Tweens in the Kitchen: Cooking with Your Big Kid

CALL 2-1-1 and ask for Help Me Grow, or use the ASQ online tool to complete your child's developmental screening TODAY!

Florida KidCare offers quality, affordable health & dental insurance for ALL children in Florida from birth through the end of age 18! Children are eligible for head to toe coverage, even if one or both parents are working. Visit floridakidcare.org for information about qualifying and how to apply for health insurance at little to no cost.

The achievements and contributions of Latinos to the United States are endless, and Hispanic Heritage Month honors these accomplishments across not one, but two months giving you lots of time to help your kids understand its significance.

Recently the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that 20 of the nation's internet providers have committed to lowering costs for low-income households, a step that will essentially provide free high-speed internet for those participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Find out if your family may qualify for this free/reduced priced internet service.

We have a number of videos featuring some of our early learning experts who are here to offer us tips, tricks, and sometimes more complex explanations of early child development. Take a look and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more Parenting Pro Tips coming soon!

Understanding Your Child's Temperament

Understanding your child’s temperament helps you be a better parent. Recognizing patterns in your child’s behavior that are influenced by temperament can help you anticipate your child’s responses to certain situations.

Every child is born with his own individual way of approaching the world—a temperament. Generally, there are five characteristics that describe an individual’s temperament. Emotional intensity, activity level, frustration tolerance, reaction to new people, and reaction to change are all factors to consider.

Temperament is not something your child chooses, nor is it something that you created. A child’s temperament shapes the way he experiences the world. A child who is cautious and needs time to feel comfortable in new situations and a child who jumps right in are likely to have very different experiences going to a classmate’s birthday party. A child who can handle a lot of sensory stimulation will experience a trip to the supermarket differently from a child who has a low threshold for a lot of surrounding noise and action.

Children Can Adapt. A child’s behavior and approach to the world are shaped by his experiences and especially by his interactions with you. For example, children who are temperamentally shy can become more outgoing and comfortable in new situations when their parents help them sensitively and slowly adapt to new experiences.

Culture Matters. Different cultures place different values on behavioral styles. What qualities do you value and desire for your child? How might your cultural values influence the way you see your child’s behavior?

There is no right or wrong, better or worse temperament. It’s very important for children to be accepted for who they are. It is true, though, that some temperaments are easier to handle than others.

Be your child’s champion. Have you ever found yourself feeling isolated from or misunderstood—even put down—by family, friends, and neighbors who disapprove of or judge your child? You are not alone. It can be empowering to see these situations as opportunities to educate others about your child. Remember, the goal isn’t to change your child’s temperament, but to help him or her make the most of her unique temperament—both its strengths and the areas where she may need more support. By watching and learning from your child, you can begin to slowly and sensitively help your child adapt, to expand his world, and to feel more confident about his place in it.

It’s never too early to nurture children’s development of language and literacy skills. Even at a very young age, experiencing different genres of books, hearing stories from the adults who care about them, and exploring books alone or with peers helps them learn how to listen to and understand language and how to share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. This month we celebrate World Literacy Day. Here are some tips for supporting literacy skills and development.

National Wildlife Day is September 4th. When it comes to educating kids, one of the most effective ways to teach conservation measures is to actively teach them about nature and the importance of wildlife conservation through fun activities.

Here are some steps and activities to teach your kids about nature and wildlife conservation.

If you’ve got a spare box at home, then why not turn it into this easy DIY Ball Drop Box for Babies. Babies love to drop objects into containers and take them out again.

This is an easy DIY project that will help to develop baby’s fine motor skills while using materials you already have at home.

This Tugging Box Fine Motor Activity is a golden opportunity for some fine motor skills playtime! It will not just keep your little ones entertained, but it will also encourage and improve their developing fine motor skills.

This Q-tip Letter Tracing Activity is a great way for toddlers to learn the letters of the alphabet as well as begin writing!

Q-tip tracing is a fun and easy way to develop the fine motor skills that are necessary for writing.

A large part of learning how to write and form letters and numbers is gaining control over your arm, hand and finger movements. Tracing can help kids practice those fundamental skills for writing.

Working on shapes with your kids? Here’s a great shape sorting activity – you’ve got to try it!

The thing with teaching kids about shapes is that often we show kids a flat representation of the shape and work on them memorizing how it looks.

Once they can spout off the names of a few shapes, we think it’s done. They know their shapes!

But actually, that’s just the beginning.

Gross motor activities for toddlers are generally very simple and don't require a lot of prep time. If your children are at age to start learning their colors, set up a color recognition gross motor game for them.

The best way to get a toddler involved in a gross motor game is to start playing it yourself. Young children almost always want to join in the fun.

I get it. We all want our kids to explore, learn and have fun but don’t really want the mess. I’m totally with you. So, I was on a quest to find some no mess sensory play.

The absolute best option I have found so far are water beads!! Have you heard of them?

They are so nontoxic, ecofriendly and reusable.

Plus, did I mention they are no mess!!

Music training can play an important role in developing crucial skills that help children learn, such as listening, paying attention, concentration, memory, and reading ability. Music learning opens doorways to other learning and strengthens the skills kids use in school and beyond. Read more...