Good books are the warehouses of ideas.

H.G. Wells

kydzilicious!!!

When your child creates using the Froebel Gifts, they are actually learning. Here are some tips on using the Froebel Gifts to help your child learn.

Gift 3

..... every gift matters ....

(most tips in next Sunday postings)

拼一拼 拼出聪明小脑袋

“拼图”是一种大人与小孩都能玩的游戏，它可以启发智能及帮助其养成解决事情的能力，但是妈咪在选择拼图的时候，一定要注意材质和安全性，以免小朋友刮到手而受伤。

　　玩拼图有助于手眼协调

　

玩拼图有益于孩子的哪些发展呢？首府托儿所所长谢宜静说，对于孩子的精细动作、手眼协调、逻辑观念等都有帮助，他将好处归纳为以下几点：

1. 训练小朋友了解“部分”与“全部”的关系─可以让孩子知道许多的“部分”能拼凑出一个“全部”，以及“一个全部”是由“许多部分”所组成的。

2. 培养小朋友平面组合的概念─积木是立体的组合，而拼图是一种平面组合的概念，在局限的2D范围里拼出一个物品，一个合于逻辑的东西。

3. 培养小朋友学会顺序／秩序／逻辑的意义─许多小朋友在一开始接触多片的拼图时，自然就知道要从边缘开始拼，这就是学习顺序、秩序及逻辑的意义，并且从观察与判断中学习分类，他得观察范例上的正确拼法，才能拼出正确答案。　

4. 增进小朋友操作及手眼协调能力─拼图需要小朋友耐心的操作，以及手眼协调能力，只要一不协调就不能将色块放在正确的位置，但一开始不会的小朋友，只要多练习几次自然就会了。

5. 培养小朋友的观察力，培养耐心、专注力─通常拼图都是由日常生活中拼起，所以小朋友要熟悉身边的事物，才能按照逻辑拼出正确的图形，除此之外，还可以培养孩子的耐心及专注力，让他可以坐得住的做一件事。

6. 学习解决问题的方法及策略─玩拼图能学习推理思考能力，因为小朋友会经由尝试不同的选择，到决定正确的一片放下去，也就是经过假设、判断到选择的过程，让他学习运用逻辑来解决问题的方法。

7. 提高孩子的挫折忍受度及耐力─孩子在玩拼图的过程中难免会有拼错的时候，这时他们会感到挫折，表达不想玩的意愿，但是大人可以从旁协助他们，帮他们度过难关。

8. 从混乱／破坏重建中获得肯定，同时建立对自我的信心─当孩子完成拼图时，容易让他感受到成就感，这是提高孩子兴趣很重要的元素，也是日后让他独立完成拼图的自信心来源。

　　选对拼图孩子才有兴趣

　　

专家提醒家长，选择拼图给孩子玩的时候可以把握以下几点原则：

1. 切勿只在乎片数─选择拼图时必须难易轮流交替，不要以为愈多片的会让孩子感觉愈有趣，因为轻松容易的拼图可以让孩子增加成就感，而较难的拼图能让孩子培养耐心、增加观察力。

2. 图案的种类要注意─拼图的难易度除了片数之外，种类也是很重要，通常卡通、线条色块分明者比较好拼，单色或色彩渐层不易分类或区分的就比较困难了。

3. 不要高估孩子的能力─有些家长因为看孩子拼得很好，就觉得孩子的能力很强，于是选择跳了好几级的拼图给孩子，这时孩子可能会因为无法完成而产生很大的挫折感，甚至会很久都不愿意碰拼图，虽然适度的挫折可以提高孩子的受挫度，但过大却会让他失去信心和兴趣，所以家长千万不要高估了孩子的能力喔！

4. 不要急于告诉孩子正确的位置或技巧─在引导孩子玩拼图时，等待是很重要的，让孩子自己去发觉一些有用的拼图技巧，比直接告诉他更好，孩子的反应在这时就会显现出来，而不会让他一直在等你提醒要如何拼。

"Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear." -- Nelson Mandela

Only when the child is able to identify its own centre

with the centre of the universe does education really begin.
Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952)
Source: The Great Work: Our Way into the Future, Page: 16

读万卷书，行万里路. ——刘彝

图片说明:明 董其昌《白羽扇赋》卷

Rick: Here's looking at you, kid.

Humphrey Bogart (1899 - 1957)
Source: As Rick Blaine in Casablanca, 1942

KYDZ AT PLAY.

