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Are you with me?  I’m excited to find out what’s on your mind! Send questions for the First Friday Q&A to notjustcute@hotmail.com  with “Q&A” in the subject line.  Questions will be answered on the first Friday in March! (If you’re having trouble seeing the video from an emailed version of this post, go to the… continue reading

I’ve struggled to find Valentine decorations I like.  I’m really trying not to have “stuff” for the sake of “stuff”.  Similar to the guide used by Tsh of Simple Mom, I’m trying to choose things for my home that I find beautiful, useful, or meaningful.  And the standard decor in the Valentine aisle wasn’t fitting… continue reading

It seems the older I get, the more I realize the importance of moderation.  Over and over again, I find that answers lie in between dogmatic extremes.  Perhaps nowhere is this realization more important than when considering approaches to early literacy. When looking at the extremes of this discussion, you’ll find champions of developmentally appropriate… continue reading

My sons and I were making this delicious recipe for caramel popcorn yesterday and I thought you might enjoy a fun snack on your holiday!  (Originally published 3/30/2009.)  Making popcorn is a great way to involve and discuss the five senses.  You can read more about the developmental benefits of cooking here, and check out… continue reading

A friend of mine recently told me his sister was extremely worried about her son’s behavior.  He was bouncing off the walls, getting into mischief, and extremely stubborn.  After some time stewing over her predicament, her mother gave her a call. “I think I know what’s causing all these problems.” “Really!  What?” “He’s three.” It is… continue reading

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Dr. Seuss.  Not only is his writing creative, humorous, poetic, and lovably quirky, but as an educator I’ve found it to be the perfect vehicle for promoting phonological awareness, a critical skill for building readers.  With his birthday looming just around the corner (March 2), this is… continue reading

First off, Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss!  On Monday, I posted some links to great ideas around the web, and just have to add one more to Steph over at Modern Parents, Messy Kids.  If you can’t find a fun way to celebrate today and the man who forever changed reading for children, it wasn’t because you… continue reading

Well here it is!  There were so many great questions and so little time!  I’ve supplemented with some links below.  Please add your links and input in the comment section as well! (By the way, on my computer the video seems a bit smoother over at YouTube for some reason.  It won’t hurt my feelings if… continue reading

As much as we don’t really like to think about it, death is something that touches each of us at some point in our lives.  And often it touches not only our own lives, but the lives of the little ones we love and teach. I received an email over the weekend from a supervisor… continue reading

 Carol Kranowitz and Joye Newman had me interested before I even opened their new book, Growing an In-Sync Child.  I was already familiar with the Out-of-Sync Child books, written by Kranowitz as a toolbox for helping kids with Sensory Processing Disorder.  I had actually just picked up one of the resources to use with some of the consulting work I… continue reading