SELF-LOVE:

Take a moment to subscribe to your public library's audio and e-book collection. SF Families you can find all the various resources here.

Here are some eclectic authors and titles recently recommended in one of our Second Time Mom Groups that might at least give you some ideas of where to start. Authors:John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Brene Brown, Anthony De Mallow, Eve Babbitz. Or try: Season of the Witch, A Gentleman From Moscow, Rules of Civility, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window or Michele Obama's Becoming.

PARENTING TIP:

Independence Take 4: Getting Dressed. If your child is 3 or older they should have the fine motor skills to dress themselves. Without the pressure of getting somewhere on time, now is the perfect time to teach this or another life skill that may have seemed easier to do for them before. Break the task down into small steps. For dressing, teach children how to recognize the front and back of their clothes (or pajamas). Talk about starting with the shirt face down on the ground so it won't end up backwards. We've had lots of luck with closing our eyes and having our children "surprise" us when they are done!

INDOOR ACTIVITY:

(Literacy/Social-Emotional) Mother's Day is right around the corner (May 10th-yes, this surprised us too!). Take time out today to make cards for those sweet mamas in your life. Tracing little hands is always a favorite. Be sure to reach out to your mama friends who might be having a tough time right now to let them know someone sees all they are doing. It's also national teacher appreciation day on May 5. Since they can't be hand delivered this year, we are making cards for our teachers and emailing them the photos.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITY:

Cardboard nail salon. Pretend play time. Reuse some cardboard to trace hands (and feet) for your little manicurist. Try labeling the hands with the names of their friends. Little ones can also paint the hands of their friends using regular poster paint. It might be a good way to talk about those near and far who they are missing right now.

Supporting families on the road to connected and effective parenting.

parenting workshops * parent/toddler playgroups * presentations * private consultations

Email kellam@earlychildhoodmatters.org if you are interested in finding out about sliding scale tuition for our parenting series, mom’s groups, and playgroups. We are happy to help support parents who are in a situation where these courses might otherwise be cost prohibitive.

Our cancellation policy:

Full refund 30 days or more (less a 20% transaction fee), less than 14 days before the start of class a 40% refund will be granted, unless the participant finds a replacement to fill their spot, less than 7 days participants will be responsible for paying the full amount of the class/series price, unless they find a replacement participant to fill their spot.