1. Read to your child as soon as they can focus on a book in front of them.  Although they may not understand the finer points of the story, they are learning concepts of print:  how to hold a book, how to turn the pages, where to start a book.  As they grow older, they’ll begin to understand that the words on the page carry a message which is linked to the pictures in the book.

2.  Allow your child to turn the pages and touch the book – books with different textures or flaps they can open will increase their interest and allow for their need to move and explore.

3.  Expose your child to the cadences of language – read with expression and try different voices when characters are talking.  If you’re reading a rhyming book, let your child guess the word at the end of the line (ie. I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I…..).  If there is repetition in the book, let your child recite the repeating lines (”Bang, bang, rattle, bang-bang, gonna make my noise all day!”).

4.  Do not limit reading to bedtime.  Seek out reading experiences in the real world – read signs and posters around the neighbourhood.  Children can recognize “stop” on a stop sign or the name of favourite restaurant.  Have them read cereal boxes, shopping lists, price tags and toy store flyers.  You may even want to make labels with your child for things around the house like “chair,” “window,” “fridge” etc.

5.  When your child is beginning to read simple books, let them use the picture to help make sense of the words on the page.  Many parents make the mistake of covering up the picture, but at this early stage, children need to use a variety of different strategies to figure out the text.

6.  Allow your child to read many different types of texts:  fiction, non-fiction, magazines, the internet, comic books etc.  Boys, especially will appreciate outside the mainstream books like Captain Underpants or The Day My Butt Went Psycho.  And don’t worry if they’re just looking at the pictures.  Think about how adults browse at the bookstore – we flip through the pictures, read a few captions – it’s a very real way of reading.

7.  When your child is reading by themselves, listen to them read out loud, but be cognizant of when it is becoming too difficult or they’re getting tired.  Offer to finish reading, or share the reading.  And once they’ve started reading books by themselves, don’t give up on you reading to them.  Choose books they might not be able to read independently, like novels, and read a little bit each night.

8. If you find your child is struggling to read the books they’re bringing home from school, talk to the teacher.  Children will learn to read and enjoy reading if they read books that give them some challenges (figuring out a few new words), but they may become discouraged if they are spending most of their time decoding words and therefore will lose the meaning of what they are reading.

Steph Dawson is an elementary school teacher in Toronto with a specialist qualification in Reading.

UM: Katherine, considering how profound role modeling is at this age, what do you look for in a new teacher?
KD: First and foremost, I look for a positive minded person who full of enthusiasm – someone with an authentically loving, joyful nature. I also look for someone who respects others and treats others the way they want to be treated.

If I was going to make a shopping list of qualities, I say joyful, loving, positive, patient, understanding, compassionate, confident, creative, encouraging, enthusiastic, forgiving and respectful

UM: What do you think makes a good role model?
KD: A good role model needs to be able to make mistakes and recover confidently. Nobody’s perfect. We want people to know that everyone makes mistakes and it’s not the end of the world. So I look for someone who embodies forgiveness as well.

A good role model also demonstrate confidence in themselves and in the people they are inspiring. I still remember teachers who believed in me and encouraged an expression of myself without judgment. I hope that I hire teachers who help children to celebrate who they are.

UM: Elisa, as a new teacher, what makes a good role model?
E: Putting positivity into a learning experience and offering a positive influence to those you’re in contact with. It’s also important to provide a safe environment where it’s ok to make mistakes and take risks. I salute the parents who come in allow themselves to be vulnerable and model for their children and share their experiences with the group. I think a role model needs to be supportive.

UM: Who have been good role models to you?
E: Well it might sound cliché but my Mom has been a good role model to me because she’s always made learning fun and allowed me to feel supported and confident in the choices I made. My mother taught me that making learning fun is the best approach – learning without knowing that you’re learning!

UM: What qualities about you make you a good role?
E: I sincerely like to have fun. I’ve had a lot of experience around children and everything I’ve done seems to involve kids so it’s easy for me to bring out my fun, enthusiastic side and find those qualities in myself that kids will look up to. And I think of my mom and what she’s taught me about learning.

I also think I’m good at putting people at ease when they walk in so that they feel comfortable being there and participating.

While it is important to have a good role model in the teacher, the parent is the best role model for any child, which is why classes with active parent participation are an excellent choice for families with young children. The teacher becomes not only a good role model for the child, but also for the parents.

UM: Parents need support and encouragement too!

Talk is one thing. Actually being involved is far more powerful. Kids start to feel, ‘this is what our family does’ which is much more profound learning than this is what I do once a week for fun. Role modeling is a powerful force in any young child’s life. Planning these kind of character building activities will draw the family together and create a common ground for social and emotional development.

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
- James Baldwin, an American novelist, writer, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist.

Space still available at in the West Side Music Together’s fall session and registration begins starting August 2nd.  Classes take place at St. Stephen’s church across from the new West Vancouver Community Centre.

