Two of the most popular posts on this blog in recent years were written by a pediatric occupational therapist on the importance of play and the consequences of not allowing children to get up and move during their school day….
We know we’re not supposed to yell at our children. But parents are very stressed at the moment, and frustration and anger are inevitable. Overwhelmed with everything you’ve been asked to do, you find yourself losing your temper at kids…
Adecade into her optometry career, Marina Su began noticing something unusual about the kids in her New York City practice. More of them were requiring glasses, and at younger and younger ages. Many of these kids had parents who had…
We carry our cultures with us in everything we do. They’re all around us—in the activities we give our time to, the roles we ascribe to, the language we speak, the food we eat. When children see their families’ culture…
Janet discusses the challenges and benefits of authenticity — how being real with our children helps us to achieve our goals as parents, strengthens our relationship, and even makes our lives easier. Janet says that it was Magda Gerber who…
In light of the significance of empathy in prosocial and conservation behavioral contexts, and with its relevance to social-emotional learning, which is an emphasis in early childhood education, empathy is a timely and meaningful construct to study within the context…
Children are constantly working to make sense of themselves, their experiences, and their worlds. One way that children tend to do this is through creating artifacts. By engaging in discussions around, and interacting with these artifacts, teachers and educators are…
Government-subsidized preschools, 480 days paid maternity leave, neighborhood rec centers, ample recess, forest kindergartens, drop-in after school programs (aka fritids), outdoor classrooms, public access to private lands, and open-air napping. These are just some of the perks of raising kids…
Saying “be careful” all the time can confuse kids, instill fear, and lower their self-confidence. If you’ve ever watched your not-so-sure-footed kids ascend a tall—very tall—rope climbing structure at the playground, or hoist themselves atop a large, wobbly log in…
You may be thinking, “I can barely get my child into clothes – how am I supposed to dress my child for cold, wet, and snow?” Most of each day, Apple Orchard learners are outside, so dressing for the weather…
“Mommy, who is that?” My preschooler asked me this last May when he noticed me staring at Ahmaud Arbery’s headshot in my Instagram feed. I froze up. I thought, how do I even begin to explain to him that this…
Playing through the greenery and litter of a mini forest’s undergrowth for just one month may be enough to change a child’s immune system, according to an experiment in Finland. When daycare workers rolled out a lawn, planted forest undergrowth…