Reading is an essential skill and an important part of our everyday lives. We find it everywhere; we use it to follow recipes, interpret street signs, and even follow the instructions to assemble new furniture! Yet many children feel like reading is a chore. We can change that. Children can develop a passion for reading—it’s all about how they engage with books at home! If you’re trying to get your youngsters to put down the controller and pick up a book, consider these suggestions. If you can pinpoint your child’s interests, you should have a reader on your hands in no time! 

Tune into your child’s interests

Children enjoy reading about things they like. Play the role of the observer. What does your child like to do in their free time? What kinds of toys do they prefer to play with? If you notice your child spends time hunting for bugs in the backyard, try checking out a nonfiction book about insects. If they always sleep with their Batman action figure, try reading stories involving superheroes. Remember that we often read books that line up with our personal preferences. 

Leave out a variety of different reading material

We all know the saying “out of sight, out of mind.” This is very true of books. If your child’s books are crammed back in their closet or under a stack of old papers in the den, dust them off and place them at your child’s eye level throughout the house. Choose areas of the home where they can easily access them, such as the living room, bedroom, bathroom and even the yard! Books aren’t the only reading material available to young children. Include magazines, manuals, and recipes to the stack.

Read for pleasure

Show your child that learning can be fun by reading for pleasure. Encourage them to find a book of their own and join you on the couch. Demonstrate that reading isn’t only a functional skill—it’s a gateway to exploration and adventure! 

Encourage older children to read to their siblings

If there’s one thing we know about small children, it’s that they can’t wait to be all grown up! Have your school aged children read to your preschooler. They’ll love to listen along—and they’ll want to emulate what they see! 

Visit your local library 

Teach your child that there is a wonderful place in the community dedicated entirely to books. Take a trip to the library and simply browse. Look at pictures and grab a few books to read together in a cozy chair. Interact with the librarian to demonstrate how you would find a book by subject or author. At the end of the visit, get your child their very own library card! 

Try these suggestions in your home and watch your child transform into an enthusiastic reader! 

We’ve knocked it out of the park with our outdoor classroom enhancements! We’ve stayed busy during the pandemic growing and improving our curriculum and adding to our outdoor classrooms! Each item that we added to our outdoor classroom was designed and built by our owner, Mr. Bob and our favorite local carpenter, Mr. Fred when we were closed on the weekends.

We have added the following to each Bright Beginnings location to add to your child’s experience learning outside every day:

• Mud Kitchens for our Outdoor Classrooms- we LOVE mud Bright Beginnings. Ask us about how we celebrate International Mud Day!
• Beautiful, custom built arbors placed on playgrounds and nature trails.
• Permanent chalkboards for free art to encourage continual creativity outside on the playground.
• Permanent acrylic plexiglass paint easels for our children to maintain social distancing and enjoy art outside. We had these built in both toddler and preschooler sizes!
• Handwashing stations for drop off and pick up handwashing and Outdoor Classroom use- before and after snack and lunch, clean up after messy art projects
• Large and small picnic tables to ensure social distancing for groups and to allow children enough space to explore! At Bright Beginnings we try to have each class eat their snacks and lunches outside as much as possible. We love the benefits of fresh air and sunshine for our children!
• Custom tinkering tables designed to explore nature collections and manipulatives.
• Huge milk crates for large muscle strength and building projects
• We’ve planted more beautiful trees at our Forest Lakes location
• As always we are cleaning and sanitizing our equipment throughout the day.

Dropping off your child at preschool or departing for work is difficult for children and parents alike. Who wouldn’t want to play hookie from work, scoop us your little nugget from school and have a picnic at the park? Your child feels the same way. A parent leaving them at school can feel a bit like abandonment. Why are you leaving me? Are you ever coming back? What could be more important than my comfort? Unfortunately, separation is a fact of life for most children and their families. You’ll be called upon to part from your child time and time again. But it doesn’t  have to be painful. Try out some of these strategies for taking the sting out of leaving your child while you attend to your other responsibilities. 

A few thoughts on separation:

• Mastering separation doesn’t happen overnight. Both children and parents learn how to manage these feelings over the span of their lifetime 
• Separation can make a child feel sad, angry, or fearful. 
• Disruptions in life can lead to feelings of separation. Some examples include welcoming a new baby into the home, moving to a new house, starting preschool, or coping with illness within the family. 
•  Bedtime can feel like a form of separation

What can I do to help my child cope with separation? 

