Author: fuelingbrains_AdMEEn

Toddlers of all ages love to paint. Painting is the best way for them to do tons of things: express emotions, convey innovative ideas, use the senses, discover process, explore colors and create aesthetically pleasing experiences.

Whether your little one has a passion and skill for painting or not, he can still reap many from this activity. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of painting for toddlers in Calgary, AB.

Why is Paining so Valuable for Toddlers?

1.Promotes Creativity

Creativity is the ability to think outside-of-the-box. The ability to be creative is essential to the success of your children. 

As per the International Child Art Foundation, kids and toddlers who are exposed to the arts enhance their creativity.

2.Builds Motor Skills

When a kid squishes the paint between the fingers, mix colors and materials, they use their imagination. Also, all of these tasks need increasing amounts of dexterity. 

Doing this activity is a lot of fun for children. They want to do the activity over and over again. As kids engage in painting over time, this triggers a neural connection and builds fine motor skills (small muscle control). 

However, working on the big paper sheets or at the easel helps develop large muscle control (Gross Motor skills).

3.Helps Kids build Connection

Painting for toddlers in Calgary allows kids of all ages, languages, races, and potential to collaborate and engage in a shared activity.  

4.Helps Kids Understand Themselves and Their World

Art offers a safe outlet for emotions. When you motivate your little one to explore art and craft, this makes them familiar with their bodies with different methods and tools. 

Movement, color, image, line, and imagination – all help kids express themselves in a multidimensional manner.

5.Allow them to Learn How to Make Decisions

As toddlers learn painting and works, they make a choice about their own artwork. Your child learns how to turn their ideas and feelings onto paper.

6.Exercises Brain

Creative activities such as painting use different parts of the brain than learning mathematics. The brains’ right side is the creative half and usually responsible for visual skills. 

This exercises the right brain of your child, thereby resulting in overall healthy brain development.

7.Builds Self-Confidence

Painting activities allow your child to freely express their emotions. There is no right or wrong method to paint. This allows a kid to feel successful regardless of their development stage or skill level.

8.Improve Hand-Eye Coordination

An important skill for the toddlers to learn from a young age is the coordination between the eyes and hands. There are tons of activities that can enhance this skill and painting is one of them.

They will be able to match the actions of their hands with what they see with their eyes.

9.Relieve Stress

Same as adults, little ones get stressed too. Painting is an excellent way to de-stress your little one. 

By asking open-ended questions, it will grow the verbal skills of your child in no time. It’s a smart idea to find a painting for toddlers near you.

10.Creates Good Sensory Experience

Painting involves the senses – sight and touch. This builds a good knowledge base of diverse sensory experiences.

For example, little one feels to touch the paper using finger painting or how it feels while moving the painting brush across the paper. 

These types of experiences are essential because it allows your kid to discover and understand the world around them.

11.Develop Mobility Skills

By using the hand muscles to paint for a long time, toddlers will develop mobility skills. They will also learn to adjust their painting style as per the surface they are using and the brush size. Allow your child to mix colors and experiment with new combinations.

Art is linked naturally to creativity. It’s an attribute that is one of the most vital factors for the success of the child. The use of shapes, colors, and other visual elements allows a child to communicate emotions or feelings fast that otherwise would be tough difficult to express.

Remember, if a regular painting might seem too tough at first, you can encourage your little one to “painting numbers” so they can learn the basics while still having fun and creating a fantastic painting at the end.

Children are a great addition to the community. They have the potential to take up significant roles and duties that will empower society. However, to get there, they require ample training. This means putting them through different institutions for such opportunities, as easy learning skills at Kids U.

Milestones for Learning Skills for Children

Children, at different ages, acquire different sets of skills. Their brains keep developing at every stage if their childhood, increasing their capacity to understand and grasp various content.

Between the ages of 6months and 7 years, your child is at the prime age of acquiring many skills, as their brain is quickly developing.