WestSideMusicTogether.ca

1. Go to your favourite park on a sunny day and chances are you’ll get some live music. A saxaphone, choir or impromptu dancers can often be found in Urban parks.
Cost: money in the hat.
Kid-Friendliness: Kids can run, and you can stay for as long as you like.
Effort: Take a walk in the park.

2. Stick a tot in a stroller and do an Urban Hike, You can each grab a notebook and pen, and have some fun. Depending on the age of your child, you can find shapes, images in media billboards, graffiti tags, or colours.
Cost: Free
Kid-Friendliness: Excellent.
Effort: Minimal. Making up a ‘game’ that is age appropriate.

3. PWYC. Get to know your city and what is offered. If you can ‘Pay What You Can’, a play or ballet where little ones may only last one act isn’t a big financial loss. Art galleries often have free dates or times, and rush (last minute) tickets for performances are often available at a huge discount.
Cost: What you can Afford
Kid-Friendliness: Great if you find something with an intermission that will hold your child’s interest.
Effort: Search the net (or UrbanMommies Events) and find out when the deals happen.

4. Student Exhibits. Art colleges often have exhibitions of student work, theatre schools offer free performances, and musicians can be heard from outside conservatories. Walk by some day and a cacophony can be heard.
Cost: Free
Kid-Friendliness: Dart whenever you must.
Effort: Walk home a different way to hear some music practice.

5.  Festivals.  Look in your local paper for times and dates of Folk Music Festivals, Exhibitions, Festivals of Dance and Theatre.  Summer is always a great time for these.  February?  Kiwanis music festivals also offer great performances by youth and when your little ones see their peers with a cello in hand, they may beg to learn an instrument.

Enjoy, and ‘Viva La Vie Boheme!’

- Jill Amery loves the arts.

“Only 25%* of parents hydrate properly,” says Dara Duff-Bergeron, mom and personal trainer. “While juggling carpool, volunteering in the classroom and taking care of a sick child, parents often forget to drink fluids and replenish lost vitamins and nutrients.”

Keeping up with the little ones can definitely be a balancing act (parents can burn up to 150-300  calories an hour chasing after their kids – about the same as a yoga class!), so it’s important for parents to find time to care for their own health by properly exercising and refueling. here are some tips courtesy of glacéau vitaminwater to help busy parents keep their health top of mind and make sure that they don’t run out of steam before the kids do this summer:

1.  get your hit of hydration. avoid the headaches and fatigue which can be caused by dehydration by pro-actively reminding yourself to get enough liquid intake. try using your child’s schedule as a guide.  for instance, when planning your day, try penciling in “hydration times” when the kids wake-up, during nap-time and in between their scheduled summer activities (e.g. day camp, play dates, summer school etc.)

2.  stock pile your energy. if you know you will be out and about, pack nutritious snacks and drinks not only in the kids’ knapsacks, but in yours as well to keep your energy and hydration levels in check.  stock up on fruits and vegetables that are high in water content (e.g. apples, oranges, cucumbers, broccoli, green beans etc.) along with hydrating with nutrient-rich beverages such as glacéau vitaminwater to help replace the liquids, carbohydrates and vitamins that are lost throughout the day.

3.  turn ‘play time’ into exercise. use your children’s activities as an opportunity to break a sweat.  play tag and push swings while at the park, run sprints on the sidelines of the soccer field, do some laps at the swimming pool or go on a bike-ride together. If you’re a newer parent, try putting on a baby carrier and doing interval training.  don’t be afraid to get creative; the most important thing is to get moving!

4.  monitor your drinking.  adults need 2-3L of fluids per day to stay adequately hydrated – and even more in extreme heat or when exercising.  nursing mothers need to be especially mindful of fluid intake as hydration is essential to milk production!  try this trick with your water bottle to help keep track: place 4-6 rubber bands on a 500 ml bottle (or 2-3 rubber bands for a 1L bottle) and remove one each time you refill your bottle.  filling your bottle with other hydrating beverages, such as glacéau vitaminwater, counts too.  once you’ve removed all your rubber bands, you know you’ve had enough fluids for the day.

5.  in utero:  a mommy-to-be? exercising during pregnancy is safe and beneficial as long as you follow the guidelines outlined by your doctor.  a good way to get your daily cardio in, whether this is your first or fourth pregnancy, is to put on your running shoes and hit the pavement for long walks.  and don’t forget to keep the hydration coming – you are drinking for two.

6.  set an example:  while the kids enjoy popsicles at the end of a summer’s day, most parents are tempted by a fruity cocktail or a cold beer.  try your best to avoid it.  alcohol is a diuretic which will cause fatigue and deplete energy.  choose healthier options that will keep you going through to baths, bedtime stories and midnight diaper changes.

Just in time for summer sports and outdoor family playtime, Glacéau Vitaminwater is now available across Canada in convenient 355ml four bottle multi-packs for a suggested retail price of $5.49.

