Young Scholars Academy

Where Children Develop a Love of Learning

 5815 Tutt Center Point - Colorado Springs, CO 80922
 (719) 522-9099
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Sanctimommies

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We all know the type. Perfect hair, perfect makeup, impeccable house, above average children who could do no wrong. She’s the perfect mom and has made all the right choices leading to this. Underneath? She’s a mess. She’s doing her best just like the rest of us, but chooses what to put forth as an indicator of how her life is going. And while so many of those moms convey these perfect lives on social media, they do a fair amount of judging right along with it. Sanctimommies. Mom-shaming.

Here’s the thing: social media traps so many of us into thinking we need to strive to be just like her when the fact is that we’re all going to do the very best with the information and tools we have. You know the stuff I’m talking about. Breastfeeding versus formula feeding, birthing, sleeping arrangements, discipline, the list goes on and on. All these “experts” who think they know what’s best for everyone.

Don’t get me wrong, I have my own preferences as a mom and I’m not shy about them. Some of those preferences shape who I am as a teacher. I do things a certain way with my own boys. But, my preferences simply CAN’T be the preferences for every mom and every child. And let’s be real, I’m not perfect and in most of my own social media posts you’ll see messy faces, toys all over, and some spectacularly wonky hair.

So what can be done when these perfect social media sanctimommies attack? First, remember that social media isn’t real life. Sure you can find a wealth of information, recipes you’ll never make and craft ideas you’ll never complete, but not all that information is helpful, correct, or inline with your situation. You can’t convince anyone who doesn’t want to learn anything new, so don’t stress it.

Second, know that absolutely no one can make you feel shame or guilt except yourself. If someone is telling you something about your parenting choices and you know that you made the right decision for you and your family with the information and tools you had, that’s all you need to know. You owe the internet trolls nothing.

Last, it’s not about what your life looks like to everyone else on the outside, but about how it feels to you and your children. I promise you I don’t look back at my childhood picture albums and focus on the stuff in the background. I look at the smiles and the experiences that were captured. That’s what matters.

Black History Month In Preschool

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Putting new ideas in front of our children can be scary, but why are we afraid of diversity and seeing other’s points of view past and present?

This February I challenge each of you to teach your children some history; specifically, Black History. From this I hope that you feel like expanding your children’s (and possibly you own) minds to be open to learning about many different cultures, races/ethnicities, and ways of life.

It is easy to think that teaching history to children younger than five years old is way over their heads, but it’s not. Just like all concepts you find ways to teach your children in ways that they will understand; same thing applies here.

The best way to start off would be by reading some age appropriate books; that will give you an idea of where to start, some vocabulary to use, and figure out what you want to focus on. Reading a book first will give children visuals; which most need because they have not learned any other ways of learning yet. They need the visuals and hands on learning. Which is not what you think of when you think of teaching history. You’re going to have to stretch out of your box. Buy some of these books and music to make a part of your permanent collections. Here are some fun ways to experience Black History and diversity:

Crank up some tunes by:

  • Michael Jackson
  • Stevie wonder
  • Ray Charles
  • Beyoncé
  • Whitney Houston

Talk about famous icons like:

  • Harriet Tubman
  • Martin Luther King Jr.
  • The Obamas

A couple of great books and authors for young children:

  • Vashti Harrison has written Dream Big Little One, Little Legends, and Little Dreamers
  • All the Colors We Are by Kate Kissinger
  • Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff
  • How my Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman

While having these experiences and learning allow your children to ask any questions that they have and give them answers. Explain how people were once separated from one another by the color of their skin. Tell them about the people that had the courage to stand up and say it was not fair. How strong women and men have fought hate to make equal rights for all people. The more you open your hearts to all people into your homes the less drastic conversations will have to be about diversity. Making it a normal part of your daily lives will grow kind and loving adults in the future.

Making Toothbrushing Fun!

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Since February is dental health month, I wanted to share some tips on how to help your preschooler do a great job at brushing their teeth. Sometimes preschoolers will get into a phase of not wanting to brush their teeth or are one who rushes the task. Getting children excited to brush their teeth and take care of them correctly is important for their dental health. Here are a few tips that may come in handy when trying to complete the daily task.