RING AROUND A ROSIE - CHICAGO - 1941

Happy Father's Day

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.

Sigmund Freud

When your child creates using the Froebel Gifts, they are actually learning. Here are some tips on using the Froebel Gifts to help your child learn.

Gift 3

.... every gift matters ...

(most tips in next Sunday postings)

非学无以广才，非志无以成学

——诸葛亮

图片说明:明 王铎《草书诗卷》

PLAY. BE SEEN IN IT.

Children playing on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel - NYC 1919

The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.

Plato

The best smell is bread;

the best savor, salt;

the best love, that of children.

George Herbert (1593 - 1633)

TEMPER TANTRUMS

GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS:

Temper tantrums are usually more a problem at home than at school. The causes can be varied but usually include the following:

1. Inconsistent means of discipline or control by adults.

2. The child may have found that temper tantrum is a very profitable means of getting his or her own way.

3. Conflicting standards between parents or parents and grandparents,etc. If adults disagree, these conflicting standards can not only cause confusion on what is the proper behavior but also increase frustration and tempermental outbursts.

4. Prolonged periods of illness, especially during very early childhood years where the child has received a disproportionate amount of attention and has been very used to getting his or her own way.

5. Overcritical, harsh, or nagging parents. This can build resentment in the child who may take his or her anger out at one or both parents.

6. Overindulgence. Parents who tend to give in to little tantrums to avoid conflict or upsetting the child may be inadvertently discouraging the development of the child's ability to learn to control his or her impulses and behavior. This can lead to even more severe temper tantrums which the child exhibits in an attempt to get his or her own way.

7. Imitation by the child of observed adult outbursts of temper. Children often model their behavior and style of expressing their emotions by modeling parental behavior.

In treatment the child needs to learn to re-learn how to handleand express their emotions in a socially positive way. Usually it isgood to help the child understand that there is no bad feeling or wrong feeling, there is only wrong behavior and they need to explore ways that are okay for them to express their anger. In addition, the child must learn that a temper tantrum never results in a victory. It is also often helpful to work with the child's parents and to determine which of the causes listed above may have contributed to the condition and to remove them. In addition, the parents and adults should never talk to or reason with the child during an emotional outburst. The reasoning should be done sometime after the tantrum is over and the child has had time to cool off. In addition, it is helpful to not make any reference directly to the tantrum. The tantrum itself should not bring attention, rather praise or encouragement should be given for the desirable behavior when it happens.

In addition, the parents themselves much provide an example of calm and considerate behavior. When it becomes necessary to remove the child during a temper tantrum because of danger to himself or others, it should be done without any lectures and in a very calm, firm manner without comment. Giving the child the option of going to their room until they cool off is often an effective technique at helping them regain composure. There should be no time limit placed on the child being in the room. The child should simply be told that when they can calm down and regain control of themselves they will be allowed to discuss the issues with their parents. Tantrums usually quickly subside without an audience.

什么是阅读障碍

阅读障碍是指智力正常或超常，但在阅读成绩上落后的现象。究竟落后到什么程度才算是阅读障碍呢？一般是以阅读成绩落后于一到两个年级的分数作为标准，这也就是说，诊断阅读障碍是以标准化的阅读测验测试儿童，发现儿童在平均成绩上低于其他同龄儿童，只达到低年级儿童的平均水平。

　　在现代社会，阅读能力是一项极为重要的能力，因为几乎所有的现代信息都要通过阅读来获取，尽管计算机已经十分普及，但计算机并不能代替人的阅读，相反，它更有赖于阅读。

　　阅读是一个十分复杂的过程，因为阅读几乎涉及了所有的心理功能。有人把阅读比做弹钢琴，意思是说，阅读需要多种心理功能的协调，就像弹钢琴要种种心理功能的合作一样。在阅读过程中，我们首先需要发挥视知觉的作用，视知觉的分辨与记忆，都需参与进来。其次，阅读需要对声音的辨别与记忆，阅读是一个对所看到的字的声音的反应过程，只有熟练的读者，才能进入默读。通过将字形、字音和字义的联结，我们获得对字词的理解。几乎所有的文字都是音、形、义的联合，缺少其中的某一个环节，人对字词的认知与学习就会出现困难。

　　人类很早就有了语言，通过声音和手势，人们彼此沟通和理解。但文字却是很晚才出现的，最古老的文字也只有几千年的历史。更何况阅读的普及是近几百年的事情。当资本主义制度发展起来之后，随着报纸和书籍的普及，阅读才成为人类的必不可少的一种能力。

