays dress up or pretends to be a pilot, running and jumping around in the backyard, they will be developing their gross motor skills more. Your child will be able to develop motor skills and improve their physical abilities and movements.

Through creative play, your child will be able to learn a lot and continue to develop a number of different skills. Plus, creative play can help them remain creative as they grow older, which is a skill many adults wish they still had. Be sure to encourage creativity in your children and provide them with ideas and the things they need to be creative.

Ideas For Creative Play

Before we talk about ways to encourage creative play in your child, it is important that you try not to stifle their creativity. Parents often, accidentally, put a stop to children’s creativity because they fear that their child doesn’t know what is real. While this is a normal thing to do, try to recognize when they are being creative and when they actually don’t know. This will allow them to practice creativity and feel encouraged to use their imagination.

There are many different things you can do as a parent to help encourage and stimulate your child’s creativity. Read on for some fun ideas!

Get The Right Toys

As we already mentioned, getting your child toys they can be creative with or do crafts with is a great way to encourage creativity. Try to avoid video games and other toys that take all the creativity out of play. While some of those toys are fine, try to provide your child with more toys that allow them to use their imagination.

Encourage Invented Scenarios

Kids are great at making up scenarios as they play. Whether they pretend they are an explorer traveling through the jungle or they are a fireman saving all of their stuffed animals from a burning building, this type of play allows your child to try different roles and characters, which allow them to learn verbal and social skills. To encourage your child to create new and fun scenarios add dress-up clothes, puppets, and other toys to their collection. Let them lead your playtime and play along with whatever scenario they come up with. You could even try adding to the made-up scenario to show them that adults can be creative too!

Do Arts And Crafts

Arts and crafts are a great way to encourage your kiddo to be creative. Rather than choosing one craft to do and helping them do it, provide them with a huge collection of arts and crafts supplies and let them create whatever they want. Allowing your child to create anything they want allows their creative juices to flow. If they need ideas, give them a very broad idea rather than an actual project. Tell them to create a new animal, invent something they wish existed, or something else that allows them to truly be creative.

Explore Nature

Nature is a unique and beautiful thing. When children have time to explore nature and the everchanging sceneries, they are likely to discover new things that can help boost their creativity. Ask them questions about the great outdoors that they can answer creatively. Nature causes children to think and explore, which can help boost their creative thinking.

Let Them Be

When you just allow your children to spend time doing their own thing, without interfering, your child will likely begin to think creatively and start to imagine. Allowing your child to simply be a child is a great way to allow for creativity. Give them time to do whatever they want, that isn’t sitting in front of a TV screen. They will use their imagination and creativity to entertain themselves.

There are many benefits that creativity can provide and many ways to encourage it in your children. Be sure to encourage your child to be creative and use their imagination daily to allow them to start developing new skills and learn! You may even learn a thing or two about being creative yourself! Enroll your child at one of our Growing Kids Learning Centers locations where they will be able to use their imagination and be creative daily! Contact us to learn more and get your questions answered.

The post Why Creativity Is Important For Children appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

When you put a focus on emotions and don’t make them something that are frowned upon to speak of, your child will feel more comfortable facing their emotions and learn how to handle them in the best way possible. Most people don’t have the innate ability to identify their emotions and how to control and handle them, which is why this is something you have to teach.

At Growing Kids Learn Centers, we know how important the early years of your child’s life are and how much they can develop during this time. The first few years of your child’s life are when they develop a variety of skills, including physical and cognitive skills. During this time, teaching your child about emotions can help them be more comfortable confronting their emotions as adults.

In this blog, we are going to give you some tips for teaching your child about emotions. Read on to learn more and be sure to check out our child care programs today!

Label Their Feelings

One of the best ways for your child to begin learning about emotions is to start labeling them when you notice they are feeling a certain way. If you see your child is sad, say something like, “I see you are sad, why do you feel this way?” They will begin to connect the way they are feeling with the labels you give them and realize that their emotions can change based on what has happened.

