My husband and I talked about our son’s recent progress with letters and discussed what would be the best way to begin a more focused study of the alphabet.  We wanted to do something that was just another fun activity that we would do every day without making the learning feel forced.  We came to the conclusion that we should study one letter of the alphabet every day for the month of February.  What this letter of the day would look like, I did not know, but I felt like it was a good way to start.  It would also … Continue reading →

Part of his seemingly sudden interest in the alphabet is due to my obsession with writing names but also in part due to his one year old sister’s recent interest in his fridge phonics toy.  He could not have cared less about until she showed some fascination with it and now he thinks it is one of the best toys in the house. It is unnerving how that seems to work. The two of them would stand in the kitchen and he would put the letters into the toy and she would press them so that the toy would start … Continue reading →

Once my son was able to identify the first letter in his name, he then conquered the task, unbeknownst to me, of writing the first letter in his name.  I was in the kitchen cooking something or other and he said, “Look mom, I made a “C” because “C” is for me!” Even though his “C” was backwards, it was clearly a “C”! I was impressed and very pleased that he took the task upon himself.  I started to think that he might be ready to learn the alphabet. We have all kinds of toys and books that are all … Continue reading →

You might think that a kid with a sweet tooth is, while normal, not exactly ideal. We want our children to eat their veggies, have balanced diets, and to the extent it is possible avoid over-eating in categories that we know to be harmful to them in one way or another. Sweets are characteristically in this latter category, as they are rumored to cause hyperactive children and definitively rot teeth according to dentists and tooth-oriented businesses everywhere. So you’d be forgiven for thinking that my own little cupcake kid is for some reason a bad thing. You’d be forgiven for … Continue reading →

If you have a young child than chances are that you know all about toddler obsessions. Whether it is cars and vehicles or princesses, Spiderman or Elmo or even something stranger (I’ve met toddler who were obsessed with vacuum cleaners, towels and rocks), having an obsession over something is both normal and fleeting. So when your child wants to wear her Dora the Explorer Pajamas everywhere, including the grocery store, or if your toddler will only drink out of one particular sippy cup, then what should you do? Well, first you can understand that these little obsessions are perfectly normal. … Continue reading →

By the time that your child is four years old, she is ready to start learning some basics about money. But lest you think that four is too early to be learning about commerce, consider this. She will deal with money for the rest of her life, and getting started now can instill good money habits even at this young age. What your four-year-old is capable of learning about money While she isn’t ready for the stock exchange or international banking just yet, your four year old is the right age to begin learning about the necessity of paying for … Continue reading →