The Kind of Mom My Kids Deserve

The Kind of Mom My Kids Deserve

Between my experiences as a graduate student in early childhood, to a preschool teacher, and as a mom, I’ve had more than a handful of parenting philosophies and approaches. I recently realized that while my research and approaches on parenting were valuable, I was missing a major piece. I primarily was focusing on how I wanted to be a parent without giving much thought of what type of mom I wanted my children to have. While the shift in semantics may be slight, it gives a vastly different perspective on parenting.

I want my children to have a mom that lights up every time she sees them after a separation.

I want my children to have a mom that frequently says YES to them (within reason!).

I want my children to have a silly mom who rolls with them on the floor and does weird dances.

I want my children to have a mom that laughs.

I want my children to have a mom that gets on their level and plays.

I want my children to have a mom that sings (albeit terribly).

I want my children to have a mom that looks them in their eyes and connects with them regularly.

I want my children to have a mom that celebrates who they are, not who I want them to be.

I want my children to have boundaries and consequences for poor behavior, but have a mom who tells them the feelings behind the behavior are okay.

I want my children to have a mom that reads them the same truck book 100 times.

I want my children to have a mom that lets them splash in the bath.

I want my children to have a mom that has picnics with them.

I want my children to have a mom that really listens.

I want my children to have a mom that lets them get dirty sometimes.

I want my children to have a mom that shares their enthusiasm for their latest obsession.

I want my children to have a mom that lets them cry.

I want my children to know their mom is always on their team. No matter where they are and who is watching.

My children deserve to have that mom and that is my primary “philosophy”.

Colors, sizes, and shapes..Oh my!

Just a disclaimer:  I'm a huge proponent of kids learning through play and experiences. If you talk to your toddler, take them out into the world, and get on the floor and play with them, I don't think you can go wrong! However, there is a more pressure nowadays as kindergarten has become the new first grade. Preschoolers are under more pressure to learn "kindergarten readiness" skills and some parents are understandably concerned about it. I wanted to share a few fun, play based ways I introduce the concepts of shapes, colors, and sizes to my two and a half year old at home.

1. Going to the Market

For this game, you will need a small assortments of attribute blocks (small blocks in different colors, and shapes). You can buy these on amazon or even make simple paper versions yourself with paper, crayons, and scissors. You will also need a basket or container of some type. Even a cup will work!

I recommend the following:
- Red circle
- Red square
- Red triangle
- Blue circle
- Blue square
- Blue triangle
- Yellow circle
- Yellow square
- Yellow triangle

Place all the attribute blocks/papers in a pile (the store) and give your child the basket. Ask him to go to the store and buy some triangles/red pieces/circles...whatever! When they have the single attribute down, you can work on two attributes such as "red triangle" or "blue circle". My son gets really into this game and we even use paper as pretend money to buy the shapes.

2. Race to the shape!

This is simple, all you need is sidewalk chalk and a sunny day! Draw different shapes outside with chalk and call out a shape to race to! You can make a starting line and then yell out "Race me to the square!". To make it a little more challenging you can draw big shapes and small shapes and instruct him or her to "Race to the big circle!".

3. Sensory Bin Hunt

Fill up a bin with sand, beads, salt, beans, whatever! Put cookie cutters of different colors/shapes/sizes or attribute blocks if you have them and have the child dig and see what they find. A fun bonus is to give her a magnifying glass to inspect her findings!

4. Move your body

A fun way to talk about size and big vs. small is to do it with your body and your voice. My son likes to stretch his arms up high or wide and with a deep voice say "I'm big!" and then we crouch and curl our bodies on the floor and with a very tiny voice say, "Now I'm small!"  We also do songs like the Itsy Bitsy Spider in a "tiny" voice and then change the words to "Great big spider" in a big voice.

My best tip is to keep it light and fun! Enjoy :)