Little people need a helping hand when it comes to managing separation. You are their trusted adult and it’s normal for them to want you around! To help your child cope with separation, you might try:

• Talking about changes as the occur
• Label the feeling they’re experiencing (like anger, sadness, and fear)
• Say comforting things to your child, such as, “I know this is hard. I’m going to miss you, too. I’ll be back before you know it!” 
• Get acquainted with your child’s new setting. If they are starting a new preschool program, make a point to visit the school and get to know their new teacher before their first day 
• Avoid telling your child to stop crying when you depart
• Be confident in your speech. Tell your child, “We’ll feel so much better in a  few minutes. We can do this!” 

Remember, building a loving attachment lays the foundation for growing independence. The more you love on your child, the more secure your child will become! Soon she’ll be waving you goodbye and jetting off to play. But be sure to squeeze in that hug! 

Your child is a one-of-a-kind, uniquely skilled person….and one of their many talents is making you late! Children move at their own speed, and this fact can be extremely frustrating for parents. Mornings can be particularly rough. Adults need to get to work, school age children need to get to class on time, and your preschooler is delightfully oblivious to it all. Mornings are also a time when children throw tantrums and have meltdowns. What a great way to start the day. NOT! 

Luckily, establishing a structured morning routine can help you stay in control of your schedule as well as support your preschooler with their behavior. Even better, a routine can actually help a child become more independent with grooming, dressing, and managing their belongings. Sign us up, please! 

Let’s consider a few tricks to get back in control. Sure, he can pick out his own sweatshirt, but you wear the pants in this family!  

Suggestion One: Challenge Him 

Every child in existence has gone through a “I can do it myself!” phase. You can use this to your (HUGE) advantage. Try this trick: tell your child that you’re not sure he can get dressed by himself (or brush his teeth, comb his hair, etc.). Offer to help him or to do it for him. Chances are he’ll switch into “I can do it myself!” mode and forbid you from helping him. Your child thinks that he’s in control, but you will reap the rewards!

Suggestion Two: Practice, Practice, Practice 

Odds are that your child won’t be totally independent for a little while. Give it time. Like with any new task, adults and children both need support to master new things. Help your child with dressing and grooming and show him how to do it. After about two weeks of solid practice you can phase out this support. 

Suggestion Three: Do Some Prep

Realistically, you won’t be prepared to “ready, set, GO!” at six o’clock in the morning. Give yourself a head start by preparing lunches, children’s backpacks, and your personal belongings the night before. This is certain to streamline your departure. 

Suggestion Four: Set a Fast Pace 

Oh no! Your child is dressing and brushing their teeth by themselves (hooray!), but it’s taking them forever. Sloths move faster than this! How are you going to get your child to not only perform the task independently, but get them to do it quickly? 

Remember that small children respond best to play! Disguise this lesson in timeliness. Make it a game. Set a timer for five minutes and challenge your child to beat it. Can they clip into their car seat before the trunk is packed? Make it a race! Consider rewarding your child with a sticker or a point toward a daily or weekly prize. 

Suggestion Five: Stay Calm

Above all, try to stay calm when your child is crying, lying on the floor, and kicking their feet in the air. Is this a new breakdance move? Rough mornings can lead to strong feelings of frustration and annoyance for both children and parents. Take a break and walk away. Take a breath. Keep in mind that when you lose control, your child is less likely to comply with your requests. Remember that while today may have been a struggle, there is always tomorrow. We are all learning! 

We’ve all been there…you’re standing in line to check out at the grocery store, cart full, when your toddler reaches her breaking point. Mayday, Mayday! It’s meltdown central! These moments can be some of the most frustrating and embarrassing for a parent to handle. Do I abandon my cart and retreat back to the car? Do I scold my child and soldier on? Are people watching (or judging) my parenting? 

Tantrums are a natural phase of development for your one, two, and three year old child. But with the proper tools and information, you can begin to manage these moments with confidence.   

Why Do Tantrums occur? 

Tantrums often happen when a child experiences an overwhelming emotion. Perhaps your child is feeling frustrated, angry, or fearful. A tantrum is a natural way for your toddler to express these emotions, particularly because they lack the language to express them in an appropriate way. Remember that a toddler has yet to develop their self control. Other reasons for a tantrum include not getting their way or not being able to process what their adult is saying. 

What conditions can contribute to a tantrum? 

