What’s an open ended question?

Questions that have more than one right answer, or ones than can be answered in many ways, are called open‐ended or divergent questions. This way of asking questions stimulates more language use, acknowledges that there can be many solutions to one problem, affirms children’s ideas, and encourages creative thinking.  

Open‐ended questions open up conversations

When you ask an open‐ended question, you don’t know what your child’s answer is going to be. Close‐ended questions usually limit conversation to a one or two word response, and sometimes they end the conversation. Examples:

Close‐ended question: “What color is this?”
Open‐ended question: “You used a lot of blue on your painting. What does it remind you of?”

Close‐ended question: “How many teddy bears are on the block?”
Open‐ended question: “What are those teddy bears thinking about?”

Close‐ended question: “What’s your doll’s name?”
Open‐ended question: “Your baby is so beautiful! Tell me about her.”

Children must have a high level of verbal skills to respond to open‐ended questions. Since open-ended questions have a wide‐range of possible answers, children are able to respond only if they have a fairly high level of verbal skills, vocabulary, and self‐confidence. If your child has limited verbal skills, use self-talk & parallel-talk, repetition, extension, or ask a close‐ended question.

The success of open‐ended questions depends on how you understand your child’s interest or focus. You may be used to asking questions aimed at assessing how much your child knows (about color, number, shape or alphabet) and may find it difficult at first to ask engaging questions with no right answer. Close‐ended questions usually end conversations. Open‐ended questions that are too general or unfocused may be difficult for your child to respond to and may also end the conversation.

Here’s an example: Your child has been using fingerpaint, mixing together orange, blue, and yellow. You say:

Close‐ended question:
“What colors are you using?” Child: “Orange.”

General open‐ended question:
“Tell me about what you are doing.” Child: “Mixing colors.”

Targeted open‐ended question:
“Wow! How did you get this color? What did you do first?” Child: “First I stuck my hand in the blue paint, then I stuck my other hand in the orange paint. I made the paint squeeze through my fingers. It felt yucky. Then it started changing colors!”

Open‐ended questions that are challenging can develop your child’s thinking skills: Challenging children by posing thought‐provoking, open‐ended questions that are rich and clear can stimulate and push at the edges of your child’s development. These questions are often expressed in conditional form “What will happen if you…?”

Types of open‐ended questions that are challenging include:

• Making predictions ‐ What do you think will happen if you keep adding blocks to your tower?
• Stretching thinking ‐ What would happen if there were no cars, trucks, buses, planes, or boats? How would we get around?
• Considering consequences ‐ What would happen if you left your drawing outside and it rained?
• Assessing feelings ‐ How would you feel if that happened to you? How do you think Juan feels?
• Thinking about similarities and differences ‐ How are these two blocks the same? What makes these things go together?
• Applying knowledge to solve a problem ‐ What could you do to keep the paint from dripping on the floor?
• Evaluating ‐ What made you decide to pick this book to read? How did this make you feel?

Try using these open ended questions with your preschoolers at home to get started:

Adapted from Preschool for All, San Francisco First Five (first5sf.org)

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Reading well is at the heart of all learning. When you read with your child everyday you can have a powerful impact on children’s literacy and learning by promoting positive attitudes about reading and writing. But just simply reading isn’t enough. To really engage your child, when you read together, you need to have conversations.

Use conversation when reading together

When reading use conversation to expand your children’s vocabulary and bring out their natural curiosity. Here’s how to bring conversation to your reading time.

• Name what you or your child sees in the pictures. I see a car. Let’s count the wheels. What do you see?
• Have conversations about emotions that come up in the story. He looks scared! He is happy now that he is safe at home. What scares you?“
• Ask open-ended questions and allow time to respond. Questions that have more than one right answer, or ones than can be answered in many ways, are called open‐ended or divergent questions. This way of asking questions stimulates more language use, acknowledges that there can be many solutions to one problem, affirms children’s ideas, and encourages creative thinking. Learn more about open-ended questions here.
• Choose books that help children expand their understanding of other people, cultures, race and beliefs.
• Take reading a step further by labeling objects around the house. Seeing the word lamp on a lamp will help link the written word to the object in your child’s mind. Kick it up a notch and add adjectives like small and big.

Interactive daily reading using conversation will increase your child’s vocabulary, strengthen your bond, create memories and set your child on the right learning path.

At Halsey Schools we read together using conversation many times a day. Children have direct open access to their own hands-on library in every classroom to read on their own. Please keep it up at home too. Read, Read and Read some more!

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When you make reading with your children fun, they LOVE it! Children who are read to regularly in a fun interactive way are more likely to be strong enthusiastic readers! Here’s how to add your personal flair and personality to the daily stories you read with your children and have FUN!

Make reading fun & interactive

• Use small and over the top gestures, facial and vocal expressions.
• Change your voice for each character.
• Act out the story: walk, dance, sing, cry, laugh…
• Try using puppets of any kind. Grab a sock and turn it into a puppet. Shadow puppets. A popsicle stick. An action figure. Whatever you’ve got! Any relevant prop will do.
• As you read encourage your child to retell the story as you look at the book together.
• Talk about and predict what will happen next.

