Sometimes the best gift you can give your child is the ability to step back. Supporting children to become self-reliant can be tough for caregivers for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that you can always accomplish tasks faster for them! However, developing independence is huge for school readiness. Teachers often mention self-sufficiency Read More
Parent Center
Books About Early Writing
Little Red Writing by Joan Holub (Preschool, School Age) This fractured fairy tale is filled with wordplay and puns while also teaching story structure. We might think we know what happens in this tale, but we’d better make sure to stay on the story path, so we don’t get lost. ▸ Get it at the Library Read More
Ways to Build Early Writing Skills
Reinforcing pre-writing skills can be (and might already be) part of you child’s every day. Have pencils, washable markers, chalk, crayons, and paper where your child can reach it. If you can, have a child sized table for writing and art projects. Talk about the shapes of letters. Practice drawing shapes Encourage your child to Read More
Early Writing
It can be surprising the first time you see your child trying to scribble to imitate how adults write. Scribbling is one pre-writing skill that prepares for your child to learn how to formally write. Generally, children progress through drawing and scribbling before they are able to write strings of letters and made up words. Read More
Ways to Prevent Child Abuse
There are lots of things we can do to prevent child abuse. From growing and learning as parents, building our children’s skills, and strengthening our community, here are a few things you can do to help. Reinforce your child’s body awareness Empower children to make decisions about privacy and encourage them to say “no” when Read More
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Unfortunately, we live in a world where some children are verbally/physically abused or neglected. During the past year of the pandemic, cases of domestic abuse increased. As caring adults, we can all help children by providing them with the knowledge that they should be treated with respect, they Read More
Activities to Be Silly With
Here are some fun activities to help you be silly with your child. Sticky Fun 0-6 months | Educational Domain: Approaches to Learning This activity surprises and mystifies babies. It encourages them to explore the paper and experiment repeatedly to figure out how it works Where Am I? 6-12 months | Educational Domain: Approaches to Read More
Ways to Be Silly
Just in case you need some silliness pointers, here are some ideas to get the giggles coming. Tickle monsters wanted For the youngest children, tickling, bouncing, and blowing raspberries can be the easiest way to get the laughs coming. Some children don’t enjoy tickling, so respect that and try something else. Making funny faces Read More
Remember to Be Silly!
Sometimes we all need a reminder to be silly. Believe it or not, your sense of humor can be massively valuable as a parent. … And the now the top three reasons to be silly with your child! Number 3 When you have a hard day, what feels better than hearing a joke or making Read More
Books About Letters
The Bookstore Cat by Cylin Busby (Toddler, Preschool) The bookstore cat is an adorable, bossy, and cuddly cat, among his many other qualities. But most importantly, the bookstore cat is well-loved. Follow along in the bookstore cat’s daily routine in this book, based on the Victorian parlor game, The Minister’s Cat where players think of adjectives Read More
