Maternity leave has taught me a few lessons this time around that I didn’t learn the first time around. The most powerful of those lessons is NO ONE has this parent thing figured out to perfection. Second- EVERYONE has an opinion on what you are doing and if they believe it is right or wrong. The best place to go if you want unsolicited advice or to feel judged is the playground or community park. (We all judge so we might as well as get that out of the way.)

Let me start this off with a positive. We are all trying our best and just hope to get our kids through this crazy thing called life. Our kids don’t need the breast over the bottle. It really doesn’t matter if we choose co-sleeping or separate room arrangements. Our children will survive if they don’t have organic everything.

All our children need in this crazy adventure that us parents have chosen to go on, is guidance and love. Yes, we need to make sure they have the essentials of life but when it comes to everything else love and guidance is all they want and truly need from us.

Guilt is a powerful thing that will consume your happiness and make you question everything in a matter of moments. (okay at least it does to me) As a parent I am constantly questioning- am I doing it right? Am I damaging this poor kid(s) by the choices I am making? I don’t usually openly say that I am concerned or questioning my choices. I truly believe in faking it till you make it. Especially in this parenting adventure.

I sit at the park letting my tiny little adventurer run up the slide, jump off the top tier of the platform and am embracing the energy that is my spazzy child. I take the parent approach of free range and reasonable risk. I live by the notion of if he doesn’t fall or fail how will he know to get back up or try again.

I don’t even realize the mom group that has formed at the picnic area next to me till I start hearing the whispers and the “don’t climb the slide that is not how we use it.” This is where I stop and cringe and try to not be that crazy mom or teacher going off the deep end about why it is okay for them to climb the slide or take a little risk. (This is where my judging comes in) We all parent different and we all have different notions on what is acceptable and what is not.

I can’t even pretend to be an exclusion of the parent shaming, judging every move another parent makes. I do and I even judge myself as I am doing it. There is no perfect parenting style or way. If there was we would all own the book and have saints of children and no tantrums or behavior issues. However, that book has not come out yet. It most likely won’t anytime soon. Not only because there is no perfect way but because each child is different in their own amazing way. So, there can’t be one way parenting.

So how do I deal with being the parent guilted from the choices I make? I pick my emotional battles. I realize that no matter what I love the tiny humans I brought into this world. I conclude that if I guide them to kindness and love them it will all be okay. I choose to let it go and try to be more understanding as I am standing at the park being the black sheep that didn’t pack the organic snacks or bring the sunscreen. I choose their happiness and my emotional sanity.

I also promise to work on my own judgmental ways and remind myself that we are all on this journey together and have various solutions to making it through this parenting thing.  And for a giggle, watch and enjoy!

 

With summer pushing half way over it’s time to renew that drive to keep reading! Like many goals, it’s easy to become tired of our goal and feel like quitting. We don’t feel like it’s getting us anywhere or we are just bored with the same old routine.  Now is the time to change things up a little to keep from getting tired of our goal to read every day.

Maybe now would be an appropriate time to read aloud to someone instead of reading alone to ourselves. If you’ve been spending time reading aloud to your children, maybe it’s time to add reading a book for yourself. Change things up completely or just add something new to your routine.

Look for a new author that you’ve never read before or pick up a book from your favorite author that you haven’t read in a while. Try an old classic or maybe even the latest trend in books. Even apps such as Audible are a great tool for busy parents!

Most of my life, I’ve read the same four authors or so. I really enjoyed their books and would switch between them. In high school, however, I was “forced” to read outside my box and I really thought each time that I would hate the book because it wasn’t by one of my favorite authors.

I was surprised each time because I found that I liked the classics. “Where the Red Fern Grows”, “The Scarlet Letter”, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” were all books that I thought I would hate, but ended up loving!

Every now and again a series of books come along and everyone wants to read them. I’m not one to follow the crowd and many don’t appeal to me but once I tried a popular series and loved it. My son wanted to read the Hunger Games series and I wanted to know what he was reading. The series seemed to be interesting and so I read it along with my son. We both ended up loving it and because we read it about at the same time we had something to talk about together. If you have teenagers or remember being a teenager then you know, having something to talk about with your teenage child can be remarkable.

Trying something new renews your goal to read every day and it may give you something to share with someone you love. It’s hard sometimes to keep up with long term goals; short term goals are generally more rewarding, or at least they feel like they are.

In truth, though, following through with a long-term goal can be even more rewarding. It gives you more of a sense of accomplishment then short-term goals do. Maintaining a long-term goal, such as reading every day, helps you feel good. It helps you to realize you are doing something good for yourself and others if you are reading aloud to someone.

In June, I challenged you all to read every day this summer and to encourage your children to do the same. June is over, and July will go just as fast! Before you know it we all will be back into the school routine with our children and may feel that there is less time.

Take this time to stay in the routine of reading every day and you will find that it is easier to continue come this fall. Do not let boredom with your routine get you down, change it up. Keep it interesting and keep reading.

Ms. Cheryl
Literacy Leader, Early Childhood Educator
Young Scholars Academy

At a young age I was conditioned to live fast. It started in elementary school when I kept up with grades by doing homework in the car, traveling with a nationally competitive basketball team.

I continued that busy trend in middle school; I became a member of student council, I held an honors GPA, I joined a forensics team (acting, speech, and debate), sang in the highest level of school choir, and I participated in sports teams each season.

I did all of that as an early teen while learning how to maintain friendships and not lose sight of family. For me, high school was no different, with sports, grades, relationships, choir, and now I added in work and volunteer projects to my schedule.

This fast paced life was something I was taught to achieve and a lifestyle many applauded. Looking back on it all I am not sure how I pulled it all together, but I did, day in and day out, yet I never felt it (I) was enough.