　　过去很长一段时间，人们对儿童的教育并不注重阅读能力，因为只有很少的一部分人靠读书谋生，也只能有很少的人才能靠读书谋生，所以，不用阅读，儿童长大以后也能适应社会，只要有强壮的体能和其他的技能就足以生存。

　　而在现代社会，阅读成为适应社会的必不可少的功能，如果不能阅读，一个人很难在现代社会中，找到一个如意的工作。

阅读如此复杂，又如此重要，难怪心理学和教育学都重视语言和阅读的学习。而与此并不协调的是，有许多人具有阅读障碍，这些人看上去与其他人没有什么两样，谈吐举止都很得体，但就是一提到阅读就像换了一个人似的。有一个电视台的编导，很有幽默感，也很勤奋，对电视的编导很有水平，可就是阅读速度极慢。他说，最痛苦的事情就是不能像其他人一样快速阅读，他很想看书，也需要看书，但一看书，只能在辨认字形上花时间，而这样妨碍了他对文字内容的理解。他因此没上大学，他知道他这样的人很难竞争过阅读能力正常的人。他只是凭借着对形象思维的超群才能当上一名编导。像这样具有阅读障碍的人真是不尽其数，据统计，大约占到儿童的5%。长期以来存在这种阅读障碍的人得不到人们的理解，尤其是在儿童时期，这样的儿童常常被家长当作是爱玩的孩子，学习不专心或懒惰的孩子，他们不仅得不到大人的理解，反而蒙受着不公正的批评。久而久之，这些孩子变得自卑和自弃，自认为无论如何努力，就是在学习上赶不上别人。许多具有阅读障碍的人成绩为差生，一生事业无成。

那么具有阅读障碍的儿童都有哪些学习上的困难呢？

　　1. 认字与记字困难重重，刚学过的字，就忘记；
　　2. 听写成绩很差；
　　3. 朗读时增字与减字；
　　4. 朗读时不按字阅读，而是随意按照自己的想法阅读；
　　5. 错别字连篇，写字经常多一画或少一笔；
　　6. 阅读速度慢；
　　7. 逐字阅读或以手指协助；
　　8. 说作文可以，但写作文过于简单，内容枯燥；
　　9. 经常搞混形近的字，如把视与祝弄混；
　　10. 经常搞混音近的字；
　　11. 学习拼音困难，经常把Q看成O；
　　12. 经常颠倒字的偏旁部首。

　　上述阅读困难涉及的心理能力很复杂，既有视知觉方面的问题，也有听知觉方面的问题，也有音和形轩换的问题，还有对字义的理解的问题。

When your child creates using the Froebel Gifts, they are actually learning. Here are some tips on using the Froebel Gifts to help your child learn.

Gift 3

... every gift matters ...

(more tips in next Sunday postings)

One test of the correctness of educational procedure

is the happiness of the child.

-– Maria Montessori

PLAY. NEVER OUT OF STYLE.

CHILDREN PLAYING MARBLES, 1970.

PLAY. I. WANT. IT. NOW.

All I Really Need to Know

I Learned in Kindergarten

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile and Sunday School. These are the things I learned ▀ Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clan up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life -- learn some and think some and draw and point and sing and dance and play and work every day some. ▀ Take a nap every afternoon. ▀ When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. ▀ Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why; but we are all like that. ▀ Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup -- they all die. So do we. ▀ And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned -- the biggest word of all -- LOOK. ▀ Everything you need to know is in there somewhere . The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living. ▀ Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess. ▀ And its still true, no matter how old you are -- when you go out into the world, its best to hold hands and stick together.

By Robert Fulgham

OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER

Oppositional Defiant Disorder is defined by the DSM-IV as a pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior lasting at least six months during which four of the following are present:

1. Often loses temper
2. Often argues with adults
3. Often actively defies and refuses to comply with adult requests or rules
4. Often deliberately annoys people
5. Often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehaviors
6. Is often touchy or easily annoyed by others
7. Is often angry and resentful
8. Is spiteful and/or vindictive

Additional criteria include the following:

1. The disturbance and behavior causes clinically significant impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning.
2. The behaviors do not occur exclusively during the onset of a psychotic or a mood disorder.
3. The criteria is not met for a conduct disorder.


