Stencils are a great way to encourage children to practice fine motor skills while creating a quick and easy piece of art. However, stencils require some practice and coordination so they can be frustrating at first. here are some tips for using stencils with your preschool child:
- As they are first learning to use stencils, try taping the stencil to the paper so that it doesn’t move around and you are not stuck holding the stencil in place. Once they have mastered this technique, try removing the tape, and show children how to hold the stencil with their non-dominant hand.
- Start with large open shapes several inches wide before attempting to trace small letters, numbers or shapes.
- Allow children to trace the inside of the stencil or simply color it in according to their preference. However, encourage children to try both methods and demonstrate each.
- Try using reverse stencils that require children to trace around the outside of a shape rather than color in an empty space in the middle.
- Experiment with different mediums. Instead of pencils, crayons, or markers, try paint brushes or bingo dabbers.
- Encourage children to make entire scenes using several stencils rather than making just one shape. Adding sky, grass, water, etc. can also get your child’s creative juices flowing.
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 12, 2010
Have you ever watched amusingly as a toddler holds a crayon or pencil? The death grip that is often applied is serves the purpose, but it does not result in a great deal of accuracy. Although this is fine as very young children develop the fine motor skills, particularly the pincer grip, which allows them to hold the implement firmly in place, teaching preschool children the correct way to hold
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 7, 2010
Students often feel as though they should understand everything they read. Think back to your own school days. As the material became more intense, did you always understand everything you read? This overwhelming feeling of complete success can be intimidating to many children, and it often begins as very young children are learning to read.
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 30, 2010
When teaching young children the sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet, it is fairly easy to practice with a child in almost any situation. For example, while traveling in the car, road signs can be used to identify letters. Once a letter is identified, parents can ask what sound the letter makes. Of course there numerous are games, flashcards, toys, etc. that also provide a good r
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 25, 2010
Have you ever dropped a small bead or other tiny object and found it impossible to pick it up because it was so small? Without good fine motor skills, children can encounter this same frustration even when objects are the size of an o-shaped cereal. Practicing this skill, called the pincer grasp, with tweezers can help children master the ability to pick up small objects with their fingers.
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 18, 2010
When children are learning new information, making connections to knowledge they already have helps them to better remember the new information. These connections can be made by simply asking questions and by using any of a large variety of graphic organizers. Here is an example of how you can help your child recall what he already knows about a topic using a picture to organize thoughts.
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 2, 2010
Have you ever listened to someone tell a story that is difficult to follow because the timeline is disconnected? Or perhaps you have gotten frustrated while watching a movie where the creators thought it would be neat to have ten flashbacks within a fifteen minute stretch of film? The reason these situations can catch us off guard is because we are accustomed to having stories and events told to
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 26, 2010
Even at this young age, your child has probably already had experiences painting with their fingers and paintbrushes. They may have used watercolors, temperas, and finger paints. Here is another way to paint using similar mediums but in a new way.
Painting with ice cubes gives children an opportunity to paint while experiencing a new sensation. While holding a popsicle stick, the color flows as
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 19, 2010
If you have ever listened to a preschooler tell a story, you know that the thought process doesn’t always flow in a straight line. Little things that catch their attention or that are suddenly recalled at any given moment are instantly inserted into the story. The story may also have no time line. Events may simply be revealed in the order in which the child thinks of them.
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 12, 2010
When learning about syllables, some children may have a difficult time hearing the separations within the words. It may be that syllables are simply a difficult concept or, perhaps, that a child is not an auditory learner. In either case, it may help to be able to “see” the syllables. Try the following activity to help your child visualize the syllables within a word.
On a sunny, ho
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 10, 2010
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