By labeling your kiddos’ emotions, you are helping them build an emotional vocabulary that allows them to better talk about their feelings. While sometimes it can be difficult to tell what your child is feeling, you can talk them through their emotions, learn what happened to make them feel how they are currently feeling, and then label the emotion.

Label Feelings In Others

Another great way to teach your child about emotions is to talk about emotions in others. Not only can this help them learn more about their feelings, but it can also help them make the connection that other people have feelings too, which can simultaneously teach them empathy.

Whether you are reading a book, watching a movie, or walking through a grocery store, ask your child what they think people are feeling. If you are reading a book to your child and the character loses their favorite toy, ask your kiddo what emotion they think the character is feeling. Ask them how they would feel in that situation. This can teach them to put themselves in other people’s shoes, allowing them to better understand their emotions.

Talk About How They Affect Emotions

Letting your child know that their actions can affect other people’s feelings can teach them about emotions and that they can cause people to feel a certain way. Again, this teaches empathy and also helps them learn that their actions have consequences. Let’s say your child calls their sibling a name, you can say, “You hurt your brother’s feelings when you called him that name and now he is sad.”

Empathy is another important thing to teach your child when they are young, and the best time to teach them how to be empathetic is when you are teaching them about emotions. When kids realize that they can affect the way someone feels, they are more likely to be mindful of how they act toward others.

Teach How to Express Emotions

There are ways to express emotions that are okay and ways that are not okay. Kicking, screaming, and throwing a tantrum when your child is mad is not okay. Taking a moment by themselves to be mad and calm down is okay. While young children may have a hard time dealing with their emotions and knowing how to express them, as your child gets older you can teach them how to properly express their emotions.

Teaching your child to use their words to express their emotions is a great start. When your child is calm and not feeling any intense emotion, talk to them about how to express their feelings in the right way. Ask them what makes them happy or what can calm them down. They can try sitting outside when they are mad or laying on their bed and talking to their stuffed animals. When they are sad, maybe they just need a hug until they feel better. Helping your child find appropriate ways to express their emotions allows them to better handle them when they feel a certain way.

Be a Role Model

By now, you know that your children learn a lot by observing you and what you do. Be sure that you are expressing your emotions appropriately as well. While we know it can sometimes be hard to contain your anger or sadness, it is important that you do your best while your child is around. They can learn a lot about expressing emotions from you. Model the behaviors you want them to adopt.

When you are mad, go for a walk or go sit outside and decompress. Your child will learn to go somewhere to decompress rather than throwing a tantrum or taking their anger out on those around you. Again, this may be a challenge, but it can also be the best way to teach your child how to properly express themselves.

A Different Perspective

Children are used to getting physically hurt. Poor coordination and playing non-stop lead to scraped knees, scratches, and other “booboos” that most kids experience daily. Kiddos learn how to handle physical pain or feelings. If they get a scrape on their knee, they accept that it is there and ask for a bandaid to make it feel better. They are not ashamed of getting hurt or asking for what they need to feel better. They are not embarrassed that they feel physical pain and they know they need to address it for it to feel better.

Teaching your child to do the same thing with their feelings can help them feel more comfortable dealing with their emotions. Teach them to accept the way they feel, learn how to deal with it, and not feel ashamed for asking for what they need to feel better. This will be extremely beneficial when your child gets older. Our culture often teaches us to hide our feelings and that we should be ashamed of feeling certain things, which is unhealthy. Teaching your child to treat their emotional pain as they would physical pain can help them feel more comfortable with their emotions.

Praise Them

Praise your child when they express their emotions in a positive way. Praise them when they use their words to tell you how they are feeling. Praise them when they tell you what they need to feel better. By praising your child when they can express their emotions appropriately and handle them properly, you can reinforce this good behavior. Let them know that you are proud of them for having self-control and expressing their emotions in a mature way.

It is best to be specific. If your child tells their sibling that they were mad that their sibling stole their toy, be sure to say something like, “I’m proud of you for telling your brother that what he did made you mad without yelling or hitting. That was mature of you.” This praise will help them learn how to handle their emotions now and as they grow older.