In order to make sure that the appropriate amount of time is being spent brushing, using some sort of a timer system will be very helpful. The recommended two minutes that kids should be brushing can seem to be an eternity to them. Grasping the actual amount of 2 minutes is a more advanced concept. So, using some sort of timer will help distract them and keep them brushing for the entire two minutes. We use a smiley face kitchen timer at my house! I wanted something kind of silly so he would be interested in the countdown process. We set the timer together and he likes to watch it spin and loves to keep brushing until the bell goes off! So far his interest has stayed, if it were to fade I would try using a sand timer instead to change it up. Amazon carries different sized sand timers which are engaging to kiddos. Using a larger sand timer would be such a great thing to have to make the passing time go by faster for them.

Aside from using a countdown you could also sing a song to your child while they brush. As they are learning to brush, there are a few fun toothbrushing songs out there that kids really seem to love. You can find them online with a quick search, one of our favorites is the Elmo brushing teeth song. As your kiddo is brushing, you acting silly and singing will keep their mind off what they are doing. Another way is to brush your own teeth with you preschooler. Make it into a copy-cat game, both brushing the same way at the same time.

I think the biggest way to encourage great dental care is simply by making the task of brushing teeth fun! Get your child excited about brushing their teeth. Make them feel like it’s a fun treat to pick out a new toothbrush (I mean, I’m still jazzed a little when I get to pick out a new one). Make it a fun part of the routine at bedtime and in the morning. Connect with them, sing, and be silly! If you make their dental health a fun time to connect, they will have a better chance at being cavity free!

4 Simple Steps to End Sibling Rivalry

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For kids, expressing frustration often translates to misbehavior. What they can’t express verbally, they make up for in actions and erratic behavior.

Children seldom do well with sudden changes. Anything that shakes up their routine is a threat. And that includes younger siblings when they suddenly come along.

An older child who’s had all the attention to himself all his life may realize he no longer gets the same privileges as when he was still an only child. These sudden changes and lack of attention can unwittingly brew resentment toward their younger siblings.

If not addressed properly, that can end up in sibling rivalry. 

Although this may be a common occurrence in families with more than one child, sibling rivalry can put a lot of stress on the relationship of the members within the household.

Taking steps to prevent (if not completely eliminate) sibling rivalry can help keep harmony, not only among the kids but also to everyone in the family. Here are a few simple steps to get you started.

 

Drop the labels

Children placed in categories such as who’s the smart one, who is athletic, who is friendly, and who is shy, will develop tendencies to box themselves into that single category and not strive to do anything or be anything else.

Apart from that, competitions arise when labels are involved. So drop the labels whenever possible to help eliminate competition and sibling rivalry among your kids.

We understand how handy it is to drop the name of a sibling who has accomplished something to urge the other kids to the same. But comparisons are what’s keeping the family dynamics toxic so leave the labels out of your conversations when speaking about your children and let them thrive, each in their own ways, without judgement.

 

Teach conflict resolution

While timeouts may help diffuse a situation and allow children to reflect on their actions while facing a wall alone, role-plays are a more effective method for teaching your children ways to resolve conflict on their own.

This may include:

  • situations wherein they ask permission or respond appropriately when taking turns,
  • using “I feel” statements to express their emotions verbally instead of lashing out when frustrated,
  • finding ways to cope with their temper such as counting to ten, taking long deep breaths, or walking away to get themselves out of the situation that triggers it.

Routinely check up on your other kids

Children are always inclined to seek their parents’ attention. They’ll aim to get it through any means they can, even if they have to cause trouble for it.

Babies are sure to be in more need of your careful attention but when you have other kids around the house, be sure to check up on them from time-to-time to make sure that they don’t feel left out.

Try to involve them in caring for their little sibling by asking them to do simple things they feel their sibling would be grateful for. 

Also try to schedule some alone time with your older kids on a regular basis. Ask them what they want to do and let them call the shots for a limited time. This is where you will also commit to giving your undivided attention to them for that certain period. 

