From Parallel Play: a podcast for educators who love toddlers Biting Behavior in Toddlers and How to Respond Biting brings up emotions for everyone, including children, education staff, and families. Toddlers are beginning to learn how to express their wants and needs. They are also learning how to regulate their emotions through verbal and non-verbal communication. This podcast reviews the many emotions of biting and reasons why toddlers might engage in biting. Discussions include the importance of validating toddlers’ feelings, ways to teach toddlers appropriate behaviors to express wants an ..read more

Getting a three-year old ready to go outside during the winter in Seattle is no small feat—rain boots, jackets, hats, gloves, and of course the impending tantrums to go with all of that. Miss Savannah and I know this firsthand, as we get our seven Garden kids ready for outside time each day. Whatever got our students to cooperate yesterday might not work today, a common reality for everyone in the vicinity of a three-year old. Miss Savannah and I switch from silly to serious, songs and games, and competition and conversation to get our kids outside. Most mornings, we take our Garden friends on ..read more

Getting through the holidays with young kids can be rather stressful. Getting out of routines, visits with family members, more sugar than usual, later bedtimes, and ALL. THE. STIMULATION. Here are some articles that can help you get through the next few months with most of your sanity in tact. Child Mind 4 Ways to Make the Holidays Better For Kids Very Well Family Stress & Anxiety in Children During the Holidays Zero to Three Resources for the Holidays Janet Lansbury Holiday Survival Guide And lastly, some events around Seattle to help your family celebrate the Holiday season! The Best S ..read more

We Are Going on a Bear Hunt is such a fun book and has great repetition, making it a wonderful book to build on literacy skills. Did you know that reading the same book over and over is great for brain development. If you want to learn more this article is a good read – https://www.readbrightly.com/why-reading-the-same-book-repeatedly-is-good-for-kids/ Here are a few fun activities to do with your kids after reading We Are Going on a Bear Hunt. If you give any a try let us know! Make some binoculars with two toilet paper rolls and some string. Allow your child to use different materials ..read more

When I (finally) got pregnant, I had the normal mom-to-be worries and thoughts: what will my baby look like? Will this pregnancy make it to term? What is the due date? Will my child be healthy? Will it be a boy or girl? And I even asked myself: What if my baby is born with a disability? Although no amount of mental preparation can truly make a person “ready” for a new baby, I felt like the combination of this future-tripping and my type-A personality, my education, and experience working with children made me close. The first curveball I was thrown was going into preterm labor. I was actually ..read more