Persuade the Picky Eater By Sweta Sobrin, DCM’s Sr. Manager for Early Learning & Family Engagement When my son was first starting solid foods, I was stressed. I worried endlessly […] The post Persuade the Picky Eater appeared first on DuPage Children's Museum ..read more

Yes, And! Diving Into Dramatic Play By Sweta Sobrin, DCM’s Sr. Manager for Early Learning & Family Engagement “And then the dinosaur chomps all the buildings, and the buildings don’t fall over because they are made of special steel, and then fairies fly out and…” If you have ever been part of a child’s dramatic play, you have inevitably witnessed the loose storytelling structure that is a hallmark of pretend play. As an adult, it may seem difficult to comprehend the winding paths of a seemingly incoherent story. After all, we often live in a world of concrete facts and logical reasoning ..read more

Preparing for the Summer Childcare Shakeup By Sweta Sobrin, DCM’s Sr. Manager for Early Learning & Family Engagement The groundhog said spring was coming early. We know what that means… coordinating childcare for the summer! Each year, families must fill the gap between the last day of school and the first day of school. Navigating the absence of full-time childcare and preparing for the summer can feel like a scramble. Coordinating camp schedules with work schedules, appointments, and vacations feels like a complicated mess — because it is! Making memories over the summer does not have t ..read more

Tackling “The Wants” By Sweta Sobrin, DCM’s Sr. Manager for Early Learning & Family Engagement Every year, parents arm themselves with tissues and thermometers, ready to battle cold and flu seasons. But there is another prevalent issue that children and families face around this time every year–The Wants! Between gatherings and gifting, celebrations and commercials on television, it can be hard to avoid the feeling of wanting versus needing new things.  Conversations around gratitude can be tricky as children are still developing “theory of mind,” or the knowledge that others’ belief ..read more

Beating the Back to School Blues – Building Connections to Ease Transitions By Sweta Sobrin, DCM’s Sr. Manager for Early Learning & Family Engagement For many families, “back to school season” means NEW – new routines, new friends, new classroom dynamics, new everything! So much “new” can be daunting for anyone, as any moment of life that involves changing routines and systems brings uncertainty and unease. For parents and caregivers, this can be a particularly hefty season of change. Whether you have a child who is heading off to Kindergarten for the first time, or an older kiddo with a s ..read more

How Can I Raise Kids Who Care? By Marcy Troy, Retired Educator This powerful question surfaced during a conversation with my thirty-something niece. Her littles are 6, 3, and 1½, and I called to tell her about the DuPage Children’s Museum exhibit I recently visited: The Questioneers: Read. Question. Think. PLAY!  She and her children have read all of the Andrea Beaty books featured in The Questioneers exhibit, and we launched into an animated conversation about so many topics related to Iggy, Rosie, and Sofia. If you can’t get to DCM to see this exhibit before it leaves at the end of Aug ..read more

Easing the Back-to-School Transition By Katie Gullone, DCM’s Sr. Manager of Early Learning & Family Engagement As the summer days begin to fade, the excitement and joy of starting the new school year is right around the corner! While I prepare myself for this new season in life, it is a gentle reminder that many children all over the country are also preparing for a lot of new transitions. Transitions or “situations in which children experience new activities or environments” can create many feelings, such as happiness, worry, and sometimes confusion.   Even positive change ..read more

A Flight Into My Future By: Kaiden Williams, Student Growing up as a child in a world full of hundreds of potential careers, I was essentially a kid in a large room with hundreds of doors waiting to be opened. However, one flight that many would consider nothing more than a simple form of travel would go on to open a whole line of those doors. That one flight was a flight into my future! Now this may seem weird or strange to you, but there’s a method to my madness! You may think that toys or sweets are what make a child’s life joyful. However, this is not entirely true! While external factors ..read more

Artymathically Speaking As We STREAM Along By Sangeeta Pande, Muralist, Freelance Fine Art Artist, Global Art Teacher There is a lot of Math in Art… don’t believe me… take a good look around you…notice shapes in the chair you are sitting on, the floor beneath you, the car you drive, the books you read…And then look beyond. Every invention, every creation, and every Warli contains Math. Shapes and sequences appear in Art. Warli is the art I was teaching, breathing, and practicing during my DCM artist residency. Warli art is a narrative in motion using simple geometric forms. Throughout my resi ..read more

The Power of “I Don’t Know” By Jenny Flowers, DCM Sr. Manager Student Learning & Community Engagement As a parent of two small children and a science educator of 20+ years, I have gotten very good at saying three little words – “I don’t know.” This may seem surprising because aren’t adults and science people supposed to know everything?! Well, I’m here to tell you, No – we don’t have all the answers. No one does. And that is what makes life amazing. Those three little words, “I don’t know,” open up a world of possibility that can send you on a journey to becoming a lifelong learner. Those ..read more