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Ms. Anne’s Tip of the Week: Bedtime Routines

Dealing with challenging bedtime routines can be a common struggle for parents. Establishing a consistent and positive bedtime routine is crucial for children’s well-being and helps create a peaceful bedtime experience. Here are some tips for parents to manage challenging bedtime routines: Consistency is key: Maintain a consistent bedtime schedule. Going to bed and waking…

Ms. Anne’s Tip of the Week: New Year’s Resolutions

Creating and sticking to New Year’s resolutions can be challenging, but with the right approach and mindset, you can increase your chances of success. Here are some tips to help you make and keep your New Year’s resolutions: Set Realistic Goals: Be specific about what you want to achieve. Make sure your goals are realistic…

Ms. Anne’s Tip of the Week: Too chilly outside? Here are some tips to keep moving!

As the weather is changing and it’s getting colder, some of us are limiting our outdoor play. It is so important to continue to move our bodies. The benefits of being active include building strong muscles and bones, decreases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, having better sleep and maintaining a healthy weight. Here…

Ms. Anne’s Tip of the Week: Nutrition in Young Children

Nutrition in young children: Good nutrition is important for people of all ages but it is especially important for children. Children need good nutrition for proper growth and development and it is important to eat a variety of foods to consume the necessary nutrients each day. MyPlate is an image that illustrates nutritious eating practices.…

Summer Safety Tips

Summer is the favorite time of year for many children. After spending so many months cooped up inside trying to avoid the cold, most kids are eager to get outside and enjoy the weather. Not to mention getting a break from school and getting to enjoy summertime activities like swimming and barbecues. While we’re all…

Tips for Fussy Eaters

Whether it’s something common like broccoli or a food that you think everyone should love, having a child who is a fussy eater can be a bit of a roadblock for most parents. Believe it or not, it is actually extremely common for most children to go through this difficult eating phase. It might be…

Fun Activities For You and Your Child This Summer Season

The sun is starting to shine and that cold winter chill is on its way out. You know what that means, summer is right around the corner! By now we’re all tired of spending our days cooped up inside and we can’t wait to get out and enjoy the weather. With that in mind, we’ve…

Helping your Child Develop Through Games

It’s no secret that kids are constantly learning and developing with just about everything they do. The old saying is that kids are a lot like sponges and have a tendency to absorb everything around them. As parents, it’s our job to make sure our children are doing the most they can in order to…

Child Development 101

Lets face it, raising a child can be a bit nerve wracking. Between work, school, and daily life it can feel impossible to find any time to make sure your little one is developing properly. To help make things a little easier for you, here are the five main areas of child development that you…

Tips to Promote Mask Wearing for Young Children

By Anne Nguyen, Education Coordinator As the pandemic continues and we see the numbers of infection rise, it is always a concern for parents that the children are not wearing their masks correctly. We understand that it can be a struggle for young children to understand the importance of masks or practice social distancing. We…

You Need a Timeout!

Having enjoyed my Mother’s Day immensely, I found myself reflecting on what made it so nice.  I could not help but appreciate that it was a day of relaxation.  My ‘children are adults, and I know that being a mom to an adult vs. a small child is completely different.  My adults understand the value…

Choosing Safe Toys for Your Little One

Toys are a large part of childhood. They play an important part in the learning and development of children of all ages.Yet hundreds of kids end up in the emergency room every year due to toy related injuries. Children 3 years old and younger are especially at risk from choking because they tend to put…

The Importance of Safety and Consistency for Children

Consistency is the cornerstone of learning.  Children learn through exploration and outcome.  If they push a button it sounds ‘ding!’.  And, no matter how many times they push that button the outcome is the same.  Button = ding.  During these uncertain ‘Covid’ times children are having a difficult time – let’s face it – we…

So, you are having a power struggle with your toddler?

You are feeling like, well frankly, an idiot. You are thinking, “why am I arguing with a child?” You are feeling that he/she should have a hefty amount of respect for you and know that you are ‘the boss of him/her’ – right? We have all been there. We say things like “if you are…

Monkey See, Monkey Do…

Would you believe ‘they’ say that a child’s character is established by age 12? That is CRAZY!!!  Right??  We didn’t even have time to teach them about character – they are too young to understand.  I agree… and I am not sure what happens at 12…  I do know, however, that they learn so much…

Talking with Your Child

by Danielle Gallop We all know that communication is a combination of what you say and how you say it.  Did you know that a good part of communication is your body language too?  As adults we are moving and doing all day every day!  There is always something that needs to be done.  We…

How to Encourage Desired Behaviors Inside and Outside of the Classroom

Danielle Gallop, Education Consultant Inspiring a toddler or 3/4/5-year-old to behave can be a challenge. There are ways to encourage desired behaviors – the tricks are building trust and being prepared. Building Trust Be genuine and talk to children as if they are capable.  They are smarter than you think…  Model good behavior.  When you…

Potty Training Success

Don’t worry. Your child will not wear a diaper to college! I tell all the parents at our preschools that patience is the key to success – at potty training, introducing new foods or sleep routines. You have all heard the saying “you can lead a horse to water – but you can’t make him…

A New School Year

As summer approaches its end and we begin looking forward to a whole new school year, anxiety is a natural emotion.  Some of the children are excited about the “newness” of it all.  Some will not be phased a bit by the idea of change.  And some will be anxious about his new cubby, her…

Why is play so important? 