These children usually have a pervasive pattern of a negativistic, hostile, defiant behavior which is usually directed toward adults and authority figures. These children usually behave as if parents, teachers, and other authority figures are "the enemy". Temper tantrums, including screaming, crying, throwing objects, thrashing on the ground, refusing to move, and defiance of direction from an adult caregiver are common. These children constantly argue with adults, refuse to comply with requests and rules even when they are in the child's best interest and are obviously very reasonable. These children seem to be constantly angry and resentful. At one time, oppositional and defiant behavior was viewed as an extension of a "conduct disorder". However, recent research has substantiated that this pattern is, indeed, unique and separate from a conduct disorder.

The causes of an Oppositional Defiant Disorder can vary greatly. A good number of these children may have been sexually or physically abused by adult caregivers which causes a good deal of resentment and distrust. Others have simply developed a pattern of controlling and manipulating adults through their defiant behavior. Many of these children have been raised by parents who have been very ineffective at setting and establishing limits.

Whatever the causes, the central issue for the child is a means of establishing and maintaining control of the environment. Many of these children feel that their environment is inconsistent and difficult to control and are fearful that things may happen or change that could cause them discomfort. One of the crucial elements when working with these children is to actively build a level of trust. This is usually done through the following:

1. Consistent eye contact
2. Active listening
3. Unconditional positive regard
4. Warm acceptance in order to increase his or her ability to identify and express her feelings

It is usually futile to engage in a "battle of wills" with an oppositional child who has dug their heels in and is firmly entrenched and determined to get their way. In situations like this, it is often best to allow a cooling down period until the emotional intensity that the child has experienced has subsided. In addition, it is much more effective to use very subtle and indirect cues rather than to "challenge the child" when he or she is acting defiant. There are exceptions to this, however, including instances where the child may harm himself or harm others. In those cases, it would be advisable to provide passive restraint of the child or at least get the child into an area where he or she cannot hurt himself or others. Aside from this, it would be best to allow the child to cool down and then begin the task of helping the child" reason things out". Often giving the child a set of choices and explaining fully the consequences involved may help the child come to realize that their negative pattern is, indeed, self-destructive. It is very important not to show anger when correcting or disciplining these children since, in many cases, the anger may actually reinforce the negative behavior. Discipline should be handled in a "matter of fact" way in order to minimize anger and resentment that the child feels which tend to increase the oppositionalism. It is also often effective to give the child a feeling of control in giving him choices. For example, you may explain to the child if he does not complete his homework, he will not be permitted to do a certain activity until the homework is done and leave the choice up to the child. If the child refuses, that is his or her choice and this should be accepted by the adult caregiver. The consequences, however, should be very carefully adhered to. Again, this should be done in a very matter-of-fact way with no anger on the part of the adult caregiver displayed toward the child. In fact, the adult caregiver should reaffirm their confidence in their child's ability to complete the task. Sermonizing should also be avoided. Explanations should be very simple, straightforward, and within the child's understanding. Keep in mind that these children carry around a good deal of resentment toward authority figures and your goal in dealing with these children is to establish trust and allow the child a feeling of safety and security in their relationship with you. This involves mutual respect and mutual understanding. The adult caregiver, however, does need to be very firm and consistent and needs to follow through with any stated negative consequences to the non-compliant behavior.

LONG TERM GOALS:

1. Markedly reduce the intensity and frequency of hostile and defiant behavior toward adults.
2.Terminate temper tantrums and replace them with calm, respectful compliance with adult directions.
3. Begin to consistently interact with adults in a mutually respectable manner.
4. Bring hostile, defiant behavior within socially acceptable standards.
5. Replace hostile, defiant behavior toward adults with respect and cooperation.
6. Resolve the conflict underlying the anger, hostility, defiance, and need for control.
7. Help the child reach a level of reduced tension more quickly.
8. Improve the child's ability to communicate with adults, including his or her family.

SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES:

1. The child should develop a working relationship with the TSS worker in which he or she feels safe, and comfortable.
2.The child should decrease the frequency and intensity of hostile, negativistic, and defiant interactions with adults.
3. The child should be encouraged to identify and be able to verbalize sources of negative and hostile feelings in an open, accepting, and understanding manner.
4. The child needs to understand the connection between his or her feelings and the resultant behavior.
5. The child will need to increase the frequency of respectful interactions with adults.
6. The child will be able to verbalize recognition of what is and is not acceptable behavior when he or she is angry.
7. It may also be necessary to help the parents develop very clear and firm boundaries. The parents also need to be very clear and consistent regarding behavioral expectations.


THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS:

1. It is very essential with these children to establish rapport. This may take some time initially, depending on how negativistic and resistant the child actually is.
2. Reflect back to the child in a paradoxical interpretation the negative consequences of their oppositional behavior. For example, it would be appropriate to say to the child, "You seem to want your Mom to put you into time out more often. Is that true?". This will shift the focus of control back onto the child which is very important to oppositional children. At the same time, it will force the child to think about the consequences of their behavior which they often miss.
3. It is important to facilitate consistency within the family which corresponds to your interventions as a TSS worker. In other words, the same issues of respect, cooperation, and conflict resolution should be addressed by family members, if possible, in the same manner as with the TSS worker.
4. Assist the child in his or her ability to recognize feelings and learn to express them in constructive ways. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a bad feeling. There is only bad behavior. Furthermore, we cannot control our feelings. However, we can control our behavior. Learning to channel our feelings into socially acceptable behavioral patterns is an ongoing lifelong task that children need to begin to recognize and start to deal with.
5. Try to probe with the child feelings that are associated with the defiance and help the child make connections between these feelings and the behavior.
6. When possible, ignore the negative and defiant behavior and reinforce compliance with social and other appropriate reinforcers.
7. Make sure the parents are able to clarify and communicate to the child what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in the family. This also should be communicated to the child in terms of what is acceptable and unacceptable within a variety of settings. The TSS worker can assist by reinforcing these concepts to the child. There should also be a concomitant withdrawal of interactions and privileges when unacceptable behavior is exhibited. These consequences should be short- term and immediate. The TSS worker should also reaffirm confidence in the child's ability to do better next time.
8. Unproductive over-verbalizations to the child should be avoided.

play. how memories are held.

tug of war - aug 1938 - missouri

When your child creates using the Froebel Gifts, they are actually learning. Here are some tips on using the Froebel Gifts to help your child learn.

Gift 3

... every gift matters ...

(more tips in next Sunday postings)

A man is known by the books he reads.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

seasons come and go.

true play endures.

Play . No Ostentation. Just Pure.

kydzilicious!!

the devil wears pirikara: lunch box with a bed of steamed rice, salad, and grilled sardines seasoned with soy sauce and hot peppers.

苏汉臣 秋庭婴戏图

"Children Playing in an Autumn Courtyard" , Su Hanchen, c. 1150

In the painting of Children Playing in an Autumn Courtyard done by Su Hancheng in the Song Dynasty, which is now preserved in the "National Palace Museum" in Taiwan, there shows a prop for the game of turning the jujube. Two and a half jujubes are used in the game to make a millstone-like toy with a stand made of three toothpicks. It's a game of spinning and balance with jujubes. In the game, the one that keeps the balance of the "jujube millstone" for a longer spinning time will win. The drawing is also a proof to the emergence of multiple forms of top toys at that time.

Best Strategies to Stimulate Your 3-year-old's Language Development
By Sherry Artemenko, MA-CCC

Your three-year-old is a delightful conversational companion, asking about their world and telling you about their experiences. Here are some strategies to encourage language development in your three-year-old:

1. Be a daily play partner with your child. It will give her an opportunity to practice her conversational skills (taking turns), discussing her daily activities, and asking questions to gather more information. This undivided attention with pauses for her to continue the conversation, boost her emotional well being also.

2. Make time to play one-on-one. If a new baby arrives, the time alone with your toddler can "fill her emotional tank" and alleviate some of the feelings she might have of competing for Mommy's time.

3. Keep the play times fun, enriching and natural. Don't turn them into teaching sessions. Many children this age are starting to name colors, shapes and numbers. If you drill these concepts they will be uninteresting to your child, or he will only know them by rote, and will be unable to understand them in the context of play and language. Remember, language is learned through experience. For example, talk about the tall blue tower and the red boat going under 2 bridges!

4. Follow her conversations that arise naturally. As with play, follow your child's lead in play and conversation. Don't force her to "finish" a play scheme if she has moved on to another idea.

5. Have conversations with your child about what she has been doing, but now, in addition to the details, talk about "why" things happened, and her feelings about the event. This is an opportunity to use lots of new words and explain them in the context of an event such as "disappointed", "grumpy", "mad" or "sad".

6. Continue to use new, longer, more complex words in many contexts. "The hermit crab is leaving his shell. The hermit crab grew too big for his home. The hermit crab eats off the floor of the ocean."