By following these tips, you can help your child learn about emotions and how to handle them. This is an important lesson for young kiddos to learn that will benefit them throughout their later years of life. Start working with your child on their emotions and be sure to check our Growing Kids Learning Centers today!

The post Teaching Children About Emotions appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

While your child likely does not deal with as much stress during a day at preschool as you do, self-care is still beneficial and important for them to practice. When you teach your child about self-care at a young age, it will teach them to prioritize their mental and physical health, now and as they age. According to a Parents article, when you introduce your kiddos to these habits of caring for themselves, it can help them learn how to deal with stressors in the future and reduces their risk of developing mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression!

At Growing Kids Learning Centers in Northern Indiana, we understand the importance of implementing these types of things when a child is young. As your kiddo develops, they will learn skills that they will carry throughout their adult life, including skills for caring for their own wellbeing. In this blog, we are going to go over some tips that can help you teach your child about self-care. Read on to learn more and start practicing together!

Teach Basic Skills

Start by teaching your child basic skills they need to follow to keep themselves healthy. From personal hygiene to diet, you can start teaching these things at a young age. If you are feeding your kiddo healthy foods, giving them baths, and helping them brush their teeth, you are helping them to develop a foundation for taking care of themselves as they grow. These are things that your child will have to learn how to do eventually and if you work with them early on, you can help them develop healthy habits. While these may not seem like huge self-care habits, they are some of the most important and they show your child that you have to take care of yourself to keep yourself healthy.

Work on the Mind

Nowadays, kids often get lost watching episodes of their favorite TV show, playing video games, or consuming too much screen time. While technology is a huge part of the future and your child’s life, you should also encourage them to nourish the mind and get away from the TV or tablet for a while. Buy toys that get your child to think, allow them to practice imaginative play, or work on some crafts. These all can help them develop different skills and allow them to work things through in their minds. Take it a step further and have them practice yoga or something else that helps them get in touch with their inner selves with you. This is a great way to help them gain insight and awareness.

Talk About Emotions

A huge part of self-care revolves around mental health and emotions. While talking to your toddler about emotions will be different than talking to a teenager about emotions, it is a great way to help them develop the right skills to identify and manage their emotions. When your child has a tantrum or is feeling sad, help them talk about their emotions and figure out ways to manage them. Many adults do not know how to manage their emotions and may not even know how to properly identify them, which can lead to problems of their own. By helping your kiddo better understand their emotions, they can understand how to handle them, even as an adult. This is a great way to practice self-care and get in touch with their emotions.

Get Active

Exercise is a great self-care habit that is easy to teach your child. While it is unlikely that you will bring your toddler to the gym and teach them how to lift weights, there are so many ways you can encourage an active lifestyle. Play soccer or basketball with them, bring them to the park, go on bike rides, go for long walks, do yoga, the list goes on and on. When you live an active lifestyle, you are more likely to be healthier mentally, physically, and emotionally. Help your children learn that being active can help them destress and feel better. They will carry this into their future.

Allow For Downtime

Don’t teach your child that downtime is bad. Sometimes the best self-care practice is doing nothing. Especially in the fast-paced lives we live as adults, sometimes all we need is a break from it all to do absolutely nothing. Allow for your kiddos to have some downtime, whether that means just cuddling with them on the couch for a few minutes, reading to them, or sitting outside and watching the clouds float by. Teaching your child that it is okay to take some downtime and that it can help them slow down their busy lives when they become adults.

Spend Time Together

Spending time with loved ones is not only a great self-care act for adults, but also for children! Make it a habit of spending some quality time with your children every week and doing something fun. Get some ice cream, play a silly game, or do some other fun activity. Not only can it work as a self-care practice, but it can also help you bond with your child!

Get Outside

Spending time outside can help you and your kiddos refresh and is another great self-care practice. Spend time outside with your kiddos whenever you can. Have fun outdoor adventures that allow them to explore and enjoy time outside. By making the outdoors a major part of your family life, you can help your child develop a love for it and use it as a self-care tactic as they grow.

