Top 5 Gifts of Music

“I LOVE Music !” your child says, whether with words, or with their body when music is playing and when enjoying an instrument,  or with their facial expressions when you are singing with them.  If they could, they might tell you their top 5 gifts of music like this. I love to listen in the car, and [...]

Grateful for Local Treasures

As I look around this holiday season, I am looking with a new perspective.  Looking past the glitter and hype, I am extremely GRATEFUL to find myself surrounded by so much personal talent, passionate interests, and dedicated hard-working people in my community.   Looking past the mass produced objects, and chain services, I find my neighbors [...]

Benefits of Beats for Babies and Beyond

Why do I need to spend time with my child focusing on Steady Beat?  There’s an old adage, “With age comes wisdom”.  And then there’s the comedy trailer, “… and sometimes age comes all by itself.”    The same is true for steady beat.  Most people don’t understand its importance:  in an international study by the [...]

America The Beautiful Helps Children Connect

Do you and your children get tingles of pride when you see a large flag waving in the wind, or hear the national anthem, or sing “America, the Beautiful” together?   I DO, I proudly put my hand over my heart and often get tears in my eyes as I watch the flag parade by.  I [...]

The Old Woman in a Shoe gets a Mommy Makeover

A nice short sweet note for you for Mother’s Day.  Enjoy this loving revision of  There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe (by Becky Bailey) with your child.   Look directly into your child’s eyes, use your most expressive voice with your young child as they sit on your lap, or lay in bed.  [...]

Stopping, Trading, Taking Turns, and Waiting

Does your child have the ability to stop on cue?  How about the ability to wait patiently to take a turn with a desired toy or object?  How about the ability to see ONE marshmallow in front of them, and wait awhile WITHOUT eating it, in order to get TWO marshmallows upon your return?    [...]

A Parent’s Guide to the Stages of Pretend Play

Experience…  Imitate…  Recognize…  Connect… Pretend… Engage… Solve problems… Expand mental images… Create… I see these as the developmental stages, and concurrent developmental benefits, of pretend play.  Although the progression is from younger to older, from simple to complex, they may occur at any age, and at differing levels for different subject matter.  Observation will help [...]

Connecting with a child, a hand, and a story

“Connection… is the key to cooperation.”  These are powerful words by Becky Bailey.  As most of you know, I fully believe she is heaven sent to help all of us adults (parents, teachers, etc) learn the best ways to help ourselves and our children develop successful life and relationship skills.   The following is an excerpt [...]

Christmas Bells – The Sound of Pure Love

Bells for hundreds of years have served many purposes.  Bells call people to worship and prayer.  They sound warnings and alarms.  They beckon ships to safe harbors.  They celebrate birth and new life, and they peal in announcement of death.  They are rung during Christmas to announce the arrival of the season, to proclaim the [...]

Sing Peace Around the World

My 5 year old daughter has been singing a beautiful song about peace that she learned at school (Lakeland Montessori).  From the teacher’s weekly email, I followed a link to find all the words, and found a lot more than that.  This song travelled the world in 24 hours – on the International Day of [...]