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Engaging Young Children with Interactive Books

Image © parents.com

Many grownups remember their favorite childhood books, especially ones their parents and educators read to them. Or even fairy tales or older siblings’ textbooks. Some children, though, are energetic and may struggle to sit silently and listen to reading. Thankfully, interactive books can entertain children while helping develop vital skills in literacy, communication, and vocabulary.

Kaplan Early Learning Company says that interactive reading between adults and children is essential when it comes to children’s early literacy skills. Interactive books engage infants and capture their natural curiosity. Unique features, such as textures, lift-flaps, moving parts, pull-tabs, or die-cut pages, help support young children’s sensory development.

Pull-tabs and lift-flaps can especially aid in developing toddlers’ pre-reading skills. Vicki, a former teacher and a mother, says on her blog that these book features provide parents and educators with an opportunity to help children develop their basic skills. For example, asking toddlers what they think they will find behind each flap is a fun way to teach them how to make predictions.

Interior spread from Shapes at Play by Jin Choi.

Some of Star Bright Books’s titles contain unique features that can help toddlers develop their essential skills. Shapes at Play by Jin Choi is a casebound board book designed for children to discover shapes in bright primary colors. This wordless book with lift-flaps will help toddlers learn basic geometry and geometric concepts, shape relationships, scale, and proportion, especially if adults ask them questions about what they see and what they might find with flaps closed and opened.

Red Socks by Ellen Mayer, illustrated by Ying-Hwa Hu.

Our Small Talk Books® series, written by Ellen Mayer, features books like Red Socks and Rosa’s Very Big Job that include a note for parents, caregivers, and teachers. Each note advises adults on how to hold rich conversations with toddlers to help develop and nurture vocabulary and emotions. This activity sheet, for example, can be paired with some of Star Bright Books’s laundry-specific books and is a fun way for adults and toddlers to sort clean laundry together while comparing sizes of clothing items.

With unique interactive features, children’s books are an excellent way for toddlers to develop basic skills, expand knowledge, and remember precious moments with their families and educators forever.

A Guide to Sharing

Sharing is a fundamental social skill that is developed in childhood and lasts long into our lives. Not every child will have the same inclination to share, and that’s alright! No matter your child’s disposition, sharing can be taught. But what does healthy sharing look like? Here are some useful tips for helping children learn to share.

Image from Show Me How To Be a Friend, by J.A. Barnes. Available on our website.

Show Respect and Empathy

At the root of sharing is respect. One must respect another person’s feelings, space, and belongings. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, at around three-and-a-half, children begin to understand the concept of sharing. (The groundwork for teaching children about sharing can be laid for children as young as two.)

Developmentally, toddlers process their own wants and needs ahead of the wants and needs of others. This often makes sharing a strenuous and anxiety-inducing free-for-all as no one wants to be left out or left behind. Empathize with your child and talk to them about being conscious of other people’s feelings to ensure everyone has a good time.

Model Positive Behaviors

One way children learn is through examples: watching your behaviors will set a foundation for the way they interact with others. Demonstrate effective, respectful communication for your child. For example, to your partner or parent, say, “Of course you can borrow my big cooking dish! Could you please return it to me by Tuesday?” Firsthand examples of polite communication as both a borrower and lender will underscore the importance of respect.

When you borrow an item from a friend or loved one, make sure to return it better than you found it: wash it, for example. And always say thank you!

By modeling positive behaviors, you will inspire your child’s own actions. Let your little copycat take note of the way you navigate lending to and borrowing from your partner, parents, neighbors, friends, etc. They will see it is nothing to worry over!

Establish Rules and Boundaries

Ground rules will make the process of sharing feel not so scary. Helping children feel secure in sharing situations will give them comfort in being both a borrower and a lender. Create a plan if there is a forthcoming playdate and your child doesn’t like to share a certain toy. Set the toy aside before the playdate and talk with your child about letting a friend take a turn with the toy.

Image from Show Me How To Be a Friend, by J.A. Barnes. Available on our website.

Sharing is also an early form of establishing boundaries. Let your child know they are allowed to set “terms” on how they share. If your child is resistant to lending a sibling or peer their favorite teddy, show them it is okay to offer an alternative option. For instance, your child might say, “This stuffed animal is my favorite. Would you be okay with this one?” If the alternative is not desired, your child’s next step can be to say, “Okay, but I’d like to have my stuffed animal back in ten minutes [or a time they feel comfortable with].” Letting your child know that time limits and other ground rules are okay for sharing will help ease their anxieties; it will eventually become second nature.

When children feel anxious about sharing they may use mean words or brash actions, such as grabbing or bartering. Intervene immediately if you observe these behaviors in your child’s interactions with siblings or peers. Take a mindful moment with them to just breathe, resettle, and talk about the benefits of sharing with others.

