Positive Discipline in the Classroom: I-Messages
I-Messages are an extension of the Bugs and Wishes Activity. Instead of saying "It bugs me when _______ and I wish you would ________," we include a specific feeling word to convey our emotions. We then state the problem and what we wish would happen instead.
Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Exploring Emotions
A key part of expressing feelings is being able to name them. In this picture, we can see the feeling words children brainstormed to increase their emotional vocabulary. They started with the four basic feeling categories: Mad, Sad, Glad & Scared. From there, they brainstormed what more specific feelings fit in to each of those boxes. This chart provides a visible tool to help student identify feelings they want to express in the classroom.
Positive Discipline in The Classroom: Recovery From Mistakes
In this activity, students learn the 3 R's of recovering from mistakes. They previously discussed that mistakes are learning opportunity. Now, the focus shifts to understanding that making the mistake is less important than what we choose to do about them.
5 Switch Witch Alternatives For Halloween
In case parenting during Halloween is new to you and your family, let me fill you in on the latest trend in candy management. Gone are the days when kids roam free, feeling safe in their neighborhoods and enjoying the pure bliss of securing a mountain of candy. If you thought your kid’s friends would be over for an hour of post trick or treating candy trading, you might be in for a surprise. Instead, a “nice” witch sneaks in, steals your child’s candy, and replaces it with a toy or game.
When a Family Pet Dies: How You Can Help Your Kids Deal with Grief & Loss
When my family’s thirteen-year-old retriever mix Sadie died this September, I was struck by the dual nature of my own grief. On the one hand, I mourned my loving, neurotic girl who had been with my husband and me since before we had children. On the other hand, I was also quite worried about my children’s reactions to her death. Sadie had simply always been around. As we looked back at family pictures, there was Sadie snuggled up next to my newborns, trotted out alongside the kids on their first day of school photos and dressed up as a Halloween pumpkin along with the kids in their costumes. My children had never known a life without our family dog.
Quick Tip: Raising Healthy Eaters
For more on this topic, check out: A Parenting Recipe For Raising Healthy Eaters
Quick Tip: The Purpose Of Chores
For more on this topic, check out Quit Whining & Do Your Chores!
A Way Out Of Whining
Is there any sound more annoying than endless hours of whining? Apparently not! A 2011 study published in the Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology found that whining distracts people more than listening to a high pitched chain saw. Performance on tasks and attention decreased more with whining than any other noise they played. Across the board, men, women, parents, and non-parents were equally irritated by the noise, even when the words were in a foreign language. It is a good thing our kiddos are cute!
Video: Postpartum Support For Moms
Watch Parenting Coach Erin Bernau on Q13 Fox News as she discusses postpartum support for new moms.
Should I Stay or Should I Go: Ending Drop-off Drama
Quick Tip: The Way You Come Home
For more on this topic, check out:
Afternoon Delight: How Changing The Way You Come Home Can Change Your Family
Money & Kids: What’s A Parent To Do?
“Mommy, I want that one!” “I have to have the new Ninjago set!” “You’re mean for not getting me those Pokemon cards.” “Every kid at school has an American Girl doll except for me!” A simple trip to the store can become a minefield when you cross into the toy section with a young child. We may vacillate between giving in to the request or denying it, but often without any deep thought or introspection about how and what we want to teach our children about money. Many of us well-meaning parents can get a bit flummoxed when it comes to dealing with money and kids.
Quick Tip: Managing Emotions
For more on this topic, check out:
Get Into The Groove: Top Tips For Back To School Bliss
Is the end of summer really here? It seems like we were just in June looking out at a few months of sunny days and a break from the school year routine. Whether you can’t wait to get your kids back in to the routine of school or you are wishing for an endless summer, it’s time to dust off the backpacks and lunch boxes and gear up for the rapidly approaching start of school.
Quick Tip: Long Term Parenting
For more on this topic, check out Long-Term Parenting: Broaden Your Horizon
Meditations For Busy Parents
Many of us have the intention to parent mindfully, but our lives are busy and we get swept along with the tide of action and doing. Meditation helps remind a parent to slow down, to notice the world around her, as well as to notice what is going on in her own mind, heart, and body. Perhaps meditation’s finest gift though is the ability to learn about yourself—what agitates you, inspires you, soothes you? You can then take these lessons into your daily life, helping to enrich your relationships in the process. My intent with this article is to give parents some simple ways to introduce a meditation practice into their daily lives.
Audio: Kids & Restaurants
If you tuned in to the news this week, you likely heard about the cry heard around the world. In case you missed it, I am referring to the little one at a restaurant in Maine who cried for forty minutes. I think we can agree crying, is a pretty normal behavior for children. Unfortunately, the restaurant owner had a meltdown of her own and yelled at the baby, causing an international uproar from parents and a rally cry for every person who has ever been annoyed by a crying child disrupting their fun.
Quick Tip: Shifting Focus
For more on this topic, check out Long-Term Parenting: Destination Ahead
Quick Tip: Parenting Roadmap
For more on this topic, check out Long-Term Parenting: Discover Your Roadmap