$150
Are you an Alabama family or group day care home licensee looking to fulfill your 20-hour annual training requirement? Then you're ready for this comprehensive, home-provider-focused training bundle!
This Alabama Licensee Annual Training Bundle is tailored exclusively for licensed providers operating family or group day care homes. It meets the 20 clock hours of annual training required by the Alabama DHR and covers all six mandated training areas. Whether you're renewing your license, preparing for inspection, or enhancing the quality of care in your home program, this bundle ensures you're in full compliance and growing professionally.
🎯 What’s Included in This Bundle:
- ✅ Child Development
- ✅ Health and Safety
- ✅ Positive Guidance & Discipline
- ✅ Language and Literacy Development
- ✅ Family Communication
✅ Why Choose This Bundle?
- Aligned with Alabama DHR Family and Group Day Care Home Licensing Standards
- Designed specifically for home-based child care providers
- Flexible, online, self-paced access
- You're Not My Friend Anymore: Learning Conflict Resolution
- Working Together: Teachers & Preschoolers
- The Right Kind of Influence for Young Children
- Supporting Little Hearts: Divorce and Separation in the Child Care Setting
- Supporting Families and Caregivers in Language and Literacy
- Play, Learn, Grow Online Version
- Nutrition Essentials for Child Care Providers
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education
- Building Bridges for Dual Language Learners
- Building a Community of Families
As #parents and #educators, we have the unique opportunity to facilitate this #growth through engaging and #playful activities that utilize everyday items. ChildCareEd shares innovative and fun ways to enhance fine motor skills in children using simple tools like crayons, chopsticks, and Cheerios. By transforming ordinary moments into enriching experiences, we can help our little ones thrive while igniting their curiosity and imagination.
Fine Motor Skills Development
Activities like drawing, writing, and practical tasks not only promote these skills but also make learning enjoyable for children. By incorporating fun and playful tasks into their routines, parents and educators can effectively support the development of fine motor skills, which are foundational for later academic success.
Importance of Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills are crucial for a variety of everyday activities, including:
- Self-care tasks: Such as buttoning shirts, zipping jackets, and tying shoelaces.
- Academic skills: Including writing, drawing, and using scissors.
- Play activities: Engaging in building with blocks, playing with small toys, and participating in arts and crafts.
Activities to Enhance Fine Motor Skills
Here are some enjoyable activities that can help boost fine motor skills in children:
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Drawing and Coloring:
- Encourage children to use crayons or markers to draw freely or color in #books. This helps them #develop a proper grip and control over writing instruments.
- As they progress, introduce tracing shapes and letters to further refine their skills.
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Finger Painting:
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Practical Tasks:
- Buttons and Zippers: Provide opportunities for children to practice with buttons and zippers on clothing or dolls. This can be made fun by creating games around dressing up dolls or using practice boards.
- Tongs and Clothespins: Use tongs to pick up small items like pom-poms or cotton balls. This activity encourages the use of the whole hand and improves grip strength.
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Using Chopsticks:
- Introduce beginner chopsticks to help children practice their pincer grasp. This activity not only enhances dexterity but also makes mealtime more engaging.
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Building with Blocks:
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Stringing Activities:
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Playdough and Clay:
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Scissors Practice:
- Provide child- #safe scissors and encourage cutting along lines or shapes. This activity builds strength and control in the fingers.
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Games and Puzzles:
- Simple board games and puzzles require children to use both hands, enhancing bilateral coordination and fine motor skills.
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Sticker Activities:
- Let children peel and place stickers on paper. This simple task helps develop the pincer grasp and improves hand-eye coordination.
By integrating these activities into daily routines, parents and educators can create a rich environment that fosters the #development of fine motor skills in children, setting them up for success in both academic and everyday tasks.
References
Creative Play with Everyday Items
These common household items can be transformed into engaging tools for interactive activities that not only entertain but also promote essential #developmental skills. By incorporating these items into playtime, parents and caregivers can provide children with opportunities to practice and refine their fine motor skills in a fun and enjoyable manner.
Here are some innovative ways to use everyday items for fine motor skill development:
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Chopsticks:
- Introduce beginner chopsticks to help children practice their pincer grip. These can be used for eating or for fun games like transferring small objects such as pom-poms or pasta from one bowl to another.
- Create a sorting game where children use chopsticks to pick up and sort different colored items, enhancing their dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
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Crayons:
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Cheerios:
- Use Cheerios for lacing activities. Children can thread Cheerios onto string or yarn to create necklaces or bracelets, which helps improve their fine motor skills and concentration.
- Incorporate Cheerios into a gathering game where children use their fingers to pick up as many Cheerios as possible, promoting the development of their pincer grasp.
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Pasta:
- Use large, dry pasta shapes for a fun sorting or transferring game. Children can use chopsticks to pick up pasta and drop it into a bowl of water, observing how the pasta changes as it absorbs water.
- Create art projects using pasta as a medium. Children can glue pasta shapes onto paper to create designs, which encourages creativity while also working on their fine motor skills.
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Crafts:
- Incorporate small items like sequins or beads into craft projects. Encourage children to pinch and place these items onto their artwork, which enhances their dexterity.
- Use playdough to create various shapes and figures. Rolling, squeezing, and pinching playdough helps build hand strength and coordination.
By creatively integrating these everyday items into play, parents can provide children with enjoyable and effective ways to develop their fine motor skills. These activities not only foster essential #developmental-milestones but also create lasting memories of fun and learning.
References
Sensory Play for Skill Development
Here are some key benefits and activities associated with #sensory-play for skill development:
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Boosts Fine Motor Skills: Activities like rolling, pinching, and molding playdough help strengthen the small muscles in children's hands, which are essential for tasks such as writing and buttoning clothes.
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Enhances Hand-Eye Coordination: Engaging in messy activities, such as finger painting, allows children to practice precision and control as they navigate their movements, improving their ability to coordinate their hands with their visual input.
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Encourages Exploration and Creativity: Sensory play materials, such as textured fabrics or edible items like Cheerios, invite children to experiment and create, fostering their imagination while developing critical thinking skills.
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Promotes Social Interaction: When children engage in sensory play together, they learn to share, communicate, and collaborate, which are vital social skills that contribute to their overall development.
Suggested Sensory Play Activities:
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Playdough Manipulation: Encourage children to roll, flatten, and shape playdough into various forms. This activity not only strengthens their fingers but also allows them to #express their creativity.
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Finger Painting: Provide children with non-toxic finger paints and large sheets of paper. As they explore colors and textures, they enhance their fine motor skills while enjoying a sensory-rich experience.
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Cheerio Stringing: Use Cheerios or similar cereal with holes to create necklaces or patterns on strings. This activity requires precision and concentration, helping to refine their dexterity.
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Water Play: Fill a shallow container with water and provide cups, sponges, and small toys. Children can practice pouring, squeezing, and transferring items, which enhances their hand strength and coordination.
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Sensory Bins: Create bins filled with rice, beans, or sand, and hide small toys or objects for children to find. This encourages exploration and fine motor skills as they dig and sift through the materials.
By incorporating these sensory play activities into daily routines, parents and educators can create engaging learning experiences that significantly contribute to children's fine motor skill development and overall growth.
References