*vegetarian times, january 1998 – 2008

Core Education and Fine Arts is Canada’s first Junior Kindergarten School.  It was begun by Natacha Beim, a vibrant and brilliant teacher who saw a need to prepare children more thoroughly for kindergarten.  Internationally (in France, England, China, Japan and many other countries), pre-kindergarten programs are standardized and children are given essential tools that set them in good stead for future education.  The CEFA program is unique in Canada because it follows the international standard for pre-kindergarten learning.  Parents have the choice of enrolling their preschoolers from 2-5 days per week, and classes run from 7:30 – 6pm.  It is highly recognized for its leading academic program, as well as its excellent curriculum in the fine arts and athletics, designed to develop and challenge young children intellectually and physically.  The well-rounded and flexible offerings enable a child to acquire knowledge in many different ways, as no child learns in exactly the same way as another.

“The decision to participate is the child’s, which emphasizes one of CEFA’s  goals: to give the child autonomy and responsibility over his or her education ( I learn because I like to learn ). Creating a passion for learning in life is an essential step in your child’s learning path.”

UrbanMommies toured one facility (there are currently 9 in BC) and we were super-impressed.  Arts are explored, languages are learned, and children are taught at their own pace but within a beautiful structure that apparently results in the exceptional behaviour I witnessed in the elevator.

Drama, Yoga, French. Culture Immersion (who wouldn’t want to try on clothes from all over the world?)..  The school also includes a a gym painted to resemble a circus, a cinema, art room and library.  A resident chef prepares breakfast and lunch for teachers and students, and a fitness trainer is also on hand.  Despite the uniforms, chef and excellence, the place is not in the least bit snooty – just in case you’re wondering.

“Each child has a schedule, drawn to reflect his or her unique abilities and made up by CEFA in consultation with parents. The schedule is broken up by play times, family time, project time, relaxation, naps and movies as well as breakfast and lunch. Every week, the children can also look forward to field trips.”

One of the great things about CEFA is that because it is an educational program, working parents are able to deduct tuition expenses to a maximum of $7000 per year, per child. This amount is directly deducted from the earnings of the lower income-earner in the household when filing your taxes.

Creating Renaissance-kids, exposure to fitness, languages, arts, an international learning standard, a chef and naptime too.  Heaven.  If only every child throughout Canada could have the opportunity to develop in such a special environment!  We’ll cross our fingers for more expansion and keep you posted.  In the meantime, I’m off to yoga.  Must not be eclipsed by my preschooler.

www.cefa.ca

Photo features Ms. Natacha Beim and was provided by CEFA.

For other approaches on schooling, check our Waldorf and Montessori articles.

Other tips and requirements: www.dhs.gov

If you’ve purchased a package holiday where your transfers are included, you probably can get away with not bringing it, so long as you don’t have big plans to leave the resort.  Your airport transfers and any package tours you book will likely be by coach bus, where no car seat is required.  However, if you’re heading down South and planning on renting a car or touring around via cab, you might want to think about lugging it along.  Car rental agencies or taxi firms in smaller destinations may not have any (or any suitable) car seats for you to rent, and the roads can be quite wild.  Sometimes it can be a challenge finding cabs with functioning seat belts, but most places that rely on tourism dollars can usually scrounge up a car that will suit your needs.  You may get an incredulous look or even an eye roll, but isn’t your child’s safety worth it?

If you’ll be mostly exploring urban destinations and using public transit to get around, the car seat will definitely be cumbersome, and perhaps not entirely necessary – though small infants that are still in their “bucket” car seats may be comfiest and safest to stay in said seat. Some don’t require a base for all usage and bringing along a frame to snap it into means you can avoid lugging the big stroller along.   Book your airport transfers with a car company that can supply seats, or a shuttle bus where seats aren’t necessary.  Now on the market there’s gear that can make your life a little easier (not to mention your conscience) by helping keep your child safe while you’re out and about.  The Safe Rider Travel Vest seems like a good alternative to hauling along your massive seat just for the occasional cab ride. The Sit ‘N’ Stroll (shown) seems to be pretty popular, but to me it looks like a massive seat to lug and not-that-great a stroller.  Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

We’ve always brought our own car seat along.  It’s a bare bones, lightweight car seat that’s suitable for travel.  We attach it to one of our rolling suitcases with a bungee cord, and even on trips where it isn’t used, just having it with us brings piece of mind.  I once got “flamed” on a message board, when I suggested to another mother that she bring her twins’ car seats on a trip.  The “flamer” mocked that she should pack her microwave as well.  Here’s the thing: it’s not always easy to find places to rent clean and functioning car seats.  If you’re not sure, isn’t your baby’s safety worth a little inconvenience?

Corinne McDermott is the founder of Have Baby Will Travel – your online guide to family travel with babies and toddlers.  Connect with her online at www.havebabywilltravel.com or www.twitter.com/hvbabywilltrvl