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Gearing Up for Your First Home Schooling Year

So, you decided to make the big leap and home school your children? As significant as this decision was, you will be faced with many more as you embark on this journey. Here are some basic advice to guide you through the first questions and decisions you will face. Of course, things are not always this simple, but it’s best to keep our perspective and not get too overwhelmed. Home schooling is a learning experience for the parent as much as the child. What curriculum should I use? This is the question mainly asked by new home schooling parents. What … Continue reading →

Simplify Your Preschooler’s Schedule This Holiday Season

I love winter – it’s the season of cozy fires, snow, and hiding from holiday engagements. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas or another winter holiday, this season can be overwhelming in the number of opportunities to socialize. The year my daughter was two, we said “enough”! If you’re like me and you’d prefer to hibernate in the warm wool blankets, what can you do? I recognize that the holidays are inherently busy. To plan for this, I don’t enroll my daughter in anything during November and December. She’s in preschool, but that’s it. This affords us some time to do those … Continue reading →

How to Encourage Creative Thinking in Your Preschooler

Thinking outside of the box is a useful skill for anyone to have. It goes hand in hand with creative problem solving, an ability that is highly valued by both schools and employees. Creative problem solving can lead to all sorts of successes in life, from basic survival to an abundant life. Encouraging creative thinking should start early. Even toddlers can come up with a bit of creative thinking. By the time a child is of preschool age, you should foster an environment that offers plenty of opportunity for creative thinking and problem solving. So how can you create this … Continue reading →

Preschoolers and Monsters

Sometime between the age of three-and-a-half and four-and-a-half, the monsters under the bed (and in the closet, behind the curtain, in the hamper, etc) start to appear. Your preschooler may suddenly be afraid to sleep alone in her own bed and may describe bad dreams or associate noises in the home with monsters. Why is this happening? Well, there are a number of reasons. The preschooler is now at an age where she is growing in a few developmental ways. Her imagination is really taking off. You may witness a lot of imaginative play that involves complete story lines with … Continue reading →

Board Games for Toddlers and Preschoolers

By the age of two, most children are ready to play simple board games. Here are some of the ones I recommend for toddlers and preschoolers. Yesterday, after a long day running around the house (my oldest son said it was exhausting work), and a quick dinner, I decided to settle things down for my own kids and one of their friends who spent the day with us. I suggested that we bring out a board game. “What’s a board game?” the little girl asked. In all of her six years of age, she had never played, let alone heard, … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Week in Review: December 8th Through December 14th

If you missed any of last week’s posts, be sure to catch up today! December 8th Baby Blog Week in Review: December 1st Through December 7th Are you excited for the holidays? I’ll be sharing some ideas for sharing this magical time with your little ones. In the meantime, check out the blog posts for the past week. December 9th Ideas for Your Child’s Christmas Tree There is something so magical about seeing a baby next to a Christmas tree. One nice idea is to create a small tree that is just for baby. You can place this tree in … Continue reading →

Working Part-Time Offers the Best of Both Worlds

It’s an age-old argument, whether it’s better to be a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. While we may never come to a final agreement, there is another type of mother in the mix that often gets left out of the conflict…it’s the part-time working mother. I read an article from “Medline Plus” that mentioned new research finding that mothers who work part-time do a better job at balancing their careers and nurturing their children. Specifically this study found that mothers who work part-time were more involved in their children’s school, more sensitive with their preschool children and provide more … Continue reading →

Four-Year-Old Mile Stones

As a parent, you probably want to make your that your child is right on track with developmental milestones. From speech and language to physical milestones, knowing what she should be doing can help identify any potential issues that require intervention, or just give you a reason to brag. While every child develops differently and at his own pace, here are the things that you child generally should be doing by the time she reaches the age of four. Socially, she should be able to interact and play with other children and even make friends on her own. If she … Continue reading →