Main Areas of Development That Children Need New Skills

• Cognitive development – this works with the mind of the child. It questions the child’s ability to solve simple life problems. Learning to explore the environment around him is a great way for your child to start acquiring skills championing cognitive development. Besides that, easy learning skills for children in Calgary empowers cognitive development, for example, through teaching simple math problems.
• Speech and language development – a child’s ability to talk to and with you is only possible when they learn a language. The first interaction your child has with languages will shape his speech and language development. Learning language and speaking out the first words will be determined by the surrounding of the child. However, schooling is necessary to help correct language and shape the appropriacy of speech thereof.
• Social and emotional development – interacting effectively with people around her is a vital skill that your child requires in life. Social skills such as smiling and laughing in response to something should start early. With time, your child should improve social and emotional skills, ranging from self-control, as well as literal social cues like hugs, greetings, and goodbyes.
• Motor skill development – this caters to the ability of children to use their bodily muscles. The first skills to acquire are fine motor skills that allow children to use their small muscles like fingers and even hands. Your child is, therefore, able to move hands and fingers to perform certain tasks like grab something, eat, draw, to mention a few. The other set of skills necessary for this development are gross motor skills. These determine the usage of the big muscles of your child. This covers the feet, as well as the rest of the body. At this stage, your child should learn how to walk and run, jump around, sit up by themselves, pull and push relatively heavy items, to mention a few.

Skill Development Milestones

A milestone marks the time frame within which your child can learn different developmental skills. The most important thing to consider about learning skills as a parent is that individual children are different. The development of their brains works differently from other kids. Even within the same family, siblings develop differently which means that different Milestones are reached at different intervals.

Other than that, Milestones can develop sequentially. This means that your child may not acquire other skills until he/she has acquired a particular one. This is why parents must start considering aid from schools that help speed up the learning process of children in skill acquisition.

Two main factors will affect the development of your child, as well as their ability to learn and acquire new skills. These are:

• Genes – your family line will determine a lot that happens to your child, other than just the physical composition. If it is in your genes that people are fast learners, then your child will exhibit such traits in learning new skills.
• Environment – the surroundings of a child as they grow up affects the outcome of their life. The skills they gather will be guided by observation and firsthand experience and interaction with the people and things around him/her. For the most part, social cues and language are a consequence of the environment of the child. This is what makes it important for children to be around other kids their age, as well as exemplary adults that can pass on better skills to them.

Today’s technological era has undoubtedly eased the lives. You can communicate easily, everything is just a tap away but what about the kids? Have you ever thought about their mental and physical growth in this era? Just like technology has eased your life, it has bound your child to a tab. There is a greater chance that your kid is not interested in playing outdoor games but a round of FIFA in your mobile or laptop would be a treat for him.

This is not something that you should be proud of. Allowing an hour for playing games in mobiles or PlayStation sounds fine but there should be an hour for brain developing games as well. How can games serve for brain development? Keep reading this article to find out the answer.

The children between age 6 to 15 face rapid changes and their thoughts are hard to understand. With different kinds of online games and Xbox around, it is tough to enhance their thinking abilities. Before their mental growth gets badly affected, here are some measures or games you can plan for them. These are basically brain builders and have proven results.

Make Exercise Fun for Them

Exercise should top the list of things-to-do for your child. They would not find it attractive but that is your responsibility to make it fun for them. Do not go tough on the exercise schedule. A little bit of jumping jacks and some jogging would be great in the beginning. Once they get in routine, increase the number of exercises.

Make Yoga Their Habit

You can also add yoga to their routine. Yoga serves as an intoxicant for the body. If your child develops this habit early, he would not face any issues in the future. Imagination works best to introduce yoga to children. A relaxing scene will make them sit and meditate. Otherwise, they would not wait for a minute and leave.

Encourage Them for Playing Board Games

Games have always been considered a waste of time but recent research shows a positive impact of board games in children. Scrabble and Bingo are most popular. Both these games build analytical skills, decision-making skills, and thinking skills. Play these games with your child. Forcing them to play with friends or siblings will not be interesting but if you play with them, it would become attractive for them.

Admit Them into Afternoon Classes

To keep them away from screens, their time needs to be consumed. Afternoon classes for kids have different courses that enhance their analyzing and decision-making skills. You can choose a combination of courses or one course. It depends on you and the school policy. These classes also give children time to play games like chess, monopoly, etc. and all these games have great influence on your child’s brain.

Summer Classes Would Work As Well

Kids love summer break but as a parent you should plan some activities before they get lazy. Building brain summer classes are now an option best for engaging children. They will spend some time busy in interesting studies like robotic. These classes also teach your child interpersonal skills which are very important.

Linguistic Classes are a Better Option

Other than games and classes, you can admit your child to a linguistic school as well. Learning a different language is fun. Your kid will spend time in learning something new and productive. Is it not a good choice? English is their native language but they should have good command over some other languages like German, French, etc. never think that this can be done at a mature age. With increasing age come responsibilities that occupy most of the time. Kids do not have responsibilities and engaging them is important. Why not choose something productive for them?

