What Does Full Look Like?

If you have a child who is at all high needs, you might wonder if you’ll ever understand the meaning of “done” or “full”. What do I mean by these words? You pour energy and love and hugs and all sorts of good things in, and you think that at some point your child will feel satiated. Not so, it seems. Sometimes it feels like preschoolers simply want more and more and more, or that once you have given all you have, you need to give a little extra or a little something different. To those parents out there who … Continue reading →

Creating a Terrarium With Your Preschooler

Have you got bugs? We do. Yesterday my daughter brought home a whole package of snails from her grandmother’s house, all delicately wrapped in a tulip petal. The package was lovely, the snails multicolored and varied. A sign of spring, to be sure. I think that our yard has one of the thickest snail populations in our neighborhood, mostly due to my daughter’s inclination for gathering neighborhood snails and placing them in our flower and vegetable gardens. To focus her interest a bit and create a place where she can observe the snails for a while without freeing them into … Continue reading →

No More Toys in Santa Clara?

A little decision in Santa Clara County, California has restaurant marketers worried. Ok, they’re not that worried. After all, it’s only one little county. However, taking away from the toys from unhealthy children’s meals is something that many people see as a dramatic step towards healthy food, or towards limits on personal choice. This depends on your point of view, of course. I was listening to an interview with food marketers and childhood health advocates both debating the merits of such a ban. The food marketer spoke in favor of personal choice: parents should be able to choose what to … Continue reading →

Choosing a Preschool: Waldorf and Waldorf-Inspired Schools

If you’re looking into preschools and child care centers for your child and you are in a major urban center, the options that are out there can seem daunting. I’ve written about play-based parent participation preschools and the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. The Waldorf or Waldorf-inspired preschool is a little less common, but it is also an option for parents looking for a nature-inspired preschool for their children. Waldorf education is based on the ideals of Rudolf Steiner who founded the modern concepts of anthrosophy. The first Waldorf School opened in 1919. The Waldorf approach integrates the … Continue reading →

Preschools: Reggio Emilia Education

Are you looking for a preschool for your child? There are many daycares and preschools that are inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to education. This approach developed during the post World War Two era in the Reggio Emilia area of Italy. Reggio education is deeply respectful of children as individuals who are learning and growing in their environment. While our society often thinks of preschoolers as people who are very new to the world and need to learn, the Reggio approach gives credit to preschoolers as individuals who have unique learning needs and interests. Teachers watch the children and … Continue reading →

I Helped

Toddlers love to help. When my daughter was a toddler, she could spend a lot of time washing a single pot in her efforts to help in the kitchen, or perhaps she would slice one banana. These were relatively token gestures on my part, but since she took such pleasure in helping I wanted to give her some opportunities to get involved in whatever I was doing. Preschoolers often have slightly more advanced notions of helping. They’ve wised up a little to the unnecessary helping that you might occasionally give a toddler. They want to make a real contribution, yet … Continue reading →

Addressing Fears

I’m afraid of horses. No, I wasn’t a horsey girl at all. Horses are big and they can throw you or step on your feet. I know that horses are lovely animals, but I am still nervous around them. I think that this is sensible. Others might think that this is a little ridiculous. The same goes for all of our fears. It’s easy to think of others’ fears as a little ridiculous. You don’t own those fears. Maybe your preschooler is afraid of the thunder, like mine is. Of course, you know that thunder won’t hurt you, even if … Continue reading →

Balancing Preschool Parenting and Work At Home

If you work at home and have a preschooler, how do you work and how do you parent? I’ve a relative newbie to this work-at-home gig. Juggling contracts and consistent blogging gigs can be a little crazy when you are also the primary caregiver for a small child. Small children know that the computer is sucking your brain away, no matter how much you work to pretend it isn’t happening. How do I structure my work at home day? Well, on my at home days, my daughter watches half an hour of television in the morning. That is the beginning … Continue reading →

A Sleepy Confession

A couple of nights ago, it took my daughter ages to fall asleep. I know this. How do I know this? Well, when my daughter was a baby I had a rotten, rotten little sleeper. I tried just about everything, but I couldn’t quite make myself leave her to cry. I did try a couple of times, but I relented. After all, she needed me. And you know what? When her teeth finally came in, she began to sleep through the night. I think that she is very sensitive to pain. Sometimes I feel like I’ve committed one of the … Continue reading →