Homeopathic for School

 School is starting next week and we, as parents are tense and nervous for our kids.  Maybe they have that dreaded teacher, not in a class with any friends or this could be their first year.  If it is your child’s first year or you are sending your last child to school,  either way both mom and child will probably have some really big emotions.  I know as I send my first child to Kindergarten that I feel like it is the first of large steps to come.  Yes, I know it is only kindergarten, but it is the first change for our child going into the world and she has been saying to me, “I am a little scared.”  What I don’t tell her is that I am a little nervous too.  Here are some Homeopathic remedies for Back to school for both Parents and Kids.

For Kids:
Passiflora: For Restlessness and nervousness at school

Pulsatilla:  Sunny disposition but when separated from mom and dad they get tummy aches, cry and whine.  For children with Separation anxiety with leaving mom and dad, works even stronger for first time separation.

Lycopodium: Dyslexia switching letters can’t read the work they have written.  Confusion when speaking, can’t follow a conversation

Baryta Carb:  Shy kid and will hide from strangers.  Will help with emotional or physical delays not just shyness.

Argentum Nitricum:  What if Remedy, i.e. exam and performance anxiety.

Lachesis – Too much energy looking for an outlet, something blocked or suppressed; children with the wiggles.

Baryta Carb:  For clingy child that hide behind mom or dad.

For Parents:
Passiflora:  Treatment for the nervousness that comes from sending your kid to school the first time.

Pulsatilla:  Helpful for Parents who have trouble letting go of their little one or are sad about them going into the big world.

Ignatia:  Help for for the homesick child or the Parent that now has empty house and feels sad.


So our first day both Mommy, Zara and Allegra all need Doses of Pulsatilla.  I am happy to report they worked very well and the First day of school was a great success as well as not to many tears from Mommy!

Summer Swim time

My last blog about swimming a few years ago was for the “Mommy and Me swim classes” when my oldest daughter Zara was about 7 months old, While I totally recommend these classes especially for first children (they are a useful tool which teaches the parent how to interact with a child in the pool), this Blog is about getting your 5 year old to actually start swimming.

We have tried several different swim facilities and while I can tell you great things about all of them, what the major differences are and such - I am going to share the differences that have turned my water timid 5 year old into a water lover who can’t wait for her classes or just go swimming in general.  Even better than her excitement is how it has influenced her little sister who because of this is way too advanced for her baby class but maybe not emotionally ready to be in the pool without me.

**Experienced teachers – this doesn't always equate to age yet in our experience the better teachers have always been in their late 30’s and not young high school kids or early college.  The calm and wisdom they bring to the pool is invaluable and the child progresses much faster with these teachers and more importantly your kids feel safe because the teacher are calm.

**Smaller class sizes – some of the big facilities will cram 8-10 kids in a class and unless they are at swim team level this doesn’t help them learn to swim.  Kid’s need a calm environment because for most people the water is scary at first and a bunch of kids acting crazy while you are trying to learn just doesn’t work very well.

**Flexible hours – I say this because I don’t know when your child is at their best, but for my kids they are best in the morning.  Trying to learn something new in the afternoon is usually not their best time; so choose well for your child’s behavior and energy level.
Fun Classes – I used to be of the mind that props for learning to swim was a bad thing, however when used appropriately, kids find them fun. They can help build confidence and can speed up their swimming progress.  Songs or music also doesn’t hurt when learning something new.

We are currently doing  Level 2 “Mommy and Me classes” for Allegra and Zara.  Here are some current pictures of them.  They also got to pick out goggles which they love to wear.  

 

When Choosing a Kindergarten, What Shall I do?

My daughter will turn 5 soon and that means choosing a school for kindergarten.  So of course people had told us to make sure and choose one when she was 3 so we could get on waiting-lists, lottery systems and have a highly confusing schematic for doing interviews, open houses and applications.   Anyone who is feeling overwhelmed, intimidated and a sense of “ I will ruin my child’s life if I don’t make the right choice” ?
Well, I was. Although I was given a few facts that had been shared with me to help narrow the search and save my sanity.  Here is the helpful list that I used:

1.  Decide if you want Public, Private or Charter.
2.  Decide if you want a religious or language school.
3.  Classic education, parent participation or another educational philosophy (Waldorf, Montessori, etc)
4.  Where they will go after kindergarten…”Does your school feed into an elementary school?”
5.  Driving distance from your home and work (because family time is important).
6.  School amenities:  Field trips, music, art, language or music lesson’s.  What is important to you?

By using these guidelines, we decided on a Christian private school K-8 for our daughter which is about 15 minutes from work. It offers more music, art and language as well as actively teaching moral kindness. We are hoping that this environment will help her grow into a lovely young lady.  Here is Zara doing some art time and playing Teacher.

