June 2016

Caregiver Chronicle
What Is Big Body Play and Why Is It
Important?
By Frances Carlson
Big body play is the very physical,
vigorous, boisterous, and sometimes
bone-jarring play style many children
love and crave.
Big body play is...




When a child
throws herself onto
a sofa.
When children
wrestle.
When friends jump
off climbing equipment.
When friends
chase each other
as they laugh, or
race to a finish line.
Why is big body play important
for children?
body play. For example, when a mother
kisses or massages her baby’s body, her
baby learns about where his body ends
and the space around him begins. He
also learns how
different types of
touch feel and the
names for those
feelings.
When a toddler
jumps into her
dad’s lap, or she
runs to hug a
friend, she learns
how to control and
regulate her body
movements. She
also learns that
she should adapt
the intensity of her movements in relation
to another person. For example, she
might run to hug her friend with less force
than she uses to jump into her dad’s lap.
Big body play supports children’s physical development but it also supports
the development of children’s social
awareness, emotional thinking, and
language skills. Research shows that
big body play comes naturally to children. Children all over the world play
this way, and that is why it's so important that adults, both teachers and
family members, understand and support it.
When children enjoy big body play they
can also build both verbal and nonverbal
communication skills. Through big body
play, they learn to correctly interpret nonverbal gestures, like when my friend puts
her hand up it means I should stop but if
she smiles it means I can keep going.
Children will apply this skill throughout
their lives in different social situations.
How does big body play support
children's learning?
And, because most children enjoy the
play so much, they learn how to compromise. They might let other children go
first and be strongest so that the play can
continue. Children are also calmer for
longer periods of time following very
There are many ways big body play
supports and enhances children’s
learning.
Younger children gain a lot of information about their bodies through big
When children take turns jumping off a
tree stump they practice taking turns.
Continued on page 2
Anoka and Washington Counties
Volume 3, Issue 6
June 2016
Contact Us:
Katy Chase
763-783-4881
[email protected]
Doreen Jackson
763-783-4891
[email protected]
Astra Lowery
763-792-8713
[email protected]
Allison Panning
763-783-4823
[email protected]
Stacy French
763-792-8759
[email protected]
Arielle Handevidt
763-783-4962
[email protected]
Gail Theisen
763-783-4973
[email protected]
Annette Borman
763-783-4711
[email protected]
Terri Hoffman
763-717-7718
[email protected]
Inside this issue:
Develop Survey
2
Help Me Grow
3
More Than Baby Talk
4
Develop Seminars
4
Pregnancy &
Postpartum Support
5
Special Days in July
5
School’s Out!
6
Upcoming Events
7
Big Body Play continued
rowdy play. Greater learning is likely
during these calm, focused periods.
Why does this type of play make
some parents and other adults
nervous?
Even though I have studied and written
about this kind of play, sometimes, it
still makes me nervous! As parents and
teachers, we are very serious about
protecting children and keeping them safe. It’s difficult to watch children engaged in physically rowdy
and vigorous play and not fear that someone is
about to be hurt. Often adults see children roughhousing and think they are really fighting so they
often err toward caution and shut it down.
How parents can support big body play:

Supervise play closely. If your child needs help
telling a playmate to stop or to do something in
a different way, you’ll be there to help.

