Here’s something that single parents everywhere may rejoice over: In a recent study done by an Ohio State University professor, they found no difference in school performance between children of single parents and those of two-parent homes.  (Provided that the children come from stable homes.)

Providing a Stable Home is Key

The study gathers data from 5,000 families across three decades.  Their findings suggest that stability in family life seems to have more correlation with children’s low stress levels, performance in school, and in low incidence of behavioral issues.  A two-parent household that was mostly dysfunctional proved just as disruptive to a child’s well-being as divorce.

The Downside

Marriage or remarriage of said single parent can be just as disruptive.  This was stated in a University press release: “Based on this study, we can’t say for sure that marriage will be a good thing for the children of single mothers [or fathers], particularly if the marriage is unhealthy and does not last“.

The Exception

The only exception in the study was found among black children, where children from two-parent homes consistently scored better in math and reading tests.

Despite the caveats, I think it’s safe to say that stability — in routine, in caregivers – as well as a loving and enriching environment is still the best way to ensure that children are happy, productive and successful in school.  And most improtantly, in life.

Sonia Sotomayer is one of the most remarkable Supreme Court nominees in history. If her nomination is approved by Senate, she’ll be the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court, and only the third woman.

She was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, and was raised in the Bronx. Her father died when she was nine, and after his death her mother worked six days a week as a nurse, sometimes working a second job, to support the family.

Even as a hardworking single mother, her mom, Celina Sotomayor, never stopped encouraging her children to focus on their education. She bought a set of encyclopedias for her two children, much talked about in the media in the last few days for being the only set in the neighborhood, and worked extra hours to pay for the tuition costs and send her children to the nearby Catholic school.

Sonia’s brother is a doctor, and after graduating from Princeton university, Sonia went to law school at Yale. She then worked in private practice briefly, but has spent much of her career in public offices, first as an Assistant District Attorney in New York, and then as a Federal District judge and a Court of Appeals judge. During that time, one of the organizations she was involved in was the Maternity Center Association, now called Childbirth Connection, a non-profit organization working to improve the quality of maternal care.

As well as education, Celina said that her parenting focused equally on character. She says that “I always taught my children to study and be honest and be good.”

In a speech at the White House with Barack Obama on Tuesday, Sonia paid tribute to her mom.

“I stand on the shoulders of countless people. Yet there is one extraordinary person who is my life aspiration. That person is my mother, Celina Sotomayor. My mother has devoted her life to my brother and me. And as the President mentioned, she worked often two jobs to help support us after Dad died. I have often said that I am all that I am because of her, and I am only half the woman she is.”
Celina’s neighbors and friends also spoke of her devotion to her children, and of how her kids were always her first priority.

Sonia has worked hard to get to where she is now, but her story is powerful proof of how good mothering can make a huge difference in a person’s life. Not all our children will end up on the Supreme Court, but we hope that they will achieve the things that they dream of. But how does what we do as mothers affect the lives of our children, and how can we help them become successful in their own lives?

I think perhaps the best thing Cecilia did for her children was to love them unconditionally, and be there for them through all the tough times. And so they grew up with an unshakable foundation and the certainty of their mother’s love that has helped both Sonia and her brother achieve things that aren’t usually expected from kids from the Bronx.

Some people would probably think that Suri Cruise is the luckiest girl in the world. In her short life (she turns 3 on April 18), Daddy Tom Cruise and Mommy Katie Holmes have reportedly spent a million dollars for her education. This includes private tutors to teach her Spanish and French, instructors for ballet, tap, and modern dance, gymnastics, art and music. She probably has the coolest playmates in the world – Romeo (6) and Cruz (4) Beckham, sons of David and Victoria Beckham. All for the sake of giving Suri a “well-rounded” education.

Some tabloids are a bit critical of Tom’s devotion for Suri. “You’d think she’s an only child”, apparently referring to Tom’s two adoptive kids with Nicole Kidman. I am not sure whether this accusation of favoritism is justified but indeed Isabella Jane (16) and Connor Antony (14) have remained away from the limelight, compared, for example, to the mixed brood of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt or Madonna.

During the last three years, my husband and I have been agonizing as to what to do with our twins’ education. Private international school or public school? The private schools have the advantage of English being the medium of instruction. The main disadvantage, as you can well guess, are the horrendous school fees. The public schools in the area of Switzerland where we live are free and are taught in German, with English taught as a foreign language at the 2^nd or 3^rd grade. Apparently, we are not the only parents faced with this decision. In every kiddie birthday party or playdate, the subject of conversation among moms are always about the where’s, what’s and how much’s of schools and who is going to which school. One time, my husband got sick of it and asked whether we didn’t have anything else to talk about.

