Viewing: Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids!
August 11, 2015
Choosing the Right School for Your Child
Choosing the Right School for Your Child Choosing the Right School for Your Child The task of choosing the right school for your children can be a daunting one for parents. Faced with the serious responsibility of providing your child with the best possible education, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The chart below lists many of the options along with some of the pros and cons and can help make your decision a little easier to make. Making Your…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
August 10, 2015
Do You Talk TO Your Child or AT Your Child?
One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear a child talking to their parents and instead of listening to what their child is saying, they bark out orders. The child asks “Dad, what is this?” and dad snaps back, “That’s not yours! Don’t touch that!” That is a prime example of talking at the child rather than to the child. It would be perfectly acceptable to tell the child the object was something they weren’t allowed to touch, but…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
August 6, 2015
Is Your Child Mentally Prepared for Back to School?
I’ll never forget the day I delivered my youngest daughter Tarrin (Tara) to her second grade classroom. We had planned and prepared for this day. She was adorable in her new outfit! Her shiny new backpack was packed with just purchased school supplies. We’d talked about school starting every day for the last couple of weeks, we’d spent the previous evening making preparations and gotten into bed early, we’d gotten up early and had a good breakfast breakfast, we’d delivered her…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
August 3, 2015
Gardening With My Grandkids
My favorite place to spend time as a little girl was in our beautiful yard with my daddy. Our yard was exquisite with fruit trees and ornamental shrubs, lush green grass and colorful flowers of all kinds. I would listen as he talked with our neighbors over the back fence, watch and learn as he did his gardening and we would have conversations about all kinds of things. Our yard was a gathering place for our family whether it was…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids!, Welcome to My Garden! | By LoriGraceH
July 10, 2015
When Should Babies Begin to Feed Themselves?
Most babies can begin learning to feed themselves by around 9 months old. Their fine motor skills are developing and at this age they can begin to pick up small pieces of soft food between their forefinger and thumb. They may start by using all of their fingers and grabbing a handful of food. They often miss what they’re trying to pick up or drop it halfway to their mouths. Don’t let that frustrate you. As long as baby isn’t…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
July 9, 2015
Don’t Force Children to Eat!
As a childcare provider for nearly a quarter of a century I’ve seen many parents who believe it’s a good idea to force their children to eat when they don’t want to. One little boy’s mom gave him a big cup of milk every morning and made him drink it. He didn’t like milk at all and I know that for a fact because I cleaned it up more than once when, after forcing it down, he spewed it back…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
June 15, 2015
Never Sneak Out While Baby Is Distracted!
Separation Anxiety Loving parents don’t wnat their kids to be upset, that’s a given. Lots of kids have separation anxiety, so I guess that’s the reason so many parents who are leaving their children with a sitter sneak out when the little ones aren’t looking. Sometimes we forget there that just because we can’t see them, doesn’t mean that they aren’t upset. Inevitably your little one will discover you are gone and become upset when they realize it….
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
June 11, 2015
Goo Monsters!
Oooy Gooy sweet sticky monsters! They’re edible too!! This is a fun and very simple activity that kids love! It doesn’t require a lot of supplies and it only costs pennies so moms love it too. Here’s What You Need: Corn Syrup Food Coloring Popsicle Stick Google Eyes Small Jars Here’s what you do: Pour a small amount of corn syrup into a small empty jar. Add a couple of drops of your favorite color food coloring. Mix…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids!, Uncategorized | By LoriGraceH
June 8, 2015
Pinterest Project – Nailed It!
We’ve all seen the funny photos that have a beautiful project from Pinterest on one side and on the other side is a photo of someone’s attempt to make the same project, but their attempt was an epic fail. The caption usually says something sarcastic like, “Nailed it!” Well G-2 was talking about jet packs while he was playing the other day. I said to him, “did you know we can make a jet pack?” He was all for making…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
May 28, 2015
April 17, 2015
Bathtime Brouhaha!
Bathtime Brouhaha! Swoosh, Splish, Trickle, Drip, SPLASH! Almost all kids love bath time. I suspect most of those who don’t, have parents who are doing it wrong! Even when you’re in a hurry, bathtime can be fun. It doesn’t need to take a long time (though I’ve had many a kid protest getting out of the tub when they had already played so long they’d nearly turned into a prune!). But, most of the time you should allow kids a few…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
April 8, 2015
Discipline Should Be Private
Discipline Should be Private Every once in awhile as I scroll through my Facebook feed I cringe because I’ve happened upon a parent publicly shaming their child. There for all their friends to see is a mandate from their parents that they’re grounded for the next two weeks! Imagine if you did something wrong at work and your boss announced it to everyone at a staff meeting, or sent everyone an office email detailing your indescretion. Most likely you would…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
April 2, 2015
April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day!
April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day! https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2015/03/18/5-ways-you-can-light-it-blue-world-autism-awareness-day#sthash.zGhNrDEu This guest post is by Autism Speaks staffer Kerry Magro, a national speaker and best-selling author who is on the autism spectrum. Kerry will be a guest on Autism Live today to discuss the Light It Up Please like & share:
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
March 26, 2015
My Shadow Walks in the Same Feet I Do!
My Shadow Walks in the Same Feet I Do! If you have never experienced the wonder of watching a child discover his shadow for the very first time, you’re missing out on a delightful experience! On a recent sunny day my two daughters and I were taking the children from our preschool on a walk to the park. As we were walking along, all of a sudden my grandson (Little G-2) exclaims with excitement, “My shadow walks in…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH
March 2, 2015
Baby Talk
Baby Talk Long before your baby is even born she will hear and recognize the sound of her mother’s voice. A newborn baby is comforted by the familiar sounds of its parent’s voices just minutes after birth. Babies whose parents talk to them often will usually learn to talk sooner and be more verbal than babies who aren’t talked to as much. My children and grandchildren are evidence to that fact. When I took my one year old daughter to…
Posted in Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids! | By LoriGraceH