Making a switch

It is a slow process, but we will be switching new a new page.

It is active, although the transition is still taking place, so please bear with me for the next week or two!

Check out the new page here.

Thanks for your patience!

WHY?

I was recently shown an interesting video.

It mentions how important it is for businesses to understand WHY they do what they do.

Fitting.

So, I thought I would answer WHY.

WHY?

I love the innocent and unguarded curiosity of a child.

I love the forgiving nature of a child.

I love watching the “AH HA!” moments.

I love watching the spills.

I hate cleaning them up, but it is worth every moment of cleaning.

I love learning about myself while watching them play.

I love the energy.

The never ending energy.

Maybe it is because I am immature.

Maybe it is because I do not fit into the structure we create.

Maybe it is because I understand them better.

But,

I will choose the company of a child over an adult any day.

WHY do you do what you do?

Educational Activities for the young child

I have twin nephews turning 1 on Friday.

I have been trying to figure out the best gift for them.

I looked at all the toys out there,

but felt that the toys did not really encourage creativity.

I looked at the clothes

and almost purchased some cute shoes

but last I was told

they will not walk if they are wearing shoes.

I thought a diaper cake would be great!

I would make one, but it would not ship well.

I almost purchased on from etsy.  (They have some cute ones.)

I also still think that a diaper cake would be a good gift for the 1 year birthday.

1 year olds are not done with the diapers

but the diaper cakes and diapers given as gifts from the baby shower

ran out a long time ago.

But I digress.

So, as I was getting ready to purchase a diaper cake,

I started thinking about how much I wish I could be there.

Then I started my own gift basket.

Full of stuff from around the house

and instructions for great educational activities for the child 12 months to 24 months.

My basket probably does not compare to Baby Gap…..

….unless you are a baby.

So, I thought I would share them with you…..

Feel free to use these at home or throw some of these materials into a basket and give them as a gift, too.

I will let you know how they are received.

For now, try them out yourself.  Here they are.

The Language Mystery

Language is a baffling thing.

Most parents will agree that it is an amazing thing to watch your child develop the ability to learn to speak.

One day, your child does not speak, and the next day, words are spoken.

It is a beautiful, magical thing to watch a child learn to coordinate the muscles and utter words.

Every child will make similar mistakes when learning to speak.

For example, every child, at a certain stage in development, when learning the English language, will say things like, “I breaked the glass.”

Instead of, “I broke the glass.”

Or, “My socks are on my foots.”

Instead of, “My socks are on my feet.”

If you ask a child at this stage to repeat after you, they will still say the incorrect word.

(I found this part of my linguistics class fascinating!)

Another fascinating aspects of linguistics?

The acquisition of a 2nd language.

There is a lot of debate about the benefits of a learning a 2nd language early on in school.

Research found that there were benefits to learning a 2nd language at a very young age.

Many schools began immersing their children into a bilingual school,

only to later find that test scores were dropping.

What is/was much less publicized is that test scores jumped up,

signigicantly

a few years later.

Researchers theorize that additional languages create additional connections in the brain,

therefore making information stronger in the brain.

If I can label an apple as a pomme, manzana, apfel, and I know the sign for apple,

it becomes a much stronger idea in my head.

Linguists are still unsure how or why we learn language the way we learn language.

What we do know is that humans are hard-wired to absorb languages.

Multiple languages

and the earlier you start exposing your child to languages,

the easier it will be to for them to learn the language.

So, recently, there has been a trend to enroll young children in language classes.

While I fully support exposing your child to multiple languages,

I urge you to be careful when enrolling your child in a language class.

Children are sponges, and do not need structure when learning a language

up until around the age of 10.

If you are going to teach your child a 2nd language, just allow your child to be exposed to the language.

My children learned sign language

at the ages of 10 and 12 months.

(I cannot sing enough praise about sign language as a baby, but I will save that plea for another post.)

They were able to learn it without a class.

I am begging you to avoid the structure of a class

unless the class is just an opportunity to immerse your child in the language.