Being a parent is not a piece of cake. There are several responsibilities and today’s generation needs desperate attention. They are bound by technology and screens have become their ultimate source of entertainment. Adding some good games and activities will control their addiction for mobiles and laptops. If you are searching for some activities for your child then Kids U is what you have been looking for. We understand the importance of brain development so there are different courses for the purpose. Afternoon classes and summer camps by brain builders are highly recommended to parents like you.

Parents get a bit scared when someone talks about preschool. For them, their kids are too small for going to school. Scolding kids is one of the major insecurities parents usually have. Well, this article will clear out everything for pre-school near you. Keep reading to find out the benefits.

The Benefits of Sending Your Kids to Jr. Preschool

Do not be scared because preschools are a good place for your child. They build the kid’s foundation. Pre-schools in Calgary do not out burden on your child. They don’t give excess homework or pressure on your kid. It includes some fun activities that enhance the brain development. Your kid learns something new.

Build Your Child’s Foundation

The young ones are curious about everything they see. Their observations are stronger than you think. This is the perfect age to teach your child something new. Their interest and curiosity will build strong foundations. Both academically and physically, they can be better.

Teach Your Child to Be Organized

Preschools are the best way to teach your kids to be organized. How to behave around people is something you cannot teach them. You can tell them but preschools promote implementation. Different kids and teachers around them will encourage them to stay organized with their personality.

Make Your Kid Emotionally and Physically Strong

Your kid will make friends. Some little fights and patch-ups will make your child emotionally strong. This is the primary step towards dealing with people. Preschools have different activities planned to make the learning process easier. These activities will build your child physically strong. Moreover, tricky activities will enhance brain development as well.

Train Your Child for Higher Academic Levels

Preschools serve as a milestone for achieving higher academic levels easily. You cannot expect your child to ace exceptionally good results in elementary school if there is no foundation built. Preschools will build a stronger foundation and tackling in elementary school will be easier.

Kids U is one of the best preschools in Calgary, AB. Your child is in safe hands. Our teachers are highly experienced. Our preschool teachers have been trained to build stronger foundations for your child. Contact us now for introducing your child to a new world of wonder.

Kids are as playful as kittens, if not more. They are naturally drawn to playing, especially outdoors. Something about the bright sun and other tiny little humans to keep them company keeps them going. As a parent, however, being over-protective is part of the job description. You cannot help but worry about the germs that are outdoors, not to mention the injuries they could incur.

If your child has come to you with a splinter injury, a bleeding knee or even the flu, letting them play outdoor may not be your cup of tea. Even so, did you know there are several benefits to encouraging outdoor play?

What are some of the benefits of playing outside?

If you have signed up your child to daycare in Calgary, you can rest assured he/she is getting a lot of outdoor play. The benefits of play are greatly emphasized in schools, and here are some reasons why:

• To encourage physical exercise

Physical exercise is good for the body. It encourages blood flow and oxygen in all parts of the body. Even for kids, the benefits of exercise are eminent. Outdoor playing is the best way to get in a good work out. Like you would know, signing your child up for gym sessions or yoga may not sit well with them. However, if you are open to outdoor play as you are about playcare, you can be sure that your child will be physically fit. Besides, kids are big on eating candy and snacking on unhealthy foods. It helps to burn excess fats and prevent obesity from taking, at such an early age.

• Builds their self-confidence

Playing indoors is more guarded than playing outdoors. You can control what is in your house, but not so much what is outside. Allowing your child to play outside gives them a whole new experience. The challenges are more. However, in conquering them. The child gets a boost in their confidence. Haven’t you noticed how excited your kid has been to report on a fish they caught or a tree they planted? Outdoor playing will go a long way in helping your child overcome any phobias and insecurities. At this point, any victory is a good victory for your child.

• Limitless opportunities

Your child will be exposed to a lot of learning by playing outdoors. Numerous stimuli in the environment could trigger learning in the mind of a child. Anything from sticks, stones, water, and leaves is perfect for early learning.

• To experience life in a whole new perspective

Life outside the house is completely different. There is no TV to keep you company. Instead, you have all the time to figure out what you like and what you do not. Your child can pick up the love of animals by watching a dog play fetch. You kid can pick up the love or photography and travel, by observing the different scenes when on a swing.

