Make sure to add story time to your baby's routine.
What You Need:
None
What To Do:
- Settle down in a comfortable chair and snuggle baby close to you so that he can see and feel your mouth as you speak. Offer a pacifier or other comfort items if needed.
- Use your imagination to weave a tale. Begin with “Once upon a time there was a little baby (insert your child’s name).” Let your imagination take the story along, using creative words and varying the tone of your voice.
- If baby becomes restless, you can also try signing songs or reciting nursery rhymes. These are alternative forms of storytelling with music, rhythm and rhyme.
Make storytelling come alive by incorporating a finger puppet created with your own fingers
What You Need:
- Washable nontoxic paint (assorted)
- Paintbrush
What To Do:
- Use washable paint to create a character on your hand. Make a finger person by turning your hand upside down so that the pointer and middle finger are the legs. This may also be done on your child’s hand if he is willing.
- Start by painting shoes on the fingernails, then the pants, working your way up to paint a shirt and face on your finger person.
- Begin the storytelling fun by using the finger people as characters, such as “Once upon a time a boy named Kai was walking along. A girl named Taylor bumped into him. Kai fell down and started to cry. Taylor asked, ‘Are you okay?’ and helped him up. Kai felt much better and they became friends. They danced and played all day long.”
Involve your preschooler in oral storytelling
What You Need:
What To Do:
- Begin by asking your child to tell you a story. If this does not happen naturally for your child, help him by bringing up a familiar experience such as the time he helped catch a fish or went camping.
- Write down the story exactly as he says it. You can ask questions to extend the story such as, “And then what happened?”
- Next, have him act out the story. Have him choose which character he wants to be, and you (or other members of the family) can be characters or other props in the story. Read the story while your child and other family members act it out or listen as part of the audience.
- By doing this over and over, your child will enjoy being the author and main character in his own story, thus building self-efficacy (belief in his abilities) and literacy skills.
Many families celebrate the new year with mochi. Here's an easy recipe to make with your family.
What You Need:
- 1 box rice flour (mochiko)
- 2-1/4 C sugar
- 2 C water
- 1 (12 oz) can coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Potato starch
- Cooking spray
- Food coloring (Optional)
What To Do:
- In a large bowl, help keiki mix rice flour, sugar, water and coconut milk.
- Add vanilla extract and food coloring and talk about the changes in texture and color.
- Spray a microwave bundt pan with cooking spray; put half of the mixture in the bundt pan.
- Place pan in a dish with water and cover with plastic wrap.
- Microwave on Medium-High for 10-12 minutes. As you are waiting, weave a tale about the “mochi man” who jumps off the plate and runs away, much like the story of The Gingerbread Man.
- Dust plate with potato starch and invert mochi. Cool and help keiki cut mochi with a plastic knife.
- Repeat with second half.
Adapted from:
80 Years of 4-H Cooking in Hawai‘i
