Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Separate Play Space or Playroom Setup for Little Ones


A child’s play space or playroom becomes the comfortable, therapeutic, and imaginative place where dreams are born when they can relax in their own space. Ideally, a play space would be a separate room by itself created specifically for play time. Here are some pictures and points for you to think about when setting up a child’s play space:

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Social Skills With an Infant in the Mix


What about teaching social skills while mixing toddler age (1 year old to under 3 years old) with an eight to twelve month infant that is more mobile and crawling? This requires a different approach compared to two or more toddlers playing together. Toddlers could be high energy at times. How can they play together in the same play space when an infant wants to crawl around and grab everything? The toddlers are not quiet old enough to fully understand that an infant is only curious and doesn’t know how to share yet. The toddlers typically don’t pay attention when they are pushing toys like trucks super-fast with the potential of hurting a little one by running over fingers or toppling over. How do we keep it calm and safe?

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

“Self-Directed” or "Independent" Play . . . Important?



Why is “self-directed” play important? Or what I like to call free play? 

This gives your little one the opportunity to explore the world around him. The more opportunities to exercise the imagination the more creative children become. As your little one gets older, this imagination will serve as a

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Let’s get to know each other better


Do you have a strong desire to connect with others who care for little ones? Whether you are a parent, grandparent, caregiver, aunt, uncle or a close friend helping out, I would love to hear your stories and what you are currently dealing with.
  • Maybe I haven’t touched on your specific situation in my book Precious Years Leaps & Bounds. I’d like to listen to your particular situation.
  • Maybe you have an idea or topic to suggest for my blog. Let’s share.
  •  Maybe you don’t agree on a topic that I have written about, either in my book or in this blog. I’d like to hear about it.
Parenting can be overwhelming at times especially when you feel stuck. I know how it is to be a parent of little ones. I rarely had time for me when my own kids were little. I had to literally schedule time for “me time” or I felt like I was going to explode. Let’s connect and share what you are currently dealing with. Help me learn more about current issues for this age group while in turn, you may learn something new through our connection. In doing so we (collectively) could rest easier and enjoy our time with the children in our home. 
You can connect with me via e-mail, iva@preciousyearscc.com and I promise it will be kept confidential. If you feel you will need more time, we could schedule a consult. Want to comment on one of my posts, but not comfortable in posting your name or signing up? You can comment as “anonymous”. If you see my post on Facebook, you are welcome to comment there as well.

Lookin’ forward to connecting,
Iva