My life stayed busy even when I became pregnant at a young age. Up until 20+ weeks pregnant I worked over sixty hours a week, took on 15 credit hours at school, and maintained a few activities from before. Then, at twenty years old I had my son and I felt like I needed to keep at this busy pace all while learning how to be a single mom. I felt like if I didn’t keep going people would start to judge my work ethic or character differently.

However, life had other plans for me. I quit my job when Isaiah was born because I couldn’t afford infant care and the child care facilities around me weren’t accepting government help. Losing an income meant I lost my gym membership and other activities that require money.

I gave up a lot of hobbies and stayed home with my little one. The only thing I kept at was my schooling, but even that took a hit because I took on a smaller work load. Suddenly, my life wasn’t so busy and I was surprisingly content with that.

After eight months of staying home, I finally got a job as an infant teacher at a local daycare and my son was welcome to come with me. I finally got some of my groove back adding work to my new schedule of motherhood and school. I stayed at that pace for a couple years and I found inner peace, I enjoyed the busywork that came with school and a toddler, and work helped keep my mind off of my anxiety, yet I had just enough time for ME. I began to do things I enjoyed again and giving myself that time made me a better mother, teacher, and student.

I graduated university in May of 2016 with cum laude honors, working full time (majority of my five years), and being a single mom throughout. When school ended, I fell into a worried mindset, knowing school helped keep me busy and my mind focused. I scrambled for things to fill the void, as I am conditioned to do.

I got a new job with new goals and then I applied for a leadership position, I bought a house and now would be the sole caretaker of household deeds, I started a side business, and I revved up my volunteering. I thought to myself, “I used to do everything so juggling this time should be easy!”

Unfortunately, I was mistaken because my mental health started to dwindle and I felt myself questioning every decision. It took me a few months to realize that I am completely okay with a “slow” paced life. To me, university work, single mommin’, and work was a perfect pace. It kept me busy while giving me time to make me and my relationships a priority.

Now, I’ve learned a capacity I can mentally handle and I am 180% okay with others looking in thinking that my life is simple in comparison. I’ve learned that I am not living my life for the outside world to tell me I am enough. I don’t need 60 hour work weeks plus a billion side jobs to keep me going.

Just recently I’ve slowed down, and I am PROUD of it. I am not lazy or unmotivated, I have merely chosen to live my life differently from what the world says, and I’ve found peace in that. For me, it makes being in the now more attainable… and the now is so good.

My one hope for everyone is they find their pace. It takes a lot of trial and error, and I am sure I will continue to adjust my pace as I continue on in life. But learning just how much you can handle is a relieving sense I cannot begin to describe. I believe the boundaries I set aide in my overall well-being, making me a better teacher, mother, friend, daughter, and more.

Everyone has a different pace; some live a fast life and some choose to live slow. My one message is that YOUR pace is meant for you. I encourage you to find it and don’t let anyone tell you, it’s not enough.

~Ms. Caitlin
Wellness Coordinator
Young Scholars Academy

Summer is upon us, but for early childhood this is simply a new chapter in our adventures. We are here year round, rain or shine. Our focus of what we expect from ourselves to give back to the children does not change hardly at all transitioning from school year to summer time.

Yes, we often have new children and new responsibilities, but at the end of the day we are still here to help children develop their cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, and social interactions and most importantly have FUN! Early childhood lays the ground work for the next 13 years of schooling. Making a positive impression now will have a much more positive impact on all of the other years of school.

As teachers and parents we need to remind ourselves that learning should always be fun, and that learning does not have to be fancy. Any item in a room can strike an interest or conversation. Depending on how the adult chooses to introduce things to children plays a huge part in what kind of understanding that child will take with them.

Answering your three year-old’s one-thousandth question of the day is maddening, but the benefit your child takes away from that moment could be the life changing one. To a small child the whole world is a new and exciting; they are soaking up every inch of it.

Whether you realize it or not young children are gathering as much information as possible, and growing all of those connections in their brains. The 5+ year old kiddos that we have for the summer are using and pruning what they have learned in the past five years or more to get the best picture of their world.

Summer can be a fun yet stressful time for all. There are new adjustments to make, and you know that they are temporary. However, many parents can feel afraid that their children will lose all of the progress that they have gained over the school year.

This is a legitimate fear, so let’s alleviate that fear. This can be avoided in many ways: find your child a great summer camp like the 3 different ones offered at Young Scholars Academy! This will ensure that your child is getting time to work both their minds and bodies in a safe and social setting.

In addition to this, do simple things at home to keep them from turning into the ever dreaded “couch potato”. Here are some simple and cute baking activities to try from the Food Network: Recipes Kids Can Make

These recipes will range from some work to no work on the adult’s part depending on the age of the children. With younger children have them stir and lick spoons! Just them being included, spoken to, and getting to watch, and touch the process is enough to have their brains firing in all directions. With somewhat older children trace your finger along the words of the recipe as you read, and have them help measure things out.

For older children let them read the recipe and do the preparations (including cutting, cracking eggs, or handling the heating device). This will simply only require your attention for safety and help if needed. Just be engaged with your kiddos the entire time. Once the cooking is done does not mean that the learning is done. If possible extend this activity to an outside dinner setup, or create a snack stand.

Summer comes and goes very quickly so make the most of it by having fun. Each fun activity will have teaching moments. If you are doing things with your children and giving them the attention that they deserve, then nothing learned in previous school years will be lost in a few months of excitement. Get out and enjoy a hands on summer with your kiddos!

~Ms. Brooke
Curriculum Instruction Coordinator
Early Literacy Leader