Fall Hand and Foot Print Crafts

It is never too early to start thinking about homemade holiday gifts for the Grandparents....or a cute way to capture your child at this age!  Why not get crafty and try one of these ideas below!

Great FREE Resources for Child Development

The experts at the Harvard Center of the Developing Child have created an amazing resource for parents and educators!  The on-line site offers current articles, short videos and links to services that support families in better understanding the brain development of children 0-18.  Specifically, their multi-media video series allow parents with busy schedules to easily access the most current information!  Click on the link below and support your child by learning a bit more about how their brain works!

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/multimedia/

Letting Go: Morning Hassles and Responsibility

"Jimmy, time to get up! C'mon, Jimmy, get up now! This is the last time I'm going to call you!"

Sound familiar? Mornings in Jimmy's home are much like mornings in other homes around the world—hectic, argumentative, and full of hassles.  Jimmy has not learned to be responsible because Mom is too busy being responsible for him.  It gets worse as the morning continues.

"How should I know where your books are?  Where did you leave them? How many times have I told you to put them where they belong? If you don't hurry up and eat, you're just going to have to go to school hungry. You're still not dressed, and the bus will be here in five minutes! I'm not going to take you to school if you're not ready—and I mean it! (While driving Jimmy to school), “Jimmy, when will you ever learn?  This is absolutely the last time I'll drive you to school when you miss the bus.  You've got to learn to be more responsible!"

What do you think? Is this the last time Jimmy's mother will drive him to school when he misses the bus?  No. Jimmy is very intelligent. He knows his mother’s threats are meaningless.  He has heard the threats many times and knows his mother will drive him to school when he's late.

Jimmy's mother is right about one thing:  Jimmy should learn to be more responsible.  But through morning scenes like these, she is teaching him to be less responsible.  She is the responsible party when she keeps reminding him of everything he needs to do.

 Lecturing, Nagging, Scolding, Threatening 

Children do not learn from the lecturing, nagging, scolding, and threatening.

Actually, they do learn from these methods—just not what you hope they will learn.  They learn to engage in power-struggles, resistance, rebellion, and revenge cycles. They may learn to comply and become approval junkies—more concerned about pleasing others to feel a sense of belonging and significance than to cooperate out of mutual respect.

It is possible to enjoy hassle free mornings while teaching children self-discipline, responsibility, cooperation, and problem-solving skills—the characteristics of happy, successful people with a healthy sense of self-worth and respect for self and others.  What a wonderful gift to give your children while enjoying peaceful mornings. The key is letting go. Many parents are afraid that letting go means abandoning their children or giving in to permissiveness. In Positive Discipline terms, letting go mean allowing children to develop their sense of cooperation and capability.  The following lesson card from Positive Discipline gives us some easy steps for letting go.

Celebrate Walk to School Day

Remember the thrill of riding a bike for the first time or walking to school that first day?

There’s a feeling of joy and independence —a sense of adventure—that doesn’t fade. When walking or biking, parents and children get to appreciate things they don’t notice while driving—listening to the sounds of the neighborhood, seeing friends and neighbors and feeling connected with their community. Parents, children and friends can enjoy one another’s company without the usual distractions.

Walking and bicycling events celebrate these experiences and help make them possible for others. They bring schools and communities together for a common purpose. Most of all, they are fun!

Wednesday, October 3rd is National Walk/Bike to School Day!  Plan ahead, and join our local Headstarts, Schools and Community in building a safe, healthy, environmentally friendly neighborhood!

October Activity Calendar

If the Fall rains have you trapped indoors, don't fear!  The great folks at Books by the Bushel have collected an abundance of free, printable, educational resources to keep those little hands, and minds, busy!  Check out their great list of resources at the link below!

http://booksbythebushel.com/free-classroom-activity-pages/

5 Family Friendly Activities for Fall!

Even though night temperatures may be freezing, Fall is still a perfect time to enjoy the outdoors with your family!  Below are five fun, virtually free, very family-friendly activities to celebrate the unique opportunities of the season.

1. Build Your Own Skeleton:  You don't need to be a farmer to scare those birds away.......find some old jeans and a shirt and stuff full of hay or leaves.  Draw a face on a ball or use the trick-or-treat pumpkin still tucked away in the closet....top it off with a hat and have a family photo shoot to remember the fun!

2. Go for a Leaf Hunt: Try to find all the colors of the rainbow, see who can find 10 different leaves first or simply enjoy the hike!  Bring your leaves home and have fun crafting with leaf rubbings, or ironing your leaves between sheets of wax paper.

3. Find an Apple Tree: From your neighbors yard, to an actual orchard, apples are at the peak of their season.  Not only is picking apples fun, but try making some homemade apple sauce or drying apples in your oven for simple, healthy snacks!  You could also keep on crafting with some apple printing.

4. Fill a barrel with water and apples (careful with younger kids around the water) and have your own bobbing for apples contest.

5.  Rake up big piles of leaves and JUMP in them. Adults, too!  Not only is it great exercise, but a ton of family fun!

Positive Discipline Tool: Control Your Behavior

The folks at Positive Discipline know we all lose our temper at some point during parenting.  They have created this list of helpful reminders for the some of the inevitable moments when we feel ourselves losing our cool.

1. Create your own special time-out area and let your children know when you need to use it.

Some parents are uncomfortable with this solution, especially when dealing with younger children. But if your children are older and you can set up this system in advance, it can be quite effective. It is nearly impossible to solve problems at the time of conflict when both the child and the parent have flipped their lid. The result is distance and hurt feelings. Usually followed by guilt!

Why not let your children know that you are taking a time out. Remove yourself from the situation and get centered before attempting to solve the problem. How you take your time-out is up to you. Maybe you will go to your room. Maybe you will go for a walk. Maybe call a close friend and discuss the problem. Whatever you decide, the important thing is to take time to cool off before addressing the problem.

2. If you can't leave the scene, count to 10 or take deep breaths.

This is a good solution if you have younger children or the situation requires your presence. It is also okay to share what you are feeling. "I'm so angry right now, I need to calm down before we talk." Kids need to know that what they feel is always okay, but what they do is not always okay. You model this by sharing your feelings without reacting to them and without blaming your children for your feelings. Avoid saying, "You make me so angry."

3. When you make mistakes, apologize to your children.
Children are wonderfully forgiving when we take time to sincerely apologize when we lose control. During lectures I ask, "How many have you have apologized to a child?" Every hand goes up. I then ask, "What do they say?" The Universal response from children when parents apologize is, "That's okay."

By apologizing, you have created a connection (closeness and trust). In this atmosphere you can work together for a solution. Once again you have demonstrated that mistakes are opportunities to learn and that you can then focus on solutions.