There are many ways to teach your child self-care and to practice with them! By teaching your children self-care at a young age, you can help them develop these important habits as they age and become adults.

If you are interested in our learning center, be sure to contact us today! We have multiple programs that help kids to learn and develop skills they will use throughout the rest of their lives. Get started and enroll your child at one of the Growing Kids Learning Centers across Northern Indiana!

The post Self-Care Tips For Kids appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

While reading to your children every night may seem like the last thing you want to do, especially when you finally have some time to yourself, there are so many benefits that come from this simple activity. Plus, it only takes a few minutes a night.

At Growing Kids Learning Centers in Northern Indiana, we understand the importance of reading and help our students develop their reading skills, preparing them for kindergarten and the rest of their school years. We have learning centers all over Northern Indiana, allowing you to find the location closest to you. We have locations in Elkhart, Valparaiso, Goshen, Chesterton, Plymouth, Warsaw, and four in South Bend.

In this blog, we wanted to talk about the benefits that reading to your children can provide. Read on to learn more and start making time to read to your kids today!

Builds a Bond

Reading to your children is a great way to spend quality time with them. This is an activity that allows you to bond with your child, and can become a special part of their routine. They will feel closer to you and view this time together as something special. Your child simply wants to spend time with you where they have your full attention. Reading to them every night can be that special time you share together without any distractions. This is something that your kiddos will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Improves Literacy Skills

Reading out loud to your child can help them develop better literacy skills. They will learn that you read from left to right, they will learn the sounds of different letters, begin to understand the meaning of different words, and that words put together have meaning. Even if your child is just learning the alphabet or figuring out how to read, reading to them can help improve these skills and teach them more about language.

Exposure to Language

If you start reading to your child when they are too young to speak, it can help expose them to language and allow them to begin to develop these skills. When you expose your child to language at a young age, they will begin to develop these language skills earlier and have an easier time when learning how to communicate. Reading to them, talking to them, and hearing you talk to others are all great ways to expose your child to language.

Promotes Longer Attention Span

When you read to your children, they are focused on the story and generally will pay attention from start to finish (we know that sometimes nothing will keep your child’s attention). This activity can actually promote a longer attention span and help children learn how to concentrate for longer periods of time. This will become an important skill when your child has to sit through school and other classes.

Stimulates Imagination

Reading stories allows children to start thinking more creatively and helps stimulate their imagination. When hearing stories about different characters, marvelous creatures, far away places, and stuff that can only happen in the imagination, your child will begin to imagine these things as well. Not only does reading help show your child that there is no limit to creativity, but it also helps them create pictures in their heads of the words you are reading, which helps them imagine what everything looks like, how the characters feel, and so much more.

Gives Different Perspectives

There are so many books about so many different topics. Reading to your child allows them to learn more about the world around them, different cultures, places, people, and gives them a different perspective. They will learn that the world is so much bigger than they can imagine and the stories you read will allow them to understand different perspectives. Learning about other people, places, and events gives your child a look at something outside their own experience, which can help them develop empathy.

Exercises The Brain

Reading not only strengthens brain connections, but it also helps build new ones. An article from Raise Smart Kid mentions that children who are exposed to reading at home show significantly more brain activation in an area that involves multisensory integration. When you read to your kids, you can help them build new brain networks that will help them when transitioning to reading themselves.

There are many benefits that come from reading to your children. These are only a few of the main benefits and reasons why you should read to your kiddos regularly. Not only will they excel academically, but you can build a better bond with them by simply reading to them. This is a simple task that takes a few minutes a day and allows them to develop great memories with you and many other skills.

Start reading to your children regularly and be sure to enroll them in a child care center that can help them learn how to read among many other things! Growing Kids Learning Centers in Northern Indiana is a great option, with 10 locations to choose from and a variety of programs. Contact us today to learn more about our learning center!

