The Family Room Blog
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Covers articles on topics such as family life, family health, child development, education, parenting, working parent, social responsibility, working mothers, thanksgiving and more. The Family Room by Bright Horizons Community provides real families and real conversations from a group of colleagues and friends who love sharing parenting tips, advice and telling tales of their own challenges.
The Family Room Blog
3y ago
Blog Editor
In 2020 we brought the Smithsonian® into our classrooms with the introduction of Discoveries, a series of project challenges using artifact images from the renowned Smithsonian collection. It’s an exciting collaboration that gives children a window into history, their world, and the greater universe around them — all without leaving our centers.
Museum of Me
This Museum of Me at-home activity brings museum learning from the classroom into your home. Inspired by the resources designed for Discoveries, our Museum of Me activity was curated for families to do at home with their child ..read more
The Family Room Blog
3y ago
Blog Editor
Last month we shared how we’re bringing museum learning into our classrooms through a collaboration with the Smithsonian! To learn a little bit more about the museum and the people that help bring Discoveries to life in our centers, we sat down with Carrie Heflin, Early Education Specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She’s dishing all about her career journey, her current role, and one surprising thing the public might not realize about museum life!
How did you begin your career with the Smithsonian?
I started my career about ten years ago working as ..read more
The Family Room Blog
3y ago
Blog Editor
Is your child fascinated by unique objects? Are they constantly asking “why” or “how”? Do they love to make new things? Museum learning fosters curiosity and creativity — and at Bright Horizons, we’re bringing it right into our centers through a collaboration with the Smithsonian®. Launched last year, this program incorporates project challenges — or Discoveries — that encourage hands-on exploration.
What are Discoveries?
Bright Horizons educators worked with the Smithsonian to develop four Discoveries — Collections, Music and Sound, Buildings and Construction, and Self-Identity. T ..read more
The Family Room Blog
3y ago
Blog Editor
One of the most profound developmental tasks for young children is to understand who they are — to develop a sense of identity, including their gender. At Bright Horizons, we strive to create a safe and reflective space for children to develop their identities and to counterbalance gender stereotypes. One way to support growth and explore gender diversity is through reading. Below are several books chosen by our Education and Development Team to explore at home and in the classroom.
Books about Identity & Gender Diversity
“Sparkle Boy” by Leela Newman (Preschool and up)
“Julia ..read more
The Family Room Blog
3y ago
Claire Goss
Children (and adults!) love receiving compliments—a meaningful comment from someone can make you feel seen, special, and appreciated. Giving a child a compliment is one of the many ways caregivers build a solid relationship foundation and boost self-esteem. However, making comments or paying compliments on a child’s physical appearance or assumed gender identity can pin extra value on how they look, rather than on qualities they can control, such as their decisions or initiative.
While it is natural for young children to categorize and define themselves by physical characteri ..read more
The Family Room Blog
4y ago
Blog Editor
Bright Horizons is a company of women supporting women—our corporate and center teams are made up of more than 90% women, from our leadership teams to the teachers and staff you see in our centers every day; and what we do through our commitment to education and care supports working women at every age and stage. We are passionate about educating the next generation, and so we know how important it is to highlight the contributions of women and girls.
Women’s History Month offers parents a unique opportunity to uplift and amplify those contributions, and include your children in th ..read more
The Family Room Blog
4y ago
Jeannie Krill
I’m a planner. My husband and I visited Bright Horizons® child care centers back in 2019 when I was just three months pregnant. We decided on one, and were set to start in June of 2020, when our son would be three months old. He was born at the end of February — right before the pandemic hit the U.S. in full force — and, needless to say, our plans changed.
When we went back to work (from home), caring for our son was manageable for a while. He napped on my chest while I wrote and answered emails; he joined my husband’s team meetings and hung out in his swing in our office. But it ..read more
The Family Room Blog
4y ago
Claire Goss
At Bright Horizons we strive to make our centers inclusive places of belonging for students and staff. Our homes can be also be an anti-bias space where we can strengthen family traditions while encouraging the respectful exploration of other cultures. But how do parents approach the holiday season in an anti-bias way?
Ages and Stages
When approaching the holidays and anti-bias work within your family, it is important to keep your child’s age and developmental stage in mind so you can adjust your expectations for behavior and understanding. For example, the excitement and busyness ..read more
The Family Room Blog
4y ago
Jeannie Krill
The start of the holiday season is just weeks away, and your feelings about the end of 2020 might be all over the place. This November and December are sure to be different than in years past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them — and help others enjoy them, too. Social distancing guidelines and business closures might have you wondering what you can do to give back, and we’ve got seven ideas that can help.
1. Donate goods.
Whether it’s food, supplies, clothes, toys, or books, making donations is a great way for your family to contribute — and it’s easy. Find local bins or ..read more
The Family Room Blog
4y ago
Claire Goss
While running errands last weekend I heard on the radio that in 2019, 55 million Americans traveled on Thanksgiving weekend and over 155 million traveled between December 21-January 1st. My family accounted for five of those travelers last year. My little family left New England and gathered with my extended relatives in Maryland to see my siblings, father, nieces and nephews—people I love dearly and only get to see once each year. My heart sank, thinking of how the holiday whirlwind will be here in just weeks and due to the pandemic, we will not be traveling beyond our own back ya ..read more