At Home
Asking for Playfulness
A post originally from two years ago, of a time when I “got it right” with playfulness, and with seeing “misbehavior” as a plea for playfulness. *** My 2yo and I were sitting at the […]
Toddlers
Elementary
At School
Prepare Them For The Future
Someone recently told me, “Ugh, I know that the 3yos in my preschool class are supposed to be wiggly and playful and loud and silly. But I know that they’ll have higher expectations in the […]
At Home
“Not Letting” Them Whine
This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. Someone recently asked […]
At Home
Pretend Babies
I sometimes see people ask things like “How can I increase connection with my child?” so I wanted to share one simple game/example that has meant a lot to me and my kids: I pretend […]
Activities
Tracing Flight Trails
A fine motor, pre-writing activity offer in my therapy gym today: dot-to-dots to make the “flight paths” of different airplanes, rocketships, and helicopters. You can customize this whichever way matches the child’s level of drawing/tracing […]
Child Development
Toddlers & Shame
It’s confusing to be a toddler. Toddlers often want to be “big kids” and be grown up (especially if they have older siblings)…but they may also really want to be “babies” and be taken care […]
Activities
Games That Don’t Require Moving
Listen, the parental exhaustion is real. I know this. AND, simultaneously, the children need to be in constant motion, like, 22 hours out of the day. I also know this. Meeting opposing sensory needs is […]
At Home
Early Opportunities: Protecting the Power of Play
I had the opportunity to speak about protecting the power of play to childcare providers at the daycare and youth program centers near where I work for my day job. This lecture covers play […]
Elementary
The Difference Between Play & Fun
This little piece of art by Lynda Barry stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw it: It’s so true! And it’s also true that it’s easy to forget as adults and classify […]