The post Benefits Of Reading to Your Kids appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we know that play, in general, is important and beneficial for kids. But imaginative play can provide benefits as well! Your child’s imagination helps them with creativity, problem-solving, and many other things. We allow the children in our program to use their imagination and curiosity to learn and grow.

We also encourage parents to support their child’s imagination and any play that involves their creative thinking. In this blog, we are going to talk about the benefits of imaginative play and why you should encourage it in your child. Read on to learn more!

More Creative

When a child uses their imagination to create different scenarios in their head or to turn a box into a spaceship, they are becoming more and more creative. Many adults find themselves lacking those creative thoughts they once had, and perhaps it is because we stopped using our imaginations as we got older. But when your child uses their imagination, they can build and develop their creativity. This can help with problem-solving, creating, and so much more.

Social Skills

Imaginative play will also help your child develop better social skills. Whenyour child plays with other kids, they will develop better social skills, but that is not the only way that imaginative play can help them with their social skills. Your child will also put themselves in someone else’s shoes. If your child pretends to be a parent taking care of multiple kids, which are most likely stuffed animals or dolls, they will develop the skill of empathy.

Plus, when your child plays with dolls or action figures, they will learn different skills that involve social interaction and develop social cues. They will practice using different tones and emotions, gain a better understanding of social relationships, and develop better communication skills. Plus, playing with action figures can also help build self-esteem.

Language Skills

Your child will also develop better language and communication skills when they practice imaginative play. Whether they are playing with action figures or dolls or playing pretend with a sibling or friend, they will be able to develop better communication skills by practicing conversations and how to respond properly to other people.

Your child will also expand their vocabulary and be able to experiment with words on their own time. This is beneficial because around family or a teacher, they may be embarrassed if they get something wrong or say a word wrong, but when playing alone or with other kids, they can practice and use language freely.

Pretend play can help your kiddo learn and understand the power of language and how words can create a story and help them communicate with many different things. When your child uses and develops language skills during their playtime, they will slowly see the connection between the spoken and written word, which can also help improve their reading skills.

Emotional Development

Imaginative play can also help your child emotionally. Pretend play allows your kiddo to practice both positive and negative emotions and feelings. They can better understand how people respond and how they respond to different scenarios. Play can help them work through different emotions and better understand them.

Additional Benefits

There are many different benefits to imaginative play. While the ones listed above are some of the major benefits, there are many other ways that pretend play can benefit your child and help them develop. Some of these include:

• Better problem-solving skills
• Improved self-regulation skills
• Boosts gross and fine motor skills
• Encourages physical development

Imaginative play is a great way for your child to learn, grow, develop, and improve a variety of different skills and behaviors. While your child will have plenty of time to practice being creative and play pretend while at our learning center, you should encourage your child to participate in imaginative play as often as possible!

Learn more about Growing Kids Learning Centers and find a location that works best for you! Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

The post The Benefits of Imaginative Play appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

While many parents get excited about the beginning of the school year, since they won’t have to worry about entertaining their kiddos anymore, getting ready for back to school is never fun. While the planning and preparing is a challenge for many parents, one of the more difficult tasks is getting your children back on the school schedule.

Throughout the summer, your children are staying up late, running rampant, and not following a strict schedule. While this is fine during the few months they have off of school, getting them back on that school schedule is important if you want the transition into the new school year to go smoothly.

At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we know that the beginning of the school year can be rough for everyone. We know that this is the time of year the kids dread and parents look forward to. If you need some last-minute tips for making the transition back into the school schedule easier, read on. We will give you tips for getting back into the groove of school. If you have kiddos that will be heading to school in the next few years, be sure to check out one of our ten Growing Kids Learning Centers!

Ease Into The Routine

Rather than jumping right back into the school year on the first day of school, you will want to ease back into your school routine. If you let your children stay up a little later in the summer, make them start going to bed earlier a few weeks before school starts. Getting them back on a school schedule at least a week early can help make the transition easier for them and you.