The questions that we ask ourselves are:

• Can we afford private schools?
• Even if we can, should be spend the money on school fees now or save it for college?
• Would private/public schools be a good environment for our kids?

Many parents try to give to their kids what they probably didn’t have during their childhood so I guess it’s the same for Tom and Katie. I am pretty sure though that they don’t have to worry about school fees now or college money later and I envy them for that.

On the other hand, I don’t believe that my kids will have a disadvantaged childhood compared to Suri Cruise. We may not be able to afford private lessons and tutors but we love our kids just as Tom and Katie love their Suri. And that’s the most important thing, isn’t it – love.

I am happy to say, though, that we don’t need tutors to teach our boys foreign languages. They’ve been brought up bilingually (English and German) and are expected to learn French and maybe some Italian in the Swiss public schools. And this is something that Suri doesn’t have!

On Tuesday, it was Family Literacy Day in Canada. I took my daughter to an Early Years Centre to participate in a Family Literacy Day program where they read and acted out a number of stories, rhymes and songs. We both had a great time. So did my 4 month old baby!

We were sent home inspired to read every day (something I have always done anyhow) to our children and to engage them in as many literacy related activities as possible.

Later that day, out came the chart paper, newspaper flyers, scissors, glue and markers. We taped the chart paper to the floor, chose a letter of the alphabet to focus on (my daughter chose the letter B) and we brainstormed different words that started with “B”. After we wrote down the words, we also hunted through the flyers for objects that started with “B”. I encouraged her to look for words that started with “B”, but she wasn’t interested in doing that.

As per usual, the activity turned into a child led activity, which was fine by me as it still focused on literacy which was the purpose of the activity in the first place, oh and of course to have fun!

Some other literacy focused activity ideas are:

Letters and words are all around us. Reading is not simply opening a book and reading the words. For children, reading involves exposure to letters and words, looking at pictures and describing what they see and drawing pictures and explaining what they drew.

Try to read with your child each and every day. Every book counts!

As Amy Carter walked through the doors of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School, the media had a heyday. But most of the country?s top politicians ever since have opted instead for private schools. So a lot of people this week are urging the Obamas to make the PC decision and send their two daughters, Sasha and Malia, to D.C. public schools.

Among them is the D.C. superintendent of schools. He lauds the district?s many fine neighborhood and charter schools. He cites the opportunity for language instruction, multicultural environment, and the many students who are wooed by top-notch colleges. Additionally, D.C. is a ?school choice? district, meaning parents have the right to enroll their children out of the boundaries of their neighborhood school, assuming there is room in the desired facility.

The superintendent also suggests that the Obamas can learn about all the problems with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by putting their kids in the thick of it.

I was on his side until I got to that part. As a public school teacher by profession myself, I think that the superintendent is making his request at the children?s expense. Not that I disagree with the idea that the Obamas should consider ALL of their options. Nor do I disagree that the local public school could be their best option. But they should make a decision based on what works best for each child and the family as a whole. They should not make educational decisions in order to make a political statement. They especially should not send their daughters into a mess (the superintendent?s opinion of NCLB, not mine) so they can see firsthand how bad it is.

That doesn?t make a lick of sense.

My husband is also a public school teacher, so we raised a few eyebrows when we decided to home school our son through junior high. But I would not be shamed into enrolling him in a school that I did not feel best met his educational needs. School is not one-size fits all. And teachers know this better than anyone. I have several friends who take their children to different schools because the one that?s best for the oldest child is not best for he next.

Of course, the Obamas have more options than some families because of their position in life. I think that?s great. Their decision may involve more than just academics, as do all of our school choices. They must consider their values, as well as what?s convenient. They also (unlike most of us) need to consider politics and security. But it?s not just public vs. private anymore.

Parents can choose to homeschool, they can investigate charter schools (which are tuition-free), and there are public or private hybrids with homeschooling. If the Obamas? move has you thinking about school, maybe it?s time to re-evaluate your own school choices. Hopefully, you find that what you have decided is still the best place for your kids. But if not, it?s a great time to look at the new opportunities that may have arisen in your community.

I’m going to school right now to pursue another degree. I’m one of those whom statistics cite as changing their field of career at least once within their lifetime. With that comes a lot of sacrifice, juggling of schedules, and many other unique stressors that accompany being a “student mom”.

