Family New Year's Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions shouldn't just be a time for adults to take inventory of their lives and what they’d like to change, it is important we help our children to be a part of this process too. Whether you are making a resolution for your entire family or if your child is old enough to make his/her own resolutions, it is a great time to teach your children about goal setting and self-discipline.  Setting resolutions with your children are also a great way to help them explore new hobbies and interests.  Here are some ways you can have your child join the New Year’s resolution fun!

Traveling With the Small Child

The hustle and bustle of the holidays can sure be stressful and when you add traveling with small children into the mix, it can add to the stress of the season. Whether it is by car, plane or train, here are a few traveling tips I hope you find helpful in making your travel enjoyable and as stress free as possible.

I’m Unique: Teaching Your Child to Value Differences

September—a time when your children are returning to school, meeting new friends and enjoying new experiences—is a perfect time to learn about how

they are the same and how they are different from others around the world. Valuing these similarities and differences is an important step towards teaching tolerance and appreciation for the many cultures with whom we share this planet. You can begin at home by celebrating your child’s own uniqueness.

Talking to Children about Wildfires

The Colorado wildfires are at center stage right now with the continuous news reporting, the topic of most conversations, the hazy skies and the unmistakable smell of smoke in the air. All of these things can become very frightening to young children and there are bound to be questions that arise.

How can we talk to our youngsters about what is happening but doing so without frightening them? To get the conversation rolling, ask them if they have questions or if they are worried or scared.

 If they do have questions, first make sure to reassure them that you will keep them safe. Be honest in your answers and use words your children understand and at their developmental level.  In most cases the wildfires are far from your home, so explain this to them and let them know that they are safe. If, however, you are closer to the fires and there may be a chance of evacuation, reassure them that you are well prepared and that you will keep your family safe.

Use this movement as a teachable moment. Talk to them about your emergency evacuation plan so that they feel prepared as well. You can do this even if you are not close to the fires to practice fire safety at your own home. Feeling prepared and informed will help ease your child’s mind.

Help them express themselves in ways that they feel most comfortable. For example, drawing pictures, writing stories and role playing with toys can help the children to work out a stressful or confusing situation and to feel comforted.

Also, letting children feel like they can be helpful can also reassure them in a stressful time. Gather needed supplies and donate them or have them create a thank you card for firemen helping to put the fires out.  Being able to help can help children to feel hopeful .

Times like these can be stressful and scary for everyone, not just children, so make sure that you are calm, honest, consistent and supportive when talking with your children. Children are resilient and are more often just curious but by creating an environment they feel safe to talk about such things and cope with stressful situations, we can help them to create coping skills that last a lifetime. 

Raising an Environmentally Aware Child

Sometimes my daughter’s creative thought process inspires me to look at the world around me a little bit differently. Many times after tossing items into a junk pile to be thrown out, I've later found them tucked away in her craft room or they artistically show up as part of the latest accessory to her playthings.

Raising an environmentally aware child is up there on my lists of “things I want for my child”. I think she is off to a great start, but this prompted me to figure out some more ways I can help her to become more aware of the environment in her daily activities.

Here are a few ways you too can help your child become more environmentally aware during your daily activities and hopefully create some “world healthy” habits while you’re at it!

April Showers: Teaching Your Child about the Changing Seasons Spring is in the air!

 As adults, we’re very familiar with this adage and its meaning. But for children, the concept of weather can

seem abstract and difficult to understand. For example, depending on his age, a young child may not fully grasp what the memorable rhyme teaches: “April showers bring May flowers!” Dr. Gloria Julius, vice president of education for Primrose Schools, explains that children need concrete examples to learn about a concept so “big.” “At Primrose Schools, our qualified teachers work to help children learn about weather through hands-on exercises and meaningful, real-world examples,” she says.

 Below are a few tips from our schools: Make it relatable.

Spring Cleaning Part # 2 – Making it Fun for the Entire Family!

Who wants to spend their time spring cleaning when you could be having fun with your family instead! Since we must make time for the work, get the kids involved and make it a fun family activity! Having your children participate in Spring Cleaning doesn't just make for some quality family time, but it also teaches some great life skills. Learning how to take care of, fix and clean are skills children will need to know as they grow older, so take advantage of this teachable moment and have some fun while you are at it!

 I know how hard it can be to get your kids excited about cleaning, but here are a few things you can do to get them excited to jump in and tackle that Spring Cleaning list with you. (Make sure you are prepared for spring cleaning with last week's post Spring Cleaning Tips for the Busy Family: Part #1)

Individualize Tasks Talk with your children ahead of time and see what tasks they would be excited about doing!  Assign chores that best suit your child’s interests so they are excited about participating. For example, If your child loves movies, let them dust off the DVD’s and place them in alphabetical order. When they are finished, they get to pick out the family movie for when the chores are complete. If you child likes things that sparkle, give them a rag to and let them shine all of your knick- naks to make the house “Sparkle!”

