Parent Education

Fall - Parent Ed Recap

How We Talk Matters

In September we kicked off the Parent Ed sessions with Janet Young and her presentation of “How We Talk Matters”. She discussed communication tools to use, her Top 5 Pearls of Wisdom and short phrases or questions to use with children. Her main takeaways were Less is More, giving children wait time and using natural / logical consequences. Letting the children lead and play often allows adults to gain more insight and lets the children truly explore and learn the way they need to.

Navigating Food with Kids

During a coffee chat in October local Nutritionist, Diana Lipson-Burge, spoke with us about the 5 mistakes we make in our child’s nutrition. She listed and explained the main 5 mistakes we sometimes make as parents and using the hunger scale to help feed children.

The 5 mistakes were:

1. Trying to control the what/how much/when your child eats

2. Disrespecting your kids’ feelings of physical hunger

3. Overlooking the emotions and feelings underlying kids eating patterns

4. Using judgemental or controlling words to describe food, exercise, yourself or anyone else.

5. Teaching that dieting, or any behaviors designed to control the look of one’s body, are healthy (physically or emotionally).

Bonnie Bruce “School Readiness”

Bonnie Bruce, co-founder of Chancy and Bruce Educational Resources, spoke about “School Readiness.” via Zoom in November. She has developed assessments and helps guide and answer our questions about “Is my child developmentally ready for Kindergarten at age five by September 1st of the current school year?” To watch the recording please click here. For more information about Bonnie Bruce and her company: http://www.chancyandbruce.com.

Speech and Language Parent ED

Sand Tots hosted Speech and Language Pathologist and former Sand Tot parent, Uma Kadekodi, in November. She brought her knowledge and insight of S & L milestones, developmental delays to watch for and ways to help students be successful in their S & L journey. Watch her recording here and she can be reached at umak.speechtherapy@gmail.com if you have any questions or need a consult.

Barnes and Noble Give Back Event
We danced and listened to stories with Sand Tots friends at Barnes and Noble in early December for a Give Back Event. Check out the fun pictures below! Thank you to all the families that joined and shopped to help support Sand Tots!

Children and Sleep Parent Ed
Joanna Port joined us via Zoom to discuss the top questions she gets regarding sleep and little ones. She chatted about stopping naps, transitioning to big kid beds, not staying in bed at night and letting go of pacifiers. She had great tips and ways to help your child be successful so they can get a good night's rest and you can too! Check out the recording here and if you have follow up questions or want sleep help, contact Joanna via email joanna@crestwoodhillscoop.org.

5 Basic Steps of Conflict Resolution Parent Ed
Janet Young, former co-op director and founder of Playful Designs presented the 5 Basic Steps of Conflict Resolution. She discussed tips and tricks to help guide and teach our little ones to problem solve and work through conflicts with peers and siblings, both at home and at Sand Tots. Click here to access her PDF. She also hosts other parent education talks and is always willing to help 1:1. You can find more information at her website - https://www.playful-designs.com/

Video Recording of Presentation

Here are other resources and recommendations she gave for learning how to best support our developing children.

Susan North - The Opposite of COMBAT: A Parents' Guide for Teaching Siblings How to Collaborate and Solve Their Own Conflicts - Amazon- https://a.co/d/hqbLY7A

Eleanor Reynolds - ”Guiding Young Children” 2000

John Gottman - ”Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVDMATVzhTk

The Skill of Listening - Active Listening http://centerforparentingeducation.org

Coming Up in 2023!

Sun Safety
Conflict Strategies
Pattie Fitzgerald - Safely Ever After