fun ways to teach our kids about nature

The Power of Positive Experiences for Our Kids

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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

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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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teach our children to be truly tolerant

Celebrate the International Day of Sign Languages!

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The United Nations has set September 23 as the International Day of Sign Languages. It’s meant to be a day to celebrate and support all sign language users, and this year’s theme is unity. The idea is to unite our world by recognizing national sign languages as part of their countries’ linguistic identities. In other words, we’re hoping that sign languages will be accepted as mainstream languages. This would open doors for so many more people in our world. So let’s look at how we can celebrate the International Day of Sign Languages. There are more than 300 different sign …

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Ways to Teach our Kids Through Fall Fun

Resources for Celebrating and Learning about Fall

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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?

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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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stay positive when things go wrong

Learning to Stay Positive When Things Go Wrong

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We all wish that our days would go smoothly and according to plan. When things go wrong, we can get quite frustrated, and why wouldn’t we? It’s really difficult to deal with sudden changes to plans, unexpected illnesses, or life-changing events. Our problems may be at the epic level or they may be at the everyday level. Either way, our problems can bring us down. And while that’s fully understandable, we will all make it through our rough times better if we learn to stay positive when things go wrong. This may sound idealist or impossible, but we aren’t talking …

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bad poetry day

National Bad Poetry Day Is For All of Us

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Poetry is held up as a special literary style, a skill that doesn’t come easily to many of us. We admire the brilliance of those who can not only rhyme the ends of their lines, but also keep a consistent rhythm throughout the entire piece. At the same time, poetry can be a little beyond our interests too. But on National Bad Poetry Day (August 18), we are all invited to create our own rhymes, or not, as we make up all the bad poetry that we can come up with. Our kids will have a blast with this one. …

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National Tell a Joke Day

National Tell a Joke Day is Coming Up!

By / 3 minutes of reading

There are so many fun national days to celebrate with our kids, and this one is no exception. August 16 is officially National Tell a Joke Day. Kids love jokes. No matter what age they are, our kids will jump right in when we start telling jokes. And we adults laugh and laugh, even if it’s fake, when we hear the age old jokes we told as children. So on this National Tell a Joke Day, let’s think of some fun jokes to share with our kids. And let’s enjoy laughing together as a family. Laughter has a lot of …

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make special times even when life is busy

Make Special Times Even When Life Is Busy

By / 5 minutes of reading

We all know that quality time with our loved ones is important. But in the reality of everyday life, do you find yourself without a chance to connect with your family or friends? And there are other quality times that we find ourselves needing. Parents who stay home with little ones can feel that they have plenty of quality time with their babies, but could use some good time alone or with a spouse or friends. In our busy lives, how do we connect with our kids in special ways? There are so many demands for our time. And so …

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