PARENTING & NURTURING
ACTIVITIES AND
LESSONS
FOR HOME, SCHOOL, YOUTH PROGRAMS 
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SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS
ACTIVITIES & LESSONS FOR
PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AGES
2001 NEW YORK
STATE ACADEMY FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING PARENTING LEARNING EXPERIENCES (MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL)
NURTURING AND PARENTING EDUCATION ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES
INTRODUCTION
It is now possible
for a person eighteen years of age to graduate from high school without ever
having had to do a piece of work on which somebody else truly
depended...without ever having cared for, or even held, a baby;... without ever
having comforted or assisted another human being who really needed help.... No
society can long sustain itself unless its members have learned the
sensitivities, motivations, and skills involved in assisting and caring for other
human beings.
Urie Bronfenbrenner,
Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Human Development,
All children of all ages need opportunities to learn to nurture, the basis for
later parenting. Some children and teens have more occasions than others
to observe and learn nurturing in the course of their daily lives. Others,
particularly the youngest in their families, may need more planned
opportunities and activities. Spending time with family or friends who
have younger children, having a pet, or even planting and caring for window
boxes or a garden patch are all ways to foster children’s nurturing
skills at home. In addition, a number of engaging, fun school-based programs
are available for children of all ages.
As part of “Preparing Tomorrow’s Parents Month,” The
Parenting Project encourages all adults involved with children to incorporate
at least one activity, at home, school or in a youth program, to help our
children become nurturers today and nurturing, knowledgeable parents of the
next generation. We invite you to print and use the following
activities and classroom lessons between Mother's Day and Father's Day - and
all year, and to contact the providers for more information. The activities are
listed in order of recommended ages, starting with activities for younger
children. Additional program information is listed on The Parenting
Project’s resource page at www.preparetomorrowsparents.org/resource.htm
PARENTING EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS
Suggested Parenting Education topics for children and
teens: Personal Attributes and Skills for Effective Parenting; Knowledge and
Skills for Effective Parenting; Attitudes, Roles and Responsibilities of
Effective Parenting are listed at www.preparetomorrowsparents.org/topics.htm.
TEN TIPS TO FOSTER NURTURING IN CHILDREN
Take advantage of simple
and natural opportunities to teach nurturing and prepare children of all ages
for future parenting: www.preparetomorrowsparents.org/tentips.htm.
ACTIVITIES & LESSONS
FOR
PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AGES
FOR ALL AGES
VISIT WITH BABIES,
TODDLERS & PARENTS
Take
your child to visit a baby or toddler and its parent, or invite the parent to bring
the baby to visit your class, group or home.
- With your child or
class, think of questions in advance to ask about the responsibilities of
caring for the baby, what the baby can do and not do at that age, and what
the baby understands and needs at different ages.
- Have your child or
class observe the baby and parent together and interact with the baby
themselves.
- Afterward, talk
about what your child learned and felt as he or she observed the baby and
parent. What ideas did this experience give them about parenting and
its responsibilities? What questions do they have about themselves
at that age?
- If possible, repeat
the visits so your child, students or youth group can observe the
baby’s development over time and learn about how a parent’s
responsibilities change with their growing child.
- Educating Children for
Parenting® , Learning to Care, and Roots of EmpathyTM are established programs, for
classroom or out of school, that are centered in classroom baby visits.
Read about and link to them at www.preparetomorrowsparents.org/resource.htm
SET A
GOOD EXAMPLE
Most important, model the attitudes,
values and behaviors you want to encourage in your children, students or youth
group participants. For example, young people deserve the respect
inherent in an adult’s apology: “Jane, I’m so sorry I
lost my temper. I feel terrible that I let that happen, and I imagine you
have some feelings about it, too. Let’s talk.” Young people will
learn from your modeling how to be more empathic and considerate to their
peers, their siblings and, eventually, their own children.
