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5 Summer Learning Programs To Do At Home

reading350Classrooms are closed for the season but that doesn’t mean learning should stop. Your little sponge is ready to soak up knowledge, know-how and skills all year round! So dust off those books and help keep Suzie’s learning alive this summer at home. Practicing math, reading or social skills for a short time every day will boost her abilities, and, still in habit of studying, make the transition back to school in September a little less stressful. Here are some of our favourite programs that you can easily do with your kiddo at the kitchen table between swimming and playing at the park.Read More »5 Summer Learning Programs To Do At Home

6 Tips For A Calmer, Easier Bedtime

bedtime.largeAs parents, you and I know that our sweeties need sleep – lots of it. Without enough, they wake up cranky and groggy (your morning routine will be rougher), have a hard time concentrating at school and are more prone to negative behaviour. Plus, getting enough Zzzs is important for their memory and overall health and development. Despite the benefits, many of our cuties fiercely fight going to bed. My daughter used to be a master staller and I had to be on my A-game not to give into all her requests and dawdling (seriously, she does not need to line up her 20 stuffed animals for 20 minutes!). For whatever reason kiddos are so resistant to getting ready for and going to bed, it’s our jobs as parents to make the process positive so they develop healthy sleep habits.

Over the last year, I’ve become more diligent about bedtime rituals. My husband and I stay firm with our rules – consistency is so important – and fill the routine with love and affirmations. The result: My sweetie doesn’t put on her boxing gloves to fight bedtime like she used to. She looks forward to story time and snuggles and she sleeps more soundly. If you want Timmy’s tuck-in time to go more smoothly, too, follow these tips. Promise that your evenings will be a lot calmer and easier.Read More »6 Tips For A Calmer, Easier Bedtime

Simple Ways to Speed Up Your Morning Routine

morningroutine.largeAre weekday mornings before 8 am the most stressful part of your day? Do you run out of the house without breakfast, make up half done and your hair sideways? I can completely relate! On weekends, my 4-year-old would wake up sweet-as-sugar, get dressed and go to the bathroom independently. But come Monday morning, she seemed to forget all that (you’d swear she couldn’t do anything by herself); and, as such, getting her fed, dressed, packed for school – and myself prepped and presentable for work – and out the door on time felt harder than juggling eight balls at once. It was frazzling!

Things have changed, though. Now we move more quickly; our morning routine is more efficient, more likeable and  less stressful. We even get out the door on time (usually)! The secret to our success is in these easy strategies. Put them to practice, parents, and I promise your mornings will speed up, too. Read More »Simple Ways to Speed Up Your Morning Routine