• Enhanced mental performance

The bright light outside outweighs any artificial lighting. This light is great for the health of your child, not to mention, for boosting mental performance. The brightness of the light is known to improve the formation of synapses in the brain. The concentration of your child will also heighten as he/she plays outside.

Besides, it is also the best way to reduce any chances of nearsightedness for your kid.

• Encourages socialization

If all the other kids are doing it, why not yours? It would be sad to have your child locked up in the house while his/her age mates are outside playing. Being outdoors allows kids to form friendships outside the confines of parenthood. Social skills and interpersonal communication is also enhanced with outdoor playing.

• Development of athletic abilities

Hardly will your child be outside sited the whole time. When children are outside, they are always busy doing something. The activities usually involve a lot of jumping, running, singing, and climbing. These activities can reinforce their gifting and abilities in areas that you never knew.

• It is fun

If for no other reason, playing outdoors is fun. There is a lot to focus on that makes it fun. The rain, trees, pools, grass, dirt, swings, among other things, make life outside fun.

There is no need to keep worrying about your child playing outside. Let your kid have some fun because childhood is not forever!

The word Kindergarten means ‘Garden for Children’. Kindergarten is also known as pre-school, which is a local elementary school with educational programs designed for young children. This helps the kids in preparing for school as they learn to leave their home and parents and begin adjusting in a new environment with other kids and teachers.

It is a transition phase for them. At Kindergarten, children are groomed and molded with the help of several activities and games. Their fine motor skills as well as social skills get developed.

Why does Child need to attend Kindergarten?

Kindergarten plays a crucial role in the overall development of your child. Apart from social skills, it also helps in developing emotional and motor skills. The child learns various new things by engaging in sense of hearing, sight, smell, and touch. With the sense of touch, the child learns about different shapes and sizes of the objects. By hearing, the child develops the art of listening and understanding what others have to say. A sense of sight enables them to recognize patterns, words, and objects.

Various self-care, as well as singing, dancing, and art activities, help them in the learning and grooming process. They learn to understand and express themselves well.

Choosing the Right Kindergarten

It is important to choose the right kindergarten for your child for an enriching experience. When you scout for a kindergarten look for their curriculum, and activities along with how compassionate their tutors are. The learning experience must be filled with fun activities and games so that the child doesn’t get bored. The kindergarten teaches your child the following things:

• Make new friends
• Learn to share things with others
• Cooperate and coordinate with other students
• Respect others and their feelings
• Become more aware of the surroundings
• Develop linguistic skills and the art of expression
• Being open to new ideas
• Explore and express creativity in the form of art and crafts
• Develop academic skills like writing, counting, and reading

Benefits of Enrolling Your Child for Kindergarten

• Promotes LearningKindergarten is the first place with structured settings for learning along with tutors and a group of children. It lays the foundation for the learning process as children learn to share information and follow instructions.
• Makes Them CuriousChildren are curious by nature as the world is a new place for them to learn. Kindergarten nurtures this sense of curiosity as the teachers observe, ask questions, and listens to children’s ideas. The teachers make use of children’s ideas to create experiences so that they are further motivated to learn. When a child sees a squirrel or sparrow for the first time, this simple experience can be turned into learning.
• Improves Communication SkillsThe kindergarten helps children in improving their communication skills as teachers ask thought-provoking questions to children and introduce them to new vocabulary. Children get a chance to sing, talk, and discuss their favorite books.
• Numeracy SkillsThe kindergarten aims to prepare the kids for school and therefore introduces them to various games and activities which help them acquire these skills. Matching, counting, and board games offer children a basic understanding of numbers.
• Social and Emotional DevelopmentThe child needs to feel secure and cared for especially in an unknown environment away from his/her parents. Various activities and programs help in nurturing, warm relationships among children. They learn to socialize with new kids and soon learn to sort out issues with them. They learn to express various emotions and care for others. They learn to get along with teachers and other kids alike.
• Self- ReliantKindergarten also makes your child confident as compared to kids that don’t attend preschool. They discover that they are capable of doing things on their own instead of asking their mother for help. They become self-reliant at a young age because of independent activities performed at kindergarten. They learn to tie a shoelace, tuck in the shirt, pour juice/ water in a glass, arrange books in a bag, and a lot more.Preschool, unlike schools, is not just about academic learning but about a lot of fun and games. It allows children to learn in a playful environment without any kind of pressure.

