Recently, I’ve spent a great deal of time reflecting on the role confidence plays in a child’s development. As a parent, one of my greatest hopes is that my children will grow up believing in their abilities and feeling capable of facing challenges. However, the more I learn about child development and parenting, the more
Starting school can be an exciting time for kids and their families! It can also sometimes be frightening as kids are getting ready to experience a new environment and don’t know what to expect. This can be completely normal; we can all get nervous in new situations. There are a few things that you
Escaping to the store without at least one child in tow is quite the task. As a parent, there have been many, many times when I have been at the store with one or more of my kids. The experience I wish to share with you changed me and the way I raised my children,
Kids ask questions. Some kids ask A LOT of questions. While advice on dealing with questions can range from revisiting the question at a later time to asking your child what he or she thinks the answer is, I believe this powerful phrase can shape the way your child looks at questions for the rest
Learning a new language is not an easy task. There can be a lot of barriers present in learning a second language: different conjugations, unknown pronunciations, atypical phrases, and the list goes on. However, as someone who learned a language as a child, I have come to highly appreciate the unique abilities that emerged in
It’s August, which means it’s time to get ready to go back to school. When I was growing up, getting ready to go back to school meant shopping for school clothes, going to bed earlier, getting up earlier and of course new school supplies. There was always excitement in the air as I met my
We teach our children about stranger danger, stop drop and roll, and fire safety; but do we teach our kids about keeping their bodies safe? Think back to your childhood–did you have an aunt who plopped a slimy kiss on your cheek or an uncle who gave a rib-cracking hug? Were you told it was
I have had the opportunity to teach struggling readers in grades 1 – 3 for the last 8 years in a public school setting. We are a Title 1 school and have a fairly large percentage of students that come from poverty and generational poverty. Because of that, I see students who struggle with reading
Some parents may be wondering when to start reading to their children. Both of my parents are educators – under their guidance, I learned the value of reading from an early age. Simply put, it is never too early to read to your child. In fact, studies have shown that introducing books beginning at 4 months
Growing up reading was my escape. Through reading I was able to travel to faraway places, learn about different cultures, and imagine living in different eras. I was allowed to be mischievous and go on adventures that would have been impossible otherwise. However, I always felt like a guest in the author’s adventure, a “fly
©2023 United Way of Utah County
