How to get young children started with chores, with toddler chore chart

As we get closer to the one year mark of living in this pandemic, it’s getting harder to find activities to keep children entertained at home. Luckily for us, young children enjoy participating in cleaning and other chores. The “I do it myself” attitude that many toddlers and preschoolers adopt is helpful in their quest to learn these practical life skills. 

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5 super easy ways to instill gratitude in children

Adults are overall happier and less stressed when they are grateful (Emmons, Wood, Froh & Geraghty, 2010) and the same can now be said about the relationship of gratitude in children. Children who show indications of grateful behaviors have strong connections to life satisfaction (Park & Peterson, 2006) and higher emotional intelligence (Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence). Gratitude also aids in building relationships as it brings about traits such as helpfulness, optimism, and trustworthiness (DeWall, et.al, 2012).

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The magical effects of simply telling a story

“Boo-boo. Hike!” is what one toddler expressed to me with great fervor when he came into the classroom one morning as he recalled his weekend happenings. Though he did not tell me this story with the sophistication and wordiness of a Charles Dickens novel, the same passion existed.

As early as 24-30 months, children are already learning the art of storytelling through their constantly increasing ability to sequence events, pinpoint actions in time, and identify different characters.
In this post, we will share a bit about the roots of oral storytelling and its relationship in language and social development.

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