Many of us work all day, implementing new ideas, learning new concepts, working closely with different personalities, solving problems, and much, much more!  All of these day to day tasks are our part of our job.  We know this walking in.  In school, even early learning facilities, the children are required to do all of…

Sniffles and Boogies…

‘Tis the season!  This time of the year, especially with the weather changes here in the Northeast, we see more runny noses than not.  While we wipe and wipe and blow and wipe some more, we cannot seem to keep ahead of it.  If you have a child (of any age) you are likely seeing…

Spring and New Beginnings!

There are two times a year that people typically “start fresh”…  New Year’s and SPRING!  New Years is a good time to set resolutions, if you are anything like me, you abandoned these good intentions a few months ago.   Spring it a time for new beginnings and “Spring cleaning”. But why do we wait…

Happy 2017!!!!

Each year each person vows to change…. “New Year’s Resolutions”.  Everyone has wonderfully inspired intentions of “making this the best year yet!”  I encourage that!!!  Especially when it comes to being a better parent.  We all want to be that perfect parent! (of course).  I suggest small and attainable steps for being better – at…

We ALL have Bad Days….

Have you ever felt so tired at the end of the day that you almost can’t fall asleep?  The tired I am thinking about is not the ‘wow, I got so much accomplished today’ kind of tired.  The tired I am talking about is the ‘I forgot to send in lunch for my son, the…

Why Should Kids Climb?

Have you ever really watched your toddler or preschooler maneuver the playground, the stairs, the world?  The smallest things to us… the curb, a slide… are much bigger from a child’s point of view.  I am often amazed at how easily children accept these obstacles.  The other day I was watching a 1 year old…

Winter Can Be Long

  Winters in New England… need I say more?  I am sure that other parts of the country have worse winters.  Ours here are probably not that bad, unless you have something to do and the roads are messy or you have a child stuck indoors. I can’t do much about the roads.  I can,…

Summer Time is COMING! Yay

If you are anything like me, you wait all year until summer!  You forget that summer brings with it a lot more that beautiful sunshine.  Summer time is filled with moving up ceremonies, graduation, communions, confirmations, family barbeques, packing and unpacking for beach trips, trips to the park, etc.  We look forward to reading a…

Literacy Opportunities at Stepping Stones

I just wanted to let you all know of a wonderful program offered at the Steeping Stones Museum in Norwalk, CT. Meet characters from your favorite stories. The fun doesn’t end at 5:00 pm. Storybook Pajama Parties promote literacy and positive family interaction in a fun environment that celebrates learning. Come in your PJs and…

Seeing Eye-to-Eye with Early Learners

When I was in High School I took a Child Development Class.  I learned one of the most useful, most memorable lessons in this class.  The teacher had half of the class make a craft while standing at tables.  The other half of us had to get down on our knees and maneuver the classroom.  It…

Maybe a Hug Can Help

My children are now teenagers and I am happy that many years ago I learned an important lesson from them.  We were late for a party or something.  The day is clear in my mind. “Find your shoes”, “Where is your sister?”, “Where are your shoes?”, “We don’t have time for that right now”, “We…

Birthday Parties and More

Recently I watched a TV report about children’s birthday parties.  I was floored at the extravagant, elaborate parties the report featured. Don’t get me wrong, I love parties and LOVE creating an experience. My problem with the “over the top” parties is not only the cost involved, but the fact that the parties are often…

Your New Year’s Resolution

  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  If you are like me, you look forward to “a new year, a new you”.  This year, let’s all work toward being an even more awesome parent.  I have read “The Power of a Positive Mom” (I recommend this book) and have taken “Positive Discipline, along with a dozen practical courses…

Surviving the Holidays with Children

I have always seen myself as a laid back person.  However, my friends tell me I am crazy.  They never understood why I felt the need to have my children make ornaments for our tree and why, when they were small, I brought snow inside for them to play.  Honestly, these things did not make…

Making Your Child Self-Confident

The most valuable gift we can give to our children is self-confidence.  Self-confidence allows children and adult to try new things, try harder, be a good friend, conquer fears and more.  But how do we instill this confidence in our children?  We love them. Loving our children does not mean enabling them.  It does not…

Helping Children Try New Foods

As a parent, we encounter battles every day.  Some worth fighting, others not so much. If you are arguing with your child over food you should know that most doctors would tell you to stop.  Stop forcing your child to eat 1 more bite… stop using food as a bribe… stop making more than one…

Want Better Sleep For Your Toddler?

The most important thing for better sleep for your toddler / preschooler is ROUTINE. Bed time should be a good experience for the whole family.  It could be the highlight of the day.  A snuggly time for love and kisses.  So how do we make this happen?  It is not as hard as you think, and you…

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