Fire Safety Week

Theme: Fire Safety Week
Toddler Concept: Fire Prevention

Statistics: Children under 5 years of age are at the greatest risk from home fire death and injury; their death rate is nearly twice the national average. Each year, nearly 488 children ages 14 and under die in home fires, and another 116,600 children are injured from a fire/burn related incident. (Karter, 2010)
Often, children do not learn proper fire safety behavior such as dropping and rolling on the ground if clothing catches fire, crawling instead of running out of a house, or covering their mouths if it is smoky. Fire safety education is important and is powerful in preparing families and children for a fire emergency, especially when practiced.

What you can do at home: Help your children practice proper fire safety behavior. 1. Covering their mouths when smoky, crawling on their hands and knees because smoke and heat rise to the upper level of the room, and stop-drop-and-roll if they catch on fire.
Take your kids to meet a firefighter. More statistics show that many children didn't recognize and or trust the fireman that were there to help them. Causing them to be in the subjected to the heat and flames longer.

This week at flips, we'll be teaching the most basic of fire safety rules. Ask your kids what they learned and go over it with them at home. The more it is practiced, the better chance it will be a reaction when they need it most.

Backwards Week

This weeks theme: Backwards Week
This weeks Concept: General Directionality

Did you know that children have to learn concepts about direction and spatial awareness by using their bodies first? They can most easily understand movements like forward, sideways, and backwards by moving their bodies in these directions. They also learn relationships regarding space such as near, far, around and on by seeing their body in relationship to another object. You can help your child learn and understand these concepts by using words to describe the direction and space they are using. Once they understand these concepts, they can apply them to other objects in their world. Remember, you are their number one teacher, so talk to your child and help them learn and increase their vocabulary.

Pajama Week!!

Concept: Sequencing

Did you know that the format of Flip's Toddler Gym prepares your child for reading? All learning is first done with the body. Before a child learns to judge a distance with his/her vision, the child must first physically walk that distance. It is a form of leaning that we don't remember, but it is how all learning begins.
Reading is our most powerful tool for learning. Before learning to read in an organized manner, one word after another, we ust first learn to move our body from one thing to another. Hence, the circuit at Flip's Toddler Gym. Sequencing is not inborn, it is taught. While at age one and two we do not suggest that you force your child from one toy to the next. It will come naturally because the teacher demonstrates the toys in sequential order.
Another ver important reading tool is tracking. Following a straight line with the body using vision to accomplish the goal. Tis is why walking a balance beam is so valuable. The task of placing one foot after the other in a straight line directly relates to putting one word after the other in a straight line.
FLIP'S is the perfect environment for children to learn in!

Cooperation Week!

Theme: Cooperation Week
Concept: Helping

You may have noticed that this weeks concept is not a movement skill or one that teaches spatial awareness like most are. Instead it is a life skill.
One and two year olds are not interested in cooperating with other children yet. That comes with time. Giving toddlers a chance to help is a first step toward cooperation.
In our class this week, your toddler will have opportunities to help you, while you in turn will help your toddler. The more times your child feels needed, important and significant in these tender years, the greater his/her self-esteem will be.
When you are carrying in groceries this week, give some to your child. While you are on your way to the kitchen say, "I really need your help. Do you know how important you are to this family?" Then watch your child process the information, possible ask questions and then enter this information into their mind-   'I AM IMPORTANT.' What greater gift could you ever give your child than this knowledge?

We're Back!!

We've given the blog a new facelift, and we'll be adding new information often. Health tips, pictures from class, our favorite sport and gymnastics updates and more. Follow us to recieve our updates and new posts.

All of us here at Flips are excited for the big game tonight...
(commence the drum roll....)

The Holy War Record:

BYU Wins (34)
1896 (Dec.) 1897 (Dec. 4 & 18) 1942 1958 1965 1966 1967 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1992 1996 1998 2000 2001 2006 2007 2009

Utah Wins (54)
1896 (Apr. & Nov.) 1898 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1939 1940 1946 1947 1948 1949 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1968 1969 1970 1971 1978 1988 1993 1994 1995 1997 1999 2002 2003 2004 2005 2008 2010

Ties (4) 1928 1938 1941 1950

So, who's it gonna be?

Tight and Loose

This weeks theme is TIGHT and LOOSE:
The idea of tight and loose is beyond a one and two year olds comprehension. That kind of body awareness comes around age three.
The concept for today is one that you may not say all the time at home. Remember, that you should constantly be talking to your toddler telling him/her what you are doing and what they are doing. This will GREATLY increase your child's vocabulary. On the second circuit of toys we will go around the barrel on the orange dots, around the edge of the donut or in the donut. We will go in the tunnel and wonder how to get out. Let your child learn to be a problem solver. When your child finds him/herself stuck let them work on it for a while. Sometime, I think we as parents come to our child's rescue to soon.
Have fun today and remember that your toddler loves to mimic you!!!

Taking Turns

The concept this week is TAKING TURNS. Brain Research says: pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo may look like innocent play, but the adult also communicates a complex set of rules about turn taking and expectations. This kind of give-and-take is at the ♥HEART♥ of all moral systems.

♥Adults often get upset with their little ones when he/she does not want to share. Sharing is a very difficult concept for toddlers and two-year-olds to understand.

♥Taking turns is an easier way to understand the concept of sharing.

♥Give your child a favorite toy and talk about the toy- how colorful it is, how nice it feels etc...

♥Take another toy for yourself and describe it.

♥Play with your toy and ask your child to play with theirs.

♥After a comfortable amount of time, give your toy to your child and ask them to let you play with their toy.

♥If this does not work the first time, try it another time.