Blog - GenParenting

Jan 01 2019

How Can We Support Families Living Through Disasters?

Happy new year! Each year I reflect on all that is good in the world. I also ponder on what I can improve upon and how I can approach each day with integrity that contributes to improving the lives around me. As an educator, I find that I am most happy when I am helping a child learn a new skill. A child’s look of satisfaction and achievement is all I need as the payoff for teaching and nurturing success.

Coping with Community Disasters

As a community member, I am challenged on how I can best respond to the multitude of disasters surrounding our communities. As a California resident, we have suffered through horrific wild fires. Other parts of our country have struggled with tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding. Our communities continue to be challenged with poverty, homelessness, and various injustices. [Read more…]

make a pdf

Dec 25 2018

Practical Homework Help – Tips for Reading Comprehension

Did you know that parents have much more influence on their child’s reading comprehension development than they think may be possible? If you are struggling with how you might be able to help your child understand what they are reading, here are some practical homework insights that you can easily adopt at home.

Model Good Questioning Skills

If you are curious about a topic or you need more information, verbalize that question and ask it out loud when reading or talking with your child. Phrases like, “I’ve never heard about that before. I wonder where I can find more info?” or “I still don’t understand that. Let’s look it up” show your child that it’s ok not to have all the answers and that adults still learn new things every day. In turn, your child will adopt the same desire to dig deeper into understanding what they are reading. [Read more…]

make a pdf

Dec 18 2018

Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

It is that busy time of year! All of us struggle with maintaining a sense of balance and calm in our daily lives. During this time of year, I struggle with juggling a demanding work schedule and maintaining my serenity with more demands for childcare and holiday celebrations. [Read more…]

make a pdf

Dec 11 2018

Thoughts on Parenting

As we come to the end of another year, I want to share some thoughts on parenting. These are my truths about parenting, which I have learned through trial and error over the years.

Lead with Love

The most important thing our kids need to know about their parents is that we love them. Love is the basis of our relationships with our kids. Communication, discipline, mutual respect and all the tasks of parenting flow from love. If love is not the basis, the relationships will not last. [Read more…]

make a pdf

Dec 04 2018

Toy Buying Considerations for Our Children

It’s the season for giving and many parents ask us what they should consider when buying children’s toys. We have observed that children learn best when playing with toys that can be used in many different ways.

Toys for All Ages

Summarized below are our seven favorite types of toys for children of all ages:

Cuddly toys provide bonding, cuddling, and lots of situational and pretend play. These include stuffed animals, dolls, character blankets, busy blankets, toys with different types of tags, and puppets.
Situational toys support children’s creative expression and lifestyle problem-solving skills. Cooking items, food supplies, kitchen appliances, and cleaning supplies can be used to play house. Situational play kits that may include pirate ships, school houses, and cabins with furniture and supplies can be used to act out various imaginary activities.
Building and construction toys help children develop eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, and foster our children’s cognitive skill development. Building blocks, Lego, Magna-Tiles, and Brio kits provide endless options for constructing a multitude of items and reinforce Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills.
STEM exploration kits stimulate science, technology, engineering, and math problem-solving observations, experiments, and product construction. Elenco’s Electronic Snap Circuits, KEVA Catapult, Engino’s STEM Machines Engineering Kit, Rubik’s cubes, math puzzles, games, and science lab toys provide endless opportunities for children to apply math and science explorations and problem-solving skills.
Large muscle toys aid muscle growth and essential coordination skills. Push toys, wagons, trikes, bikes, scooters, balls, sand toys, and gardening tools support healthy large muscle development.
Books of all types help our children discover the world of reading, imagination, and problem-solving. When we read with our children their abilities to explore expand as we can discuss many possibilities of how a story can relate to our lives. Nonfictional books help our children learn about the world beyond their daily experiences. Artistic books without words allow are children to create their own stories and conclusions.
Art supplies help our children express their creativity, imagination, eye-hand coordination, and manual dexterity. Large crayons, marking pens, finger paints, watercolors, collage objects, glitter, glue, stickers, and lots of different types of paper and shapes reinforce our children’s discovery of art in relation to their world.

[Read more…]

make a pdf