We all know the holiday season can be hectic, frantic, and over in a flash. This year, try slowing down a bit. Make time for simple things. Spend time with family, take a breath, enjoy yourself. Here are a few ideas to inspire your holiday happenings this year. Bake together. Find a traditional recipe from […]
Planning a family picnic is the perfect activity for fun summer learning. With all the outside games and food, it’s easy to see why your kids will never know you have a secret curriculum up your sleeve! Here are 15 great tips to make your summer picnics full of learning – AND lots of fun: […]
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 […]
Japanese children love fish, veggies, and tofu. Indian children adore spicy lentils, okra, and pickled mango. Brazilian kiddos dive into stewed rice and beans with meat and veggies. So why do so many American children insist on a “white diet” of pasta, fries, and chicken nuggets? They learn their habits from us. Even before […]
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. […]
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. […]
Have a real one-on-one conversation with any preschooler, and you’re in for a treat — kids are soaring with ideas. As a mom, an educator, and an entrepreneur, I wondered: When do kids lose their imagination? And what can we do to foster creative thinking skills at home? 1. Ask Your Child to Describe His […]
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 […]
In this second of our three-part series, our experts – Dr. Susan Canizares and Dr. Heather Wittenberg —give tips for making a smooth transition from preschool to Kindergarten. Dr. Heather: Back in the “bad old days,” we didn’t have much understanding of early childhood development. Young children were seen as too little to learn very […]
When should YOUR child start Kindergarten? Our experts are here to help you decide! Dr. Susan Canizares, our Chief Academic Officer, not only has a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Development, she’s a nationally recognized authority on early childhood education. Dr. Heather Wittenberg is a mom of four and a child psychologist who blogs at […]