When you have fun being silly, your child has fun too! Reading together every single day is a great way to have special bonding time with your child and get them excited about reading. At Halsey Schools we read together often and we all have fun doing it.

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Literacy skills like talking, signing, reading, writing and playing can all be nurtured at home with a book nook. We have book nooks in every classroom at Halsey Schools. Here’s how to make a book nook at home to provide your child with a quiet, comfortable space that nurtures learning.

How to make a book nook at home

Create a quiet, fun, well-lit space with soft comfy seating, pillows, rugs, lamps, music and book storage. A quiet corner, a window seat, a tent in the backyard, that secret ‘room’ in the closet under stairs all make great book nooks.

How to stock your book nook

• Get lots of comfy pillows, chairs, blankets…
• Books can be stored in shelves, baskets, boxes, buckets or whatever works for you.
• Provide an assortment of reading materials for hand-on reading: magazines, newspapers, paper books, hardcover books, cloth books, board books with objects, numbers, animals and more.
• Use and old phone, tablet, or whatever to easily play lullabies and other quiet, relaxing music.

How to use the book nook

• Family reading time. Read stories aloud and share family stories. Remember when we did that? When I was young I used feel that way too. Enhance conversations by asking who, what, why, where, how.
• Make up a story based upon a picture or object ( a teddy bear)
• Alone time.
• Listening to relaxing music.
• Winding down and getting ready to nap or go to bed.
• Singing songs and reciting simple rhymes.
• Tell your children how much you enjoy spending time with them.
• (Never send a child to a book nook as a punishment or a time out.)

A book nook is a great way to encourage reading as a way to relax, connect with each other and a good way to entertain ourselves without any screens when we are alone. For more ideas ask a teacher or check out one of our book nooks.

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Sunburns & Sun Exposure Last Forever

A sunburn today can lead to skin cancer tomorrow. Whenever outdoors your child’s skin needs protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Protective clothing, hats, sunglasses, and sunblocks are a must. Look for long sleeves & pants, tight weaves, UV protection labels and three inch brimmed hats.

SPF, UVA, UVB, Full Spectrum…

All exposed skin should be protected with sunscreens or sunblocks labeled with Full Spectrum UVA & UVB protection and an SPF-Sun Protection Factor.  Sunblocks labeled as both “Broad Spectrum” and “SPF 15” (or higher) not only protect against sunburn, but, if used as directed with the other sun protection measures above, can reduce the risk of skin cancer, early skin aging and damage. Sun exposure damages all skin. A tan is skin damage.  (Sunscreens protect by absorbing harmful rays. Sunblocks protect by literally blocking the rays. In this post I will use sunblock referring to both.)

Toss old sunblock, get SPF 30+, apply twice

• Throw out all sunblock from last summer. Even if it is still within the expiration date, it’s probably not anywhere near as effective as it was. Exposure to sun and heat expedite the expiration.
• Sunblock comes in a variety of forms – lotions, sprays, wipes or gels. Be sure to choose one with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or higher and both UVA and UVB or broad spectrum protection. (Sprays can pose an inhalation danger and tend to go all over the place instead of the skin.)
• For most effective protection, apply sunblock generously 30 minutes before going outdoors. And, don’t forget to protect ears, noses, lips, back of the knees, neck and the tops of feet which often go unprotected.
• Apply it in two coats.Apply sunblock twice, not once. Studies show that children only get the full protection of sunblock when it is applied twice. It is really easy to miss a spot or two with just one coat.
• Take sunblock with you to reapply during the day, especially after your child swims or exercises. This applies to “waterproof” and “water resistant” products as well. Keep in mind, sunblock is not meant to allow your children to spend more time in the sun than they would otherwise.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that sunblock use on babies less than 6 months old is not harmful on small areas of a baby’s skin, such as the face and back of the hands. But make sure you test for potential irritation 48 hours before needed by applying a small amount on a patch of your baby’s skin. Your baby’s best defense against sunburn is avoiding the sun or staying in the shade.

Recommended Sunblock & Sunscreen

Some of the most popular sunblocks we see at school are Baby Bum, babyganics and Coppertone Pure & Simple baby.

Now go outside and enjoy your summer protected!

The post Do this to protect your child from sun burns & lifelong skin damage appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

The single most important thing we can do to help our children develop the knowledge they need to become successful readers is to read aloud with them often; beginning when they are babies. Reading with your child at least every night at bedtime, is a good start. When reading books is a regular part of family life, you send your child a message that books are important, enjoyable and full of new things to learn.

Make reading together a habit

Read together often everyday. Build a routine that works for you but make it a habit. You can read at bedtime. You can read at wakeup time. You can read anytime in between. Just read.

• Encourage your child to choose the book.
• Read in short increments and build to longer reading sessions as your child’s attention span increases.
• Ask your child to help turn the pages and hold the book.
• Point to the words as you read them.
• Have books ready to go for you to read or for your child to ‘read.’ Children love to look at the books, words and pictures to start on their reading journey.
• Place reading materials around the house for easy access: Books, magazine, and newspapers (if you can find any.)

At Halsey Schools we read together many times a day. Children have direct open access to their own hands-on library in every classroom to read on their own. Please keep it up at home too. Read, Read and Read some more!

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