You will also want to ease back into the habit of getting up and getting ready for school. A week before school starts have your children get up, get dressed, and eat breakfast before they go and enjoy their last few days of summer. Have them get used to spending some time after dinner doing work. This will help them get back into the routine of doing homework. While you don’t have to actually make them do work during this time, you can sit down and read a book with them, do some crafts, or color together. Just spending time after dinner focusing on a task can help prepare them for the homework they will soon be doing.

Easing back into the school schedule can help make this transition easier for everyone. Not only will your children get back on a good sleeping schedule, but they will restart those morning and night routines. Instead of jumping into this routine, slowly add these schedules back in.

Start Planning

Summer is a time of the year when there seems to be no structure, schedule, or planning. Your children are playing at all hours of the day, you are always doing one of the million tasks on your to-do list, and it is hard to make a plan for anything. Dinner is often pizza or whatever you can find in your fridge that is easy to throw together. While the freedom of summer is great for many people, this freedom generally cannot continue into the school year.

If you want to make the transition back to the school schedule to go smoothly, you will want to start planning. Plan when you will drop your kids off and when you will pick them up. Make plans if you need to change your work schedule for these pick-up and drop off times. Make plans for food each week — what breakfast will your children eat, what will you pack them for lunch, and what you will make for dinner.

When you start planning out your days with detail, you will be able to fall back into the school schedule with ease. This will help make this transition easier for you and your kids, and you will be able to stop worrying about food or scheduling issues.

Practice The First Day

If you or your child is nervous or stressed about the first day of school, do a practice run. A practice run can help both of you get a better idea of how the mornings will go and how much time you will realistically need to get ready. Talk to your child about their morning schedule during the school year and practice it a few days before the school year actually begins.

Have them wake up in the morning at the time that they would wake up during the actual school year. Give them time to get dressed, eat breakfast, get their school supplies together, and do whatever else they need to do to get ready for school. You can pack a lunch and do whatever else you would be doing during an actual school day. Walk or drive to school together and be sure to note how long it takes you, especially if you will have to make it to work after dropping your child off. Add a few minutes because, during the actual school year, you will be dealing with other parents, busy parking lots, and school traffic.

While practicing the first day of school may seem like an excessive preparation process, it can really help you get a better idea of how long you both will need in the morning and will calm some nerves, especially if this is your child’s first year of school.

Address Your Child’s Concerns

For many children, the first day of school is stressful and scary. While you may think that the first day of school should not be a big deal because they have done it before, just remember how you felt on the first day of school. This is a new school year for your child. They have a new teacher, new kids in their class, and they haven’t been in a classroom in a few months. They don’t know what this school year will be like or what they will learn. This is a stressful time for them and as their parent, you need to listen to their concerns and help address these things.

If they are nervous about their new teacher, call ahead and set up a meeting with their teacher before the year starts. If they don’t know what they are going to learn, ask the teacher for the curriculum or a quick outline of what they will be learning. If they are just nervous, ask what you can do to help them and do that. Talk excitedly about the new year and remind them how much they loved school last year. It is always scary starting something new but after the first few days, your child should be excited about school once again!

Plan a Family Night

Before the school year starts, you will want to get your kiddos back on the school schedule, but you will also want to spend some time with them before your lives get hectic. Planning a family night not only allows you to make sure they go to bed on time, but it gives you a chance to spend time with your children before school starts. This is a fun way to end summer and enjoy the last few days before starting school again. Plan a dinner and a movie night, go bowling, spend all day at the park, or do whatever else your family enjoys doing together. This is a great idea for the night before school starts. However, you can incorporate a few family nights into your routine the week before school begins. You can also make this a tradition throughout the rest of the year. Every Sunday, plan a family night so that you can all spend time together and get everyone to bed on time before the week begins.

Planning ahead and knowing the schedule will make transitioning back to the school schedule simpler for you and your kiddos. There are many ways that you can get back to your school routine and help your children get back on schedule as well. Hopefully, these tips will help you get started and begin preparing for the start of the school year.