Allow your child to learn from a native speaker, if possible.

Watch television in another language.

Ask friends and family to speak to your child in another language.

I, personally, believe your child will grow to be a more intellectual adult if s/he is bilingual.

And, I believe the earlier you get started teaching your child,

the more easily your child will acquire that language.

I am off to expose my children to another language.

What are your experiences with languages?

Tags: bilingual, language, learning

My 25…

After reading a post I stumbled across from another blog, I thought it would be nice to follow suit.

I want to help others, but I do not want to be misunderstood.

I am not perfect, and while I may strive for perfection, I realize that I am far from it.

I would like you to know just how human I am….

1. I encourage my children to be independent so that I do not have to get off my lazy bottom.

2. I try to justify this and say that it is healthy for them to learn to be independent and even resort to using expert names to support this (like Montessori).

3. I skip bath nights when I get sucked into the tv.

4. I usually take the trash out when I hear the trash truck outside. (I have missed him a few times)

5. I should be taking the trash outside right now.

6. I rarely make phone calls.

7. I doubt.

8. I still believe.

9. I tell myself I am not going to get on the computer for a day/week/month, but am usually on the computer in an hour or two.

10. When I clean the house, I always start in the room that is the closest to clean so that I can feel a sense of accomplishment.

11. The room I start cleaning is also often the only room I get to that day.

12. Often, I will leave dirty dishes in the sink, but I will be so thorough that I will clean the baseboards in the room I did get clean.

13. I plan and buy foods using a budget and schedule, but almost never prepare the foods according to the schedule.

14. I also create a schedule for my day, but almost never follow the schedule.

15. I convince myself every night that I will be better about following the schedule tomorrow.

16. I want to have a green thumb, and have gotten plants to grow, but I kill them before they produce fruit/vegetables.

17. I try to blame my lack of green thumb on the horrible heat here.

18. I continue to try to have a green thumb, and continue planting seeds/plants only to be reminded of “the heat.”

19. I have recently started using quotation marks a lot.

20. I am usually late.

21. I get angry at my husband when he is late.

22. I want to recycle or repurpose, but usually end up throwing things away.

23. I do not enjoy board games unless I am winning and/or good at them.

24. I love meeting new people but feel very awkward when I do meet them.

25. I should have been a nomad and get very uncomfortable when things become too familiar.

Okay, now that I have shared some really difficult things, what are your 25?

Have you Ever….

Have you ever wanted something so much, but felt like it was too far out of reach?

Have you ever prevented yourself from getting the things you most want in the world?

Have you ever felt unworthy of achieving the things you most want in the world?

Is there something you want so badly, but are afraid of finding out that you are just not good enough?

Is there anything that you feel so strongly about that you are afraid to expose such a dear and precious part of yourself?

There are many days I feel this way.

I am not sure which frightens me more – the idea of failing at my dream or the idea that I am exposing myself to criticism.

I am not sure if I can handle having my most precious dreams open for the world to judge.

I do not think I am a special person.

I do love children.

I do want to help others, but despite all my education and experience, I do not feel that I am more qualified to educate or care for children than anyone else.

While my friends were dreaming about

I was dreaming about starting the next and greatest program for young children.

I often tell people that it is time for me to make the leap and try for my dream.

After I say it, I get scared again.

I am not sure how to get over this fear.

I even become afraid when I am posting a blog.

I know I am not alone in my fear, but even then, I still worry.

I know I am sabotaging myself.

Do you ever do this?

Types of Learning

Welcome to the series designed to help you build the best foundation for your child. If you are just joining us, you may want to start here.

We were last discussing the importance of training. Training is absolutely vital.

However, all the training in the world will not matter if your child is not going to fit into that program.

My philosophy is that EVERY child is born with the potential for greatness.

The difficult thing is finding the key to tap into that greatness.

What would have happened if Muhammad Ali had been raised in a family that practices yoga daily?
How different would he be if he was raised in a pacifist family?

