Celebrate Your Littlest Valentine From Morning to Bedtime!

Valentine’s Day is a time for love, fun, and creativity—and it’s not just for adults! Little kids can get in on the excitement with these fun, age-appropriate Valentine’s Day activities that make the day feel extra special. Here are a few ideas to spark joy in the hearts of your little ones:

Healthy Heart-Friendly Breakfast

Start the day with a Valentine’s-themed breakfast. Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to make pancakes or toast. Top them with strawberries, whipped cream, or pink sprinkles.

Balloon Fun

Fill a room with red and pink balloons for an instant Valentine’s Day party vibe. Kids can play games like balloon volleyball or try to keep the balloons off the ground.

Sweet Heart Cookie Treats

Bake simple sugar cookies in heart shapes and let the kids go wild decorating with icing and sprinkles. This doubles as a fun activity and a tasty treat!

Valentine’s Day Heart Treasure Hunt

Hide heart-shaped cutouts or candy around the house and create a treasure map. Kids will love the thrill of hunting for Valentine’s goodies.

Heart Tugging Bed-Time Story

Pick up a few Valentine’s-themed children’s books. Some favorites include Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Love Monster by Rachel Bright. Snuggle up for some cozy storytelling.

Carry the Warmth and Love of Christmas Throughout the Whole Year

The magic of Christmas brings out our best—our warmth, compassion, generosity, and sense of connection. We cherish this season because it helps us remember what truly matters: the love we share with others. But wouldn’t it be beautiful if we could carry that same spirit all year round? Here are some heartfelt ways to keep that Christmas warmth alive beyond the season.

• Embrace the Power of Small Acts of Kindness — Christmas reminds us to give, not just in big ways but through small gestures—smiling at strangers, lending a hand, or sharing a kind word. Make kindness a part of your routine by holding doors, complimenting others, or writing a thank-you note. Even the smallest acts can create a ripple effect, spreading warmth far and wide.
• Practice Gratitude Daily — At Christmas, we often reflect on our blessings, and it fills our hearts with gratitude. Why not extend that habit year-round? Start or end each day by noting a few things you’re grateful for. Keep a gratitude journal or make it a family tradition to share what you’re thankful for each week. This practice shifts your perspective, helping you stay anchored in positivity even when life feels challenging.
• Make Time for Family and Friends — Christmas brings us together with loved ones, often reminding us how much they mean to us. Don’t wait for a holiday to reconnect. Regularly reach out to friends and family, even if it’s just for a quick call or message. Plan monthly family dinners, game nights, or meet-ups with friends to keep those bonds strong throughout the year.
• Give Thoughtfully and Generously — Giving is at the heart of Christmas. To carry this spirit forward, look for ways to give your time, resources, or skills in meaningful ways. Volunteer, donate to causes close to your heart, or simply surprise someone with a kind gesture. Thoughtful giving doesn’t have to be grand; it can be as simple as sharing a homemade meal or offering to help a neighbor.
• Embrace a Spirit of Forgiveness and Understanding — During the holiday season, many of us let go of past grievances and come together with open hearts. Carry that spirit into the new year by being quicker to forgive, choosing understanding over judgment, and letting go of grudges. Not only does forgiveness bring peace to your relationships, but it also creates space in your life for new joy.
• Create Your Own Year-Round Traditions —   Christmas traditions bring warmth and connection, so why not invent new ones for the rest of the year? Set a day each month for a “kindness day” where you do something nice for someone, or celebrate “Gratitude Fridays” by sharing what you appreciate about a friend or family member. These traditions keep the Christmas spirit alive in fresh, personal ways.
• Stay Mindful and Present — Christmas has a way of slowing us down, helping us appreciate life’s simple pleasures. Keep this alive by practicing mindfulness: take moments to breathe deeply, enjoy nature, savor your coffee, and truly listen to the people around you. This grounded awareness brings the same peace and joy we often experience during the holidays.
• Keep the Spirit of Hope Alive — Christmas is a season of hope, a time when we believe in the goodness of people and the possibility of a brighter future. Carry that hope forward by staying optimistic, believing in your dreams, and spreading positivity. When challenges arise, remind yourself of the resilience and hope that Christmas instills, knowing that light always returns.

The warmth, kindness, and love we experience during Christmas can fill our lives year-round with a little intention. By practicing kindness, gratitude, connection, and mindfulness, you can keep the spirit of Christmas alive in your heart and share it with those around you. Remember, every day offers us a new chance to bring a little more light and love into the world. And that, in itself, is a gift worth celebrating every single day.

Keep The Learning Going This Summer

Keep the Learning Going
Teachers spend an average of four to eight weeks every fall reviewing and reteaching material that students have forgotten during the long summer break. Many students lose the equivalent of one to two months of reading and math skills during the summer and do not score as well on standardized tests as students who continue to learn during the summer. The effect is cumulative: Each summer a student isn’t learning adds up and can have a long-term impact on overall performance in school.