5 Things I Hate:

• Having to ignore my daughter’s pleas to play while I’m working on a paper, researching an assignment, or working on assignments at the home computer.
• Hearing my daughter and husband (with whom I already don’t spend enough time) playing just outside the door, and unable to join them.
• Hearing my young, single classmates taking everything for granted, and foregoing a good grade to party, while I’m here making sacrifice after sacrifice.
• Having only one income.

5 Things I Love:

• Stimulating my brains. I’m definitely recovering the “mommy brain” I had for a while after my daughter was born.
• Being a good example to my daughter of someone who can sacrifice money and comfort to pursue one’s dream. And get an A at the same time!
• Having a flexible enough school schedule that I am still available a few days of the week to take my daughter to the park and play areas, and to run other errands.
• Having adult interaction with people who have the same pursuits I do, and some of them are other mommies too!
• Being among the younger students in my class, the ones who are responsible, who infuse me with vigor.

It’s tough being a student mom. But I’m also confident that I’m doing something worthwhile and fulfilling. In several years, once I’ve graduated, we’ll look back on this and see it as a character-building experience.

Yesterday I visited an amazing toy store, in search of a gift for my nephew?s first birthday. The store carries Waldorf-style toys, as well as other wood and fabric toys. While I used to ?poo-poo? people who prefer that their children play with these natural types of toys, viewing them as elitist and a bit snobby, I now ?get? what all the fuss is about.

The store features Plan toys, Imagi-Play toys and another line of adorable wooden toys from Germany, birth-country to Rudolf Steiner?s Waldorf philosophy (unfortunately, the company?s name escapes me at the moment).

While I am not one to subscribe entirely to any one philosophy, there are things which I learn and take from a number of schools of thought or philosophies. What I like about Waldorf thinking is that it is outside of the box. Waldorf schools focus on teaching the whole child: their hands and hearts as well as their minds. Learning is very hands-on, and very encouraging of children?s imaginations.

Waldorf toys reflect this thinking. The wooden toys are classic and timeless. I absolutely love the Plan wood vegetables and a wood kitchen I saw at the store. I would have loved it as a kid, just as children today would. The kitchen and/or veggies can inspire a child to play house, pretend that he?s a chef, gardener or grocer.

Many Waldorf toys are even less specific in their use. A nest of colorful wooden arches, which create a rainbow when nested together, may be put together and taken apart like a puzzle, used as a bridge or ramp for a toy car, placed in a pattern to create a design, etc. This is a Waldorf classic.

While some of the Waldorf philosophy is a bit extreme for me (ie: many followers do not give their kids any vaccinations), I really like their approach to early childhood education. I love the little green wooden car and wood Pound-A-Ball toy by Plan I got for my nephew. My baby loves his new colorful wooden teether I bought him (couldn?t resist!).

I?ll visit my new favorite toy store when it?s time to start my holiday shopping. I?ll also keep the Waldorf emphasis on nature and imagination in mind when looking for new toys and playing with baby.

Only 12% of Americans can be considered as health literate, according a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Health literate means having “the skills required to correctly complete health care-related activities like reading a prescription bottle, figuring out medication dosage, filling out forms or calculating insurance coverage.” according to a Reuters feature article.

This is really surprising considering the amount of information available on the Internet as well as all those health ads you see on TV. I am surprised, for example, to see advertisements of prescription drugs and medical devices on American TV, something that is not so common in Europe.

A 2003 survey categorized Americans into 4 health literacy categories: proficient, intermediate, basic and below basic. The result was quite troubling – 32% have some basic literacy while 14% ranked as below basic. Furthermore many of those with basic and below basic health literacy belong to cultural minorities and have no health insurance.

This lack of health literacy, thus basic health care is reflected in another health care report from Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC):

14.8% of Americans (43.6 million) have no health insurance. The majority of the people visiting a doctor’s office for regular check ups and screenings are those with private health insurance. However, people who are treated in emergency rooms tended to be those without health insurance.

This lack of basic knowledge of health care and medications costs money. The current cost estimate is between 106 billion and 236 billion US dollars. But I think that the cost in human lives is what counts. Stepping up on health literacy will surely save lives.

I had lunch with a group of ladies the other day. We were a multicultural bunch, coming from different countries and cultures from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Asia. We had several things in common though we all spoke English, we were all expats in Switzerland, and we were all moms of kids ranging in age one-and-half and five years old.

