Parenting Articles

it's a great time to take a hike

It’s A Great Time to Take a Hike with Our Kids

By / 3 minutes of reading

Here we are at Thanksgiving month, heading into what many of us consider the major holiday season. We’re getting ready to focus on food and gifts and celebrations. Winter is setting in for many of us, and our thoughts about outdoor activities may be changing with the season. Some of us are excited about snow activities, and some of us are ready to hibernate for the winter. But even with the holiday craziness approaching, there are other things to think about. Our everyday lives continue, and we have a chance to get in a little more outdoor activity before all …

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survive the time change

5 Ways to Survive the Time Change

By / 4 minutes of reading

We are heading into another time change weekend, and these time changes can really mess us up! It’s a big adjustment for us adults, and it’s even more of an adjustment for our kids. And while the “fall back” time change does give us back an hour, little children don’t care about that. Their built-in systems will wake them up earlier than we would like. Then those same systems will shut them down much earlier than what we are used to. Is there any way to make this transition easier? Let’s look at a few ways to survive the time …

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ways to grow your intergenerational circle

Family Stories to Share with Our Kids

By / 4 minutes of reading

October has certainly flown right by, and here we are in its last week already. Although this last week of October is all about Halloween, November is still standing there staring right at us. So as we approach this next month, let’s think about November’s themes. Of course, there is Thanksgiving, but November has other themes as well. The entire month of November is also Family Stories Month. What a great thing for us to share with our kids in the coming month! Family stories go right along with our thankfulness efforts. So as we close out October with our …

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have some fun with National Pizza Month

Have Some Fun with National Pizza Month!

By / 3 minutes of reading

What could be better than a National Pizza Month? October is full of important causes, but pizza is a cause that most of our kids would wholeheartedly embrace. And thankfully, it’s a pretty easy thing to celebrate. So, between signing and food, we can have some fun with National Pizza Month!  Yes, we’re heading into the time of year when we are hit with holiday after holiday, and of course, October starts it all off. While we think of Halloween first in October, it is actually a very full month. October commemorates many health related causes like Breast Cancer Awareness. …

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signs to learn with our kids for Halloween

Fun Snacks to Enjoy This Halloween Season

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When we think about Halloween food, we tend to think of sweets and candy. And while these sweet treats are part of the fun of the Halloween season, we can do so much more to have some Halloween fun with food. Our fun holiday food could even be a little bit healthy to balance out all our sweet treats. So let’s look at some fun snacks to enjoy this Halloween season. We parents really do want our kids to be healthy, even in the middle of a candy season, so let’s start with some relatively healthy snacks. Yogurt with creepy …

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fun ways to teach our kids about nature

The Power of Positive Experiences for Our Kids

By / 4 minutes of reading

A child’s brain is wired for learning and storing information. So in the early childhood years, up to about the age of 8, our kids’ brains are taking in information that will help in its development, or that will cause a good bit of harm. When our children have positive experiences and spend time in positive environments, that sets them up for stronger, more healthy development. And of course, that’s what we want for them. So as parents, let’s consider the power of positive experiences for our kids. And let’s look at how we can help provide this for them. …

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celebrate International Music Day

Celebrate International Music Day with Your Kids

By / 3 minutes of reading

October 1 is International Music Day, a day to appreciate the way that music can bring people together. At Signing Time, we know this well. We use a lot of music to teach signing because we know it works. And any of us can appreciate music and its power to communicate, even if we aren’t musical ourselves. So to celebrate this International Music Day, let’s think of a few ways to take some time to appreciate what music can do for all of us. Where did this come from? In 1975, the International Music Council succeeded in making October 1 …

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Ways to Teach our Kids Through Fall Fun

Resources for Celebrating and Learning about Fall

By / 3 minutes of reading

Do you love the fall season, or are you hanging on to the summer as long as you can? No matter which you prefer, we are approaching the official first day of fall. And as we head into this fall, there are lots of ways to celebrate the changing of the season with our little ones. Maybe you are already planning some fun crafts and traditional leaf-themed activities with your kids. As you get ready to head into the fall season, do remember that Signing Time has some resources for celebrating and learning about fall. Books are always great It’s …

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celebrating our kids' ideas

Learning to Notice the World Around Us

By / 4 minutes of reading

It’s easy in our modern world to live out our lives in our own little worlds – our jobs, our communities, our families. We almost have our own little kingdoms, and in our realms, the focus tends to be on ourselves. In this setting, it takes some effort to look outward. Noticing the world around us comes easily to some people. And some of us have to work at it. Our kids are the same way. Some are natural noticers, and some are really good at looking out for their own interests. But we would all do well to notice …

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what labor day is

Do Your Kids Know What Labor Day Is?

By / 3 minutes of reading

For many of us, Labor Day is the official mark of the end of summer. We get the day off, we gather with family and friends, and we celebrate. But do we know what we are celebrating? When my kids were tiny, and they asked me what Labor Day is, I had to stop and think. “Um, I think it’s about working…which is weird because we’re not working, but um…” So as we head into this Labor Day Weekend, let’s be prepared to explain what Labor Day is. Labor Day goes way back to the Industrial Revolution, when the terrible …

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