Gina Ogden

first day traditions to start this year

First Day Traditions to Start This School Year

By / 3 minutes of reading

We are all well aware that August is Back to School Month! Whether your child is stepping into a classroom for the first time or heading into another school year, it’s the perfect opportunity to start some meaningful first-day-of-school traditions. Traditions bring some consistency to the newness of these first days. These small activities can help ease nerves, build excitement, and create memories for your kids to treasure. So let’s look at some simple first day traditions to start this school year. First Day Traditions to Try A Special Breakfast Kick off the day with a breakfast that feels extra …

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Celebrate National Family Fun

Celebrate National Family Fun Month

By / 5 minutes of reading

August is National Family Fun Month! It’s an entire month dedicated to making memories and enjoying time together before the busy school year begins. With schools starting earlier and earlier, we may have missed the beginning of the school year. And with the rest of us scrambling to get ready for school to start, it might not feel like a good time to add in more activities. So let’s look at this within our own realities, and at the same time, remember that it is still summertime. Family fun doesn’t have to be about expensive trips or complicated plans. Often, …

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Celebrate Hooray for Kids Day

Celebrate Hooray for Kids Day with Us

By / 4 minutes of reading

We firmly believe that every child is unique and valuable. Kids are known for their creativity, curiosity, and boundless energy. And we have a special day on the calendar to honor everything that makes our kids who they are. August 4 is Hooray for Kids Day, and it’s a wonderful reminder to pause and recognize all the things that make our kids amazing. Let’s not allow this to be just another one of those silly calendar days. Let’s make it a day to truly celebrate the children in our lives and the incredible value they bring to our families and …

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use everyday errands to sneak in some learning

Use Everyday Errands to Sneak in Some Learning

By / 4 minutes of reading

Many of us parents intend to help our kids continue learning through the summer. We say we’re going to have a daily reading time or go through a fun math workbook. Then the summer activities get going, and we get going. Summer can be such a busy season, and we often find that we might feel like we are always on the go. So why not use our trips to the store and our time in the car for little learning times? If you think about it, everyday errands are full of opportunities to help our kids learn in a …

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understanding big feelings in summertime

Understanding Big Feelings in Summertime

By / 5 minutes of reading

While summer is filled with fun, sunshine, and the freedom to be more spontaneous, it can also be full of tantrums for parents of little ones. The longer days and hotter temperatures add pressure to their physical and mental systems. And summer naturally has less structure and routine, which puts pressure on them emotionally. These things sound really bad, but let’s look at them as opportunities to grow. Summer isn’t going away, so let’s help our kids work through these pressures and learn how to handle them. Tantrums can tend to increase in the summer.  In order to help them …

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host a teddy bear picnic

Host a Teddy Bear Picnic with Your Preschooler

By / 4 minutes of reading

Today is Teddy Bear Picnic Day! It is celebrated each year on July 10th, and it’s the perfect excuse to head outside and create a little magic with your preschooler and their favorite stuffed friend. Whether it’s a full outdoor adventure or a simple backyard snack break, a teddy bear picnic is an easy way to spark our kids’ imaginations and enjoy some special time together. So why not take a few minutes today to host a teddy bear picnic with your preschooler? While this is such a simple activity, it will be such a big deal for your little …

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signs your kids can learn for July 4th

Signs Your Kids Can Learn for July 4th

By / 3 minutes of reading

Tomorrow is the 4th of July! Even though our country is in a state of anxiety and unrest, we can still celebrate with our families. No matter how we feel about current events, we can be there for each other. We can enjoy our people, appreciate our blessings, and remember what is important. And from this day of celebrating freedom, maybe we can take a little inspiration with us to help us continue going forward. We want our kids to learn, listen, and grow no matter what is going on around them as they grow up. Enough heavy stuff, right? …

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learn about summer weather together

Let’s Learn about Summer Weather Together

By / 4 minutes of reading

Summer is the perfect time to observe weather concepts with our preschoolers. We have sunny days, both warm and cool breezes, rainy days, and even thunderstorms. We adults love to comment on the weather, so not keep that conversation going with our kids? They naturally love to observe nature and ask questions about the world around them. So this is an easy way to add a little education into our summer days. Let’s learn about summer weather together with our kids! And while we’re at it, let’s learn some ASL signs to go along with what we talk about! First, …

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simple ways to honor freedom for all

Simple Ways to Honor Freedom for All with Our Preschoolers

By / 5 minutes of reading

 Juneteenth is celebrated each year on June 19th, and it’s a day that honors the end of slavery in the United States. On this day in 1865, slaves in Texas learned they were finally free, even though this was two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. No matter our ethnicity, this is our actual national history, and there are ways we can each recognize the events of Juneteenth in an appropriate way. For those of us with young children, Juneteenth can be an opportunity to teach positive values like freedom and fairness in ways that are age-appropriate and character …

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simple preschool STEM projects

Simple Preschool STEM Projects for Sunny Days

By / 4 minutes of reading

The sun is shining bright, and the days are about as long as they’re going to get this year. And so it’s the perfect time to take our learning outside! We often think of outdoor play to be focused on physical activity and imagination. But today, let’s think about STEM projects to do outside. Yes, we can have outdoor fun doing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. While that might sound like something meant for older kids, preschoolers are actually natural scientists. They’re constantly asking questions, making discoveries, and testing ideas through their play. So this is the perfect time to …

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