Somehow the discussion turned towards TV and I was surprised to hear how diverse our opinions and practices are in terms of TV times. To make a long story short, some moms think 1 to 2 hours of TV time per day for preschoolers are OK while 1 mom advocates total abstinence. I am sort of in the middle of the road, my 5-year old twins spend on the average, 20 minutes a day in front of the TV.

We all have our reasons to justify our TV policies at home. Mine is pure and simple: I’d rather that my kids move than sit quietly the whole day.

A review in the New York Times cited several studies showing the not-so-beneficial effect of the presence of TV in the bedroom of children of all ages, as follows:

• Kids with TVs in their own bedrooms have an average viewing time of 21 to 30 hours a week.
• Kids who have TVs in their bedrooms normally have lower scores on school tests and are more likely to have sleeping problems.
• 70 % of the children with bedroom TV consistently performed poorly in maths, reading and language-arts tests.
• Preschoolers with bedroom TVs are more likely to be overweight, most especially the boys.
• Kindergarten kids with bedroom TVs tend to have more sleep problems and less “emotionally reactive”.
• Middle-school students (12 to 14 years old) with bedroom TVs are twice as likely to start smoking.

The mechanisms behind the impact of TV on children’s health and school performance are not well-understood. However, distraction during homework time and disturbed sleep are direct effects of TV that result in poorer performance at school. More disturbing, however, is the fact that the presence of a TV in a child’s bedroom can suggest less than optimal parental involvement with the child. The NYT article estimates that half of the children in the US have their own TV sets in their bedrooms.

One of the ladies in our luncheon group declared she deserves some rest, even if only for an hour, and TV at the midday in the kid’s room gives her a well-needed break from her toddler and preschooler. I can see her point. Indeed, motherhood can be pretty challenging and we moms need a break to recharge. But this does not justify using the TV as a babysitter. It will tend to become habit-forming for mom as well as for the kids.

So how do I keep my kids busy with resorting to TV? They draw, they read, they play, they cut pieces of paper and literally turn the house upside down. And when do I get my break? I don’t. I simply put them to bed early, clean up, and have my well-deserved rest at night.

How about you? What are your house rules regarding TV?

Related posts:

Kill your TV?.maybe

TV is the Enemy

For most parents of babies and toddlers, Tuesday?s report on urban high school graduation rates from a study on the graduation rate of students from public high schools in major U.S. cities may seem irrelevant. High school, much less graduation, seems far off as many new (or relatively new) parents navigate the ropes of changing diapers, feeding needs, socialization and their children?s growing motor and cognitive skills. But with entering ?the system? not too far off for many, the report is just as important as it is to their parental counterparts with older children.

The results of the study were released by America’s Promise Alliance, an advocacy group founded by former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell. The research was conducted by Editorial Projects in Education, a Bethesda, Maryland., nonprofit organization, with support from America’s Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The alliance is based on a joint effort of nonprofit groups, corporations, community leaders, charities, faith-based organizations and individuals to improve children’s lives. The collective studied 50 of the largest school systems and what they found was alarming.

In his report, Associated Press writer Ken Thomas stated: ?In 17 of the school systems, less than half of the students managed to get their diploma, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. ?Nationally, about 70 percent of U.S. students graduate on time with a regular diploma. About 1.2 million students drop out annually.?

Researchers analyzed school district data from 2003-2004 collected by the U.S. Department of Education and estimated the likelihood that a 9th grader would complete high school on time with a regular diploma. Data included examining race, gender and geography (cities, towns, suburban and rural school systems).

As a result of the report on high school graduation rates, the Bush administration has decided to take action. Perhaps it is because these results show that No Child Left Behind is not working as there are some 1.2 million children in the country who are being left behind. “When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it’s more than a problem, it’s a catastrophe,” Powell said.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced Tuesday it will require states to report high school graduation rates in a uniform way instead of using a variety of methods that critics say are often based on unreliable information. According to several reports including WDIV News and the Detroit Free Press: ?Under the 2002 law, schools that miss progress goals face increasing sanctions, including forced-use of federal money for private tutoring, easing student transfers, and restructuring of school staff.

Currently, each state calculates graduation rates using a variety of methods, many of which critics say are based on unreliable information about school dropouts. Under No Child Left Behind, states may use their own methods of calculating graduation rates and set their own goals for improving them.?

Spellings is also currently planning summits in every state to help students better prepare for college and the workforce.