Learning can take place whether you are taking a trip to a far-off place or spending the summer in your own neighborhood. But be careful not to over-plan. “To avoid boredom, a child has to learn to be motivated on his or her own, to a certain extent, and that is an acquired skill,” says Perry. “If every time your child says, ‘I’m bored,’ you step in with a quick solution, they’ll never learn to develop their own resources. But do provide some options. Just don’t try to instill learning. That’s not how it works.”

Clip, paste and write about your family adventures
A family vacation is a perfect opportunity to create a trip scrapbook that will be a lasting souvenir of family adventures. Collect postcards, brochures and menus from restaurants and tourist attractions. Encourage your child to write descriptions of the places you visited and tell stories about your family’s escapades. Or suggest a scrapbook on your child’s favorite sports team or a chronicle of his year in school. The scrapbook might contain photos with captions, newspaper clippings or school mementos.

Get theatrical
Young children can make their own puppet theater. Begin by cutting off the finger-ends of old gloves. Draw faces on these fingers with felt tip markers and glue on yarn for hair. Or glue on felt strips to create cat, dog or other animal faces. Then your child can create a story that the finger puppets can act out. For older children, find books containing play scripts for young people and encourage your child and friends to create their own neighborhood theater. They can plan a performance, make a simple stage at the park or on the steps of someone’s home, create playbills and sell tickets.

Turn a museum trip into a treasure hunt
Get your children excited about visiting a museum by exploring the museum’s Web site and taking a virtual tour. When you go to a museum, take into account short attention spans and don’t try to cover a whole museum in one day. To make them less intimidating, start in the gift shop and let your child pick out some postcards of paintings or objects on display. Turn your museum trip into a treasure hunt by trying to find those paintings or objects in the museum. Look for interactive exhibits and for periods of history that your child has studied in school.

Now that you’ve got a list of things to do – and you still have a few weeks of summer  left to conquer these ideas – it’s time to gather the kids AND their friends and have some fun while learning!

 

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/summer-learning-activities-that-are-practically-free/

Humor Me: Laughter Leads To Longevity

Time and time again, studies have shown that people who have a positive outlook and find humor in everyday situations can actually live longer! A daily dose of belly laughs can improve your mental and physical state, making the case that laughter really is the best medicine.

Laughter boosts your immune system.

Positive thoughts and laughter help to release cells in the body that strengthen your immune system and fight illnesses, making you less likely to get sick. On the occasions when you do become sick, your body will be ready with the cells it needs to respond to the illness.

Laughter keeps your heart healthy.
After a good laugh, your heart rate and oxygen intake increase. This allows oxygen to flow more freely through your blood vessels and can reduce blood pressure levels. With improved function of the heart, your risk of a heart disease decreases.

Laughter releases endorphins.

The act of laughing triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural “feel good” chemicals. Endorphins play a big role in your mental health, connection with others and overall personal satisfaction, so the more giggles the better! 

Laughter relieves stress.
When you laugh, you actively reduce the amount of stress hormones, known as cortisol, and inflammation found in your body. The entire body relaxes for up to 45 minutes after laughing, relieving muscle tension, improving your mood and reducing anxiety.

Laughter increases brain function.

The increased blood flow that results from laughing is also good for the brain. It can improve brain function and memory and help to combat depression. Laughter can also help improve coping skills and spark creativity.

Look on the bright side and start with a smile today! Get together with a group of good friends, watch a funny movie or comedian, play with your kids or grandkids, or spend time with a pet. You’ll be more apt to find humor in life and, in turn, reap the mental and physical benefits of laughter.

 

How To Instill Leadership Skills In Your Child’s Future

The role of a parent can often become quite hectic with the demands of daily life. Along this daily journey, many parents don’t realize their influence on their children’s minds. Our children watch as we balance these demands and lead the family through each day.

While leadership skills can come naturally, children learn lessons that significantly impact them later in life. The right words at the right time can make all the difference.

Here are five ways to help you instill the right leadership skills in your child’s future:   

Be A Good Role Model

Be aware that your child is watching, and allow them to see how well you balance your business and personal demands each day.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Great leaders handle failure as gracefully as they handle success. Emphasize perseverance. Your children must understand that success as a leader can be achieved through persistence, hard work, and a good heart. 

Encourage Them To Talk

Allow your children to speak for themselves with servers at a restaurant, a grocery store clerk, or the lifeguard at the swimming pool. Through your guidance and allowing them to speak for themselves, this will help them gain confidence in themselves.

Bookworms Become Leaders

Studies have shown that children who read want to know more and ask questions to delve deeper into various subjects. This inquisitive side of a child is the best foundation for a leader’s growth.

