As parents and teachers we are always looking for books and content that are age appropriate and convey wholesome messages. I recently found this resource for print and audio books that I just love. Each story is entertaining and educational with positive messages. I love that each print book has an accompanying audio book via Spotify. So that your child can listen and follow along. This option is absolutely perfect for road trips! Below is the selection of books that they offer in their Happy Minds Bundle.

The four books listed above and an the four picture below are all included in the Happy Minds Bundle. Each story is around 4 minutes long and read by expert voice actors. I love how engaging each is. You can visit the website to hear a sample of each book too!
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The Happy Minds Bundle includes: Beyond the Wall, The Other Side, Peace is the Way, Mr. Hurry Pants, The Ladybug with the Dragon Heart, Your Thought Thinking Thinker, The Sun Loving Lad, and The Inventiest Kid.

Now you have an answer for your children when they ask can I hear another story. YES!!!! Let's find a Majik Kids Book!

Gentle parenting does not mean permissive parenting. Creating a  collaborative, empathetic, and respectful parent-child relationship while setting clear, firm boundaries is the foundation of  this style of parenting. The traditional concepts of reward and punishment are not used in this method, but rather behavior corrections occur through the three C's-- Communication, Consistency, and Compassion.  Discussion, redirection, and understanding childhood development help parents guide their child in developing self-awareness, understanding, and self-control. Picture books can be a great way to open the door to discussing troublesome behaviors. Below, I list a few books and the common issues that they address.

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Reading books with your children is a great way to start discussions about topics of concern. It's a great technique for gentle parenting! Let me know your suggestions for tackling difficult issues with your children in the comments.

I have a lot of experience with toddlers. I taught a class of 10, two year old children for a number of years, as well as being a mother of three.  Meltdowns are a part of toddlerhood, learning how to prevent emotional tantrums and knowing what do do when one happens is the best way to get through these years and support positive emotional growth. In this post I share my secrets and a few tips to soothe your toddler, if a meltdown occurs without using a tablet or phone.

The ideas listed above are just some of the ways you can offer a distraction to your child in the event a meltdown occurs. Knowing your child's boundaries and sticking to a schedule are great ways to prevent tantrums before they happen.  Keeping a book handy in your diaper bag or car is another great way to offer a distraction. I have several books that are available on this website and Amazon.

Let me know what you want to learn about next in the comments.

In my previous BLOG post I wrote about the importance of meeting children at their developmental level with learning opportunities both at home and at school to develop the emotional and physical skills needed for success in kindergarten. In this post I offer some easy and affordable ideas for learning activities that foster early learning skills.

Providing developmentally appropriate activities, like the ones listed above, allow children to learn the skills they need to be ready for school. Exercising small muscles, and developing reasoning skills, language development and social skills is necessary for later academic success. I hope that these ideas have inspired you to create some fun learning activities at home for your young children. As always, comment below with what you want to see next.

The focus of academic skill learning is being pushed to younger and younger children. This trend is not effective and can even be harmful in supporting the skills necessary for young children to become ready for school. I assess this harmful trend and suggest ways that parents and teachers of children 2-5 years old can develop necessary skills to help their children become school ready and still maintain the much needed play time necessary for healthy development.

Sensorimotor Play (0-2 years): Babies and toddlers experience the world through their senses and by acting on it. 
Symbolic/Fantasy Play (2-7 years): Children use objects and actions to represent ideas, which helps them develop language and symbolic thought. 
Games with Rules (7-Adulthood): As logic develops, children engage in more structured play with specific rules, allowing for more complex problem-solving and abstract thinking. 

As you can see there are a number of social constructs in which adults have aligned their thoughts in raising their children that do not support the natural development of positive emotional development. Many parents feel it is necessary to have their very young children participate in sports and organized play situations where an adult leads the instruction and children are to asked follow along. This type of learning does not support the natural play-based learning that children aged 2-7 years old need to thrive.  Below are a few ways parents/teachers can support proper social-emotional growth in children.

Mildred Parten describes the developmental stages of childhood play.
Infants- Unoccupied Play: A child's behavior is not focused on play. 
10-18 Months- Solitary Play: The child plays alone and is interested in the activity they are doing. 
18-24 Months- Onlooker Play: The child watches other children play but doesn't join in. 
2-3 Years - Parallel Play: Children play next to each other, using similar toys or in the same area, but are focused on their own activity with little to no interaction or communication. 
3-5 Years - Associative Play: Children begin to interact more actively, but there isn't much shared activity. 
5 Years and up- Cooperative Play: Children are fully engaged with each other, sharing toys and working toward a common goal. 

With the staggering statistics of children arriving to kindergarten unable to self-regulate their emotions, use the bathroom independently, and handle basic dressing and eating skills, I encourage parents and care givers to evaluate the current social norms and pressures to raise their children in a skill based environment that forces children to mimic adults instead of exploring the world around them. To some, this free, play-based learning approach may seem too unstructured, however many developmental psychologists and their studies can reassure those who worry; this approach is exactly what children need to grow and thrive.
I have written two books about the power of pretend dress-up play! PLAY! is a book about how pretend play inspires children and Scary Halloween Costumes offers a funny story and numerous examples of how a child can use common objects to create fun costumes. I encourage you to purchase these books for your children or classroom.