One of the most telling factors in the report about each state is the urban-suburban gap, which overall, may be what prompted No Child Left Behind to be re-examined. Many metropolitan areas showed a considerable gap in the graduation rates between urban public high schools and the surrounding suburbs. According to the report high school graduation rates are 15 percentage points lower in the nation?s urban schools than of the suburbs. The report states: ??Extreme disparities emerge in a number of the country?s largest metropolitan areas, where students served by suburban systems may be twice as likely as their urban peers to graduate from high school.? The most severe urban-suburban disparities are located in the Northeast and Midwest, and students in the suburbs of these regions are ?more than twice as likely to complete high school with a diploma? according to data in the report. Of the 50 urban school systems studied, those with the higher graduation rates also showed a smaller urban-suburban divide. With results like these, it is no wonder that many parents choose to home school their children.

It is estimated that as many as 2 million American children are home schooled. Parents of these children have decided to eschew traditional public education for a variety of reasons from concerns about safety to religious issues to dissatisfaction with the academics provided in their school systems. Home schooling is also an alternative for progressive education that may be less expensive than private, independent or parochial schools, and not all areas have charter schools or ?open enrollment? or ?schools of choice? where a parent or guardian can send their children to a public school in a different school district from the one in which they reside. For many, homeschooling is the apt choice for overseeing and providing their children with the best education that they see fit.

But in both California and Washington, D.C., recent events have homeschooling under fire.

The California Department of Education allows home schooling as long as parents file paperwork with the state establishing themselves as small private schools, hire credentialed tutors or enroll their children in independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public school districts while still teaching at home. But on Feb. 28, the California Second District Court of Appeal ruled that parents must have a teaching credential to home school their children. (The decision has not yet gone into effect.) According to Seema Mehta, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, ?The appellate court ruling stemmed from a case involving the Longs, who were repeatedly referred to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services over various allegations, including charges of physical abuse involving some of their eight children.?

Instead of the case being about the allegations of abuse, it turned into a case about homeschooling. (The Longs had a loose arrangement with an area private school, where the children were ?enrolled? but did not attend, instead their education being provided by their parents.) Mehta?s report continued, ?A lawyer appointed to represent two of the Long’s young children requested that the court require them to physically attend a public or private school where adults could monitor their well-being.? From that, the appellate court ruled that a parochial school’s occasional monitoring of the children’s education is insufficient to qualify as being enrolled in a private school, and because Mary Long does not hold a teaching credential, the court determined that the family is breaking state law.

A similar case occurred in our nation?s capital, where according to a recent Op-Ed in the Washington Times by Homeschool Defense League Association (HSDLA) president J. Michael Smith. In that case, a woman mistakenly identified as a homeschooler was charged with murdering her four children in January. The children had been enrolled in the public school system, but were truant. District of Columbia law requires homeschoolers to file notice with the District, and as a result of the case, the new Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has proposed some new homeschooling regulations in 5 DCMR Chapter 52 for District of Columbia residents in grades K through 12 for minors from the ages of 5 through 18. The proposed regulations include but are not limited to:

• Homeschooling parents providing written documentation to the OSSE within a specific time frame.
• Documents of hours of instruction and daily attendance that demonstrate the parent/legal guardian is providing regular, thorough home schooling instruction during at least the District?s school year.
• Parents must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
• Parents/guardians must submit evidence in a form acceptable to the OSSE that the children have been immunized and received health and medical services required of the child?s peer group.
• Annual assessments of adequate home schooling instruction with the right reserved for the OSSE to make home visits if it is determined that the homeschooling is inadequate according to OSSE standards.

Many District homeschooling parents were outraged by these new proposals, finding them ?unconstitutional.?

Regarding the California appellate court decision, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was of a similar mind. On March 7, Gov. Schwarzenegger called for the reversal of the California appellate court decision banning parents from educating their children at home if they lack a teaching credential. If the state Supreme Court, which will be hearing appeals on the decision fails to act, the governor vowed to push through legislation guaranteeing families’ right to home school.

“This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don’t protect parents’ rights then, as elected officials, we will,” he said in a written statement.

The governor?s statement was commended by U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Senior Republican Howard P. ?Buck? McKeon (R-Santa Clarita). In a March 19 statement, he said: The decision by the California 2nd District Court of Appeal is a tremendous disappointment to those who believe in educational freedom and parental rights. That the Court would undertake this type of assault on the longstanding framework of the right to homeschool is an outrage. I commend Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Superintendent for Public Instruction, Jack O?Connell, for taking a strong stand in support of families, and I join them in their commitment to ensure parents retain the right to educate their children as they believe is best. This flawed decision will not be the final word on homeschooling in California. It has already been rejected in the court of public opinion, and I look forward to its rejection by our courts and in our laws as well.?