Spring Cleaning Tips for the Busy Family: Part #1

Spring is upon us and I’m becoming increasingly aware of the large Spring cleaning list that needs to be

tackled. If you are like my family, it is sometimes hard to even find time to complete the regular chores around the house, but having a “Spring Cleaning Event” can help to keep things clean and organized on an ongoing basis and free up more time for summer time fun and clear out all of the dust and clutter!  I've come up with a small list of things that might help the busy family get in some much needed spring cleaning.

Your Child’s Educational Future: Part #2

It’s never too early to set your child up for a successful educational path and start to develop skills important for your child’s future.  Take a look at a few more ideas below that help support a foundation for a successful educational future. Click here if you missed Part #1 of this blog. 

Your Child’s Educational Future: Part #1

It’s never too early to set your child up for a successful educational path and start to develop skills important for your child’s future.  Take a look at a few ideas below that help support a foundation for a successful educational future.  

Develop a Lifelong Love of Reading!

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ Birthday and Read Across America Day, I found it appropriate to talk about the importance of reading. Growing up I LOVED to read! I think I got this trait from my mother who once read 105 Nacey Drew books in one summer when she was 9 years old. She still continues to read 2-3 books a week.  I also have continued my love for reading and can get captivated for days in an interesting book. My daughter has also started to enjoy reading more. As my 6 month old son develops, I want to be sure to instill the same lifelong love of reading in him.  Reading not only helps build vocabulary but also helps to improve imagination and communication skills. Reading is important from the time a child is born until they are adults, so why not start them off on the right track.

Here are some ways you can help your children develop a love of reading at a young age.

Whats App Mommy?

As a mommy, I’m always looking for ways to simplify my to-do lists and many activities that keep my family busy. With the helping hand of technology, I’m finding several ways to set reminders, organize and schedule the many things that keep us on the go. My smart phone has become a perfect assistant to this full time mommy! One out of two moms owns a smartphone and considers it a necessity to have, but there are just so many Apps out there, its hard to know which ones are most beneficial   Here are a few apps I've found particularly helpful that I think you might like as well.

The Benefits of Exercise- For Kids!

During the summer time you will find my daughter playing outside for hours, swimming, riding her bike and scooter,  jumping on the trampoline, taking family walks, and hiking around in the mountains on the weekends. But during the cold winter months in Colorado, I find it hard to make sure my daughter is getting enough exercise!

Healthy Food Choices

It is a difficult time of year to think about nutrition when all of those sweets are flying about. If you think about it we've been indulging in sweets since October! It all starts with the pillow cases full of Halloween candy that last until Christmas and then we are overwhelmed with sweets from fudge and cookies to pie and candy canes! Just as things are about to settle down, here comes Valentines Day and yes, more sweets and treats.

Connecting with Our Children

Guest blogger Carrie Knox and Director of our Primrose School at Stapleton shares her thoughts on the importance of connecting with our children.

Research on early childhood education has shown that high-quality child care experiences support the development of social and academic skills that facilitate children's later success in school. It has also been determined that strong connections between teachers and children are a primary component to these high-quality settings. 

Benefits of Child Care

One of the most important decisions a parent makes is choosing a childcare for their child. Not only do parents want somewhere that is safe and comfortable for their child, but also somewhere that fosters a good foundation of learning.  

Accreditation, what is it and why is it important?

When searching for a childcare, many of you were presented with information on accreditation and may hear about ongoing accreditation processes at your childcare. You may find yourself asking,“ What does this mean for my child?”, “What does this mean for our early education facility?”

Healing Time

There is an outpouring of helping hands,thoughts, prayers and love heading towards Newtown, Ct. This story has been a part of all of our daily thoughts and many are searching for ways to help so that all may heal.

Trying to Find the Words

Tears streamed down my face as I tried to make sense of what I was hearing on the news. I quickly turned the TV off when my daughter walked into the room. I wanted to shield her from the news and heartbreak coming from Sandy Hook Elementary School. I knew she wouldn't understand and the news would only make it more terrifying in her eyes. I also wasn't ready to answer her questions. I couldn't even make sense of it myself.

Teaching Generosity this Holiday Season

Between the Black Thursday, Friday, Saturday shopping rush and the ripping open of presents on Christmas day, it can be easy for Children to see that the holiday season is all about presents. How do we teach our children that Hanukkah, Christmas and other holiday celebrations are also a time to show generosity?

However your family celebrates the season, there are many ways to celebrate generosity.