2024 Growing Strong Calendar_11x17

12-MONTH CALENDAR

Growing

12 Months of Tips & Activities for Enhancing Child Development

Inclusion

Inclusion is the celebration of diversity put into action.

Tips for Structuring Inclusive Activities

  1. Support participation. Use a variety of ways to help children join activities and sustain participation.
  2. Be consistent. Children can be successful and feel trusted and safe when adults are consistent.

Sharing One’s Feelings

Quote from The Social-Emotional Learning Toolbox by Kathy L. Perez, Brookes Publishing Co.

3 Ideas for Teaching Kids Emotions

  1. Feeling Wheel Game. Create a spinning wheel that features different feeling faces. Give each child a chance to spin. Ask them to identify the feeling and talk about an incident that made them feel that way.

Cultivating Empathy

Steps to Cultivating Empathy:

  1. Watch and Listen. What is the other person saying, and what does that mean to them?
  2. Remember. When did you feel similarly?
  3. Ask. Ask what the person needs.
  4. Show You Care. Let them know that you care about their feelings.

Quote from Coaching for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging in Early Childhood by Anni K. Reinking & Laycee Thigpen, Brookes Publishing Co.

4 Ways to Show Children Diversity Strength

  1. Teach children it’s okay to ask questions.
  2. Have conversations about stereotypes and biases.
  3. Set a good example. Be mindful as children look to you as a model.

3 At-Home Spring Activities to Boost Your Child’s Development

  1. Build a rainy-day hideaway. Have the kids build a tent by draping old sheets or blankets over furniture.
  2. Create sand pictures. For fine-motor practice, have your child glue sand to the bottom of a paper plate.
  3. Play memory matching. Make a simple concentration game with pairs of duplicate playing cards or pictures.

Activities to Boost Child Development

  1. Get outdoors every day.
  2. Go someplace new together. Plan the outing and discuss what you’ll see.
  3. Play simple skill-boosting games. Search for letters and numbers at the store or ask your child to find items on a list.

Quote from Building Preverbal Communication & Engagement by Lesley B. Olswang, Julie Feuerstein, & Gay Lloyd Pinder, Brookes Publishing Co.