New parents are often anxious and skeptical about their parenting skills. It is not easy to deal with often changing schedules and habits of kids. One such example is the sleeping habits of children. Every child is different and so are their sleeping patterns. If you take your child for an evening stroll, chances are that he/she may get tired and sleep immediately after returning home. On the other hand, some kids are energetic and active even till 10 or 11 PM with no signs of sleep. While you may still be sleepy and drowsy early in the morning, your child may be wide awake at 6 AM.

Most people believe that putting a newborn to sleep is challenging but it can be equally difficult with a preschooler. Their sleeping schedules can leave parents exhausted and sleep-deprived. Also, when toddlers don’t get sufficient sleep, it can affect their mood, behavior, eating habits, and ability to focus during the day.

Establishing Good Sleep Habits

Nap Time

Children between the ages of 3 to 5 need a minimum of 11 to 13 hours of sleep for proper rest and development. Children also nap during the daytime for an hour or two. However, this may continue only until the age of 5.

Every child is different and it’s ok if they take a nap or refuse to take a nap. The only essential is that they must get 11 to 13 hours of sleep a day. A typical preschooler will take at least one nap during the day time. Naps are not essential if your child is not feeling tired or cranky.

Getting to Bed

The child needs to have a bedtime routine which can make them understand that it is their time to sleep. Experts recommend that you must have a fixed routine for your kids before bedtimes such as giving them a warm bath and bedtime story. When you follow this routine every day, their minds will follow the classical conditioning. They would begin to understand that it is time for sleep after taking bath and listening to the story. Gradually, they will follow the routine and will not try to escape sleeping.

Early Bed Time

There can be various sleeping problems experienced by the parents of preschoolers. Sometimes, when a child is overly cranky or refuses to sleep, it can be a sign that they are overtired. This can be avoided by setting an early bedtime for kids. When children get tired, they get cranky and it increases sleep problems. Some parents believe that tiring them will help them put to sleep but this can worsen the problem. You need to have control over their bedtime. Even if the child is unable to sleep you need to ask them to lie on the bed quietly.

It is also recommended that after a certain age, the kids should be made to sleep independently as it can become difficult for them later on to sleep without their parents. You can begin this by making them sleep in a separate bed in your room itself. Also, the toddlers must have their bed instead of a crib as they can climb out of it and injure themselves.

Right Environment

It is important to make your child sleep in a quiet surrounding. The room should be dark, quiet, and have no distractions such as television. This will reduce the instances of them waking up to nightmares or feeling scared. When their mind is at peace, they can enjoy a peaceful sleep. It is normal for toddlers to wake up at night just like adults but they will sleep immediately without even remembering that they woke up.

You can also keep a nighttime kit besides your bed, which can consist of generic medicines or first aid essentials so that you can handle any emergency there and then. It is said that children who have healthy sleeping habits will have a good sleep architecture. On the other hand, children who are persistently sleep deprived will have mood swings and they will behave cranky throughout the day. Toddlers need to have enough sleep to keep them active and healthy.

The standardized tests have always been a topic of discussion and have fetched negative feedback from teachers, students, as well as parents. The reason for this criticism is the stress that all the three groups feel during the preparation. These tests are taken right from a young age for judging the academic competency of the students and if they are eligible for college.

There have been several studies and articles shared on the kind of pressure the standardized test system puts on the students for scoring well explains the daycare in Calgary. Also, the teachers are assessed on the basis of how well their students score. Even the parents are anxious about their child’s results.

Until there’s a revolution in the education system, we will have to cope up with this pressure. Here’s a look at some easy tips that will help students and parents deal with the stress.

• Diet

It has been observed that eating habit contributes to stress. It’s important to have wholesome foods, which are not processed or refined to have in your diet. It’s also important to avoid food with trans fat and high sugar so that you can maintain your energy levels steady throughout the day and avoid fluctuations.

• Rest

Getting enough sleep helps in keeping your mind sound and alert. It equips your mind better to deal with negative stress. Most of the healing and repair happens when you are asleep as the body recharges itself and replenishes the energy. Lack of sleep can affect your immunity and make you feel sick.

• Exercise

In a study, it was found that a 10- minute walk is enough for increasing energy, alter your mood, and offer a positive outlook for up to two hours. Exercise also helps in getting quality sleep and it’s known to be a great stress buster. Exercising regularly can change your life.

• Mental attitude

Stress is just like a snowball; if you let it roll, it will gain momentum. You need to counter stress it with calming action. We can’t prevent stress, but we can learn how to react to it.