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Archives for August 2016

Easing the Transition of Changing Schools

August 10, 2016 | Leave a Comment

If you're child will be attending a new school this year there's a lot you can do to prepare. Here's how to eat the transition of changing schools.In just a week schools will be full of kids running the halls. Though I always remember it being an exciting time of year, for some kids it can be an incredibly stressful time, especially if they’re moving to new school for the first time.

Whether you’ve moved and starting fresh or you’re a brand new kiddo getting ready to embark for the first time, certain things can certainly ease the stress of starting a new school.

Ease Their Minds

Young children will be placed in an entirely new environment for the first time.

It is important to ease their mind in as many ways as you can. Read books about school and reinforce that it is a safe and exciting place to go. There are a lot of great books (The Kissing Hand and the Berenstain bear stories come to mind) that will give the child a good idea about what to expect.

Visit the School Ahead of Time

If you’re able to get into the school a few days before classes start it may be a good idea to walk the halls and give them a layout of where things like the principal’s office is, for reassurance. Make sure they have any medication they may need (especially something like an epipen) and a list of phone numbers where you can be reached (though the office will also have these numbers in case something happens its nice knowing your child has access themselves).

Prepare Them for Emergencies

Older kids moving forward in grade school may already have the safety net of a group of friends moving on with them. This alone may be enough to make the transition easier for them. If they’re old enough to have their own cell phone makes sure they know when to use it (no playing with it in class!) and make sure their contact list is again updated with all important numbers.

Though having mom and dad’s work number isn’t the top contact priority for a young teenager, if there was even an emergency that they needed to get in touch with you they will need it.

Easing the Transition to College

My biggest transition period was definitely moving onto university. Moving from the comforts of four walls to a huge campus was a big adjustment. Just like I did on a tour when starting primary school, my mom, an alma matter to my university, spent a day with me walking on campus and point out where everything was.

I already had my class schedule so was able to walk up to each classroom and know exactly where it was so I didn’t waste any time getting lost in those first few days. I also located other important things like library, student union, student services and university security, covering all my bases. I was much more comfortable on my first day of classes given I had some basic knowledge of the campus before-hand.

Change is scaring especially when totally leaving your comfort zone. Though kids get the hang if things pretty quickly it’s always nice to prepare them in any way we can. They’ll thank us later.

Catherine
Catherine

Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.

plungedindebt.com

Filed Under: Education, Parenting Tagged With: changing schools, school preparations, starting a new school

My Favorite Toys for Kids Under 5 Years

August 3, 2016 | Leave a Comment

If you're buying a gift for a little one and want to spend your money on something that will actually be used here are my favorite toys for kids under 5.A friend of mine was recently trying to decide on if a toy purchase for her son was ‘’worth it’’. She didn’t want to start buying a bunch of useless toys for him to have her small house cluttered with kids stuff that was hardly used (a problem I can sympathize with).

My house is overrun with kids stuff. Our daughter is the first grandchild, niece, baby in a long time and people love buying baby stuff despite us asking not to. We have made it quite clear we would rather have a contribution to her education savings than another doll or stuffed animal but people feed off that immediate toddler smile and ‘’thank you’’. However over the years though, a few toys have come into our lives that we love and have had hours of fun playing with. Gifts I am so grateful for, or money I’m so glad we spent.

Books

This is an easy one, but we’re big book lovers and I am all too happy to give another book a home.

Reading is very important to us and though we have a few favorites that rotate every few days, we love having new stories come into our lives. You can never go wrong with giving a child a book.

A few of our favorites from the last four years are the Oliva series; the Fancy Nancy series; Each Peach, Pear, Plum; Sandra Boynton (anything); Look and Find books (hours of fun playing eye-spy); A Very Hungry Caterpillar; The Kissing Hand; Are You My Mother and Sheep in a Jeep. I have hundreds of children’s books in my house and always looking for more! You may be able to find deals on these books using a ebay.ca coupon.

Play Food and Accessories

I think it was for my daughters first birthday that someone gave her a huge gift of pretend food and accessories (pots/pans/bowls/spoons). Over three years later and these are still going strong. Where it started out as a good learning toy- identifying shapes, colors and types of food, she now interacts with them and role-plays which is really fun. A huge hit in our house.

Toy Cash Register

This was a gift from her babysitter when she turned two. Not only does she just love playing with the pretend money it is a huge learning opportunity for us to teach her financial lessons. Sometimes we’ll play grocery store with her pretend food and we’re at the point now of teaching her how many coins she needs to buy the things. Again, over two years later and this still consistently gets played with.

Play House

Two years ago we had an opportunity to buy a small playhouse at a store for 60% off, we decided to go for it and she loves it. I think we paid $100 for it and have gotten a ton of use out of it. It’s plastic and we keep it outside year round. She goes from growing her pretend garden to literally shoveling the snow out of her front ‘’door’’. We play with it year-round and will continue to until she’s too big for it.

Lego/Blocks

My husband was given a collection of wooden blocks when he was a child and he was able to save them to give her our daughter. We have a few different types of blocks (everything from traditional Lego to wood blocks) and she loves them all. This is something I don’t see her growing out of anytime soon.

Crayons/Paper/Coloring books/Stickers

It’s just that simple. We go though a ton of all of the above and she loves them.

Some toys are a complete waste of money. We’re much better at picking our battles in terms of what we spend money on but we are very happy that a few toys have found their way into our lives and offered our daughter so much joy!

What are your favorite toys for small kids?

Catherine
Catherine

Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.

plungedindebt.com

Filed Under: Parenting, Shopping Tagged With: best kids toys, kids toys, Parenting

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Basic Principles Of Good Parenting

Here some basic principles for good parenting:

  1. What You Do Matters: Your kids are watching you. So, be purposeful about what you want to accomplish.
  2. You Can’t be Too Loving: Don’t replace love with material possessions, lowered expectations or leniency.
  3. Be Involved Your Kids Life: Arrange your priorities to focus on what your kid’s needs. Be there mentally and physically.
  4. Adapt Your Parenting: Children grow quickly, so keep pace with your child’s development.
  5. Establish and Set Rules: The rules you set for children will establish the rules they set for themselves later.  Avoid harsh discipline and be consistent.
  6. Explain Your Decisions: What is obvious to you may not be evident to your child. They don’t have the experience you do.
  7. Be Respectful To Your Child: How you treat your child is how they will treat others.  Be polite, respectful and make an effort to pay attention.
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