Honestly, I do not know much about his home life, except that a police officer saw his potential – when Muhammad Ali became upset because someone stole his bicycle – at the age of 12.

But, regardless of his home life, he was fortunate enough to grow into his potential.

I believe every child can be amazing at something, if someone can tap their potential.

Finding a good program for your child requires finding the right fit for your child.

The good news?

Most of the work in your search for the best program can be done long before you pick up a phone and start calling.

The bad news?

There is no simple formula to finding the best fit for your child.

But, to end on a positive note, the good news is that it will be an amazing experience.

Watch your child.

Take notes.

Ask questions.

Think about each day.

Does your child do better on days when there is a consistent schedule? Does your child seem to do better when they have the freedom to explore on their own? Does your child love to listen to you tell stories? Do you have show your child the pictures when you are reading?
Does your child explore on his/her own when given something to play with? Does your child explore more when you ask questions?

I do have to mention one very important side note here:

Make sure you are paying attention to your child’s cues and not your own.

Personally, I do better with structure. I feel better when my family follows a routine. Things seem to go more smoothly when we are on schedule. It is really easy for me to come to the conclusion that routines are important for my family.

However, the truth is that my daughter does not need a routine.

She can explore and explore and never get tired. She can wake up at 7am or she can wake up at 10am and there is little difference in her day.

My son, on the other hand, needs structure.

In fact, he is often my alarm clock.

If it is naptime, he falls asleep.

No matter where we are.

So, pay attention to your child. Then compare your notes to the programs you are considering.

Does the program require all the children to participate in the same activities?
Does the program follow a strict schedule?

There are so many different philosophies and approaches in different programs….

We can go into those next…..

Until then, spend time watching your child.

Let me know what you discover!

Tags: child care, daycare, Education, learning

Training

Welcome to the series designed to help you build the best foundation for your child. If you are just joining us, you may want to start here.

I recently stumbled across an interesting video.

The video points out the how there are almost no requirements for training in order to work in or start a childcare.

It is scary how little training is required.

Time and time again, studies have shown that additional training is one of the best indicators of quality programming in child care.

So, you should make sure that the program you are looking at offers training for the staff.

Add that to your list of questions now.

Does the program you are looking at offer training?

Unfortunately, a simple “yes” or “no” will not be enough.

The licensing office will have training requirements for every licensed facility.

(In the state of Texas, there are listed, registered, and licensed facilities – listed facilities are NOT required to have additional training.)

However, there is very little done to monitor the type of training received.

I am a super huge fan of NAEYC.

Personally, I believe anyone with an NAEYC accreditation is doing a good job.

But, usually, those programs are pricey.

So, when you are on your tour of the program and you are checking to make sure the place is really clean, ask about the training that is done with the program.

Ask what kind of training they do.

Who does the training? (a local college/university? a former teacher? a corporation?)

Ask what information is covered in the trainings.

Ask how often the program offers training to the teachers.

Ask if the teachers are required to attend the trainings.

More than likely, you will know if the program is really and truly interested in the welfare of the children based on the responses you receive.

If upcoming trainings are about discipline, more than likely discipline is something the program struggles with. (Unless it is a corporate policy, and you can always ask.)

If upcoming trainings are about development, more than likely the program and/or teachers are interested in learning more about how children develop.

I would love to have feedback from the responses you get when you ask!

The next question you should be asking in the facility:

How will my child do in the program?

I will delve into that one here.

Tags: child care, daycare, early childhood, Education

Homeschool

Admitting the Truth…..

I think it is time to admit the truth.

I am passionate about education.

I am passionate about children.

I want to help the general population.

So far, nothing new, right?

Well, I have to take a big risk….

I am going to alienate a lot of people with this news.

I have not said it because I have been afraid to upset too many people.

But, it is time to admit the truth.

I plan to homeschool my children.

As long as I do not have to go back to work full time (God willing) I will be homeschooling my children.

I do not want my children to fit into the neat little box that schools use.

I want to create a community for the others around me who are prepared to homeschool their children, too.

Are you in?

Tags: homeschool