Posts Tagged ‘Family’

Family Thanksgiving Tips

Monday, November 15th, 2010
Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner With Paper Plates f...
Image by Pink Sherbet Photography via Flickr

With Thanksgiving “around the corner,” here are some ideas to keep in mind to make it a wonderful holiday experience from The Goddard School of Cedar Park!

We see our family and friends, eat too much pie, enjoy a few extra days off from school and work, but beyond that… How can we demonstrate to our children the importance of both Thanksgiving and giving thanks?

The first Thanksgiving. First, let’s start by making sure our children know the story of the first Thanksgiving. Pick up a developmentally-appropriate book or find information online. It is important to discuss this story of hardship, friendship and sharing in an age-appropriate way.

A new tradition. Establish a new family tradition revolving around what your family is thankful for. This Thanksgiving, have everyone write or draw what they are most thankful for. Together, decorate a shoebox or journal to everyone’s answers. Make a point of adding to this box or journal throughout the year, and by next Thanksgiving you will have an amazing record of thanks. Add to this year after year—what a great treat it will be for the family to read through each Thanksgiving as your children grow!

Share. What are some of the things your children are most thankful for?

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Positive Parenting Tips

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

The Goddard School supports positive parenting techniques and we hope you enjoy the guest article below!  Many of our own teachers are “Love and Logic” graduates via the workshops offered to enrolled and non-enrolled parents at our school.

When children whine and argue it is tempting to say, “Stop!,”  “Quit whining!,” or “Calm down!” However, the next time your child has a meltdown, try repeating, “I will be happy to listen when your voice is calm like mine,” or, “I will be happy to help when your voice is calm like mine,” in a non-emotional voice.  Parents report that if they are calm and consistent, it doesn’t take long for their children to learn that the adult is not going to get hooked into the argument.  And, the child learns to calm down quickly!

Shockingly diverse kindergarten group in Paris
Image via Wikipedia

After facilitating a Love and Logic Early Childhood Parenting Made Fun!™ introduction session, I received an email from a mother that attended and tried this technique.  Shawn wrote, “I have already started using some of the tools and they are not only working to give some power back to the kids, to problem solve and make better choices, but more important for us all is that I FEEL CALMER!  Thank you for this taste of sanity.  Ahhh…”

If you could use a “taste of sanity,” please join us for this five week course that focuses on children from birth through age six.  We explore easy-to-use skills to help parents raise respectful, responsible kids and lower our parenting stress.

This program holds a 30-year track record of success and is designed to help parents in FIVE key areas:
•    Preserve and enhance the child’s self-concept.
•    Teach children how to own and solve the problems they create.
•    Share the control and decision-making.
•    Offer empathy, then consequences.
•    Build the adult-child relationship.
As a stay-at-home mom, I have the opportunity to put these principals into practice everyday.  My husband and I have found that the Love and Logic techniques allow us to spend less time handling behavior, giving us more time to enjoy our children.

And as a facilitator of this course, I have the opportunity to see parents come back to class each week more relaxed and more confident.  My own experiences as well as their success stories inspire me to spread the word about Love and Logic.

The Goddard School of Cedar Park, located at 1905 El Salido Parkway, is hosting the Love and Logic Early Childhood Parenting Made Fun!™ course on Tuesday evening, October 19th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.  Childcare is available.  To register, visit www.highfiveparenting.com or contact Laura at 512.784.5231 or highfiveparenting@gmail.com.

Don’t miss this opportunity to make parenting less stressful!

Laura Baker
Independent Facilitator
Love and Logic Early Childhood Parenting Made Fun!™

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Creating Quality Family Time

Friday, January 8th, 2010

The Goddard School of Cedar Park knows creating quality family time can be quite a challenge, especially when you are a modern day family in which both parents work. However, just because you and your significant other work full time jobs does not mean that your family has to suffer. It is possible for you and your spouse to hold down full time jobs to support your family and still be able to take a time out for your family.

Raineri Children family portrait Watford 2001 ...

Creating quality family time is a crucial part of your family. It may seem like a challenge to fit the time in there, but it is possible and it is necessary. Taking a time out to spend time with your family is beneficial to your entire family, especially children. Family time should be exactly what it says, a time for you and your family to spend time together. Make the most of this time and make it solely about your family.

One of the most important things about this time besides that the time should be about your family is that it should be a time that everyone enjoys. For instance, if your family loves to watch movies, then spending time having a family movie night would be a great idea for creating family quality time.

The key to creating quality family time is to make time. We all have busy schedules, but family is one of the most important things, if not the most important thing that we have. We need to step back from our busy schedules and take time to enjoy our families more often. Sit down with your family and evaluate your schedules. Do you really need to go to the gym seven days a week? Find a way to make a “family night” once a week or a time frame each night. You will find that this time becomes one of the mandatory events in your planner.

This time for your family is great. The more often that you can do it is wonderful. However, it does not matter whether you have a family day or a certain time every evening that you spend quality time together, the important thing is that you do it.

Once your family has created a specific day or time frame that is good for creating quality family time, you should find a way to spend your time. Doing the same thing every time can become boring and may cause someone in the family to become bored with the activity, so it may be best to mix up family time. For instance, you could rotate turns on who gets to pick the activity for family night.

Some great ideas for family time include:
-Crafts
-Family game night
-Family movie night
-Outdoor activities

These are just a few of the many things that you and your family can enjoy during your family’s quality time together. The key to having an enjoyable family time is spending time with your family, doing something that you all are enjoying and having fun doing together.

Your kids will enjoy getting to be in charge of creating quality family time when it is their day to pick an activity. This is also a great way to spend time with your child. Your child can express themselves and you will learn more about your child. Your child will have a good time because they got to pick an activity for family time that they enjoy and you will enjoy it because your child chose the activity. Quality family time is a time that everyone will love.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx &  follow us on Twitter @  http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP

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