Summer is a great time to slow down, enjoy the weather, and have some relaxed family time with the kids. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to create fun learning experiences outside together, but if you don’t make plans now, those precious few weeks will slip by, and soon you’ll be prepping for back-to-school. Here are […]
Breakfast in bed is lovely, but what does it actually mean to be a mother? It’s much more than taking care of the kids — it’s also how we see and feel about ourselves. My oldest child just became a teenager. As a result, this Mother’s Day I’m reflecting on how my identity as a […]
Earth Day isn’t just about taking care of the planet. It’s also a great opportunity to teach young children important character lessons about responsibility, sharing, and cleaning up after ourselves. These lessons in good character are fun and easy to sneak in while you’re celebrating Earth Day. Here’s how you can boost your child’s character […]
In efforts to boost family heath and fitness, The National Association of Young Children (NAEYC) is sponsoring the annual Week of The Young Child from April 6-12 with events around the world. Last year alone, supporters like you added more than 250 global events to focus public attention on the needs for early childhood programs. In […]
Eat your breakfast! We’ve heard it over and over – breakfast is important. Brains need fuel to work properly. If your little one is like mine, though, breakfast is the last thing on her mind in the morning. She might ask for juice, but she’d rather wait until snack time at school to eat. […]
I listen to the hushed murmurs of my youngest daughter, Jemma. Her small hands move her toy people as they “talk” to each other. The long hallway is a busy cardboard city. Currently, her attention is on the children in the school area. They’re busy rehearsing a play and festively attired in costumes of tape, […]
In our final post in the series, our experts – Dr. Susan Canizares and Dr. Heather Wittenberg – reveal how to make kindergarten a great experience by preparing in these simple (and fun) ways. Dr. Heather: Starting kindergarten is exciting, but it can also be daunting for parents. Even with my fourth child, I worry […]
As parents, we realize quickly that there is no hard-and-fast rulebook that can prepare us for all the challenges that come along with day-to-day trials and tribulations. But there are occasionally moments that make us say “Aha!” and we realize the right answer is just as simple as we’d hoped. As both a mother and […]
School plays, a trip to Disney World®, and mountain vacations fill our photo albums. But none of those are the moments I cherish as a mom… not by a long shot. The most meaningful moments of my parenting were years in the making and captured only by my heart. From birth, my daughter Annika hated […]
With all of the debate about work/family balance lately, it’s hard not to wonder whether your personal solution is the “best” one. But there is no one-size-fits-all solution to parenting, and there are many paths to feeling successful as moms and dads. That being said, there’s one clear route to feeling lousy about your parenting: […]
It’s one thing to say that you want your children to experience challenges, but it’s quite another to sit tight while they struggle through difficult times. Recently our family made a cross-country move that landed my 10- and 8-year-old sons 2,500 miles from home, in a new house and a new school. I had to […]