Every parent with young children knows the drill:
It’s 8:00 in the morning. We’ve dropped our kids at pre-school, and we’ve got time for a shot of caffeine at the regular coffee klatch before heading into our busy days. Someone asks the question: “How are you managing screen-time?”
Presidents’ Day may have been established in 1885 to recognize the birthday of America’s first President, but most American families these days associate the holiday with a break from school and a chance to sleep late on a cold, winter Monday.
Yesterday, as I was thinking about a few more Valentine’s Day activities to do with my two-year-old, I ran across a Facebook post in which another super mom created an adorable Valentine’s hopscotch game for her kids – teaching them about numbers and shapes all while having fun. It looked simple, doable, cute and educational.
HOMER Co-Founder Stephanie Dua with her daughter.
It’s February. Love is in the air. There are also a lot of spitballs flying in our national conversation. This Valentine’s Day, we could all use a dose of some good old-fashioned kindness.
As moms (we’ve got six kiddos between us), and founders of HOMER, the digital learn-to-read program that partners with parents to teach young children to read, we’ve been thinking a lot this season about books and activities that teach kids the importance of kindness, tolerance, empathy and understanding.
Valentine’s Day seems like the perfect holiday for spotlighting kindness and teaching our kids that even the smallest acts of generosity can have an outsized impact on the world.
What is kindergarten readiness and why is it so important? According to the National Center for Education Statistics, students enter kindergarten at different skills levels, which is natural given that children come from a variety of early childhood experiences, ranging from highly-skilled-focused pre-K programs, play-based preschools, Head Start, or no preschool at all. An average kindergarten class may have children with a five-year skill range in terms of reading ability, from children who don’t recognize letters or letter sounds to those who can read short books. This makes the kindergarten teacher’s job particularly challenging.
Homer, the #1 Learn-to-Read app, is offering tips to help parents and students be better prepared for the start of kindergarten.