8 Month Update

Miss Juniper (the reason things have been quiet around the blog for a while) is now 8 months old! I thought it was time to do a quick update. It is so fascinating to see how uniquely each baby develops!

Physically, Juniper has wanted to walk since birth. She was footling breech and has always tried to push up to standing instead of sitting. She prefers to play standing up against a couch or our play foam than to play sitting. Honestly, her drive to stand probably delayed her sitting and crawling by a little bit. She's already pulling herself up on things and starting to cruise.

As far as learning activities go, she's very different from her brothers. She's been the least interested in looking at words of all my kids. Both the boys LOVED Your Baby Can Read. She will watch it for small bursts, but often not the whole thing. She is more likely to watch a whole Tweedlewink video, but those are much shorter. (She does LOVE Sparkabilities, but those are not word focused). Since it was a struggle to get her to sit still long enough to pay attention to three word flashing sessions a day, we're taking a little break from them. I had to take occasional breaks with the boys as well, just when they were a bit older and wanting to focus on movement. Since teaching a baby has to be joyful, we'll try again when I feel like she might be more interested. I'm not going to force anything!

Juniper likes books, but is a bit pickier than the boys. I'm guessing all of this is because the boys were far enough in age to be home alone with me. Juniper has Archer home, so is exposed to more screens and distractions during the day. We've recently started doing one Little Reader lesson a day and she seems to be liking it (when I can keep Archer from being distracting). You can read about how I implement these resources and teach my babies to read here)

She's is very smiley. She loves her brother to pieces, frequently wanting to grab them, particularly their hair. She already has an independent streak, much preferring foods she can feed herself to ones I feed her. She wants to be with the big kids doing what they're doing and going where they're going. 

Seven Tips To Help Your Child Grow Into A Well-Rounded Individual

 When you become a parent, you want to strive to be the best version you can be for your children so they too can grow up to be the best that they can be in life. Of course, we’re all human and so making mistakes is part of the process. 

However, a child in their childhood is something you want to tread carefully in so that they have the best opportunities and knowledge to become well-rounded human beings at both this point and in their own adult life.

With that being said, here are several tips to help your child grow into a well-rounded individual.

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Teach them some helpful life lessons for the future

To help them grow into a responsible adult, life lessons are important. These life lessons come in all shapes and sizes. Some will be taught to them by you, their parents, others by others they look up to whether that’s teachers, other family members, and friends.

Some life lessons are fairly obvious and need to be taught to help keep children safe, like not to talk to or go with strangers when left alone. Other life lessons are often not clear until they make a mistake and they learn from that mistake.

As a parent, there are plenty of life lessons you can teach them when they’re young and perhaps could have helped you when you were their age. 

Involve them in table discussions on social and economical issues

To help them get involved with the world around them as they get older and to show an interest in it all, involve them in table discussions. These discussions might take place at the dinner table and in a variety of other environments whether that’s after watching the news or listening to a radio show on the way to school.

Talking about social and economical issues, as well as general topics that warrant healthy discussion, is a good trait and skill for your children to have. Everyone is entitled to their own viewpoints and opinions but they should also be aware of other opinions and perhaps have their own opinions questioned.

Exploring Unique Educational Opportunities

Introducing them to unique educational paths, such as Caribbean pre-med programs, is a valuable life lesson. Discussing these opportunities can broaden their horizons, showing that there are diverse ways to achieve their aspirations, like a career in medicine. It encourages independence and a global mindset, which is crucial in today's interconnected world.

Get them interested in extra-curricular activities or hobbies

Extra-curricular activities or hobbies outside of school hours are healthy and should be taken full advantage of as a parent. From swimming lessons to comic conventions, there’s an abundance of interests that children will likely have and these interests can change. 

As a parent, it’s exciting to see your child explore their passions and anything that could potentially result in a career in the future. Make sure you’re encouraging them to take part in these activities where possible.

