I was talking to someone about how rigid I am at bedtime.

A friend, who also happens to have a counseling practice chimed in….

She said one of the most common things she is treating is helping people sleep better.

Even as adults.

I have always told parents that if your child is not napping well, you should try putting your child down for a nap earlier.

I know that sounds crazy.

My child won’t sleep, so why would I put him/her down for a longer stretch?

I do not understand it myself, except that it works.

Children are able to sleep more easily when they lay down earlier.

They also do better on a very consistent routine.

I know how hard the routine part is, so we can just take it one day at a time.

The same holds true of bedtime even after they outgrow naps.

Try making bedtime earlier.

Test it out.

If you struggle to sleep as an adult, try going to sleep earlier, too.

Then report back to me.

Did it help?

Do you think I am crazy?

I do hope that we are able to talk more and be more supportive in our role as parents.

This is 15 minutes, and worth the time.

I have been hearing a lot about people who are “Redshirting” their children from Kindergarten.

(Side note: I am a big fan of the authors of the article)

But, today, I am going to focus on the other extreme.

Preparing your child for Kindergarten.

There are things you can do to help,

but please,

remember we are talking about Kindergarten.

Kindergarten ≠ College

Daily activities can help prepare your child for school.

Play games.

Go on letter hunts.

• Write letters on cards and hide them throughout the house, then try to find them all and put them in order
• Talk about a specific letter and look for it in as many places as possible throughout the house.
• Play memory with letters written on notecards

Count things

• Count the items as you are unpacking groceries
• Count peas, crackers, candy and other things as you are eating

Compare and sort things

• Sort buttons, beads, straws
• Play the “which one is different” game with household items

But,

please,

have fun.

Be positive.

If there is already pressure on your child at this age,

imagine how much pressure you and your child will feel

when grades will go on a permanent record.

That does not happen until 6th grade.

Writing is not something that should be mastered before Kindergarten.

Allow your child opportunities to scribble and write for play.

Set up a pretend restaurant and let your child write down your order.

Turn your couch into a doctor’s office and let your child make notes about your health and then write you a prescription.

Scribbling is fine.

I am not a fan of worksheets.

I do not think that gluing triangle shapes onto the letter “T” is going to help your child master the letter “T.”

Instead, talk about words that start with the same sounds.

Play rhyming games.

Play the broken word game.

The Broken Word Game:

You say each of the sounds of the word separate from each other and ask your child to put them together.

Your child should put the 3 sounds in the word cat together when you say them.

(Be careful not to add extra sounds, though.  Many people will say “KUH” instead of /K/ and that would make the word cuh-at, which would be harder to put together.)

And while I encourage you to provide opportunities for learning,

please

remember we are talking about Kindergarten.

Let the children enjoy being young.

November 26 at 5:30 p.m.

On this magical night, join us in the tradition of lighting the tree. Over 50,000 lights illuminate the largest Live Oak Tree in Cedar Park. After the tree lighting ceremony, the City of Cedar Park will host Santa’s Workshop. Enjoy live music, carriage rides, games & prizes, yule fire, food concessions, arts & crafts and Santa Claus. You can get your picture taken with Santa for $2  .Bring the whole family for what promises to be a festive evening. Free Admission.

There will be a coloring contest, and you can get your entry form here.

This event is listed on the Kid WHYs calendar here.

We hope to see you there!

Heritage Oak Park, 875 Quest Parkway, Cedar Park, TX

Friday, December 4th from 6:30 – 9:00 pm

The good news, is that I am excited about the new job

that I have been working for 3 weeks.

The bad news, is that it is an adjustment process,

so I am having a hard time keeping up with updates.

(Not that I have been the most active blogger out there,

but still.)

My calendar sits pretty empty.

But, I have taken on the role of

Family Ministries Director

where I lead both

the Mother’s Day Out

and Sunday School / Nursery.

I am really enjoying my new responsibilities,

and even though it is a big juggling act,

I am excited!

I have seen such great information on the internet.

First, a great video that every parent of a young child should see.

Then, a great article about creativity.

On a daily basis, I must battle parents and even teachers,

who believe that preschoolers should be

drilled and PREPARED for Kindergarten.

They want drills.

They want worksheets.

They want standards and schedules.

But, the result of all of this preparation?

Well, let the children speak for themselves:

this might come as a shock,

but I have really become a big fan of

anything that builds a sense of community.

I have even become a fan of communes

Okay,

maybe just the idea of one.

I am not sure I could really live in one.

But,

before I was a mom,

I was fiercely independent.

I had no problem traveling

anywhere in the world.

I loved meeting new people

trying new things

and

I would do it all alone.

Now

I want to do whatever I can to

help other moms feel less isolated.

See,

I moved to a new state when my daughter was 6 months old.

Goodbye old house

We did not know anyone.

But, I was moving with my husband,

which is more than I can say for previous moves.

So, I thought it would be fine.

We moved so I could stay home with my daughter.

And to help make it possible for me to stay home,

we gave up one of our cars.

So, I was home with my daughter

in a new state

with no car.

I enjoyed it at first.

I was having fun in my new role.

But I was beginning to feel isolated.

Not even a year later,

We got pregnant with our 2nd child.

That is when I first felt I needed more of a community.

Morning sickness is no fun

especially when there are no friends to help with the little one.

It only became more difficult when I had 2 little ones

and no support network.

I have made friends.

But there are still times I feel like I am in this alone.

I want to see more of a community.

I want to develop a place where children can learn and parents can connect.

I want to see a community that supports each other,

while still embracing independence.

How connected do you feel?

I will often be out in public and others will say things like,

“You must have your hands full.”

Often times, I appreciate that others understand

how difficult it is to raise young children.

Other times, though,

I wonder if I am presenting an image

that says I am struggling in my role.

I mean, early childhood is my passion.

Shouldn’t I look like I have it all together

when I am out in public

with my own young children?

Then, today, I received an email from a friend.

She wrote,

“I have to say that I just

don’t know how you get it all done.”

I appreciate that she thinks I do it all.

At the same time, I began to wonder

why we try so hard to present

a perfect image to others.

I mean, I understand

if you are trying to build a business,

you have to appear to know your stuff.

I know that if I look like I cannot parent my own children

it will be hard to get clients.

At the same time,

I want parents to understand that we all make mistakes.

We all say things out of frustration.

We all have children who are going to wear us down

at one point or another.

I do not want to present myself as the perfect parent.

I am passionate about children.

I am interested in learning everything I can about children.

I am not perfect, though.

I do want to teach my children

that I make mistakes.

I want them to understand

they will make mistakes, too.

I hope that we can become

comfortable sharing our imperfections

and become more supportive of each other.

I do not always want the grass to be greener

on the other side.

Instead, I want to appreciate my own grass.

Do you appreciate yours?