Sharing

Has your toddler learned what it means to share?  Confessions of a Wanna Be Stay At Home Mom shares a delightful story of her daughter's understanding of sharing.

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Back to Basics ABC 123 is providing small group home preschool classes.  Submit the form linked to the page to get more information.

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Is your 3rd grader ready to pass the reading standardized test this year?

Upcoming Arizona Childproofers classes

Two Year Olds

I read an article about a parent giving advice on how to avoid two year tantrums.  There was a lot of good advice but there were some things that I disagreed with.

She stated that it is best to stick to strict routines and rituals.  That is true, but you also don't want your child to go into a tantrum when something interrupts that routine or ritual.  Let's face it, life doesn't always follow a routine.  Things come up and and our plan for the day has to change and we need to teach our children not to throw a tantrum when that happens.

So, what is the solution? I have found when a child throws a tantrum it is because he/she feels like he/she is not being heard. They just want to communicate.  We want them to communicate so we need to let them.  Just because they tell us something or ask for something, it does not mean that they should get what they want. We, as the parent, can still say no to the request, but acknowledge that you understand what the child wants.

Not only that, but we need to also communicate to the child what we are doing.  When it is time to turn off the television, don't just turn it off, tell the child what you are going to do, "Okay, it is time to turn off the t.v." Or give a warning, "When this show is over I am going to turn off the t.v." and then tell the child you will turn it off just before you actually do.  A tantrum may still come but it will probably be less traumatic because you have communicated with the child.

If a child is begging for ice-cream, don't just say, "no."  Tell him/her why.  "I know you want ice-cream, but I am sorry, we don't have any," and then show the child that there isn't any.  "You can have ice-cream but first you have to finish your dinner," would be another option.

Of course every child is different.  Yes, have a routine so the child knows what to expect but also communicate with the toddler by listening, responding, and talking with the child.

Click this link to read more another article I wrote about toddlers and temper tantrums.  Be sure to view the list in order to read the whole article.

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-two-year-old-s-plight-a-first-struggle-for-independence

Things to do in Phoenix

Have you ever wondered what fun and inexpensive (even free) things  you can do with your young children in Phoenix?  This article gives you 10 different ideas of things you can do.  How many did you already know about?  How many have you already done?

When a Teacher Gets Pregnant share a story about a student finding out about her teacher's pregnancy.  How do you think the student reacted?  Go to this link to find out.

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Have you ever read, "The Whipping Boy"?  Good Books Worth Reading wrote a review of the book.  Check out this link to see if it something you would be interested in reading.

What do you know about cubic zirconia

Low Cost Styles posted a fact about cubic zirconia. Click this link to find out if it is something about cubic zirconia that you already knew. 

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans for sale!  Great for teachers and homeschooling parents.  Check it out.

Subscribe and Read

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Kindergarten

It is time for kindergarten.  Is your child ready?  This article states the problems with kindergarten.  Very interesting. . . Make sure click on the list so that you can read the whole article and learn about all the challenges of the kindergarten standards.

Good Deeds

What a wonderful story!  There ought to be more stories like this shared.  I get so sick of hearing about all the bad in this world.  This story will make your day! Enjoy reading it, I sure did.  

A Very Useful Article

This is a very useful article.  I will refer to it often.  Thanks http://christianpf.com!

Stay at Home Mom

Confessions of a Wanna Be Stay at Home Mom brings up some interesting thoughts on being a stay at home mom. Read the post then share what you think.

Preschool

Back to Basics ABC 123 is offering small group preschool classes.  Sign up before the classes fill up.

Tutor

Looking for a tutor for your child?  Check out Back To Basics ABC 123.

Keeping babies safe

Wow, there are lots of things that can be done to keep our babies safe.  Check out Arizona Childproofer's website to see all the things that can be done.  Then give them a call and find out what they can do to help you on your journey to keeping your child safe.

Public Restrooms

I am a huge advocate for saving water. Having lived in a desert or in a drought all my life, I know the value of water.  However, I find that public restrooms solutions to conserving water can not only be frustrating but a waste of water.

I don't know how many times I've gone to the bathroom at a public restroom and the toilet flushes before I am done.  One time it flushed 3 times before I was done.  I know it is disgusting when someone doesn't flush the toilet when they are done, but flushing 3 times for one person is a little excessive don't you think?  My favorite is when I am done and the toilet refuses to flush on it's own and then I have to find the button to flush it.  One time I couldn't find it.  I pressed everything, I waved my hand everywhere.  Nothing.  Frustrating.

Now, let's talk about the sink.  Sometimes they have the faucets that you press down and the water pours out for a predetermined period of time.  Sometime it is way too short and I have to press it more than once to get all the soap off my hands.  Other times, it keeps running long after I have finished washing my hands.  Then there are the motion sensor faucets.  Those are fun.  I often find myself waving all around the sink trying to figure out where the motion sensor is so that it will finally turn on.  Other times I get it to turn on but if I move my hand into a different position it will turn off.  Sometimes it will turn on but will run for a predetermined period of time and will turn off in the middle of my washing and I have to wave my hands around to get it turn on again.  Then some of them have the opposite effect, I am done, but the water is still running.

On to paper conservation.  .  .  Really?  Who really thinks that that small piece of nonabsorbent pre-cut piece of paper towel will dry my hands?  Do you know what I am talking about?  Those paper towel dispensers where you pull down on the paper towel or you wave your hand in front of the dispenser and a predetermined size of paper towel tears out.  If you actually washed your hands thoroughly one of those pieces really isn't going to do it.  However, I did notice that one was plenty for my 2 year old daughter.  My adult hands though need about 3 of those to collect all the moisture from my hands.

I know theses measures are not strictly for conserving water.  It also poses as a safety precaution.  I am grateful I don't have to touch things that others may or may not have contaminated due to not washing their hands.  I am a huge fan of efforts to not spread germs.

However, I find it ridiculous when only some efforts are made to prevent me to touch the germs of others but not every way.  Here is an example.  I can go into a bathroom where the toilet automatically flushes, the soap dispenser automatically dispenses the soap, the water automatically turns on, and there is an automatic hand air dryer to dry off my hands.  Then, when I go to leave the bathroom, there is a door exiting the bathroom in which I have to pull the door open, touching the handle of a door, in which someone could have come along, used the bathroom, not washed her hands and now I get to touch the same door she did.  Hmmm, so much for all that automatic "hands free" stuff I just went through.  Sometimes I am lucky and it is not a hand air dryer but there are paper towels and I can open the door with a paper towel in my hand.  The best restrooms are the ones where you push on the door to leave.  I can stand my back up to the door, push on it by walking backwards and turn to leave, without ever having had to touch the door with my hands.

I believe that if we can send a man (or woman - I like to refer "man" as in "mankind") into space, if we can take pictures of things in space hundreds of light years away, if we can make telephones that work like a mini computer, if we can store gigabytes of information in something no bigger than my fingernail, then why can we design a bathroom that effectively conserves energy, water, and stops the spread of germs?

Vegetables

Ever wonder how to get your toddler to eat his/her vegetables?  Read this article.  It has lots of great ideas and other links within the article to give you even more tips, tricks, and advice.

Daddy?

Children are so cute!  When A Teacher Gets Pregnant shared such a cute story about a toddler calling out for her daddy.