Talk with your child and set some ground rules
for big body play. For example, If your child
likes to wrestle, you might set up a Wrestling
Zone in your home. Choose an area with
enough space to wrestle without bumping into
furniture. Make a rule about how long each
wrestling bout can last before time is called.
You might also have a rule about all wrestling
moves being between shoulders and waists,
and not around necks or heads.
2. Big body play is rowdy, physical, and
usually loud. It rarely turns into real
fighting.
3. Big body play is a vital component of
children’s growth and development. Children all over the world play this way.
4. Big body play gives children sustained
moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise.
With our current obesity epidemic such a
growing concern, it can help children stay fit and
healthy.
The quickest way to distinguish big body play from real
fighting is by looking at the expressions on children’s
faces. Their big smiles let us know the play is okay.
Frances Carlson is the author of Big Body Play: Why Boisterous, Vigorous, and Very Physical Play Is Essential to Children's Development and Learning. - See more at: http://
families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/childdevelopment/what-big-body-play-and-why-itimportant#sthash.oKfYG9II.dpuf
Five things you should know about big
body play
1. Big body play looks like fighting, but it isn’t
fighting.
There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.
~Graham Greene
Participate in Develop Survey
Whether you’re an active Develop user or not, DHS is looking for online survey participants to help
review and improve the Develop website. As a participant, you will be asked to complete specific
tasks. Your responses will tell the Develop team how well the current website works and offer ideas
for making improvements.
The first step is to complete the contact form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCFHKZT; you
will then receive a follow-up email later this month with a link to the survey.
Page 2
Caregiver Chronicle
866-693-GROW (4769)
Page 3
Caregiver Chronicle
More Than Baby Talk—Part 4
Key Practice #3—Mix it Up
Talking to children is one
of the most important
ways adults can help
them learn to communicate and develop strong
language skills. By talking
with them, adults provide
children with language
“input” that children can
then use as models for
how to talk. The more
types of language input that children receive,
the more their language skills can develop and 
grow over time. When adults “mix it up” by using lots of different types of words and gram
mar in their speech to children, children benefit
by learning to use more complex and varied
language.

What Research Shows


Repeated and varied exposure to unfamiliar words, along with meaningful contexts
(e.g., pictures, verbal explanations) helps
children learn new words. Children whose
teachers speak with more complex sentence structures have better understanding
of complex, multi-clause sentences.
Using words from a child’s home language
may help children to learn words in English.
Working with Infants and
Toddlers

During playtime or
mealtimes, introduce new
vocabulary by using rare
or uncommon words
(e.g., “I have a big
appetite. I am eating a lot
of food today!”).
Repeat unfamiliar words
in different contexts and on different occasions.

Give children verbal explanations for unfamiliar
words.
Use sentences that have multiple clauses when
talking with children (e.g., “Can you put the blue
ball in the box under the table?”).
If possible, incorporate words from children’s
home languages into the daily routines (e.g.,
when counting the number of children at the table, “We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 friends today. Let’s
count in Spanish. Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco!”).
Gardner-Neblett, N., & Gallagher, K. C. (2013). More than
baby talk: 10 ways to promote the language and communication skills of infants and toddlers. Chapel Hill: The University
of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute.
NEED HELP GETTING A DEVELOP ACCOUNT?
Join Us and Get Individual Assistance
June 28th,, 2016
6:30—8:30 pm
Cottage Grove City Hall
June 29th,, 2016
6:30—8:30 pm
Blaine Human Service Center
Page 4
What you will need:
 Your laptop or tablet (please be sure it is fully charged. We will
have a limited number available for use if you do not have one;
please let us know if you will need one when you RSVP)
 Your license number or your employer’s license number
 Current email address that you can access at the seminar
 Dates of high school graduation and any post-secondary education
 Dates and names of any employment related to early
childhood or school-age care
PLEASE RSVP to Annette Borman, [email protected]
Caregiver Chronicle
Pregnancy & Postpartum Support Minnesota
Pregnancy & Postpartum Support Minnesota
(PPSM), is a group of mental health & perinatal practitioners, service organizations, and mother volunteers who
provide support, advocacy, awareness, and training about perinatal
mental health in Minnesota. Our
team of volunteers provides services to those struggling with a
pregnancy or postpartum mood
disorder through the Helpline, professional training, our resource list
and website.
PPSM Mission
The mission of PPSM is to engage
parents and professionals in promoting optimal
emotional well-being during pregnancy and
postpartum.
If you are a parent seeking more information or
support, or a health care provider, or service
organization serving new parents, we
provide resources that promote emotional well-being for new families.
Families & providers may use the
PPSM Support & Resource HelpLine
at 612-787-PPSM (7776) or
[email protected] for information and resources specific to your
needs. Calls are answered by mental
health professionals, and phone support is provided by trained peer volunteers.
The PPSM Resource List provides names and contact information of mental health providers who
have extensive training in perinatal mental health.
Looking Ahead—Special Days in July
1 Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day
1 International Joke Day
2 I Forgot Day
2 World UFO Day
3 Build A Scarecrow Day
3 Compliment Your Mirror Day
3 Stay out of the Sun Day
4 National Country Music Day
4 Sidewalk Egg Frying Day
7 Strawberry Sundae Day
9 Sugar Cookie Day
24 Cousins Day
24 Parent's Day
25 Threading the Needle Day
26 All or Nothing Day
26 Aunt and Uncle Day
27 Take Your Pants for a Walk Day
29 Lasagna Day
30 Cheesecake Day
30 International Day of Friendship
31 Mutt's Day
10 Teddy Bear Picnic Day
11 Cheer up the Lonely Day
12 Different Colored Eyes Day
13 Barbershop Music
Appreciation Day
13 Embrace Your
Geekness Day
13 Fool's Paradise Day
14 Pandemonium Day
15 Cow Appreciation Day
16 Fresh Spinach Day
17 Yellow Pig Day
19 Raspberry Cake Day
20 Lollipop Day
20 Moon Day
20 Ugly Truck DayIt's a "guy" thing
21 National Junk Food Day
22 Hammock Day
23 National Hot Dog Day
Page 5