7. Sometimes her words get jumbled when she is trying to explain something complicated for her . Affirm her with "yes" and then re-order her sentence correctly. For example, a little girl was playing with a car and play figures and she said, "The car sit and go" when she meant, "The Daddy sits and the car goes!" As your child's language progresses, sometimes their mind thinks faster than they can talk!

8. Expand on her conversations. If she says, "I rode the airplane" you could add, "Yes, you rode the airplane with Daddy at Rye Playland last night!" Often this will encourage her to add some details too.

9. Take advantage of book time. In Jim Treslease's well known book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, he says that a 3-year-old hears three times the rare words in books as she hears in conversation. This is a rich area for learning language and expanding vocabulary, grammar, and learning about new subjects. Emphasize rhyming words and select books that emphasize them. Repeat the rhyming words and let your child hear that they have the same endings. Hearing that words are made up of different sounds, is a precursor to reading. Select some books that repeat a word in larger print and point out the word as you read it.

About the Author Sherry Artemenko, MA-CCC, is a Speech-language pathologist.

I feel the need of reading.

It is a loss to a man not to have grown up among books...

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
Source: Abraham Lincoln, a Man of Faith & Courage: Stories of Our Most Admired President

在游戏中培养想像力和创造力

过多限制孩子游戏的内容、时间和方式;

　　不准孩子玩花样、犯错误，爱给孩子订各种各样的规矩;

　　因对孩子的期望过于急切而忽略了孩子在每个年龄段接受训练的能力，盲目地给孩子一大堆“智力测验”去“练习”，认为这样就是“动脑筋”;

　　为求孩子取得最高荣誉、最优越的成绩，处处为孩子事先安排，事事让孩子提前准备而令孩子失去“自己思考”、“克服困难”及“解决问题”的机会与能力。

　　其实，孩子本身就具有想像和创造的潜能，他们最喜欢在游戏中模仿成人的行为，从“想像”中表现，在行动中“创新”，家长要做的，只是顺应孩子的这种潜能，尽量为孩子提供游戏的条件。

　　给孩子可塑性的材料—泥团、沙、水

　　泥团(手工泥)：最能吸引幼儿长时间玩耍的好材料。2岁以后的幼儿，就已经喜欢把泥团“想像”和“创造”成不同的形状了。

　　沙：孩子在沙堆中可以尽情地发挥他们的想像和创造—堆沙塔、挖隧道、做小丘、挖河流，也用沙做小饼，还会在沙上画画、写字。别忘记给孩子准备一些玩沙用的盒子、罐子、沙铲、沙箕，也可让他们带上塑胶的树和动物模型，他们会联想得更多，创作得更丰富。

　　水：是一种变化无穷，令孩子陶醉的好材料，家长只需给予机会并指导孩子玩耍的方法即可。例如，围上胶围裙，指定玩水的地方，在水中设置空瓶、浮沉的玩具等。

　　给孩子建设性的玩具—积木、七巧板

　　对于2岁的幼儿，可任由其随心所欲地搬弄木块;对于3至4岁的幼儿，可指导其把积木砌成他们日常生活中经验过的事物，例如砌椅子给小熊坐，砌木床给娃娃睡;5、6岁的幼儿联想更多，家长只需给他们时间和机会，任由他们去设计自己的作品好了。

　　给孩子扮演角色的机会

　　3至6岁的孩子，最喜欢“过家家”，模仿成人“铺床”、“洗衣”、“烹调”。以后渐渐地也会扮演各种人物、动物等不同角色。在角色游戏中，孩子的情绪得到适当的表达，同时又促使其在虚拟的角色中思考问题，找出解决办法。

　　供给废物—让孩子思考、设计并创作

　　成人眼中的废物，往往会给孩子带来“思考的喜悦”和“创造的乐趣”，更奠定他们长大后爱思考、爱创作的优良个性。

　　家长可以为孩子保留各种对他们创作有用的“废物”：预备一个放置废物用的箱子，放进大小不同的纸盒，不同色彩的纸张、碎布、纽扣、空瓶等，当然要记住安全。

　　给予孩子自由绘画的机会

　　自由绘画是幼儿的本能与欲望，他们常常会把自己的想像与生活经验用绘画表达出来。因此，不管孩子想画什么，想画在哪里，家长都不要去干涉。孩子想像力和创造力的发展，总比家里的整洁、干净来得重要吧。

　　当然，不干涉也并不代表袖手旁观。多参与他们的活动，欣赏他们的创作，时时给予支持与鼓励，他们会更有信心去思考、去创造。