FOR PRESCHOOL & EARLY ELEMENTARY AGES
WHY IS THAT BABY CRYING?
from Parents
Under Construction of ChildBuilders (
PRAISING
Developing Nurturing Skills® K-12 School Based
Curricula, part of Nurturing Parenting Programs®.
LEARN HOW BABIES REALLY WORK THROUGH “BABY
SCIENCE”
Get the book Baby Science: How
Babies Really Work by Ann Douglas (Owl Books, 1998). Look for it in
your library, or read about and order it through www.babyscience.com/ Read the book, look at the pictures with your child
or class, and do some of the activities. Children will discover
fascinating information and understand what it’s like to be a baby
through hands-on "baby science.” The author developed and
field-tested the book with her own family; it is also appropriate for classroom
or youth program baby visits. If you can, look at the book before you
visit with a baby. (See previous activity.)
FOR ELEMENTARY AGES
SCIENCE:
Animal Growth and Change
activities from Educating Children for Parenting ®
FOR LATE ELEMENTARY TO HIGH SCHOOL AGES
PARTNERING: AN EXPERIENCE IN CARING
a lesson plan by
Harriet Heath, Ph.D.
UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS
condensed lesson plan
from the workbook “Parenting Rewards & Responsibilities: Parent
& Home Involvement” by Marilyn Swierk, MS, CFCS, CFLE, Glencoe
McGraw-Hill, 2000. For more information, visit www.glencoe.com
Helping young people understand and talk clearly
about their emotions now will increase their understanding of themselves and
others - including their own children - in the future. Keep this chart
for your whole family for a week, or assign your students or youth group to do
this activity at home with their own families.
- Create a “Family Emotions Chart” to
post on the wall or fridge with seven columns listing each day of the week
and at least eight to ten rows that list a variety of emotions on the
left. Solicit young people’s suggestions of which emotions to
list.
- Assign a different color crayon or marker to each
family member.
- At the end of each day, have each family member mark a
big colored dot next to the emotion that best describes how he or she felt
that day. If necessary, mark more than one emotion for the day.
- At the week’s end, family members connect their
dots with their crayon color.
- Review the week’s chart as a family and discuss
what you see: Was this a typical week? Which weekdays felt best or
worst? Did the weather affect people’s moods? Which
family members had similar feelings and which had different feelings and
why? Whose moods were even and whose varied? Does looking at
the chart help your children understand themselves and their family
members better?
- Bring the charts in to school or a group meeting to
share and discuss as a class, and discover the many emotions other
children and adults have every week!
FOR MIDDLE AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AGES
BABYSITTER CERTIFICATION
Encourage pre-teens and young teens
to take a certified babysitting course. When appropriate, offer them a badge or
other award for it. The course will increase their knowledge of child
development and parenting skills, while helping them immediately take better
care of their siblings and other children in their care. Both American
Red Cross and Safesitters offer babysitting
certifications throughout the
www.redcross.org/services/hss/courses/babyindex.html
www.safesitter.org/
FOR JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL AGES
DEFINING A DAD, PATERNITY AND
CHILD SUPPORT
lesson plan from Dads
Make a DifferenceTM
PARENTING: INFANT SAFETY
lesson
plan from The Baby Think It Over® Program
MAKING PARENTING
DECISIONS
condensed lesson
plan from the workbook “Parenting Rewards & Responsibilities:
Parent & Home Involvement” by Marilyn Swierk, MS, CFCS, CFLE,
Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. For more information, visit www.glencoe.com
Parents must make countless
important decisions every day. Help young people develop the skills
they’ll need to make wise parenting decisions by practicing the following
decision-making process with them:
- First, make up a few
decision-making scenarios. Examples include, “Carol would like
to have a baby, but suspects her husband is becoming an alcoholic.
What should she do?” or “Children in the neighborhood are
picking on Bill and Carla’s son. Bill and Carla want to help
him. What should they do?” Let your family, class
or group choose one or two scenarios to explore.
