Learning

From the ONCDC Blog

Cancel the performance! Help your child stay engaged while keeping your sanity.

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Do you ever find yourself exhausted at the end of the day? You spent all day thinking of ways to keep your child “occupied?” Maybe you’re thinking that your job as a parent means you need to constantly provide activities and materials for your child. Good news! You’ve been spending all of your time to…

Preschool Should Be Ages 3 to 8

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Preschool should be ages three to eight not ages three to five. Children under age eight are in what researchers call a sensitive period of growth. Our public school system starts at age five so the majority of families just assume between five and six preschool ends and Kindergarten begins. Once in school children are…

What if I had just…

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As teachers, we can’t help but be aware of the mistakes we make and what might have happened if we had just stopped to listen.   It was late afternoon in the twos and we had watercolors out. W and E were sharing a palette, working on their own paintings, while I stayed close by…

Responding to Fear

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Parent Question: I wondered if you had advice or resources for responding to a baby or child’s fear (at about 11 months in this case)? In the past week and particularly yesterday, our little one has been responding fearfully to some loud new sounds like the vacuum, carpet cleaner, and dogs barking. She cried/yelled and…

Academic Vs. Play Based Programs

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In some discussions and writing, you have referred to programs as academic. Parent’s Ask: It seems like you refer to academic as a negative thing, why? When would you have children in a more academic setting? Our Neighborhood believes children learn through play. We are social constructivists who believe children learn best in the context…

Finger Sucking, Thumb Sucking, Pacifiers and Language Development

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Parent Question But I wanted to check in to see if you had any good resources on finger sucking. I’m gathering mixed info concerning when we should try and quit. My two year old is also having some trouble pronouncing some sounds but I’m not sure if it’s related to finger sucking or just because…

Rough Touches Continue

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Parent Question Question here based on the Just a Minute Rough Touches session you did. When my 18 month old hits or scratches her dad or my face, usually while we are carrying her, we grab her hand and say, “That’s too rough.” followed by a “Do you need to be rough? Let’s go find…