parents
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Parenting Products on Amazon
I’ve been sharing my picks for the classroom as I think about Amazon’s upcoming Big Deal Days. Today I’m going to shift things a bit and highlight the products that have truly made a difference for me, and my family. These parenting products are a bit random, but all of them have made my life easier! Here’s what’s on my list (all links are affiliates, your support is TRULY appreciated!). I’ve been a huge fan of Sistema products, and these bento boxes are the ones that we use for school lunches every day (you can read even more about them here). We also used them all summer long to take…
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Learning activities for when you’re REALLY BUSY
Summer can feel like a whirlwind – how do these months seem to go so much faster than the rest of the year?! That can make it really hard to be intentional about making time for learning, there’s just so many other things happening! There are still some really great ways to incorporate basic educational skills into even your busiest summer days. Here are some of my favorite easy summer learning activities. This post does contain affiliate links. Workbooks. I know there are tons of opinions on workbooks, but I’ll throw mine in here and say that I think there are ways that these can be used effectively and appropriately.…
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Summer Plans!
This summer is going to look very different for our family – it’ll be the first summer that my girl and I will be home together all summer long. The idea of giving her a fun summer while I’m still working stresses me out a bit, so I took some time to do the one thing that always puts my mind at ease, some serious planning! If someone asked me to choose ONE word to describe myself it would definitely be the word “planner.” I truly love to organize my thoughts, lay them out on paper and fill in any missing pieces. It helps me feel in control and gives…
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Travel Products for Kids
When I was sharing all of my travel tips earlier this week, it occurred to me that I should give you a peek into the items that I always make sure to have with us when we head out on a road trip. These are all affiliate links and I may receive a portion of the sales. Here are my recommendations for kid’s road trip must-haves: This unicorn travel pillow is one of my all-time favorite Amazon purchases. It’s adorable and SO soft. The cover zips off so it can be washed, and the mask and little ear plugs are included. It comes vacuum sealed in this tiny little bag,…
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Tips for Traveling with Preschoolers
If you’re like me, you get all kinds of questions from parents about tips for daily life with preschoolers. Our family is planning a road trip, and since we’ve gotten pretty good at traveling this way over the last few years I thought I’d share some tips that I’ve picked up along the way. Here are my top tips for traveling with preschoolers: Road trips can be a great way to travel with little ones because you can bring EVERYTHING with you, and they make getting there part of the adventure – with a little planning and grace.
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Easy way to share favorite preschool songs
I distinctly remember having a conferences with a parent who’s only request was the words to all of the songs that we sang in the classroom – she wanted to sing them with her son, but she couldn’t understand the words he was singing well enough to figure out what the songs were! I finally had a chance to put together a quick an easy resource that I could have shared with her, and I’m sharing it with you too. There are so many ways that this collection of common preschool songs can be used! There are two different pieces to this set. The ribbons all have a name of…
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Encouraging family members to visit the classroom
Here’s the dilemma, we want parents to take part in classroom events, but in most cases children are in our care because their parents are working – which means that they are not available to participate in activities. One way to make sure parents feel like they are a part of classroom events is to use technology to share photos and anecdotes – even when parents can’t be present, they will still feel like they know exactly what happened. Another creative solution is to encourage parents to share events with extended family members who may be able to attend. Grandparents might enjoy spending the afternoon with your class, and aunts,…
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Ideas for making conferences more meaningful
Have you started thinking about spring conferences yet? They tend to sneak up on us, we’re celebrating the new year and then we blink and it’s time for conferences and the end of the school year. Spring conferences are my favorite because by this point in the year, I knew my students and their families really well. I felt comfortable with them, but that often means that I didn’t prepare for conferences as much as I probably should have. Here are some ideas that can make conferences more helpful and meaningful for everyone: Be prepared to share easy activities that parents can do at home. Every child has something that…
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Google Drive Student Portfolios
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Friday Freebie – Character Education Parent Letters
Happy Friday! This week I’ve reflected on my resolution to choose joy and how the idea can be used in the classroom. Today’s freebie will be super helpful as you consider other character traits and emotions that you want to explore in the classroom. My favorite thing about these Character Trait Parent Letters is that they offer simple activities that families can do to work on these traits at home. Go download your set from Counselor Chelsey and have a great weekend!
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Friday Freebie – Communication Sheet
Happy Friday, and happy long weekend – finally! The freebie that I have for you today is a great way to make sure you are communicating with all of your parents, even when you don’t have time for a conversation with each of them. This daily communication sheet can be quickly filled out and sent home with each child so that parents know what their child has been up to all day, and if there is anything that you need from them. Download your copy and enjoy your weekend!
