Toddler Tuesday: Questioning Edition

I work with first grade students, so the question stems that I ask my kids every day are very different than the ones I ask my toddler. One of the questions that parents always have for me is how can they help their child become a better reader. I usually tell them that the questions they ask help shape their critical thinking, communication, and comprehension skills.

For little guys, it's obviously very different, but there are still question stems that you can craft to specifically build these skills.

For working on language:

• What do you see? 
• What sound does he make? (pointing to an animal) 
• What's that called? 
• Can you find the letter A? 
• What's something that starts with SHH on the page? 

For working on spatial understanding:

• What shape is that?
• Where are the circles?
• How many squares are there? 

For working on critical thinking:

• Where do you think he will go? 
• What do you think will happen next?
• Do you think he will do that again?

For working on empathy: 

• How do you think she is feeling? 
• How would you feel? 
• Did he make a good choice? 
• Is he being kind? 

For working on comprehension:

• Where are they? 
• What happened at the beginning? end? 
• What was your favorite part? 

Studies have found that reading 14.2 minutes per day can drastically change a child's life. This starts right now! Even if they can't understand the book, they are learning vocabulary, how print works, and learning so many concepts! This is one of the most powerful graphics that I always show my parents. Fall is the perfect time to dig in with a good book too! Happy reading! 

Meal Tip Monday

Here's another meal tip from Fit4Mom! Looking for a yummy and nutritious breakfast or snack for you AND the kids? Try these!

Use up veggies or other leftovers in these protein-packed on-the-go breakfast cups. Kiddos love the handheld shape, moms love the nutrition and deliciousness inside. 

I pack these in R's lunch too. Pop them into a thermos and Bam! I like the silicone cupcake wrappers for making them. We throw anything that we have in them; cheese, onion, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, anything can go! Add the veggies first, then pour in the beaten eggs. Preheat your oven to 375 and cook for about 25 minutes or until they rise. To reheat, microwave for about 15 seconds. 

This tip was brought to you by Norfolk Fit4Mom. For more tips like this, like their facebook page. 

FedEx Field

We spent this past Sunday afternoon wet, cold, but excited at FedEx Field. The Redskins played our Green Bay Packers, and although the Pack lost, it was awesome to take our little man to his first game.

Some things to know if you take the trip up:
01. The NFL has outlawed all containers. This includes bottles. (Let's talk about how unfair this is to formula feeding moms... it makes me super unhappy.) It also includes diaper bags and sippy cups. You are allowed to bring in a clear bag- which the NFL "conveniently" sells, or you can do what we did and use a gallon size ziplock bag. It's cheap and it keeps the rain out. Just keep in mind, the NFL isn't the family friendly MLB, so be sure to take all snacks and liquids out. You also can't bring in a stroller to check anywhere.

02. Two and under are free. Once you enter, head to guest services to receive your lap pass for your little one. It's pretty painless. They also have wrist bands for kids of all ages to write their section and seat numbers in case they get lost.

03. It can get loud. We brought R's headphones just in case, but we ended up not needing them. Because it rained literally the entire time (drive up, tailgate, AND the game), the game wasn't crowded. But if your little one is sensitive to noise or you go to a rivalry game, you might want to bring them.

04. If you've got a kid who likes video games, check out the EA Sports Players Lounge on the club level. They have screens with Madden free and open for people to play. It's also inside and covered.

05. Family changing rooms are located near gates A and E on all levels.

06. If you're not drinking, sign up for the Good Sport program at Guest Relations. This will enter you to win prizes for being the designated driver. If you're just drinking soda, it might be more cost effective for your family to grab a bottomless soda at the concessions, rather than paying the $6.00 per soda. This is $10.00 for the game.

We had a great time. We talked to lots of cool people, and R shouted a whole lot of "Go Pack Go!". It makes me sad to know that neither of his grandfathers, who were both big sports fans, got to go with him, but I love knowing that he had a good time at the game. The Skin's apparently have some connection with choo-choo trains, because every ten minutes they seem to blow a train whistle, which was likely R's favorite part of the day! All that going on, and the train whistle still wins. Oh well!

She Works Hard for the Mommy

Happy Hump Day! Wednesday is for the working moms, and I've heard so many times from readers that they feel under represented in the toddler world. So many things are on weekdays, we don't get to participate, and it can sometimes suck. So, here is a new feature about local working mamas in Tidewater. My hope is to bring awareness to some locally owned mom businesses and learn how we all balance being a mama and working. Thanks Caytee for being my first feature!