Offer them additional learning resources online

There are plenty of additional learning resources online that are worth making use of as a parent. It’s a struggle to find local classes and in-person teaching opportunities that are affordable, which is what makes online learning resources so appealing to many.

A platform like Generation Genius is a great way to provide your child with all of the learning materials required for their Science and Maths knowledge. It’s these helpful resources that make all the difference in what they come away with when leaving education.

Praise them and reward their achievements

When it comes to the achievements they make in their life, always look to reward them for it. Praising, at the very least, is important because it shows them that with hard work, they’ll reap the benefits of it. Of course, it’s also important to show that even with achievements, rewards might not always follow - though many of us wish constant rewards were true.

Try to create a home environment that’s always praising and rewarding for the most part, when it comes to progress in life.

Don’t punish or create negativity when they fail at something

Talking of accomplishments, we’re all human and therefore we fail from time to time. Some of us are more so than others but that doesn’t take away from the progress they do make in life. Try to avoid punishing them or creating negativity towards failure because failure is in fact an opportunity for growth.

Provide unconditional love in the home

Lastly, make sure that your love in the home is present and unconditional. The home environment is one that’s safe and a place to come back to, should the outside world get too much. 

With all these tips in hand, you’re giving your child or children the best chance of living life to the fullest and achieving great things in life.

*This is a contributed post

Winter Cuisenaire Templates

 As part of trying to incorporate hands on math activities, I have been making Cuisenaire Rod Templates. Archer always enjoys matching the rods and then really enjoys counting up each color at the end. These are some wintery templates I made.

There are color and black and white versions of the four images.

Print the Winter Cuisenaire Templates Here

You might also like my other Winter Resources

Winter Resources

 

Printables:

• Winter Vocabulary Cards
• Snowman Soup Math Activity
• Mitten Pattern Matching Game
• Olaf's States of Matter Mini-Book
• Frozen Learning Pack Printables
• Winter Cuisenaire Rod Templates
• Winter Preschool Printables
• Arctic Life Vocabulary Cards
• Winter Dot Magnet Pages

Blog Posts:

• Pre-K Winter Activities
• Winter Week Preschool Activities
• Winter Preschool Activity Post (4 years)
• Winter Themed Tot School Activities
• Penguin Themed Activities
• Frozen Preschool Activity Post 
• Coloring the snow

Tools and Manipulative Ideas:

Snowman Playdough Kit

Indoor Snowballs

Emperor Penguin Mini Puzzle

Instant Snow

Snowflake Paper Punch

Snowflake Fondant Cutters

Arctic Toob Animals

Penguin Toob Animals

Christmas Number Bonds

  Archer enjoyed the fall number bond games I made for him, so I decided to make some Christmas themed ones too. The idea is you roll two dice, right the number from each one on the ends and put their sum in the center. 

To add a little more variety and challenge, I have been letting him play with some gaming dice.

Print the Christmas Number Bond Games HERE

Check out other Christmas resources:

5 Tips to Embrace Motherhood

Motherhood is not only one of the best experiences but also one of the most challenging experiences that a person could face. You have to put a small human first above all else. On top of that, you lose your identity to a degree, but you’re gaining a new one while raising this kid. 

Motherhood could even go beyond that as you’re sacrificing your body and risking injuries, something you can learn about here www.childbirthinjuries.com. In general, motherhood is about giving and making sacrifices, not taking. While it might not sound grand, it’s gratifying! So, here are some tips for embracing motherhood!

Image credit

Laughter helps

Laughter can help ease the stress of having a baby. In fact, researchers have found that laughter has many health benefits, including reducing stress and the risk of depression. It can also help improve your memory and reduce your chances of getting Alzheimer's. For this reason, it's not surprising that a good laugh can be a welcome addition to your daily routine. Motherhood isn’t all about messes and stress; it’s also about having fun. Some of the biggest laughs you’ll have will be with your children when they’re acting silly.

Communication is key

Don’t just communicate with your family, but communicate with yourself. You shouldn’t constantly put others ahead of you; sometimes, you must go first. Communicate this, and don’t shove these feelings in the back.