While the California court?s decision has left just three options: attending a public school, attending a private school, or having a certified teacher tutor the children, it has not deterred families from continuing to home school their children.

While in many states there are no such laws and regulations and it is easier for parents to home school where home schooled children thrive as much as their peers who are enrolled in traditional educational systems. New Hampshire too is placing homeschooling under the microscope with Senate Bill 337, which now requires homeschooling parents to provide additional reporting beyond what is required as per New Hampshire HB 406, which went into effect May 12, 2006.

As many states address the issue of ?no child left behind,? within their traditional school systems, other states may look to the results of what is occurring in California, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C to determine if they too should alter their own homeschooling regulations and requirements.

Sources:

The Los Angeles Times

http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/why-what-happens-in-california-matters

?Draft of DC Education Code for Homeschooling? at http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/laws/blDC.htm

http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200803190.asp

March 17, 2008 Washington Times Op Ed at http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/200803170.asp

Up until a few years ago, I have been very against allowing my children to watch television. I never purchased movies for my oldest daughter who is now fourteen until she had reached age four. While television programs for children had come a long way from my childhood, I was still skeptical of so called ?educational television? and DVDs.

Today I had a chance to review a Baby Einstein DVD. Rather, I should say that my children had a chance to review it. I allowed this because thanks to advances in educational programming, children are learning more from DVDs and television than in years past. I must admit, I am glad I popped this into the player. Recipient of an American Baby Best of The Year Award, it has been voted as a product moms say they can?t live without. After viewing it with my children, I can agree!

Baby Einstein, Baby?s First Sounds-Discoveries for Little Ears is a fun, lighthearted DVD for babies aged 6 months and up. The program introduces little ones to sounds, the basic sounds of speech that we use everyday. ?Ah?, ?buh?, ?duh?, ?ee?, and ?mm?. Each sound is then connected to a simple word, easy for the child to understand especially if they are older than the 6 months stated as beginning age. My youngest child is eighteen months, but he loved every minute of this DVD. I was pleasantly surprised to watch and hear my little man imitating the sounds on this DVD. Unlike his sister who is 3 years old, he has not been using words strung together. He says one word at a time with some trouble on certain sounds. Key sounds being reinforced in a fun way with puppets, songs, and rhymes seemed to have a great impact on him.

His older sister, my 6 year old happens to be autistic and has some problems with certain sounds, much like her younger brother. She also enjoyed copying the sounds during the run of the DVD. For parents of children with special needs, I highly recommend the Baby Einstein, Baby?s First Sounds DVD. It appeals to children who love simple scenes and repetition.

The DVD is divided into 13 scenes, each accompanied by a song, sonata, or quartet. Most of the classical music is Mozart which has been suggested to help with intelligence development. Music is enjoyed by nearly all children, regardless of the impact on their I.Q. and this DVD has plenty of it for them.

Four bonus features are included, including a sneak peek at another DVD, Einstein Pals.

In Some Tips for Promoting Early Literacy, the importance of reading was discussed. But what about the other side of literacy, writing?

While your child will not be writing the Great American Novel anytime soon, encouraging writing and writing-related activities also promotes literacy. Making the lines and strokes as they scribble will help them when it comes time to learning how to make letters and numbers.

Around a year, it is safe to introduce crayons, finger paints and other writing utensils and art supplies to your child under supervision. You know your child best, so you can determine when the best time really is for your situation. Allowing your child to scribble, draw and paint encourages both gross and fine motor development. You can get in on the activity too, unleashing your own inner child and creating little masterpieces with them.

As your child gets older and their markings become more distinctive (and distinguishable) you can discuss those marks with them and how they may be similar to shapes and letters. For instance, when she makes a circle, you can also say, for example: “that’s a great circle. You know what? It also looks like the letter O.”

