My daughter loves to climb things.  Even before she was able to walk, she would climb on small things.  She quickly mastered the feat of climbing the stairs and has recently learned, with great efficiency, who to go down the stairs as well.  I knew that she would climb the stairs and that she would probably climb on things, but I never could have anticipated the extent to which my daughter has learned to climb. Unlike her big brother who was not much of climber at all, my daughter is very adventurous when it comes to height.   Beyond stairs climbing, … Continue reading →

  We eventually got to the alphabet workbook. My son was really excited about having this special little workbook just for him, but he was not able to grasp what a workbook was. I showed him how to use it but he was not interested in forming letter, he just wanted to draw spiders and vampires. So I put the alphabet workbook away until he was ready. Instead his interests jumped from musical instrument to musical instrument. He appreciated music more than anything else. after he turned two even though reading sheet music will be a long way off for … Continue reading →

Learning should be fun and self propelled.  I had witness my son easily find interest in learning abouts of things that he came in contact with.   I had yet to determine definitively whether or not I should take a more active and forceful role in my son learning the alphabet. By the time my son had turned two his interests had grown exponentially but he still seemed to lack an interest in learning the alphabet. I did not push.  We were getting ready to welcome our second child and I was focused on getting things prepared for her birth.  I … Continue reading →

I am of the opinion, especially after teaching for five years, that learning should occur in the context of everyday living spurred by curiosity and creativity.  Learning should be fun and easy and never forced … if it can be helped. From the moment I found out the I was pregnant with my first baby, I was thinking about how and when I would start to introduce guided learning.   The most important and paramount concern that I had was finding a way to make learning fun and avoid the sense of dread and boredom that tends to come with formal … Continue reading →

A couple of months ago I added yoga to my weekly workout routine in an effort to ease the strain from my typical high intensity cardio workouts and to help my husband strengthen his core since he refused to do anything but yoga.  Aside from the obvious struggles of exercise i.e. motivation, commitment, follow through, balance, endurance etc., there is the added difficulty of exercising with young children who basically demand mommy’s attention twenty four seven.  My three year old son has gotten really good about playing and getting a snack or drink of water for himself while I exercise … Continue reading →