Raising Problem Solvers

“Why do children dread mathematics?  Because of the wrong approach.  Because it is look at as a subject.” ~ Shakuntala Devi

While most parenting topics generate a myriad of conflicting opinions, there has always been one thing parents can agree on — reading to your child early and often will help him or her later in life.

As a self-diagnosed right-brained person, I have always felt comfortable “raising readers”. I used to work in children’s publishing, for goodness’ sake. Reading, literacy, and books are my sweet spot.

But recently, an article about the importance of teaching children math at an early age caught my eye. The article featured Kent Haines and Games for Young Minds, the weekly newsletter he created with the goal to help both parents and children “learn to love math through the power of play”.

After reading the article, I talked with Haines to ask him more about Games for Young Minds and his thoughts on the importance of incorporating early math, both as a parent and a math teacher.

Haines, a parent of three, and a middle school math teacher, came up with the concept for his newsletter, Games for Young Minds, after he began researching ways to incorporate early math in his own home. Through his research, Haines found that more so than reading, early performance in math is a better predictor of a child’s later academic success across the board.

Great, but how do parents encourage early math learning at home? you may ask. That’s the same question Haines had. The answer — games.

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To learn more about Haines’s rule of thumb when it comes to teaching early math, why games are the key to teaching children math, how your family can learn to play with math in mind, and how to sign up for the Games for Young Minds newsletter, check out my latest post on the Birmingham Moms Blog. 

Game on.

Are Your Goals Suffering From Seasonal Confusion Disorder (SCD)?

“We are always “in progress.”‘ ~ Lara Casey

I am someone who likes order. I like predictability. So you can imagine my confusion recently when it was almost 70 degrees . . . in January.

Notice I said confusion, and not sadness.

While it was nothing like I’ve been used to, as a recent Birmingham transplant from the North Country, I loved that I could be outside playing with the boys in the middle of January. I may have even sent a few pictures of us outside to our friends back in Ohio, who, just this past weekend, got dumped on by snow. I know, I shouldn’t have. But these are the same people who also saw pictures of me sweating it out here during our first Southern summer. Honestly, I think these nice days in the middle of January are nature’s way of saying thank you to those of us down here in the South for dealing with her hot flashes in the summer . . . and fall.

Since moving to Birmingham in June, I’ve learned that the South, at times, suffers from Seasonal Confusion Disorder (SCD).

While we’re on the topic of SCD, did you know your goals could suffer from the same ailment? I didn’t either, until I met Lara Casey.

Now looking back, I realize SCD was a silent killer of my goals for so many years. I would set these lofty goals without taking into account the season of life I was in.  What has transformed my view on goal setting this year was realizing that my goals need to match my season.

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How are you progressing on your goals?  Feeling burnt out?  Overwhelmed?  If so, these may be signs of SCD.  But there is a cure.  For more on the importance of assessing the season your in, refreshing your goals, and matching your goals to your season, check out my latest post on the Birmingham Moms Blog.

Tough Conversations With Kids – Preparing Your Child with a Plan to Prevent Sexual Abuse

“…if you’re a parent, it doesn’t matter if your child is five or 50 – you still worry.” ~ Heather Small

The plus sign or double pink lines on pregnancy tests should really be accompanied by a little note that reads, “Welcome to parenthood – the world of worry.” Because that’s when it all starts . . .

While pregnant, you worry about the health and safety of your baby. You hold your breath while the ultrasound tech checks the strength of heart valves, counts ten tiny toes, and takes your sweet one’s measurements. You get butterflies as the doctor spends those first few seconds scanning the chart to check on the baby’s progress. But at that time, your worry appears to have an end point – birth.

You think, “Once my little one is in my arms and I can see him or her, those eyes, that mouth, and those little fingers wrapped around my thumb, everything will be all right – I won’t have to worry anymore.”

But then you learn that worrying about your child’s well-being doesn’t end at birth. It begins.

Unfortunately, sleepless nights don’t end when you’re out of the newborn phase. There’s just a different reason for them. What starts as worrying about feedings with a newborn changes to worrying about classmates in elementary school, which morphs into worrying about your teen texting while driving despite the million times you’ve told him or her not to. Worrying about the little ones we love is just part of parenting.

One worry many parents have as their little ones attend daycare or school, or are left with babysitters, is body safety and abuse. Unfortunately, there’s good reason to worry. The state of Alabama is in line with national statistics, which show that one in every 10 children will experience some form of sexual abuse before turning 18. That stat is staggering. But here’s the good news — we can do something. We can educate them and empower them.

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For tips on how to make body safety another part of your family’s safety plan, check out my latest post on the Birmingham Moms Blog where Executive Director of the Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services at Children’s of Alabama gives some tips on key components to include in your family’s plan.

Mommin’ Ain’t Easy

“Friendship…is born at the moment when one person says to another: “What!  You too?  I thought I was the only one.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Bless the moms who always look fantastic and put together, who’s doting kids always appear to listen to their mother’s calm requests with a polite smile on their faces, and who’s children are grateful for every minor correction given by all-knowing parents, as if they know that their momma truly does know best.  Bless them.

The perfect moment captured.

If you were to catch a glimpse of me on the right day, at exactly the right moment, when the wind is blowing just right, and the world (aka the two boys) seems in sync, you may think I am one of these unicorns.

However, let me assure you my friends that I am not.

On my best day I am like the mom equivalent of a mullet – perfectly manicured in the front, hair on fire in the back.

In my short two-and-a-half years as a mother, I have learned that in fact, there are no unicorns.  There is no perfect mother with perfectly behaved kids.  That perfectly put together mother with her well-behaved children I see at the grocery store, soccer practice, and at daycare pick up – she’s right there in the trenches too.  I just happened to catch her at just the right moment.  And you know what, that’s why when I see that mom, I give her a nod as if to say, “Sister, I know what it took to get here like that.  You go girl.”  Then my face likely reflects a tinge of longing as I thing, “Tell me your secret.”

The behind-the-scenes captured

However, despite the craziness, the mom-buns, the dry-fit shirts (a new staple of my momiform here in Birmingham), and the suitcases under my eyes, I wouldn’t trade being a mom for all the perfect and/or quiet moments in the world.

But mommin’ ain’t easy.  It isn’t for the faint of heart.  That’s why we need friends.  We need friends who we can join with, share with, be in the trenches with, and laugh with.

I’ve always loved the above C.S. Lewis quote.  But, I treasure it as a mom.

Whether it is a co-worker, a fellow soccer mom, or your favorite blogger, there is nothing more reassuring or encouraging as a mom than when you hear or read something that makes you say, “What? You too?  I thought I was the only one!”

There is strength in numbers ladies.

That’s why I am so thrilled and honored to join the fabulous team of ladies at the Birmingham Moms Blog as a contributor.

Check out the introduction post to read a little more about how we got to Birmingham, my career change, and what the true meaning is behind the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.”

The posts will include some local flavor as the boys and I explore our new home here in the Magic City.  However, I hope to also relay those universal moments we all have as moms in the trenches – the ones that make us laugh, cry, and everything in between.   So be encouraged mama – no matter where you are, you are not the only one.