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...]
10 Best Children’s Books for Story Time
Looking for picture books to read aloud at circle time? These 10 children's story time books to read aloud are sure to entertain kids! "I want you to be the Home Reading Parent," my first grader told me. I figured his teacher had told the class about the vacant spot and asked their parents if they were interested. But when he asked me a second time, I wondered if I should give it a shot. "Okay, I'll email your teacher," I said, "but there's a chance another parent has already asked." Except later that night, I received a response from the teacher, delighted I had volunteered. The … [Read more...]
How to Entertain Your Baby
Looking for fun ways to play with your baby, whether at home or out and about? Learn how to entertain a baby with these simple ways. When my eldest was a newborn, I could get away with laying him on a blanket and shaking a few rattles as entertainment. But then he started stay awake more, and I found myself needing to up the ante: We did tummy time, I placed him in an infant seat, we read. But still, he started to seem cranky, as if he was bored, tired of the same toys. Even I felt like we were doing the same things over and over. How to entertain a baby We can get stuck in a rut, from … [Read more...]
Fun Literacy Activities to Help Your Child Learn
Encouraging early learning is easy with fun literacy activities! Learn why simple activities like talking, reading and singing will help your child learn. This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of First 5 California. The opinions and text are all mine. From Day One, I wanted to engage my kids toward healthy brain development. I knew I couldn't control everything, but I was determined to do what I can to raise lifelong learners. So I read child development books and scoured the internet for baby activities. I even read aloud to my pregnant belly. Turns out that helping … [Read more...]
Teaching Kids to Save Money
Teaching kids to save money starts at a young age! Learn tips and tricks to teach money management, counting money and the importance of saving money. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not). All opinions are 100% mine. Want to know the number one influence on your child's financial behavior? It's not the media, peers, or even DNA. It's you and me. Parents make the biggest impact on whether kids will go into heavy debt or pay off bills, learn to save or spend more than they earn. Thankfully, we have an awesome resource to … [Read more...]
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