A fresh new year is upon us. Let us resolve to make 2015 a year of connection and love with these 5 resolutions.1. Make your marriage a priority. Research shows that happy marriages make happier kids. Rekindle the romance by flirting, being playful, going on dates, or just spending time alone once the kids are in bed. It's easy to let the hectic parenting...
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One Child, One Life ...
It’s easy to get caught up in the busy holiday season and to sometimes forget what is most important … nurturing our children. As parents, the window of opportunity for providing a loving, supportive environment is only open for a short time. Use that time wisely. Do not take anything for granted involving their education, their social-emotional development...
Ten best Gifted Education articles of 2014: Informative, controversial and enlightening
Whether aimed at defining giftedness, championing educational rights, or understanding what enhances or limits academic growth, the internet was flooded with powerful articles in 2014. The best of the bunch targeted advocacy and what it means to be gifted. I have selected the ten articles that I felt were the most meaningful and enlightening. Some...
Can I Do Montessori at Home?
The Montessori Method of education was founded in 1907 by Dr. Maria Montessori, the first woman in Italy to become a physician, which she achieved in 1896. In 1901, she gave up her work in the clinic and studied philosophical education and pedagogical pathology. Dr. Montessori based her educational methods on scientific observation of children's learning...
Being gifted is not a choice
Being gifted is not a choice.Yet another article has been published implying that parents can determine whether their child is gifted. In the author claims that "gifted children are as common as muck...hailing from the leafier suburbs," and goes on to pronounce, "I don't want a gifted child."While the author later points out helping a child successfully,...
5 Ways to Bolster Your Child's Emotional Intelligence
Talk about feelings.Describe how sadness, happiness, anger, and other emotions feel in the body. Teach your child to recognize and name emotions as she feels them. You can do this beginning when she is very young by saying, “You look angry. Your face is red, and your body is tense.” As she grows older, talk to her about how to handle her emotions....
Unique Gifts for Little Ones - Holiday Gift Guide 6 from CreativeChild
If you're looking for unique, creative gifts for the little ones on your list, I have a wonderful gift guide for you full of great gift ideas. Check out a few of the items in this guide:Hi, I’m I provide kids and techies an expressive way to learn and play with robotics in a variety of social and interactive settings. I come to life when you create...
There is life after high school - even for gifted teens
What can gifted teens expect after high school? Finally relieved of tedious routines and underwhelming classes, gifted students are no longer faced with the . They may be able to reignite the love of learning that vanished during their school years.For gifted teens, that is challenging and stimulating is critical. While not every gifted...
Preparing Children for a New Sibling
Welcoming a new baby into the family is an exciting time. It can also be a difficult transition for your older children. Here are some tips for making the transition to big brother or big sister easier.During Pregnancy:1. Read a lot of books to your child about babies, birth, and being an older sibling.2. Encourage connection to the new baby by involving...
Holiday Shopping Made Easy - Gift Guide #5 from CreativeChild
Another wonderful gift guide is here from CreativeChild, full of imaginative gifts for all the children on your list. Here are some highlights from issue #5. – The Crazy 8's Reading Card Game Ages 4 & up / 2-8 players / 10 minutes to play Crazy A's (formerly called Whizizzle Phonics) is a fast-paced phonics game series that teaches...
Teach Emotions Through Play and More in Holiday Gift Guide 4
I have been loving these holiday gift guides from ! They are stuffed with creative gift ideas you wouldn't normally find. Here are a few of my favorites from guide #4!!Emotional health lays the foundation for all other learning. Your kids express feelings while doing what they love best — Play!Big, cushy, comforting Meebie has swappable parts...
Ten essential tips to help your gifted teen plan for college
Gifted teens typically receive little help with college planning from their schools. Efforts to improve gifted education tend to focus on what happens in class. And just as their learning needs are frequently ignored in the classroom (they'll do just fine; they’ll learn on their own!), it is often assumed that with their smarts, they will easily get...
10 Ways to Connect With Your Child
Being deeply connected to our children is the key to emotional health, cooperation, influence, and peaceful homes, but staying connected in the hustle and bustle of daily life can be challenging. We have to be intentional about our relationships with them now if want these relationships to flourish for years to come. Here are 10 ways to connect with...
How to Create a Peaceful Home
I truly believe that peace on earth starts at home, and that's why my website and my books have one focus, to promote peace in families. Peace must begin inward ; we must first find peace in ourselves. We can then extend that peace to our partners and children, onward to other family members and our communities, and peace will then have a ripple effect...
Ways to Give JOY on Your Child's Birthday
Love-bombing my children on their birthdays has become a favorite family tradition. My husband remembers with fondness how each year when he was growing up, the birthday child would wake up to getting his or her nose buttered by the rest of the family. I remember the joy of feeling celebrated when my parents smothered the house in balloons and decorations....
Gifts to Inspire and Encourage! Holiday Gift Guide #3 from CreativeChild
It's time for holiday shopping, and these gift guides from CreativeChild Magazine offer up the perfect gift ideas to encourage and inspire your little one!Here are some of my favorites from issue #3! has 3 mazes in 1! This can be used standing, sitting, alone, or with friends. Promotes balance!Meet NEA, CAZI, SAM and LACI. These are each blessed with...
Connection-Based Discipline
In my previous article, , I discussed the separate roles of the upstairs and downstairs brain. We know now that children learn best when they feel calm and connected. We understand that upset, out of control children have little to no access to the part of their brain that houses logic, reasoning, and sequential thought. They simply cannot “think about...
Why Connection is the Parenting Key
To understand why connection is the parenting key, we must first understand a bit about the brain. For a simple explanation, let's talk in terms of the downstairs brain and the upstairs brain. The downstairs brain, fully functioning at birth, is the primitive part of the brain. This controls the body's vital functions such as breathing, temperature,...
Holiday Gift Guide #2 from CreativeChild!
CreativeChild has done it again! The gift guide for the book lover and the CD, DVD, and film fanatics is here (and the future robotics engineer!), chock full of educational gifts for the wee ones on your holiday lists.Here are a few of my favorites from the guide:Can you believe the cuteness of this ? Perfect gift for the child with an unusual...
Quarter of a Million Fans Celebration!
People!We are nearly a quarter of a million parents strong! That is truly amazing, and to show my gratitude, I'm giving away a LOT of stuff! Stay tuned to d, because when we reach the 250,000 likes milestone, there will be a blitz of giveaways on the !Here's what I'm giving away:1 copy of from Hands Free Mama is the digital society’s answer to finding...