• Prepare your art area before starting the “project.” That may mean putting a sheet or tarp on the floor, covering the table with newspaper or waxed paper, and being ready with towels and wet cloths for clean-up.
• Get all of the supplies that you will be using before starting the activity.
• If your child is prone to putting everything in his mouth, get the pacifier ready ahead of time, so that you don’t have to worry about paint getting eaten (Even if it is non-toxic, it’s not meant to be consumed.)
• Use child-friendly products like the triangular-shaped crayons and paints by Crayola. If you are using larger tubes of finger paint, place the colors in separate containers like bathroom cups, or in dollops on a piece of waxed paper.
• Get your child ready with a smock (which can be as simple as an old shirt put on her backwards), or if it’s near bath time, strip her down to her diaper.
• Allow for free play and creativity with wild abandon while making art.
• Consider your child’s attention span. If they are showing signs that they are done, by losing interest in the activity, end it. Do a quick clean up and move on to something else. On the other hand, if they are really enjoying it, don’t hesitate to let it go longer than you may have initially intended if it makes sense to do so.
• Write with your child and around your child. As with reading in front of your child as well as with him, seeing you write will encourage him to want to as well. Show him how to spell his name. He might not “get it” at first, but he’ll be thrilled to see his name in print and start to identify those letters.
• Encourage story-telling about her pictures. What may seem to be a bunch of scribbles to you, might have an entire story line behind it for her. When she’s bigger, you can then write the story as she’s dictating it to you, and later read it together.
• After a trip to the park, zoo, to grandma’s house?where ever?encourage drawing a picture about it later. Then, you can tell the story about it as in the tip above.

Make writing and reading fun and you may instill a love of words that will last a lifetime and promote future academic and life success.

Isn’t it fun to browse the toy stores with your baby? You can really spend a fortune on products that say they will teach your baby to spell and count and appreciate music and develop their sensory skills, and improve fine motor skills, and just about everything else you can imagine.Or perhaps it’s depressing, when there isn’t enough money to buy the latest Baby Einstein gadget, and you feel guilty that your baby will miss out on the educational experience they promise.

But what do babies want? They look at the bleeping, singing toys with flashing lights in the store in wonder, and their parents think they will love the toy, and buy it, only to have baby be quickly bored with it. Because after pushing all the buttons, what does it actually do?

But there are toys that are good value (or even free), endlessly entertaining, and educational, and much more so than anything that needs batteries!

Every baby – both sexes – should have building blocks, balls, containers, and a doll.

Building bricks or blocks are great for honing fine motor skills, and fascinate babies, toddlers, preschoolers and beyond. Build a tower for a baby to smash! Older babies love to build their own towers to knock down. Blocks teach engineering skills – a baby must learn how to make a tower or a bridge stay up. And believe it or not, math skills too. If you count blocks, or show your baby how two small blocks are the same size as one big block, you are teaching her math.

Balls are cheap and fun to drop, roll, bounce, catch and kick. They are great for developing gross motor skills. Dads, and often grandads, can be shy, or even think it’s not masculine, to play with babies. Balls are a great toy to bring man and baby together.

Containers Give baby a container. Baby will put things in, dump them out. Repeat x 1000.

Containers are good to stack, nest, sort by size, fill and empty. Great for fine motor skills, and learning the concepts of spatial relationships, In, Out, On, Under. And size too, ask her how many balls fit in the big pot? How many fit in the little pot? Does a big pot fit in the small pot? Or the small pot in the big pot?

This one can be free – baby will be just as happy with the pots from a 6-pack of apple sauce or an ice cream tub as she will be with store brought toy containers. Any activity that entertains your baby, and involves eating ice cream has got to be a winner!

Dolls (If you have a son, and can’t bear to buy a dolly, then a teddy bear, or clown, or animal) are wonderful for teaching social skills, empathy, and last well beyond baby and toddlerhood. Dolls are wonderful for explaining concepts to a baby. A great way to explain about bedtime to an older baby is to help them put a dolly to bed. And it’s precious to watch your baby hugging a dolly who’s had a boo boo – even if baby caused the boo boo by throwing Dolly from the couch! If you are on a budget, there’s lots of websites with patterns to make a beautiful doll from scraps. What could be better than your baby cherishing a dolly you made?

What else is great, simple fun for baby to play with? Check out Part 2!

Every parent worries about saving money for their child’s education, most of us long before the pregnancy test shows up positive. As a college graduate myself, I am a big advocate of education and furthering your education and training through colleges or trade schools. With the job market becoming increasingly more demanding and the basic requirements for employment raising rapidly, your child’s future needs consideration, and soon!!!

I was fortunate enough to have a family that saved for these expenses as well as a recipient of a partial scholarship that allowed me to go to the college of my choice out of state. However, with living expenses and inflation in every consumer market and salary rates remaining low, I was worried that doing the same for my child would be exponentially more difficult. After doing some research I found a program called Upromise that EVERY parent should take a look at and consider.

