The first years of life are the most important time for children, emotionally and developmentally. Once a new parent, the focus switches almost entirely to the newborn baby. As parents delight in having a baby and watching their newborn change from day to day, they may also find the transition to mom or dad incredibly stressful.

Additionally, there is so much on a young family’s plate it can seem overwhelming, especially if families are separated by distance, ie. grand parenting at a distance, deployed military and even money restraints keep from frequent visits.

One of the simplest steps you can take is engaging your newborns senses with brain-boosting baby activities— and it’s easy to do with Zatswho®. Zatswho® is Unique to the market: a creative learning game and activity that you personalize with pictures of your loved ones. Zatswho® soft flexible flashcards are cognitive, communicative, sensory and physical, stimulating neurons to facilitate language, teach photo recognition, memory development and logical thinking. 

Zatswho® is also AblePlay® rated. Parents know their child better than anyone and observe behaviors and quirks that a pediatrician, in quick fifteen-minute visits may miss. Parents are also in the best position to spot the earliest warning signs of autism. Research has shown that catching autism early—ideally by the age of eighteen months—can make a huge difference, the younger your child, the greater the impact of treatment on symptoms of autism.

As parents create a lasting impact playing with their baby, they are sharing a special activity as they talk and teach who’s in the picture, helping their baby to recognize family at a distance enhancing the family bonds. Zatswho® with lasting play value will help to lay the foundation for children developmentally, educationally and emotionally. A thoughtful and lasting gift that packs and goes making it an ideal activity for parents to use at home or on the go!

www.zatswho.com

The post Who’s in that picture? Zatswho® appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

School’s out for summer…so help your child retain what they’ve learned this year.

Reading

Field trip: Visit your local library for weekly story time. Many have their own summer reading list your child can complete for a prize. For an online reading list, visit: (www.scholastic.com/summer/pdfs/SCBookList2012.pdf)

Craft: Use paper scraps and supplies around the house to make your own bookmarks.

Game: Play an ABC road trip game, finding words on signs that start with each letter of the alphabet. Challenge: Play against each other. No two people can use the same word on a sign.

Science

Field trip: Take a trip to the zoo. Read the signs to your child to teach them about the animals.

Craft: Start a collection using rocks, seeds, flowers, etc. Press objects in a book or make a special box to keep them in. Challenge: Catch a caterpillar and keep it until it turns into a butterfly. Research what you need to buy before you catch one.

Game: Catch fireflies at night in a jar. See who can capture the most.

Writing

Field trip: Make cards at home. Take a few friends on a trip to a nursing home.

Craft: Have your child make their own journal. Decorate a piece of construction paper with stickers and markers. Use contact paper to attach it to the cover of a spiral notebook.

Game: Write a funny story online together. (www.madlibs.com/page2.html)

Challenge: Help them write their own Mad Lib for friends to fill out.

Math

Field trip: Go to a baseball game. Bring a scorecard to keep track of the stats.

Craft: Work together to make a clock using parts from a craft store.

Game: Use sidewalk chalk to create a giant hopscotch. Count by twos by writing the numbers in the boxes. Have your child say the numbers as they jump. Challenge: Try counting by larger numbers.

Spelling

Field trip: Go to the grocery store and have your child write a list of their 10 favorite foods. When you get home, help them make a word search online using their list. (www.puzzle-maker.com/WS/index.htm)

Craft: Create an ABC book of words they know. Challenge: Use a dictionary to make an ABC book of words that are new to your child.

Game: Play Scrabble with the family.

Social Studies

Field trip: Visit the local art museum. Most collections can be photographed.  Add these to a scrapbook.

Craft: Make a family tree together. Draw a picture of a tree and label the branches with family names. Illustrate or use photos of family members to place on the tree. If you have room, add birthdays.

Game: Print a map of a local park. Go on a scavenger hunt finding items at the park. Challenge: Locate the park on a map. Have your child give you driving directions.

The post 18 EDUCATIONAL WAYS TO PLAY THIS SUMMER appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.