I Love You Rituals

I Love You Rituals is a book by Dr. Becky Bailey. I has some creative ways to help you connect with your child as well as promote better attention and higher level thinking. You can also click on the link above to get free tips about Conscious Discipline from her website.

Candy Recall

With Halloween fast approaching, I wanted to be sure everyone knew about this recent candy recall. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a warning for the Sherwood brand Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate coins. They are being recalled due to the fact that they contain Melamine, the ingredient in milk product that has caused many infant deaths in china. These candies are sold at Costco, as well as many bulk and dollar stores. Please make sure to check your children's Halloween candy and please pass this information along to other parents!

Keys to Success

In the past, I have talked about the three keys to helping your child become a successful student and adult.

1. A sensory rich environment to explore
2. The freedom to explore it
3. An available parent to explore it with

Today, while doing some research, I found an interesting article about this exact subject. Part of the article was a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2002, and it states that "toddlers who physically explore their environment, engage socially with other children, and verbally interact with adults are likely to have better scholastic and reading abilities as teenagers compared to less engaging toddlers." That seems too easy. Could it possibly be that simple to actively and creatively play with your children and thereby make them better learners? The answer is YES! I see it everyday in my Kindermusik classroom and at home with my own two children. We, as parents, need to be reminded that sometimes the simple things in life, like a little play time with the kids, are not really frivolous at all. They are truly the most important things in life.

Inching Along

I heard about a new shoe today that is being produced by Inchworm Shoes. They are expandable in length, so that they will be able to grow along with your child's foot up to one full shoe size. What a clever idea!

Boredoom Busters in the Grocery Store

Parenting.com recently gave some Grocery store entertainment ideas:

Color scout: Choose a color for the day. Tell your child that her job is to watch and tell you every time you put something of that color in the cart. (2 and up)

Find that letter: Pick a letter and take turns naming items in the store that start with it. Get creative: "B" is for banana, but also for a box of cereal! (4 and up) I-Spy times three: Name three items your child can look for, like something that's bigger than his fist, something that's liquid, and something that's red. (3 and up) Banana notes: Pick up a banana and let your kid draw a picture on the skin with a pencil eraser. By the time you get home, your artist's work will magically appear -- just in time for a snack! (3 and up) for more, visit their site at http://www.parenting.com/ and click on activities.