Do what brings out the best in you

Embracing motherhood can be a stressful and sometimes lonely experience. The best way to combat this is to make sure you are doing the right things. Getting a good night's sleep, making time to exercise, and taking your dog for a walk are all important steps in ensuring that you have a balanced and healthy life. In addition, it is also a good idea to surround yourself with people who can help you with your childcare needs. Whether it be a babysitter or a grandparent, you can make your kid's life easier by hiring someone to take over your kid's responsibilities for a couple of hours a week.

Observe positive moments daily

Observing positive moments every day is a great way to find happiness in motherhood. You can look into blogs, parenting groups, maternity books, and websites. Even just chit-chatting with other moms will help you open your eyes to some of the more positive things that are offered. Positivity can come in a variety of ways each day, and it doesn’t matter how. Maybe you woke up naturally from hearing birds chirp, your kids got themselves dressed for the day, or maybe everyone cleared their plate during dinner. It doesn’t matter the size or scale; embrace the positives when it hits you.

Reflect

In order to embrace the role of motherhood, sometimes, all you need to do is just sit back and just reflect on your experience and your emotions. This could include something small such as looking at photo books. In general, just do some self-reflection, as this can be a great way to help you embrace motherhood. 

*This is a contributed post

4 Simple Steps to Teach New Life Skills and Interests

 There's no question that life is a learning experience. We all have to learn how to do things, and sometimes we need to learn new skills in order to keep up with the ever-changing world around us. Trying to teach our children new life skills and interests can be tough, but it's definitely worth it! In this blog post, we will discuss four simple steps to help make the process easier for you and your child.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels: 

Start with motivation.

Before you even begin teaching your child a new skill, getting them excited about it is crucial. Ask them what interests them and why they would want to learn the new skill. Make sure that their answers involve something more than just “because mom/dad said so.” Getting your kid motivated from the beginning will help ensure that they are more likely to stay engaged throughout the learning process.

You should also keep in mind that children learn differently than adults. While an adult may be able to understand a concept more quickly, a child will usually need more time and repetition to really understand something. This is why it's so important to make sure the process is enjoyable and interactive for your child.

Break down complex concepts into smaller, simpler chunks.

Once you've established motivation, the next step is to break down complex concepts into smaller chunks. This will make it easier for your child to understand and remember the information. For example, if you are trying to teach your child how to read an analog clock, break it down into smaller steps instead of teaching them all of the numbers at once. First, explain what an hour and a minute is, then move on to how to tell the time in five-minute increments. From there, you can gradually introduce more complex concepts such as quarter hours and half hours.

Use visuals and other tools for better understanding.

Using visuals such as diagrams or pictures can really help when it comes to teaching new skills or interests. Visuals will make difficult concepts easier to comprehend while also assisting children in retaining information better. You could also try using hands-on activities like arts and crafts projects or simulations like role-playing. These activities can be incredibly beneficial when teaching a new skill or interest.

You can also include some tools to help you out. For example incorporating the concept of a loop pedal into this teaching framework adds a dynamic element, particularly for music education. A loop pedal is an electronic device that records segments of music played live and then plays them back in a continuous loop. This allows for the creation of complex, layered musical pieces by a single musician. When teaching music or related subjects, using a loop pedal can be an engaging way to demonstrate the principles of rhythm, harmony, and musical composition.

Practice, practice, and more practice!

The last step is ensuring your child gets plenty of practice with the new skill or interest they are trying to learn, a great way to get started is by using ABCmouse. This will help them become more confident in their abilities and also help them remember what they have learned. Giving your child positive feedback throughout the process is essential, so they feel encouraged to continue learning and developing their skills.

Ultimately, teaching new life skills and interests can be an incredibly rewarding experience for both you and your child. By following these four simple steps, you can ensure that your child has a positive learning experience and can retain information better. In addition, with enough dedication, you can help your child develop new skills and interests that will benefit them throughout their life.

*This is a contributed post