Search Results for: blog do you share in front of your preschooler

Do You Dare to Compare?

Have you seen this tooth-achingly sweet note a 10-year-old boy penned to his hard working mom and attached to an even sweeter homemade gift? The photo has gone crazy viral since the boy’s sibling innocently posted it on Reddit. The youngster’s touching note reads: “Dear Mom, This is for you, I understand how hard you work, and I know you love strawberry milk, so I made this for you. :)” Sniff. Sniff. Right? I mean, c’mon moms, admit it; that tear in your eye, the tingle in your gut, your melted heart-—pure jealously. Okay, maybe, not 100% pure, but pretty … Continue reading →

Advent Activities to Share With Your Preschooler

This weekend we’re decorating the house for Christmas. Since we’re going away right after Christmas, we’ve planned for snow and decorations for the month before Christmas. Luckily for us, even in our mild climate the weather seems to be complying. We’ve had snow all week. What do we plan during advent? We live up on a mountain, and although I am not fond of driving to skiing sites, we can go tobogganing, skiing, and snowman-building right outside the front door. We do a lot of this. We also go for walks in the forest near our home. We play a … Continue reading →

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go

When I had my daughter, I promised myself that I would not give up my volunteer work. And so it was that I trundled off to a meeting when she was six months old and proceeded to bounce her on my back throughout the meeting as she napped. Luckily, I have always been on boards and in groups that are accommodating. My daughter is the honorary member of several organizations and recently snored through another board meeting of our local gardening group that encourages people to grow food for those in need. Often, people think that I am crazy for … Continue reading →

From Apathy to Activism

This morning I read a lovely online report about a little boy who is raising thousands of dollars for Haiti relief with a sponsored bike ride. I think that’s wonderful. You see, I was that little boy. At age seven, I was writing letters to the government about air pollution and learning how to compost. I won the good citizen award for helping out other children on the playground. As an expectant parent, I pledged that my daughter would grow up knowing about the challenges that people face. She’d be kind to others and gentle on the environment. What’s changed? … Continue reading →

Presence Matters

Are you present with your preschooler? I don’t mean are you around your preschooler, or at home, although those are definitely two aspects of being present. What do I mean? It’s easy to get caught up in other things when you’re at home. Whether this is cleaning the house, working from home, or an important phone call, it is often preschoolers who unconsciously get moved to the margins of our thinking. We’re busy. We want to engage with our kids, as soon as we get this task done. It’s fine to think about the mundane, but often our minds are … Continue reading →

Do You Share in Front of Your Preschooler?

I believe that sharing with others is very important. As a parent, one of our often-heard pleas is “Please share!” We struggle to teach our preschoolers the meaning of true sharing, and it’s hard. After all, preschoolers are just starting to realize that other people have feelings, and they are still very much the center of their own universe. Sharing can be very difficult. Today, we visited a restaurant and a park in a part of the city that we love to visit. As we entered the restaurant, a man was standing outside. He looked hungry. I prefer to give … Continue reading →

Calming a Preschooler’s Fears

Can you really blame four-year-old Hana Saldate for following her mom around like a puppy dog all day? In March the preschooler kissed her mommy, Euna Lee, goodbye thinking she would see her in a few days. Sadly, it would be more than five months before mother and daughter would share a hug again. The story of Lee’s imprisonment in a North Korean jail touched many people’s hearts, but none more than her preschool daughter Hana’s. The little girl had no clue that Lee had become a pawn in the increasingly antagonistic relationship between the United States and North Korea. … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Month in Review: August 2008

Isn’t it crazy the way babies grow so quickly? It seems that you just get used to one stage and boom they are already into another. Tonight, were busy getting the household all set for my eldest child’s first day of second grade. My two younger ones are excited and want to start school, too. It will be a busy month. Don’t worry about the missing last week of blogs. I’ve gotten quite a few questions about where I have been. The Baby Blog tends to go on hiatus the last week of the month. That may change in the … Continue reading →

Keep Your Kids Busy this Summer by Starting an Activities Co-Op

I spent much of last Saturday afternoon playing at a local gymnastic studio with my daughter. It was a blast. She had been invited to a birthday party by one of her preschool playmates. As I watched her tumble, hang, somersault and spin (with a grin that lit up the room) I immediately went to the front desk to find out the class rates for the summer. I felt like I had been hit with a ton of bricks. A class for one child cost thirteen dollars per three hour session. While that wouldn’t break our budget too badly, I … Continue reading →

A Few Tightwad Tips for Road Trips

It’s spring break season. A time when most people are planning (or dreaming about) taking a family vacation somewhere warm and sunny. Not me, I am packing up two preschoolers and heading north to visit my family and friends in Minnesota. I consider myself to be a professional family road-tripper. I take this fourteen hour jaunt every two or three months. (That’s one benefit of working from home – I can pack up and head home whenever I feel like it). That being said, traveling is expensive. As I am watching the gas prices rise almost daily, I’ve been thinking … Continue reading →