Haircuts for Kids

It can be Shear Madness getting your children’s haircut and can bring about fear when they have to go through it for the first time or even repeated times.  So - what are the best tips for dealing with haircut issues?  Here are a list of tips that experienced moms have shared:

* Bring their lovie
* Practice at home
* Bribe them with snack or rewards
* Picking a child friendly salon or choose the salon you go to.
* Take your child to watch you get a hair cut
* Talk about the process matter of factly, “Everyone gets their hair cut.”
* If they are over 2 years old allow them to watch a short video while the process is occurring.
* Pick a time when they are well rested
* Give words of praise for a job well done.

I have taken my girls to Salon Xeno http://www.salonxeno.com and they get their hair done by Nemesis Nepomuceno. He also cuts my hair. My kids have watched me get my hair cut so they knew what to expect.  Zara was almost 3 years when she got her first hair cut and Allegra was 5 months.   Here are some hair cut pictures with my girls.  This last haircut Zara finally even got her hair washed and she loved it!

Art For All Children

I have always loved art and have highly encouraged art in our house hold as well as crafts.  This article isn’t about crafts though, because crafts have a finished end product and art is the process itself one never really knows when it is quiet finished.  I recently went to a lecture on art were they shared the stages of art development and you will see them as follows.  I have also included art supplies list that was recommend to help with expanding your child’s learning and appreciation of art. 

Stages of Art in a Child’s Life

Stage 1 scribbling stage process and action 

1-2 years marks and scribbles gesture drawing random and free

2-3 years circular movement circles

Stage 2 symbolic stage things ideas feelings

3 years pilliwog figure circle with lines

3+ years add second circle arms and legs

4 years details body part and clothing

4-5 drawing or telling stories, work out problems, exaggerate sun symbol

5-6 years landscapes composition new symbols and elements

Stage 3 realistic stage

Represent real images

7-8 years desire to make things look real rigid details lots of often frustrating 

10-12 realism cartooning complexity details and genes we different 

Art Supply Recommendations

Bees wax can mold and not messy

Paint - think of sponges and brushes use different applicators 

Crayons better than markers due to increase strength have to push harder and pushing more textures 

Markers

Sand or snow can be a pallet 

Clay or play dough and demential.

Lots of un-interrupted Time

Here are Zara and Allegra busy at art as well as some art work.  Notice the stages they are in.

Sensory Play

Sensory play is a modern buzz word that gets a lot of attention.  Busy mom’s know they want this but may not know why it is beneficial or how to implement it in their home.

Here are 5 reasons why sensory play is beneficial:


1.     Research shows that sensory play builds nerve connections in the brain’s pathways,       which lead to the child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks that help them develop a more creative side.
2. Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction. These skills are so important because they lay the foundations of functional adulthood.
3. This type of play aids in developing and enhancing memory, which can make for better formal education concentration.
4. It is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child and stimulating their brain and redirecting it to a better place.
5. It helps children learn sensory attributes and science behind (hot, cold, sticky, dry).

Here are some blogs that give you sensory play ideas:

https://handsonaswegrow.com/sensory-activities-for-kids/

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/kids-sensory-play-ideas/

https://www.parentingforbrain.com/sensory-activities-importance-sensory-play/


Here are my kids doing a sensory play activity. We used Corn starch with food coloring and water to make a sticky goo that was fun to manipulate with tools and hands.

Holiday Traditions: How to choose your family tradition.

While at a parent meeting this past week, our teacher talked about how traditions are formed. My husband and I have spent lots of time talking about family traditions  in our family.  What do we want our family traditions to be?  How do we decide what Holiday traditions are important?  Do we have any weekly traditions?  Stay tuned for another blog about forming other yearly traditions.  Today I am going to talk about the Holiday’s and the most important things your kids are looking for this holiday season.

The Four Things Children Really Want for any holiday

* A relaxed and loving time with Family
* Realistic expectations about gifts
* An evenly paced holiday Season
* Reliable family traditions

After reading this list, I realized for my own family I want many of these same things and we had already implemented some of these; for example we go out of town for Christmas since we don’t have family locally and so we have started opening a few presents early for our kids so they can enjoy each item for several days before anything new is added.  We also as a family don’t do that many gifts for our kids since grandparents and aunts and uncles also want to give and we don’t need children overloaded.  I love Christmas and traditions and I have carefully selected the parties and events we will attend and have spread them out so there is no added stress this year.  Here are My Dr. Walker favorite Traditions:

* Nativity pageant – Love celebrating Jesus Gift
* Giving and donating to others – We choose different projects
* Nutcracker - My grandmother would take me every year and I still have my nutcracker from when I was little.
* Christmas carol singing – Love to sing, so do my girls
* Christmas cookie Decorating – Love Decorating even more than eating
* Rudolph Claymation – Love the Classic Films
* Wrapping Presents – Love to watch a Hallmark Christmas movie and wrap the gifts.
* Stocking gifts – We still do stockings and it is my favorite part of Christmas.