Optimism Beats Pessimism – Every Time

Your child should be aware that optimism is connected to success. Reward optimism, especially when a goal is achieved.

In small ways, today’s leaders can prepare younger generations for their future as business leaders. These suggestions will create better leaders to help children perform better in school and develop better personal relationships.

 

The Benefits of Male and Female Teachers in Early Education

The Benefits of Male and Female Teachers in Early Education

Early childhood education refers to the learning that occurs from birth to age eight, including daycare, preschool, kindergarten and up until second grade. Safe and nurturing early childhood education programs are crucial to help children develop physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. While the early education workforce largely consists of female teachers, having the opportunity to learn from a male teacher can be very beneficial as well. Here’s why:

• Male and female teachers have different viewpoints. Children are sponges and absorb so much information in daycare and school. When both male and female teachers are present in early childhood education programs, children have the advantage of learning from both of their viewpoints and incorporating that knowledge into their everyday lives. This diverse learning environment can greatly benefit students as they grow.
• Male teachers can serve as role models. In the early childhood education setting, teachers are kind, caring, and patient, among many other things. Having a male teacher who exhibits these personality traits is ideal for both boys and girls. Being a positive male role model helps all students, but specifically can be helpful for those who don’t have a father figure in the home.
• Learning from a male teacher can help break down stereotypes. Seeing male teachers in the classroom is a great way to show children that they can be anything they want to be in life. In addition, early childhood educators who are male can also show students (particularly boys) that being empathetic, emotional, and caring is a good thing.
• Males have a different way of teaching. Male teachers are more likely to have an active classroom and use humor to engage students. While studies have shown that students learn just as well with male and female teachers, some students may benefit from this type of classroom.

Many parents appreciate the opportunity for their children to learn from a male teacher in the early childhood education setting. If your child is placed in a classroom with a male teacher, consider yourself lucky and enjoy the year!

Read To Your Child… Infant To PreK

Did you know that reading to your children at a very early age often prepares them for success in Kindergarten and beyond?  Yes, a simple and effective way to prepare our children for formal schooling is to read together on a daily basis. Children who are routinely read to from infant, toddler and Pre-K are much more academically prepared to learn than children who were not read to – AND – children who have been routinely read to enter kindergarten prepared to learn from the very first day! There is no to catch them up on skills.

So how does reading aloud together prepare our children for kindergarten? When we read, think about all words that your child is hearing and beginning to understand before they enter the kindergarten classroom.  Studies show that the number of vocabulary words a child knows upon entering kindergarten is an indicator of academic success in the years ahead.  In addition, reading to our children also develops their listening skills and attention spans which is very important to success in a classroom environment.

Make Water Safety Your Priority

Swimming is the most popular summer activity. The best thing you can do to help your family stay safe is to enroll in age-appropriate swim lessons.

Follow these safety tips whenever you are in, on or around water.

• Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.
• Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone. Even at a public pool or a lifeguarded beach, use the buddy system!
• Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate Red Cross water orientation and Learn-to-Swim courses.
• Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
• Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
• Establish rules for your family and enforce them without fail. For example, set limits based on each person’s ability, do not let anyone play around drains and suction fittings, and do not allow swimmers to hyperventilate before swimming under water or have breath-holding contests.
• Even if you do not plan on swimming, be cautious around natural bodies of water including ocean shoreline, rivers and lakes. Cold temperatures, currents and underwater hazards can make a fall into these bodies of water dangerous.
• If you go boating, wear a life jacket! Most boating fatalities occur from drowning.

Prevent Unsupervised Access to the Water

• Install and use barriers around your home pool or hot tub. Safety covers and pool alarms should be added as additional layers of protection.
• Ensure that pool barriers enclose the entire pool area, are at least 4-feet high with gates that are self-closing, self-latching and open outward, and away from the pool.
• The latch should be high enough to be out of a small child’s reach.
• If you have an above-ground or inflatable pool, remove access ladders and secure the safety cover whenever the pool is not in use.
• Remove any structures that provide access to the pool, such as outdoor furniture, climbable trees, decorative walls and playground equipment.
• Keep toys that are not in use away from the pool and out of sight. Toys can attract young children to the pool.

Maintain Constant Supervision

• Actively supervise kids whenever around the water—even if lifeguards are present. Do not just drop your kids off at the public pool or leave them at the beach—designate a responsible adult to supervise.
• Always stay within arm’s reach of young children and avoid distractions when supervising children around water.
• Know What to Do in an Emergency. If a child is missing, check the water first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.
• Know how and when to call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.
• If you own a home pool or hot tub, have appropriate equipment, such as reaching or throwing equipment, a cell phone, life jackets and a first aid kit.
• Enroll in Red Cross home pool safety, water safety, first aid and CPR/AED courses to learn how to prevent and respond to emergencies.