Toddlers are less able to hold themselves together when they are hungry, tired, or uncomfortable. Being sick, frustrated, or anxious can also trigger a tantrum. While we feel frustrated with a toddler’s behavior, we have to remember that we have a refined sense of self control. Your toddler hasn’t reached this point in their development just yet! 

How can I prevent a tantrum from happening?

We have some great tips and tricks to avoid a tantrum from happening. You might try these strategies with your family!

• Avoid stressful situations that have been known to frustrate your child 
• Make sure your child has a healthy snack! Being hungry can lower your child’s coping ability. 
• Pick your Nos. Saying no to everything can make a child feel powerless and out of control.  
• Give your child a chance to express their feelings if they’re able. Help them find the words if necessary. Give your child your full attention. Make them feel heard.
• Don’t over schedule your toddler. Give your child opportunities to rest and recharge. None of us are at our best when we’re exhausted! 

And finally, give yourself grace when your child throws a tantrum, especially when they happen in a public place! Tantrums are a loud show of frustration by your child– but rest assured you’re doing your absolute best to manage them. Your toddler will outgrow this behavior. You’ll be cruising through the checkout in no time!      

Kids are big helpers. If you’re baking in the kitchen, they want to crack the eggs. If you’re preparing for a trip, they want to pack their own backpack and suitcase. According to care.com, a popular website for educational and child care resources,  there are a number of ways we can promote responsibility in young children. As children are entrusted with more difficult tasks, they develop a stronger sense of pride. With appropriate modeling from their parents and caregivers, children can begin to tackle new challenges all by themselves! 

Start young

Believe it or not, children are capable of learning skills for independence quite young. We can start teaching our 2 year old to clean something up after they dump it out on the floor. As children get older, they can start brushing their own teeth, getting dressed and maybe even packing their own lunch. Don’t be afraid to ask your child to help around the house, even if it’s simply dropping a plastic truck into a toy bin or returning a shovel to the sandbox.

Let them help you

As a parent, you carry the majority of the load for your family. However, there are a lot of great ways you can get your kiddos in on the work (and the fun!). Set the tone for work in the home. If you hate chores, they will, too! Make it fun; play music and turn cleaning into a game. When a child helps their grown up accomplish a task, they feel a sense of pride that they’ll be eager to experience again. 

Show kids the way

If you are trying to teach your child to fix their own snack or clean their own room, you’ll need to show them how! Consider demonstrating how to find a healthy snack in the pantry or how to pierce their straw through a juice box. If cleaning their room is a priority, get a hamper and show your child where to place their dirty clothes. They’ll need these tools if they are expected to do these tasks on their own.  

Praise them

Praise, praise, praise! Children absolutely love being acknowledged for a job well done. Not only will your child feel proud, he or she will be highly motivated to keep up their great work!

Manage your expectations

We always need to remember that we’re asking a small child to do a big job. If your preschooler can’t hang up their jack the first time or drops a basket of toys on the ground while they’re trying to clean up, be patient. They’re still learning! 

Avoid rewards

We are often tempted to bribe our children to complete important tasks, especially those that involve managing their own belongings and personal grooming. However, try to avoid rewards as motivation to learn responsibility. Save treats and toys for special occasions and for when your child goes above and beyond what they’ve been asked to do. Remember, praise and time spent with a parent can be very rewarding on its own. 

Teach consequences

As a child learns about responsibility, they are also learning about the consequences that happen when you leave a task unfinished. If a child is expected to place their plate in the sink after dinner, they might not be ready for any television. When the task is finished the nightly routine can continue! 

Try giving your child some important responsibilities and see how they respond! Chances are they’ll love it; taking care of yourself and your personal belongings is what “big kids” do! 

Bath? Check! Pajamas? Check! There’s only one thing left to do: the dreaded toothbrushing. You’re so close, yet so far away from putting your child down for the night.  

What is it about toothbrushing that is so off putting to your preschooler? You’ve told them time and again: brushing is simply good hygiene. Luckily, pediatric dentists the world over have discovered a number of clever tricks to motivate toothbrushing at home. Try some (or all) of these ideas from wcdentalarts.com. They’re guaranteed to get your child excited about their oral health! 

Let your kids pick their own toothbrush and toothpaste

You wouldn’t like it if your three year old picked out your outfit, right? So don’t pick out their toothbrush! We all have different preferences and your child is developing a stronger sense of self every day.  Let your child choose a toothbrush that reflects their personality. Let them choose from countless characters and colors. Pick a yummy toothpaste flavor, like cherry or strawberry. Their motivation to brush will skyrocket! 

