Development

This week, in class, we talked about development and how all children develop at their own pace. Parents brought up factors that influence development like individual growth, inborn temperament, personal abilities and the environment. Understanding development is important. It is important because it helps us to keep realistic expectations. Understanding development helps to keep our focus on supporting development by teaching children social skills and reinforcing efforts. Click here for a link to developmental stages.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell when a behavior is a part of normal development or when it is a cause for concern. Help Me Grow is a great resource if you ever have questions about development. Click here to go to Help Me Grow.

Welcome!

It was a great first week for back to school at ECFE! It was wonderful to see families from last session and welcome new families.

Parents came up with some ideas for topics (listed below). We will vote on the topics in the next class, so if you come up with any other ideas please send an email to Val!

Topics
Tantrums, Strategies, Dealing
Discipline: Strong Willed Children
Meals, Ideas
Chores and Cooperation
Raising Respectful Kids
Stuff to do/Winter
Age Appropriate Discipline
Managing Transitions
Potty Training
Sibling Relationships
Food Picky Eaters
Moving Children Beyond Gender
Dealing with other Kids, Inappropriate Behavior, Bulling

Speakers
Naturopath
Dietitian
Sexual Development Speaker

Pot Luck!

A fun night was had by all at our end of the season Pot Luck! It was a beautiful night to spend with ECFE families.  Nothing is better than good friends, good weather and good food! If fact, the food was so good that we received an unusual number of requests for recipes.  If you have a recipe you want to share send an email to Val.  To check out the recipes that people have already sent in check out this link! or the Parent Recipes tab on the left. 

Here is a link to Sarah's wonderful black bean dish! and the healthy and tasty pumpkin oat cookies!

Links to Stranger Danger and Other Articles

At the request of parents here are some links to articles on Stranger Danger, Talking To Your Children About Death, Helping Younger People Cope with Cancer Deaths and Funerals, and Coping with Grief and Loss Understanding the Grieving Process .

Summer Fun Update

Tuesdays parents  highly recommended swimming lessons with experienced teachers.  The highest rated were Lupient, Shoreview Community Center and Foss Swim (Foss was more expensive).  Also recommended was Como Therapy pool because of the warm temperature.  The Puppet Wagon, and story time at the Roseville St Anthony Library was recommended to prevent brain drain over the summer.  MOMS Club was recommended to ensure a social connection for moms over the summer.  For outdoor fun parents suggested Wabun Park, Minnehaha Falls, and Theodore Wirth park for great swimming. 

Mary's new favorite site is: http://www.twincitiesfrugalmom.com/deals-events-calendar/and she really enjoys the creativity of some of the events listed at http://hsadventures.org/calendar (homeschool). 

Discipline

This week’s topic was discipline.  Most parents in class agree that discipline is hard. It is hard to know what to do, hard to follow through, and it is hard to keep the big picture in mind.  Ultimately what we want is for our children to grow and thrive.  We want them to be able to care for themselves, care for others and to be part of the world.

Parents shared some of their most frustrating discipline challenges and discussed how they were tied to personality, development and environment.  Depending on the situation these were the discipline tools that parents used most often:

Ignore-there is some misbehavior where ignoring can be the most effective means to eliminate the behavior

Humor

Restructure the Environment-works best with young children

Remove the Child

Distraction Redirect Behavior

Logical Consequences

Substitution

Time Out- used as a means to calm down

Free Weekend Fun!

Celebrate "Earth Day" All Week at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory

Party for the Planet presented by Xcel Energy-4/25-4/27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tuesday, April 22 is Earth Day, a conservation celebration so big we can't pack it into a single day. In fact, our annual Xcel Energy Party for the Planet is a three-day celebration that invites families to consider how choices we makes at home can improve animal and plant habitat everywhere. Thanks to our friends at Xcel Energy, you can snap a selfie with a wind turbine, challenge yourself with a fun game of "Connect with Efficiency" and try out a new interactive kiosk Xcel Energy will unveil for the first time at Como.

 Throughout the Visitor Center all weekend you'll also find family-friendly craft projects and education programs that explore the animals, plants and people that depend on this big blue ball.

 

Free YMCA Day

 

Saturday April 26 is Free YMCA day, 2-5 pm! Shoreview has swimming, Andover has a bounce house. Many other activities as well. For more information check out there website:
http://www.ymcatwincities.org/youth_programs/child_and_youth_development/healthy_kids_day/branch_schedules/