Taming the Preschool Beast

Nothing unleashes a preschooler’s inner beast quite like extracting him from a fun environment without advanced warning. When my daughter was 4 years old she had an epic outburst at a children’s museum in Chicago because I failed to give her proper notification of our departure. In doing so, I robbed her of the gradual transition I knew she needed in order to calmly exit the building. The fit she threw nearly got us thrown out of the museum. Looking back, my preschooler’s tantrum, which included tossing her shoes down a slide, was simply her way of staying true to … Continue reading →

The Power of Giving Limited Choices

Preschoolers are at the age where they have the skills, and motivation, to explore the world around them. Your preschooler has developed his or her own preferences and isn’t afraid to let you know about what they are. You can avoid some “meltdowns” and help your child develop independence at the same time with a simple tool. Give your preschooler limited choices. One of the reasons why preschoolers throw tantrums is because they are frustrated by how little control they have over what happens to them. They don’t get to choose if they want to go to preschool, or what … Continue reading →

Is Your Child Ready for Preschool?

Will this be the school year when your child begins attending preschool? That can be a tough decision for many parents. Some feel that preschool is very important in helping a child with social skills and to learn how school “works”. How can you tell if your child is ready for preschool? Here are some signs that indicate that he or she is ready to give preschool a try. Your Child is in Good Health. Preschool can be an exciting and fun growth experience for every child. Unfortunately, being around a lot of other children can expose your child to … Continue reading →

Pushing for Publicly-Funded Preschool

If you missed President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address five months ago, you may be wondering why his recent trip to Illinois attracted so many leaders in the world of early education. Obama spent much of his trip to Fort Knox College on Wednesday reiterating the importance of his proposal to give American children a publicly-funded preschool education. The president unveiled his goal of providing quality early education for 4 year olds in his State of the Union address earlier this year and he is not backing down on his commitment. “If you think education is expensive, wait … Continue reading →

The Preschool TV Battle is Heating Up

Your preschooler may be more powerful than you think. At least when it comes to watching television. According to Nielsen Media Research, children ages 2 to 5 spend an average of 32 hours in front of a TV each week. For cable networks this means big business. In the past five years, a slew of channels dedicated to preschool programming have inundated the market. Since 2000, Nick Jr. has continually garnered the highest Nielsen ratings. The Viacom-owned channel is dedicated solely to preschool children and is home of the mega-hit show “Dora the Explorer.” Riding the wave of popularity with … Continue reading →

Stories Can Help Kids Prepare for Preschool

Will your little one be attending preschool for the very first time? He or she might be feeling a mix of emotions about going to preschool. These emotions can range from excitement about being a “big kid” who goes to school, to fear about what, exactly, he or she will face in the classroom. One way to calm worries and build confidence is with stories. Little kids often view story books as something fun to read (or have read to them). They don’t realize it, but many are using the stories as a means to help them understand the world … Continue reading →

Riding the Bus

They’ve spent years singing about its wheels going round and round, but now the day has come for your little one to take his first ride on a big yellow school bus. More and more parents of preschoolers are opting to have their kids use a bus as the primary vehicle to get to class. Depending on the location of your child’s preschool, older siblings might be able to ride alongside their younger sister or brother. Regardless of whether or not all of your children ride the same bus, now is the time to prep your preschooler on the rules associated with … Continue reading →

When Do You Start Piano Lessons?

What is the right age to being piano lessons? Is there a right age? My brother is a musician and owns his own music store. He is an experienced music teacher for adults and children. He said that by far a child was much easier to teach than an adult. Children are open and have little expectations whereas adults walk in with a set idea on what they want to accomplish. More often than not, my brother has stated, adults have an unrealistic set of accomplishments and get discouraged early on and quite. Children are open to learning and will … Continue reading →

Should I get my preschooler a pet?

Pets and kids go together like peanut butter and jelly. Most children love animals and enjoy being around them. There comes a time in most children’s lives when they ask their parents for a pet. It could be a puppy, kitty, turtle or fish but at some point they will ask. The decision needs to be made wisely or you could head for disaster and teach your child the opposite of what you thought this beautiful experience would be like. You need to pick the right pet for your family and your lifestyle. You need to have a realistic view … Continue reading →

Converting an Oatmeal Box into Preschool Fun

Oatmeal boxes are a great size and shape for many purposes. Since you are buying oatmeal anyway you may as well put the box to good use. Here are some ideas. Letter Box: Place foam letters, magnetic letters and wooden letter beads in the oatmeal box. Have your child pull out letters for letter recognition. You can have your child write the letter or find an object which starts with that letter around the house. You can also fill the box with pictures of items and have your child match the image to the letter the word starts with. Number … Continue reading →