What’s great is that this keeps you in the loop of what they’re up to, helps maintain your parent-child relationship, and fills in for the moments you couldn’t be there for them when you are busy caring for your little one.

 

Let them work it out on their own

In the heat of the moment, there’s one thing a parent should keep in mind: try not to get involved in the squabble!

Children have a lot of petty fights. It’s pointless to jump in and try to fix these at all times. Giving attention to these little fights only tolerates the bad behavior, leaving you with endless explanations for what started which and who did what.

This isn’t good behavior and mustn’t be tolerated so don’t bother wasting your energy fixing these. So long as no one is in danger of getting physically injured, the best way to handle them is to move out of the room and let them work out the conflict on their own.

 

Looking for more parenting tips? Visit youngscholarsacademycolorado.com for more! And if you’re preparing for your child’s early education in the Colorado Springs area, Young Scholars Academy’s preschool programs create an engaging learning environment with fun activities and unique scenarios that create lasting memories for young kids. Our family takes care of your family with the best child care! Please feel free to call 719-419-8418 to schedule your tour of the classrooms or visit https://youngscholarsacademycolorado.com for more details.

Introducing Financial Peace Junior into Your Home

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As you have probably heard your preschooler talk about Financial Peace Jr. or Junior himself recently, I wanted to give some suggestions on how to incorporate this program into your home. Over the past few weeks the kiddos have been introduced to new financial vocabulary including bank, store, money, work, spend, save, give, and dept. We have presented new concepts to the kids about the financial world and how to distribute money they earn. Lots of wonderful conversations have taken place and they have shown growth in understanding the concept of working and earning money. Bringing this program into your own home is an easy and beneficial system to have in place.

The first step is to establish what jobs or chores you would like your child to do in order to earn money. Working is the first step of the program that we covered. The students all have one job to do for the day, if they choose to do their job-they get paid. If they choose to NOT do their job, they do not get paid. We tried to make the concept super simple—Working = payment. Just as in the real world, when you show up and do your job, you earn a paycheck. So, at home for this area you need to establish chores you and your child agree upon that they will complete and then get paid for. Some chores may be expectations within your family, so they would not be paid. Establish the frequency of the jobs and the payment amount for completing each job as well. Establishing clear guidelines and walking through the entire process will be very helpful to make sure your child understands the expectations and process.

To help keep track of the jobs completed and payment you will want to set up a job chart in your home. You could simply handmake one or find a template you like online. If you want to be able to reuse the chart every week rather than making/printing a new one, just laminate the chart or easily use a page protector for simple wipe off with dry erase markers. Make sure that you and your child are marking the jobs completed or not completed each time. Follow up with conversations if they do not complete their job-What happens next? Do they still get paid? Encourage your child to try again tomorrow and remind them of the motto Hard Work = Money! Follow up with praise and support when jobs are competed! Make it a big deal so they will be eager to continue to do their jobs.

Next, you will need to set up the envelope system of how your child will divide up their money according to the guidelines in FPJ. For the preschool age group at school, the kids can earn $5 a week for doing their job every day. The program encourages them to split up their money as follows: Give-$1, Save $2, Spend $2. Now, this is a newer part of the program we are just now exploring so your child may still be trying to figure splitting up their earnings. Once each envelope gains larger values, spending that money accordingly will follow. Giving could be donating to a local charity, buying supplies to donate to a cause, or buying supplies in order to make something for others. Savings will go to whatever treat your child has had their eye on and spending will go to the little extras they may want to purchase. For example, have your child bring their spending money to the movies, have them take responsibility in buying the candy they want if you agree to only buy popcorn. Setting up the envelope system helps kids to establish how to prioritize their money now, which will greatly help them in the future.

Having your preschooler practice the Financial Peace Jr. program at home not only reinforces what they are learning at school, it is helping to build a foundation for future smart financial making decisions. Why not provide this wonderful opportunity? Bringing this program into your home will be so beneficial for the entire family! Practicing smart money making decisions now, will only lead to bright futures later!

-Ms. Whitney
Curriculum Coordinator
Lead Prekindergarten Teacher