Have your child brush their teeth to a song 

Get your child excited to brush by dancing around the bathroom to their favorite song! Try and make sure the song lasts for 2 minutes (the recommended time for brushing).  Getting their body moving will distract from the traditional monotony of toothbrushing. 

Turn toothbrushing into a game  

Children love to use their imagination! Pediatric dentists often refer to plaque as “sugar bugs.” Incorporate this into your game! Can the Mickey Mouse on your toothbrush fight off the evil sugar bugs lurking behind each tooth? Does the toothpaste create a tidal wave that wipes out Sugar Bug City? 

Create a reward system

Who doesn’t love a prize for a job well done? We love getting small rewards—they motivate us to keep up our behavior. Try a Brush Cart at home! Consider giving your child a sticker every time they brush their teeth. They’ll love seeing their chart fill up. Perhaps they earn a special treat, like a new matchbox car, at the end of the month!  

Make brushing a group activity

Brushing can, and should, be a family affair! Set the timer for two minutes and rock out to a favorite song together! What preschooler would want to miss out on that? 

Before long, your child will fly through their evening routine–including toothbrushing! Now when she’s begging to sleep in your bed, she’ll be doing so with sparkling, clean teeth. 

The first day of preschool can be intimidating and nerve racking for both children and their parents. Will my child like their new teacher? Will he be well cared for? Will he make new friends? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding, “YES!” While our rational brain is telling us that all will be well, there is still a natural part of a parent that worries about their child’s preparedness. Lucky for us, there are a number of ways to prepare a child for this big transition. The good folks over at Zero to Three, a resource for early childhood education, tell us how we can prepare a toddler for this new adventure. You might consider taking these few steps to help calm those first day jitters.

Using pretend play to explore the idea of preschool

• Children LOVE to play pretend! Dramatic play is a great way for a child to step into the shoes of another person and experience new thoughts and feelings. You might consider acting out  a day in his future preschool classroom. Try role playing the major events in the schedule: snack time, nap time, and the morning circle. Give your child an opportunity to practice putting on their coat for outside play.  

Read books about preschool

• Life transitions and overwhelming emotions are common topics in children’s literature. You can find several books that are specific to a child’s transition from home to preschool. Give these books a read! Talk about the characters and their feelings.  

Make a game out of practicing self-help skills

• Children love games! Make self-help skills a race. Can your child zip up his jacket and put on his shoes before the buzzer sounds? Can he click into his carseat faster than you can buckle up? 

 Play at your new preschool 

• Take a trip to your child’s new preschool. You might consider taking a tour of the building so that your child is familiar with each classroom, particularly their own. 

During the 2 weeks before preschool starts, try: 

• Going to the store together and picking out a backpack. 
•  Label all of their items including their backpack, jacket, shoes, blanket, teddy bear, etc. 
• Make sure your child’s paperwork is filled out (especially if they need a daily medication)
• Implement a “school bedtime.” Make sure they get lots of sleep beginning about 2 weeks before school starts 

The night before preschool: 

• Answer any last minute questions your child may have
• Let your child choose their clothes for the first day 
• Make sure that your child goes to bed on time 

The first day: 

• Wake up early so you are not in a rush 
• Make breakfast and sit down and eat together. Have a conversation about what is to come
• Review the day’s routine and make sure to talk about the way that their child will get to school and get home 
• Pack your child’s backpack together 
• Let your child choose a special stuffed animal to bring for nap time

Saying Good-bye:

• Plan to stay for a little while. Consider 15 to 30 minutes to ease the transition. Explorer the classroom together
•  Keep your tone positive and upbeat! Don’t linger too long. It’s time to rip off the Band-Aid! 
• Create a special goodbye routine. Is there a song you could sing or a special high-five you could give? 
• Resist the rescue. Don’t go back inside the classroom when you hear your child is upset or crying. This will only make it harder for you and your child to separate.

There’s no disputing it: children absolutely love playing pretend. They can use their imagination to create (or become) almost anything. When we provide play clothing and props, we give children tools to alter reality; they are no longer a preschooler, but instead a firefighter, scientist, or princess trying to find her missing glass slipper. But through all this dramatic play, children are also building a strong foundation in literacy and developing pre-reading skills. Shocking, right? Below you will find excerpts from Literacy-Building Play in Preschool: Lit Kits, Prop Boxes, and Other Easy-To-Make Tools To Boost Emergent Reading and Writing Skills Through Dramatic Play. This article perfectly describes the purpose of dramatic play and the ways it helps boost a child’s performance in writing and reading. 