Blueberry Month
Anti-Boredom Month
Hot Dog Month
Ice Cream Month
Make a race track
with masking tape
Caregiver Chronicle
School’s Out For the Summer!
Newspaper Fort
Materials: Newspaper; tape or stapler
Instructions:
1. Take two sheets of newspaper, lay them
out flat, one on top of the other, and
start rolling them from one corner. The
tighter the roll, the stronger it will be. My
boys aren't tight rolling masters yet, but
they did pretty well for their first time!
2. Secure the end with a small piece of
tape.
3. Make as many newspaper rolls as your
kids will allow. An ideal amount would
be around 48, but I think we stopped
around 25 or so.
4. Make triangles with your newspaper
rolls by taping or stapling the ends together.
5. Create as many triangles as you can
with your newspaper rolls.
6. Secure the triangles together to build
whatever size structure you want! The
size will depend on how many triangles
you made. Just make sure you have
enough for the roof, which will provide
the final stability for your fort. You can
 Cover the edges of
secure the joints with some extra staples
the milk carton with
or tape to be sure it doesn't move
masking tape.
around too much.
 Fill a balloon with
The rest is up to their imaginations! The
flour or corn starch
structure should even be sturdy enough for
and tie to the opena blanket on top. Either way, it's a pretty fun
ing of the milk jug
activity to do with your kids that they will be
with string.
proud of and enjoy!
Page 6
Which
letter is the
coolest?
Iced
Caregiver Chronicle
Upcoming
Events
Last chance to apply to start
Parent Aware in July 2016!
 Paper applications are due 6/15/2016
you would like to apply online through Develop, please
 Ifcontact
us by 6/20/2016 for assistance with this process
Parent Aware Information Sessions
June 2nd, 2016
th
Anytime between 6:00 and 7:30 pm –
Culver’s 1725 Market Dr, Stillwater
June 13 , 2016
1:30 to 3:00 - Woodbury City Hall (Birch Room)
June 13th, 2016
6:30 to 8:00 - Cottage Grove City Hall (Training Room)
Sign a
Participation
Agreement at
any Information
Session and get
a free item
provided by
Lakeshore
Learning!
ligh A
td
wil
l be inner
ser
at a
ve
ll e
v
eni d
Inf
orm
n
atio g
Se
n
ssi
on
s
June 2nd, 2016
Anytime between 6 and 7:30 pm Culver’s 800 W Main St, Anoka
June 13th, 2016
1:30 to 3:00 – Blaine Human Service Center #345
th
June 13 , 2016
6:30 to 8:00 – Blaine Human Service Center #345
Blaine Human Service Center
1201 89th Ave NE
Blaine MN
Cottage Grove City Hall
12800 Ravine Parkway S
Cottage Grove MN
Woodbury City Hall
8301 Valley Creek Rd
Woodbury MN
Please RSVP to Annette Borman, 763-783-4711 or [email protected]
Please plan to join us for our
2016 Parent Aware Celebrations!
6:30pm to 8:30pm
DATE CHANGE!
August 11th, 2016
Cottage Grove City Hall
Page 7
August 16th, 2016
Blaine Human Service Center
Caregiver Chronicle