At Growing Kids Learning Centers in Northern Indiana, we offer a variety of different programs from infant programs to kindergarten. We also offer after school programs for school-aged children, which make it easier for you to get your work done and not worry about picking your child up on time. If you are looking for a new school for your child or have a little one who will be starting preschool or kindergarten soon, be sure to check out our programs and contact one of our locations today!

The post Tips For Getting Back On a School Schedule appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

If the thought of your child pointing out a person who is different than them is simply mortifying, you’re not alone. It’s common for kids to want to understand the newness of the world around them! However, there are great lessons in empathy that show up at these opportunities.

You might not fully be able to prevent your child from shouting about a woman using a wheelchair, but you will be able to teach tolerance with these tips from Growing Kids Learning Centers. Find out how to teach young kids about differences, and look into preschool and child care with our schools in South Bend (at Ireland Road, State Road 23, and North Bendix Drive), Chesterton, Goshen, Warsaw, Plymouth, Elkhart, Bristol, or Valparaiso today!

Give Examples

If you’re trying to avoid having your child call attention to someone who’s different from them, be proactive! Find books and movies that show great examples of representation. If the majority of your child’s exposure to fictional and nonfictional characters are very similar to them or your family, find more diverse examples.

There are some amazing, kid-friendly books that do the work of giving examples of differences for you. Purchase “It’s Okay to Be Different” by Todd Parr, “Elmer” by David McKee, “Princess Hair” by Sharee Miller, and “The Boy in the Dress” by David Walliams for your library collection.

Have Open Discussions

When you were growing up, you might have had moments where adults told you not to notice or think about other people’s differences. You might have even been told not to talk about them, or been scolded for your inquiries. At best, this breeds a lot of curiosity without direction; at worst, it creates feelings of shame.

No child should be ashamed for asking questions, especially when they have no context for what they’re asking about. Have conversations about appropriate times (and speaking volumes!) to ask questions, how other people might feel if they become the center of attention without their permission, and how you will always answer your child’s questions — it just might not be right when they want an answer.

Relate it Back to Them

The great thing about this lesson is that everyone is different! We all have our own unique tendencies, looks, and personalities. Even when your child might feel like someone else is different, the truth is that the stranger walking on the street will find them (your child) just as different!

It’s always important to focus on how we have things in common with one another, but it’s even more important to remember how our greatest commonality is that we are all different. And these differences can and should be celebrated.

Enroll in Preschool

From the books we read at Growing Kids Learning Centers to the peer-to-peer interactions we help supervise, facilitate, and use as teaching moments, your child will confidently learn how to embrace others’ differences — as well as their own. Social-emotional growth and empathy are two of the greatest and most important skills for a child to learn. Preschool is the perfect place to work on these skills, especially when you enroll with Growing Kids Learning Centers. Tour one of our schools today!

The post Teaching Kids About Differences appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

As a child continues to grow cognitively, creativity is immensely strong within children ages 3-6. This is a prime time to develop the structure for creative thoughts and thinking processes that can be utilized throughout their lives, both in and outside of school. Inspiring creative development can help with critical thinking, an essential and empowering skill for children to acquire. It also helps with problem solving, a stimulating and creative process that is crucial to early childhood development. Children are naturally curious, and Growing Kids likes to feed their creative side.

At Growing Kids, we teach our preschoolers and kindergartens the fundamentals of math, writing and reading to help provide a strong foundation for their future educational endeavors. We also work to stimulate all areas of development, which includes creative interactions. This is showcased in our “Main Street” center at the heart of all of our educational centers. The Main Street allows for children to engage with each other to create social relationships, as well as foster creative thoughts. This offers children the opportunity to play, pretend, create, socialize and problem-solve. This sticks to our core values of allowing students to learn on through hands-on experiences, something that the “Main Street” can provide for your child.
Growing Kids Learning Centers believes in inspiring creativity for preschoolers, and have modeled our programs to foster a creative atmosphere for our students. Contact us today to learn more!

The post Inspiring Creativity for Your Child appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.