The air is cooler, the days are shorter, and the leaves are starting to brown. These are the usual signs of back to school season. This year however, our fall looks different. Many schools are implementing a hybrid model, and requiring both children and teachers to wear face masks for the duration of the day. Some children suffer from phobias of people in costumes,
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Why do kids and teens cuss and what can we do about it effectively? Here are a couple of reasons and some suggestions on what you can do about it. These suggestions may not be appropriate for all children, all families or all situations. They are simply suggestions that you might be able to use, depending on your situation with your kids. The image
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I hear parents complain that their kids don’t appreciate what they have. So much is available to our kids today that it’s hard for them to imagine being without. Then when they push their parents for more, it triggers a feeling of resentment for the parents as they think about all they’ve done and provided for their kids so far. My own kids occasionally
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Ever see a child shake a snow globe … and notice the soothing affect it has? There’s something about watching all the white flakes settle to the bottom that can be so relaxing. The same idea can be accomplished by making your own relaxation jar, with supplies readily available in almost any preschool … water, glue, food coloring and glitter! Oh yea .. and
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Based on helping thousands of parents over the years and spending time evaluating children while they interacted with both parents AND teachers, I’ve found that it is common for children to behave the worst while in the care of Mom! As strange as this may seem, it is true. The reason is that in general terms, the mother seems to create a safe environment
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It’s nearly Christmas and I’m shopping at a department store. A woman in the isle just ahead of me is pushing her shopping cart and begging her daughter to cooperate with her. The little girl appears to be about four or five years of age and is dragging her feet and whining that she’s too tired to walk. Her mom looks very tired and
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The Story A fun way to explore feelings with preschoolers is through stories and interactive play. One of my favorite books for this topic is “Glad Monster, Sad Monster” by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda. The book illustrations are vibrant and fun, and it’s a good learning opportunity to have the children guess the feeling of each monster as you read (based on the expression
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The following post is from information sent to us by Mary Tabb of the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership, which is a wonderful resource that is available to support the social and emotional development of children in your care and in your early childhood program. We recently posted an article from ECCP about supporting infants and toddlers with transition times in their day. Now, it’s time to
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Below is the first of two posts from veteran educator and interview coach Charlie Margolis. “I think high self-esteem is overrated. A little low self esteem is actually quite good. Maybe you’re not the best, so you should work a little harder.” — Jay Leno Have you seen the State Farm Insurance commercial that features Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rogers? The setting is an
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This the second post from Charlie Margolis regarding how overinflated self-esteem and excessive praise affects our children. Pedagogy today is far superior to what – for those who are old enough to remember – teaching was like when no one cared how we felt. Unlike the “good old days,” stellar students do not receive all the attention while those of less academic achievement are ignored. Learning disabilities
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