Upromise is an online college savings program that helps you save for your child’s education without costing you a cent. Yes, really!The program is essentially very simple, by registering your grocery, credit, and bank cards to the system you are given back a percentage of your purchases from qualified sponsors that are directly deposited into a savings account for your child. The best thing about this system is that it is FREE, and all you have to do is continue using your cards in the same way that you have been, and you get rewarded with savings for your babies education. You can also invite friends and family to register their cards, so that they can help you raise money!

There are SO many different companies that are partnered with Upromise, online shopping, credit cards, restaurants, travel companies, grocery stores.. you name it.. it’s on there. We have been a member of Upromise for two months now, and I’m happy to say that we have received our first contribution for a dinner that we had in a local restaurant on Christmas Eve. All we had to do is use our registered cards to pay for our meal at a restaurant that supports the program and we were automatically given back 4% of our meal for her college savings.

How can this possibly be better? While the percentages of companies and sponsors vary in contributions, over time a little bit here and a little bit there can add up to quite a bit of savings. Having your friends and family register their cards only magnifies the savings you can accumulate, and I am VERY excited that such a program exists. Please, PLEASE take a look at this program, you will be very happy you did. If you know any other parents or soon-to-be parents that are worried about their children’s futures, please help support this great program by spreading the word! Happy Savings!

Please feel free to comment your experiences or feelings about this program, we’d love to hear from you! I am a real mother and am not employed or have any professional connection with the Upromise program and system and any opinion or information I have given is of my own personal accord and submission! Thanks!

New parents of babies born in Maine are receiving a $500 donation from Harold Alfond, founder of Dexter Shoe Company, to begin a college nest egg. Harold Alfond never attended college himself, obviously a decision he regrets, so he is taking steps to ensure others have the opportunity to go to college.

At current interest rates, this generous donation will be worth about $2,000 in 18 years. However, a monthly deposit by parents and loved ones of $50 will increase this nest egg to roughly $25,000 by the time your new baby is ready to use it.

More Information

How Children Learn

Nurture and Teach
The single most important thing caregivers can do for a child is provide a nurturing environment. By doing this, we influence children?s brain development and their ability to learn. Introducing nurtured children to learning opportunities every day will help them become happy, well-adjusted adults. In all stages of child development, each experience builds on the one before it. The most basic foundations can serve as the basis for the comprehension of more complex ideas in future years.

Learning Begins at Birth
We are born with billions of brain cells ? in fact, all we will ever have. What is missing is a large amount of connections ? synapses ? between those brain cells. Synapses start developing based on a child?s experiences. Children?s brains develop faster from birth to age three than any other time; and more learning takes place during this time than any other. The more learning opportunities parents provide for their children from birth until school age, the more synapses are made. The connections will serve as a pool of knowledge for a child to access in later years.

Because children?s earliest experiences affect how they will think, learn and behave, helping children learn from birth to school age is a crucial activity. Parents and other caregivers can create a strong foundation for learning by providing a nurturing and rich learning environment from the very beginning.

Children Seek Learning Experiences
Not only do children need to be physically active, it is their nature to look for opportunities to learn. They participate in learning by using their senses and asking countless questions in order to more fully understand the task at hand.

Creating a Learning Environment
Children enjoy learning when they can master an activity. Begin with a simple task and expand or complicate it after your child has enjoyed some successes.

Create a safe and secure learning environment. This will help children do their best learning rather than distract them. Key to creating this environment is treating your child with respect and caring.

Where Do Children Learn?
Children learn everywhere from school to the doctor?s office to the grocery store. As do adults, children learn from interacting with others and watching their parents? behavior. Kids are highly influenced by the people in their lives, especially adults who they are close to.

Not All Children Learn in the Same Way
In the book Frame of Mind, Howard Gardner described his theory of multiple intelligences. We all have a certain way we prefer to learn. The seven multiple intelligences Gardner points to are interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, musical, logical-mathematical and linguistic. We have the most success teaching our children when we can recognize their style of learning (as well as our style of teaching) and incorporate activities accordingly.

Playing and Learning
The main way children collect and process information is through play. Play is the repetition that reinforces old skills and encourages new ones. Because play is enjoyable, children?s minds are open. Children are capable of much learning through play because they are very receptive and relaxed. Take advantage of this benefit and select activities that are fun and educational. Your children will learn, and you will both enjoy the experience.

About The Author
Shelley Ruiz is a homeschooling parent and the owner of Magic Lark Learning which provides parents and teachers with resources for making learning fun, including a free quarterly online journal of poems and stories for kids. anything@magiclarklearning.com.