I'm a Mom - What's Your SuperPower?

How old was your child the first time you read to them? I think my first time reading to my daughter was somewhere between "The test is positive" and "We can see you are about 8 weeks along." I don't remember the exact date, but I do remember the story. It was Dr. Suess "Oh, The Places You Will Go." I kept reading out loud throughout my pregnancy. It didn't matter what the book was because back then, I just wanted her to hear my voice, no matter how muffled it might be. After my daughter made her entrance, we continued the habit by reading to her every night before the first attempt to convince her she needed sleep. We still have the bedtime story ritual every night, only now that she is much older, she is the one who reads to us. She loves books . She loves to read. And she loves to make up her own stories and comic books.  Obviously, you don't need to start as early as I did. I was so excited that I was fina...

An attitude of gratitude is an important character trait for everyone to have. No one is born knowing how to demonstrate gratitude. Gratitude is a learned skill that takes time, patience, and consistency to develop. Here are a few tips on how you can help your child develop an attitude of gratitude. Demonstrate Your Attitude of Gratitude Your child is always watching you and will mimic the behavior they see in you. Model the behaviors you want your child to imitate and reinforce those behaviors verbally. For instance, during meal-time when your child helps set the table at our school, we respond with “Thank you for helping me set the table for lunch. You did a great job!” Use Those “Magic Words” Frequently Please, thank you, you’re welcome – make these magic words a solid part of your family vocabulary. Your child is learning how to interact with others by how you interact with them and with others, so it is up to you to reinforce cour...

1. Say it early, often and very clearly. Tell your child: “Never go with anyone unless you come and ask me.” With my child, we also created a passphrase. If anyone comes to pick her up that she doesn't know, she has a very specific question. If the person doesn't answer it correctly, she may not go with them. 2. Talk about uncomfortable feelings Keeping it low-key, talk about situations you know would make your child uncomfortable. Ask him if he’s ever been in one and to describe how he felt. Thinking through those situations now can help keep him safe later. But if he seems fearful while you’re talking, back off and then discuss what he’s feeling at that moment. Then talk through the scenario another time. 3. Talk about “tricky people.” The concept of strangers can be confusing to some kids. And some unsafe people are people kids know. One way to explain who to watch out for is to discuss “tricky people.” When your child is young, say, “Most people are pretty...

It is an exciting and emotional time. Your child is getting to that age that they are almost ready to head off to school. If the phrase "Kindergarten readiness" has been flooding your news feed like it has mine, you may be wondering what it really means. From a teachers' standpoint, we understand that all kids may start off at different levels. Each child has a different background, so we don't expect them to start off school already having been taught half the basics. There are 6 things that almost all teachers can agree on that are crucial to kindergarten readiness . A readiness to learn By readiness to learn, we mean the parent has helped instill a desire to learn more information, and to want to know the answer. Parents can help this ideation prosper by talking about stuff with their children and being willing to answer questions. Kids are like sponges, so it doesn't matter if you think the answer you have to give is too advanced, go ahead and share. By ...