I started my Etsy shop, Caytee Rose Designs in 2014, after the birth of my 4th child. Since I knew she would be my last child, I wanted a way where I could remember my last pregnancy. I searched Pinterest and of course, saw many beautiful hand-drawn pregnancy chalkboards. I knew my talents were more in graphic design then handwriting so I decided to create digital pregnancy chalkboards in Photoshop for myself, each week of my pregnancy. I shared them on my Facebook and all my friends and family loved them and suggested that I should try to sell them.

Once my daughter was born I decided to put my 15+ years knowledge of photoshop and graphic design to use and open an Etsy shop to help other moms remember their pregnancy, the way I had. I wanted to make it simple for the excepting mother. So, I created my service of digital chalkboards, where all the mother-to-be has to do is pose in front of any frame in her home for a picture, she then sends the picture to my Etsy shop and within 48 hours I photoshop a custom pregnancy board into her frame and send the picture back to her. Cutting out the hassle of printing and fitting it into a frame, we do all the work. I was so pleasantly surprised to find out this service was indeed in high demand and have worked with over 100 expecting mothers.

In 4 years, Caytee Rose Designs has grown into much more than pregnancy chalkboards, I also provide Child Birthday Boards, Adult Birthday Boards (perfect for those dirty thirty photoshoots), Pregnancy Announcement boards, Back to School Boards and Photo Editing. 

While my shop is certainly a blessing, I am sure every mom can relate to finding the time. Running an Etsy shop takes work, you always have to have new material and I promise every single client 48 hour turn around, no matter what is that you purchased. There are many nights where after running my 3 boys to 3 different baseball games and making sure my little girl got to her dance class, making sure all 4 are fed, bathed in bed, that I would stay up way past my bedtime and make sure every message was responded to, every client was happy and every listing looked perfect. But, for me, its worth every minute of it. Getting to work with a mother-to-be so closely for 9 months, on something as personal as a pregnancy is really an amazing thing. I have met some amazing, strong, beautiful women since I started my business. I love that my work can make a birthday party more beautiful, a photo shoot more fabulous, the first day of school more adorable and a pregnancy unforgettable.

Thanks Caytee! If you or someone you know is interested in participating in this series, contact me! 

On Saying Sorry

The Jewish high holy day of Yom Kippur was this yesterday. It's a hard one. We say sorry for all of the things we did wrong this year and admit to our wrongdoings and failures. In the afternoon we have the Yizkor, a memorial service for the mourning which is cathartic, but heartbreaking and sad. It's no secret that I've experienced loss this year, and this Yom Kippur was hard for me. But as I emerge from the year, I'm also looking at the lessons learned.

This year, it's important to say I'm sorry to my kids. I mean my son, but I also mean my students. I'm sorry to them when I'm having a hard day and my patience is wearing thin. I'm sorry when their feet don't move fast enough and I move them along. I'm sorry when I don't savor the minutes of laughter and snuggles. I'm sorry when I move away from the 19th hug of the day. (Although- sometimes this is at the end of the day, and that school bus doesn't wait!)

We teach our kids to say sorry all the time. You know the scene..."Bobby, give that ball back! Tell him you're sorry!". Your kid shouts a quick apology before running off to the next thing. But what does sorry really mean? It means that you are feeling empathy and distress for your wrongdoing, or for another person's feelings. It also means that you recognize that you were in the wrong, which is hard for kids, and harder for adults.  You're putting yourself in their shoes. It's a hard concept that we as adults don't fully understand, but often expect our kids to. We often make them apologize for things, but we should model that to them too. So to my son, I'm sorry that we don't get to spend as much time together. I really wish we could. I'm sorry that I get frustrated when you wont eat rather than just playing in the moment. I'm sorry that sometimes I am running late, so I push you to move faster. I'm sorry that I don't want to read the fourth book before bedtime. I'm sorry when I lose my patience.

Saying sorry, despite our pride, our self esteem, and our self-righteousness, lets our kids see that we can let our guards down and be vulnerable too. A new age of boys in particular are learning to show their emotions, which we should nurture and embrace. It also shows them that everyone makes mistakes. Even their perfect mamas who they look up to and idolize. So, this mama is going to try harder to apologize when I mess up.