Want to raise kids with empathy for other people? Read these 12 children's books about empathy to discuss how others feel and to teach your child compassion. Your child may not know this skill by name, but it's what happens when she can relate to the skinned knee and wailing tears of another child who had fallen off a bike. When she switches gears after realizing her friend isn't in a good mood to play. When she knows better than to tease her brother, because she understands what it's like to feel teased herself. Empathy. It's one of the most important skills to nurture, and one … [Read more...]
Learning Made Fun: How to Encourage Educational Play
Learning made fun with activities and games is a great way for kids to play. Discover how to make learning fun at home with 5 simply and effective tips. Thank you to Reading Eggs Junior for sponsoring this post. All content and opinions expressed are my own. Confession time: I didn't start reading for fun until well after leaving college. I didn't feel inclined to read when I already had "required reading" to do. I enjoyed the books I had to read and also did well in school, but I never found myself wanting to read on my own. Only when I was past the stage of being required to read did I … [Read more...]
4 Easy Ideas to Nurture Your Child’s Creativity
You know the importance of play and creativity, but how can you encourage it in your home? Discover 4 easy ideas to nurture your child's imagination. I had found the perfect craft on Pinterest—something I could actually try with my then-toddler. The object was simple: draw a cloud outline on a piece of paper, and have your child glue cotton balls within the shape. Once he's done, you'd then cut along the line and you'd have yourself a bona fide cloud—voilá! I gathered our supplies and showed my son how to apply glue to cotton balls and stick it to the paper. Except... he had his own … [Read more...]
Preschool Pros and Cons: Should You Send Your Child to Preschool?
Deciding to send your child to preschool can be a difficult choice. Take a look at these preschool pros and cons to help you make your decision. Should you send your child to preschool? Let me start by saying I've enrolled all three of my kids in preschool since asking myself that question. And I couldn't be happier with my decision. Still, if someone were to ask me whether they should send their child to preschool, I wouldn't give a definitive “yes.” Instead, I'd say it depends on many factors. Because each family has their own unique circumstances, each child has his own needs. … [Read more...]
How to Raise Kids Who Love to Learn
Want to raise kids with a genuine passion for curiosity? Discover effective ways to raise children who love to learn — and not because they have to. My son was in the kitchen trying to turn an empty box of strawberries into an airplane. He had attached a propeller from another toy to the front and strapped a rubber band he'd hoped would sling it forward. It even came equipped with landing wheels. The airplane never moved, much less flew, but this is the kind of learning I want to encourage in my kids. Not doing homework begrudgingly or even perfect grades, but the willingness to try … [Read more...]
How to Create a Math Rich Environment at Home
Are you overwhelmed with helping children learn mathematics? Discover effective ways to create a math rich environment at home. Look through my home and you'll find evidence of the many ways I try to encourage my kids to keep learning. You'll see shelves of children's books, an alphabet rug in their bedroom, and artwork proudly displayed on the wall. Reading has also become such an ingrained part of our day, especially with our bedtime routine. So imagine my surprise when I realized how little I focused on math. For all my efforts to encourage early literacy, I had overlooked creating … [Read more...]
8 Children’s Books about Peace
Want to read about finding and living a life of peace? Teach your child the importance of kindness with these children's books about peace. Talking about peace to children can be difficult, especially since it can highlight the opposite: Struggle, cruelty, conflict, and anything else that isn't peaceful. Kids may not always understand why these events happen. They get scared or don't feel safe. They wonder if these events can happen in their lives rather than in distant places or times past. But kids understand peace better when we talk about it in ways they can relate to. We can … [Read more...]
31 Playful Things to Do with Your One-Year-Old
Toddlers aren't babies anymore, but aren't "big kids" yet either. Here are several playful activities for 1 year olds, from 12-24 months. One-year-olds are at that "in between" stage. They're not babies anymore, especially as they grow more interested in being mobile and developing motor skills. Their ability to play is more advanced than an infant, plus they won't exactly sit still for a long time. But one-year-olds are also not at the "preschool" stage yet. They're still limited in what they can do, especially on their own. They don't follow instructions too well, much less create a … [Read more...]
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