Dramatic Play allows children to experiment with purposes for literacy they’ve seen at home

By including functional print (such as newspapers, personal letters, menus, shelf signs, coupons and labeled food containers) in children’s play and giving them paper and pens for writing, we create an environment that allows them to interact with print as adults do. We give them a chance to see, firsthand, the many ways we use text in everyday life.

Dramatic Play allows children to recognize that different tasks require different texts 

By regularly and systematically incorporating literacy props into dramatic play, you help children realize that different tasks require different text. For example the firefighters might need a map of the city to locate emergencies, but the veterinarian needs an appointment book and pamphlets about petcare to hand out to his patients’ owners. The restaurant has menus and order pads, but the flower shop has seed packets and price lists. This exposure to a wide range of texts helps children differentiate text features.

Dramatic play allows children to produce a wide variety of texts

Many of us are drawn to story books because that’s what we were raised on. However there are so many more options for young children today. By exposing children to a wide variety of functional texts, we encourage them to create a wide variety of functional texts, too. Children make traffic signs to post in the block area, a list for use at the grocery store, a receipt for a customer at the pizza shop, or a letter to a friend to mail at the post office.

Dramatic play builds comprehension by allowing children to act out familiar stories

Acting out and or retelling a story helps children make that story their own–and truly comprehend it. They gain an understanding of the characters, the structure, and the themes. By taking on different roles, they gain an understanding that characters have different personalities and motivations. 

It’s truly fortunate that children can grow so much when they engage in dramatic play. This gives us all the more reason to encourage it at school and at home. Consider becoming a part of the play. With any luck, you’ll be the one who finds that missing glass slipper! 

We all know how much children LOVE getting their hands dirty! The stickier and messier the better. The typical parent has a number of competing priorities at home. Forget the bills, your work, the mounting laundry, and that leaky pipe…keeping the kids entertained is the true challenge! In all of our Bright Beginnings classroom, teachers are always trying to find creative ways to incorporate the senses into their activities.  We know that touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell are powerful tools that can further learning, no matter the child’s age or skill level. We also love any activity that we can make with just a few, simple ingredients. After all, why buy something that you can make yourself? Better yet, something you can make with your children?  If you’re up for an awesome adventure, try engaging your children at home with this recipe for Cloud Dough. It’s guaranteed to keep them (and you!) busy for hours.

Ingredients: 

• 8 cups all purpose (regular, white) flour
• 1 cup baby oil
• 1 heaping tablespoon of non-toxic tempera paint powder

Directions:

• In a large bowl or container, stir your oil and flour together well. A potato masher or a pastry cutter will work well. You’re trying to get everything really well blended into a smooth, crumbly powder
• Add 1 heaping tablespoon of tempera paint powder
• Continue to mash and blend until the color is completely mixed into the dough 
• Provide cups, playdough toys, and any other utensil used for scooping to your bin of colored Cloud Dough 
• Play, play, play!  

When your Cloud Dough is complete, try giving your child a number of fun challenges to further build their skills and vocabulary. Your child is incredibly smart! Try giving your kiddo the following prompts. You’ll be delighted to see their wheels turning. 

• Can you build a sandcastle? 
• Can you build a snowman? 
• Can you build a tower? 
• Can you trace your name or draw shapes in the crumbling dough?
• What happens when you use a different tool to scoop the dough into a cup?
• Which scooper holds the most dough? Which holds the least? 
• Is the dough heavy or light? 
• Is the dough thick or thin? 
• Can you describe the color? 

We hope your Cloud Dough experience is just heavenly! No matter how your dough turns out, the important thing is always the time spent together. Happy mixing, scooping, and molding to all our Bright Beginnings families!   

“Mind your manners.” As children, we heard these words on repeat. And if you’re like many parents out there, you use this line with your kids. We want our children to know the basic niceties (please, thank you, excuse me), and we pray that they don’t embarrass us at another child’s birthday party or on a playdate. But how do you teach these basic manners? The folks at parents.com have some excellent tips for us on how to teach table manners and skills like apologizing and sharing. But first let’s talk a bit about why manners count.

