Educational Articles

“Ew, Mommy, I Don’t Want This!”: Win the Picky Eater Battle (And raise a healthier kid!)

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C   One of the biggest concerns from parents that I hear as a health coach is the challenge of the picky eater. Mainly, “How do I get my kids to eat right when they just refuse?”   Well, I believe that there are three things in life you can’t truly force kids to do. These are: sleep when they don’t want to, potty train before they’re ready, and eat the way you want them to all the time!   Sometimes you may need to lay down the law and say, “This is what our family …

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“Noooo! Peanut Butter and Jelly AGAIN?”: Back-to-School Healthy Lunch Ideas!

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C   One of the many hats I wear is that of a certified holistic health coach. I work to support happy kids and healthy families, and this includes working with busy stressed out parents to streamline the process of feeding their family well.   With Fall here (when did that happen?), our thoughts invariably turn to back-to-school time, and the next 180 or so days of lunches that have to be produced.   It can be a challenge to pack balanced healthy lunches that your kids will actually eat. While there are pre-packaged options, many …

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“I Want to Help!” Tips for Getting Kids Involved in the Kitchen

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C   Kids are often fascinated by the cooking process, from wanting a hand in dumping and stirring ingredients, to needing a peek in the oven to see what’s cooking. This is a great thing to harness in the journey of teaching your children to eat well! Take advantage of a kid’s natural curiosity and invite them into the process. Here are some tips to get you started.   Cooking Time is…   1) Learning Time: Cooking is one part math, one part science, and one part deliciousness, so have some fun with it and your …

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Using Sign Language for Classroom Management

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C Many people are familiar with the idea of what is known as “baby sign language”. The idea that a pre-verbal infant or a toddler with emerging verbal skills can use sign language to communicate with caregivers is immensely attractive to many people. However, time after time I hear, “Oh yes, we signed MILK and MORE with Tommy, but then he started talking and we stopped.”   You know, I did the same thing! I signed with my son when he was an infant and then let it fade as he became verbal. However, after joining …

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Helping Children Embrace Change: First Time At School

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.HC. For some of you, the first day of school is just around the corner! Whether it be pre-school, or kindergarten, that big transition can leave both parent and child a little uncertain. Here are some tips to ease the transition on the big day! 1. Create a story Tell the story of what will happen on the first day of school, keep it simple and concrete, such as: “You will wake up and get dressed and have breakfast. Then I will drive you to school. We will hang up your backpack, I will give you …

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Helping Your Clients Make the Most of Media Time

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.HC.  If you teach Baby Signing Time then you have probably been asked, “Is it okay to show my baby the videos?”  The choice to show an infant any media is purely personal.  After all, the American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) clearly states that children under the age of two should not have screen time at all. And here we are as Instructors offering parents videos for their infants. Is it a conflict of interest? Simply put, as both a mother and an educator, I don’t think so. What you have to understand is that the American …

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Target Markets in Your Own Backyard

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Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. One of the best things about being a Signing Time Academy Instructor is that we have such a wide market to teach our classes in. There are in-home classes, mommy and me groups, libraries, rec centers and so much more. Have you ever considered adding homeschooling families as a potential place to bring your classes and products? Homeschooling Trends The rate of children being homeschooled is growing nationwide, by up to 75% since 1999 in fact! It’s a growing trend that offers you a great opportunity to bring Signing Time to children of many ages. I was …

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Making Signing Fun for Families

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By Signing Time Instructor Colleen Brunetti In this age of increased focus on test scores, “teaching baby to read”, and some kids being put on waiting lists for preschools before they are even born, it can be easy to get swept up in the desire to give a baby the best start possible, and loose a little sight of the joy of learning and play. Enter Signing Time, and the classes you teach as a Signing Time Academy Instructor. Learning to sign is just plain fun, and you can really bring that alive with the classes you teach in your communities. The …

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Establishing the Foundations of Literacy

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written by Colleen Brunetti One of the hottest topics in education today is that of literacy, or the ability to read and write fluently. Teachers and parents alike have a vested interest and heightened awareness of the need for strong early literacy skills in children and introducing them to sign language as a way to facilitate this learning process. The topic of sign language and literacy is something you will want to incorporate into your Signing Time classes and have a good working knowledge of, if you wish to collaborate with or sell to preschools and early elementary classrooms.   …

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Signing is Expression

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. One of my favorite things to do when introducing children to sign language is to talk about the value of expression while signing. It really helps the language begin to come alive, and it also taps into a child’s natural exuberance. Last year I had the pleasure of being a guest of the PTA Cultural Committee at my son’s school and I taught a lesson on “Feelings” to four Kindergarten classes and one preschool class. It was a blast, and I thought I’d share the lesson and some of the supplies I used. Feel free to …

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