- Use the six steps of
the decision-making process to work together to find a resolution to the
scenario. Be sure everyone contributes his or her ideas to the
process. If necessary, write responses on separate sheets of paper
first.
The Decision-Making Process:
1. Identify the exact decision to be
made.
2. List all the options.
3. Create a two column chart to list the pros and cons of each option.
4. Consider your values: What is important to you and your family?
5. Make a decision and take action.
6. Evaluate the results of your decision and take responsibility for the
consequences.
PREVENTING
SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME
condensed lesson
plan from the workbook “Parenting Rewards & Responsibilities:
Parent & Home Involvement” by Marilyn Swierk, MS, CFCS, CFLE,
Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. For more information, visit www.glencoe.com
As a class, group or family, find
out as much as you can about shaken baby syndrome and take action to prevent
this problem from occurring in your community.
- Have your children, students or youth group use
the Internet, library, and calls to social service agencies and
pediatricians to research what shaken baby syndrome is, how often it
occurs, and why it happens.
- Discuss reasons why people might shake their
babies, how the problem can be prevented, and where parents can go to get
help. Discuss what your children or students can and should do if
they suspect someone is abusing their child.
- Talk about the reasons babies cry and ways to
soothe a crying baby.
- Finally, work with your family, class or group
to help prevent this problem locally by raising people’s awareness
of shaken baby syndrome. Actions to take together might include
creating and handing out flyers outside grocery stores or malls, creating
and hanging posters around the community, writing a letter to the editor
of the local paper, and writing an article for the high school paper.
2001
PARENTING LEARNING EXPERIENCES (MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL)
These Learning Experiences were developed by teachers
throughout
A learning experience is a series of learning
opportunities designed to result in mastery of content and acquisition of skills
leading to the achievement of the
The peer review panel uses the following criteria as
the basis for recommendation to the Academy: Relation to the New York State
Learning Standards; Intellectual Challenge; Assessment Plan; Engagement;
Adaptability; Technology Integration.
Additional information can be found at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/sss/Parenting/ParentingEducationGraduationRequirementsx.html
For more information on the
Trish Kocialski
School
Health Education
New York State Education Department, 318M-EB
518-486-6090
YIKES!!! TIKES!!! NO OWNER’S
MANUAL??? Raising Children In Today’s Society
(student and program materials)
by Diane Babin,
LEARNING EXPERIENCE CONTEXT,
RESOURCES & SEQUENTIAL PLAN
DIFFERENT
AGES, STAGES, AND PAGES: A PARENTING HYPERLINK
Distance Learning curriculum by Sally Taibe, Warrensburg High School, Warrensburg NY School
District
PARENTING
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: USING BEHAVIORAL CONTRACTS FOR CHILD ADVOCACY
by Lisa A. Rauche,
allows students to practice parenting in action from
the viewpoint of the parent as well as the child
WEB
QUEST: PARENTHOOD +
CAREER = CHILD CARE
Learning Experience by Martha J. Antonello,
Northport High School, Northport - East Northport NY School District
Effective
Communication Kit For Parents of Teenagers
Learning Experience by Courtney Sanderl,
Amherst Middle School, Amherst Central NY School District
A
DBQ ESSAY: STEPPING TOWARD LIFE GOALS
The Role, Responsibility and Reality of
Parenting
Learning Experience by Carol Nochajski,
LEARNING EXPERIENCE CONTEXT,
RESOURCES, RUBRIC & SEQUENTIAL PLAN
Learning Experience by Jewel Faerber,
PARENTING EDUCATION extended performance tasK
Learning Experience by Laura Dombrowski,
Learning Experience by Pat Loncto, former
Developed
at
How Much Do Babies
Really Cost? Calculating the Real Cost
of Babies
1997
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Page| |Advocacy
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& Consumer Science|
|Poster| |Suggested
Topics| |Activities/Lessons| |Textbooks|
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Us|