Good manners are a good habit

Have you ever found yourself saying “excuse me” after you sneeze, even when no one is around? This is because you’ve made good manners a habit. This is what we aim to do with our children. Teach your child to say things like please, thank you and excuse me at a young age. As they grow, this behavior will become instinctual!

Polite behavior will help your child’s social development

Children and adults like to spend time with people who have good manners. Consider working with someone in your office who didn’t say “excuse me” or “I’m sorry” when they bumped you in the hallway, sending your paperwork flying. Totally rude, right? The same goes for children. Children who don’t share with others are a pain to be around. Their friends don’t want to play with them and, odds are, other parents won’t want to invite them over. We need to arm our children with basic manners so that they can function successfully in the world. 

Learning manners is a lifelong education 

You can’t expect a child to learn all of their manners overnight. In fact, manners come in a developmental order. A 2 year old child is not going to be able to stay seated at the dinner table for long–it’s simply not age appropriate. However you can teach your child to say “hello” to new people and wave “goodbye,” which are great social skills. 

Your behavior counts

Children learn by example. If you forget to say excuse me when you skirt around someone in the frozen food section, your child will never learn what’s appropriate. Likewise, if you yell at the dog for tracking mud onto the carpet, you’ll find your toddler speaking sharply to their baby doll and stuffed bear. Show your child what’s expected by practicing good manners yourself.

Consistency is important 

Make sure that you’re following through when you’re enforcing good manners. You’ll also need to make sure that you and your partner are aligned in your expectations; if one of you allows shouting at the table and the other doesn’t, it will be much harder to make any meaningful progress. 

How to teach….

Basic table manners

• Offer you child food on a small plate
• Discourage him from throwing food on the floor
• Use prompts like, “we don’t throw our food on the ground”
• Encourage the use of utensils

Please and thank you

• Prompt your child by saying, “what do you say when someone shares their toy?”

Sharing

• Offer a child two toys and encourage he hand one to another child
• Use prompts like, “what do we do when a friend asks us if he can play with your race car?” 
• Use playdates as a good opportunity to teach sharing. Talk about sharing before the other child arrives

Apologizing 

• Discourage a child from snatching a toy by encouraging empathy (hitting hurts others)
• Prompt the child by saying, “when we hurt someone’s feelings we say we’re sorry”

If there is one thing we know about young children it’s that they love a great book.  In preschool classrooms, reading can actually be used as an effective behavior management tool. Need to divert a child’s attention? Read a book. Need to comfort a child in mid-meltdown? Read a book. There’s really nothing that captures a child’s imagination better than a good, old fashioned story. 

Reading should be available anytime and anywhere. A basket of books should be present in all areas of the home–the playroom, the bedroom, and, yes, even the potty! We encourage all families to make reading a central part of home life. Meaningful conversations about books with a trusted adult can lead to increased vocabulary, more sophisticated speech, and stronger ability to make detailed observations. But how do we accomplish this in the home? Try a read aloud! Children want to hear you read the words in a book and explain the story. Not only is it an entertaining activity, it’s a particularly soothing one. Guide them through it using this simple roadmap. You’ll be having a robust conversation about books in no time!

When doing a read aloud with your child….

Read the story

•  Show where you begin reading by pointing to the first word. Point out the directionality of the print on the page (top to bottom and left to right). Talk about the story. Discuss what is happening. 

Work on comprehension and retelling

• During and after reading the book, ask your child questions about the story. What? When? Why? Where? How?
• Ask about the predictions that they made and what the author’s ideas were. 
• Have them retell the story. Use words such as first, then, last, etc.
• Have them “read” the story to you using the pictures and the details they remember. Encourage them to point to each word as they read.

Read and Reread

• Read and reread the book with your child. Remember that while you might be growing tired of the story, your child isn’t. In fact, the pleasure they get from reading a story increases every time you read it. 
• Give your child opportunities to explore the book on their own! 

You are a powerful person in the life of your child, and what you do with your down time at home sets an example about priorities. When you prioritize books and reading in your home, you build a stronger reader. There’s no need to feel overwhelmed. A read aloud offers terrific structure that an adult can easily follow. The next time you lift the remote to switch on the TV, grab a book instead. You (and your child) won’t regret it!

Cooking for your family is a wonderful way to stay connected. Our lives are busy, and one of the first things to go is a seated meal at the dinner table. Nowadays, we often opt for fast food or frozen meals without high quality ingredients. Who can blame us? Unless cooking is your passion, it’s likely been a while since you made something from scratch. 