Contact the Training Support Center at 1-800-RED-CROSS or [email protected].
Source: http://www.redcross.org/get-help/prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/water-safety

Five Ways To Celebrate Your Mom From The Heart

Last month we celebrated Mother Earth, and this month it’s time to celebrate mothers everywhere. If you don’t have something special planned for the mom in your life, now is the time to get thinking. This year, rather than buying the standard cards and flowers, why not celebrate mom from the heart? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Plan a day together.
Whether you’re an only child or have several siblings, planning a day together with your mom is one of the best ways to celebrate Mother’s Day. Ask her what she would like to do, or take her out to her favorite restaurant – either way, she most likely just wants to spend the day with the people she loves most.

2. Do something nice.
Sometimes the best gift to receive is someone else taking on task or chore that you’ve been putting off. Do something nice for Mother’s Day by getting chores done for her, completing a home repair or even just mowing the lawn.

3. Create something personal.
Gifts are always better when they are thoughtful and personal. Create something that reflects your mother’s personality or your time together – a photo book of your family, a basket with new tools for her favorite hobby or a self-care kit with bath bombs and face masks to relax.

4. Send her on a trip.
After years of caring for you, maybe it’s time to gift mom the vacation she deserves. Whether it’s down the street to the spa, or across the world, a trip is the perfect gift to show your appreciation for her love and care.

5. Keep it simple.
Not all mothers love gifts or grand gestures. If your mom prefers to keep it simple, sometimes just telling her how much she means to you is enough.

How To Help Kids Love Learning

Albert Einstein once said, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

 

It’s well known that Einstein was never one for the classroom. While he excelled in many of his studies, school left him frustrated. He eventually dropped out of school when he was fifteen. His personal value of school aside, Einstein had something beyond the book of knowledge that drove his ongoing discovery of the world. He had grit, curiosity, and a thirst for learning that drove his brilliant advances in science and mathematics.

 

While we know that most of us don’t have an Einstein living under our roof, we do want our kids to have that same thirst for knowledge. As parents, we hope that our kids will discover a passion within them for a lifetime love of learning.

 

This love of learning starts at home in the environment we create for our kids at each phase of their life. Here are a few ideas to consider as you help your own kids value their education and develop a passion for discovering something new about their world.

 

LET THEM ASK QUESTIONS

At some point around the age of two or three, kids will start asking “why?”—all the time. And this pretty much doesn’t stop until they learn how to Google or ask Siri and don’t need to ask you anymore. As frustrating as all the “why” questions can be at times, asking questions is a good thing. Wonder and curiosity is something built within our DNA, but it’s something that must be cultivated throughout our lives. Giving kids a chance to ask questions, and tapping into their natural sense of wonder, lets them know that questions are an important part of learning and discovery.

 

ENGAGE THEIR INTERESTS

Let’s be honest. Not every kid loves school or learning, especially when they struggle with certain subjects. Other times, kids simply don’t have an interest in what they are being taught. Some gravitate towards math and science, while others excel in the humanities. Play to your kids’ strengths and engage their interests. Find way to help them learn what doesn’t interest them as much by tapping into what makes them tick. All kids are wired for fun, so make it fun. When we engage their interests and play to their strengths, we encourage a life-long love of learning in an area where they might have long term success as an adult.

 

ALLOW MISTAKES

We once had a teacher tell us that she actually likes when kids make mistakes because it gives her insight into how they’re learning and what she needs to do to help them succeed. When kids realize everyone makes mistakes when they are learning something new, and it’s part of learning, they will begin to value the process. Kids won’t be afraid to experiment and try new things when the weight of perfection is lifted. So create a culture in your family where everyone is trying new things, and where failure is okay. Even if you don’t succeed the first time—or the tenth time—you’re learning and growing, and hopefully having some family fun along the way.

 

MODEL LEARNING

It’s hard to expect our kids to value learning if we don’t demonstrate that we value it in our own lives. Talk to your kids about what you’re discovering as you read, complete work projects, or have compelling conversations with others. Learn something new and bring your kids in on the process. Ask questions and look things up together, read books or watch TED talks together, and discuss over dinner. Make learning a regular part of your home life.

 

INTERACT WITH THEIR TEACHERS

Even if your kids seem to be doing well in school, reach out to their teachers. Volunteer in the classroom. Find out what your kids are learning and have meaningful conversations about school. Other than home, school is where they spend most of their time. So partner with teachers to help your kids have the best experience possible. This also builds bridges with teachers, so if something comes up that needs to addressed, you have some relational equity that will help you navigate those conversations well.

 

You may discover your own way of helping your kids value learning. How ever you do that, always keep the spirit of fun. Learning something new will help you become better at whatever you do. That’s something to celebrate. Help make learning enjoyable and something your kids will strive to do the rest of their lives.

 

Source: http://theparentcue.org/how-to-help-kids-love-to-learn/