Penzey’s Spices, a popular cooking magazine, offers some fun, simple recipes that will motivate you to spend more time in the kitchen. The feeling of preparing something homemade is incredibly rewarding, especially when your kids think it’s delicious! Remember that the joy of cooking can be taught to a child by their parent, and their attitude often reflects yours. Try taste-testing some of these special sweet and savory pies. The whole family will be asking for seconds! 

SWEET PIE 

Grandma’s Great Aunt’s Apple Pie

Crust: Makes 2 nine inch pie crusts

• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• Dash of salt
• 2-2 1/4 cups flour (unbleached) 

Filling: 

• 7-8 apples
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons instant tapioca
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

Directions: 

Crust: mix together the butter, sour cream and salt. Work in the flour until the dough holds together. Knead lightly into two balls or discs. Roll out each ball so that it is bigger in diameter than your pie plate. Gently place one of the crusts in a 9 inch pie plate.

Filling: preheat oven to 425°. Peel and thinly slice the apples. Please in a bowl and add the sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Mix well. Let sit for 10 minutes and then spoon into the pie shell. Dot with butter. Cover with the second piecrust and crimp or flute the edges to seal. Cut small slits in the top crust to vent. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350° and continue baking for 30 minutes or until the crust is light brown and the apples are bubbly.

SAVORY PIE

Crab Pie 

**You will only need one pie crust for this crab pie. Feel free to use the crust recipe mentioned above. If you make this recipe with a frozen pie crust, be sure to let it thaw before you start.

Ingredients: 

• One unbaked pie shell
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Two eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 7-7 1/2 ounce can flaked crab (real or imitation)
• 4 ounce Swiss cheese, diced
• 4 ounce cheddar cheese, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
• Seasoning of choice 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl combine the mayonnaise, flour, eggs and milk. Mix thoroughly. Fold in the crab, cheeses, onion and seasoning. Spoon into the pie crust. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Let set for 10 minutes.

Whether it’s savory or sweet, there’s nothing like a home cooked meal. Let’s get cooking! 

At Bright Beginnings, we give the term strong writer a whole new meaning! The muscles in the hand are what makes holding a pencil possible. A child does not simply grasp a pencil one day and begin to write legibly. Rather children strengthen their grasp by building muscle tone. Thoughtful activities can help refine these skills and (thankfully) they can easily be disguised as play! We know children are highly motivated by games and interactions with their peers and adults. We can use this to our advantage. Before you know it, your child will develop the strong grasp they need to hold a pencil firmly. 

First, let’s talk about muscle tone. Muscle tone is the joint stability in the trunk, shoulders, wrists and hands. These are all important for hand skill development. A few tips for building muscle tone in your child’s hand might include:

• Working in an upright position. This helps strengthen the whole arm which is an important foundational skill for writing. Try drawing on a mounted chalkboard, using an easel for drawing, or drawing on the wall of your bathtub with soap foam or shaving cream. You can also try drawing letters and numbers in the air or use any toy that can be used in a vertical position. Think back to toys like Light Bright and the game Battleship. 
• Heavy work activities also develop hand muscles. These include push-ups and pull-ups, handstands, wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, swinging on monkey bars, climbing a ladder, and propping up on the forearms during TV watching or book reading. Your child likely loves to do these activities already. Encourage it! 

Now let’s talk about intrinsic muscles, or the small muscles of the hand. The intrinsic muscles in a child’s hand are responsible for movement, speed, and overall efficiency of the functional grasp. Without these muscles, we’re toast! As the hand becomes stronger, both the thumb side of the hand and the other side (the “power side”) grow more skilled. This is very important for hand dexterity. Try the following to strengthen these intrinsic muscles:

•  Snap fingers or spin a top
• Mold, roll, or play with clay or silly-putty
• Use a squirt gun or spray bottle
• Play games with cards, coins, pegs, or chips
• Work on stringing or lacing activities
• Use tweezers. A great game involving tweezers is Operation
• Use a hole puncher for art projects
• Rotate the hand by opening a jar lid or turning a door knob
• Practice dressing skills involving buttons, zippers, and snaps. Play dress up or dress your baby doll
• Use scissors, holding them correctly
• Play old fashioned games like Jacks, Pick Up Sticks, and marbles 

Who would have known so many simple (and fun) activities could lead to precision in handwriting? Try some of these activities. Your child will be a strong writer before you know it!