Consume Good Content

Reading and consuming content that illustrates good sharing is another vital step in fostering this lifelong skill. At this age, looking to literary role models is a good step in presenting the idea of sharing to your little one! When you notice an example of good sharing in a film or TV show, point it out to your child. Having onscreen role models and strong media examples of sharing will give your child confidence in their own sharing experiences.

Image from Show Me How To Be a Friend, by J.A. Barnes. Available on our website.

Sharing is a form of love: we share with others in order to continue fostering genuine connections. Your child will benefit from good sharing skills, now and in the future.

A Guide to Supporting Your Child Through Put-Downs

You know that sinking feeling in your stomach when mean words have been hurled at you. You just stand there, face bright red, palms wet. Put-downs, or unkind remarks about a person’s physical appearance or demeanor, are an all too common and all too unfortunate form of intimidation and bullying in school. They differ from other forms of bullying, which can be motivated by racial, religious, or other prejudices. How can you help your child navigate these mean-spirited comments they will inevitably face?

From Mama’s Right Here, (illustrated by Estelle Corke).

First, create a space where your child can safely share the events of their day. This can be on the drive home from school, over dinner, before bedtime, or any time that fits into your schedules. Make sure your child knows you are interested and invested in their daily activities— what they learned, who they played with, etc. By establishing a routine of sharing early in your child’s life, they are more likely to come to you when negative experiences occur.

Once your child has shared a situation with you, gauge the level of extremity. Take time to absorb and process all the information before entering protection mode. What happened? Who was the other party? What was the intention? How do all these things affect your child and their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing?

As a parent, it is easy to feel defensive and quickly react when your child is the subject of bullying. But by first soaking in all the facts, you will have a better grip over what will best benefit your child. Your child will also appreciate a calm handle on the situation and feel more comfortable opening up to you.

Once you have gauged the situation, address it with your child. Explain what put-downs are and how they can impact one’s thoughts and feelings. Put-downs can be thoughtless comments, sometimes perpetuated by your child’s friends or classmates. Elementary-aged children are learning what is and isn’t okay to say, meaning sometimes they may say something inappropriate at the cost of another’s feelings.

From Mama’s Right Here, (illustrated by Estelle Corke).

Tailor your conversation to the incident. Be sure to bolster your child’s confidence by combatting the comment(s): your child looks to you as a beacon of both fact and reassurance. They trust your word. If you tell them they are beautiful, they will believe it; if you tell them they’re smart, they will believe it. Counter the put-down, while acknowledging and validating the hurtful impact.

A major point to emphasize is that “getting even” is never the answer. A meaner comment is not an appropriate response. There is a balance between standing up for oneself and perpetuating negativity—which could prompt your child getting in trouble.

Tell your child that if they hear another child being subjected to put-downs, find a way to support their peer. Inviting their classmate to play, sitting with them at lunch, or complimenting the trait that was just made fun of are all good ways to combat put-downs. Helping others will help fuel your own child’s internal processing with put-downs.

Unfortunately, we can’t be with our children all the time to guard them from the perils of early childhood bullying. However, we can address the issues they may face early on, and give them the tools they need to understand, verbalize, and process their feelings.

Learn to Fly: A Guide to Traveling with Kids

From Comings and Goings by Anna and Manos Kontoleon

Jet-setting is the fastest way to connect with places and people around the world. Everyday, thousands of flights carry people to far-away destinations. For many, it can be a daunting and anxiety-inducing experience. This is especially true for children on their first flight.

With travel restrictions loosening and travel becoming more possible, you and your child may have an upcoming flight. Here are some ways to set a good and healthy precedent and ease any plane anxiety your child may feel.

First, demystify the travel process with your kid. Talk to them about your destination and how to get there: you’ll need to pack, get to the airport on time, pass through TSA, and board the airplane. Walk them through each step so they aren’t left to wonder what the travel process will look like. It may also relax your child to know the steps you will take to ensure a smooth flight.

From Comings and Goings by Anna and Manos Kontoleon

You may want to curate the media your child consumes in the months prior to the flight. Steer clear of media that depicts planes in peril; it may frighten your child and plant a seed of fear. This is an easy precaution that will benefit you and your child before the flight.

Once you’ve set a good precedent before the flight, it’s time to fill the space between destinations with activities. Books are excellent in moments like this (and anytime!). Coloring books are great for stimulating a child’s imagination and preventing boredom. Most modern airplanes are equipped with TV monitors on the back of every seat. Be sure to bring headphones with wire cables, as the monitors are not Bluetooth-compatible. On shorter plane rides movies are only available to fill a portion of the in-flight entertainment.

For many, even adults, experiencing turbulence can induce a lot of anxiety. It can be especially upsetting for children. It will help your child to have something to do, and hold onto, if the plane experiences turbulence. They can distract themselves with a book, coloring book, or a stuffed animal. Explain to your child that turbulence is a normal occurrence and should not be feared. Talking them through the turbulence can also be a good way to ease their worries.

Taking off and landing are much easier when chewing gum. It will keep your ears from feeling too pressurized. For your mini-traveler, this can also help ease the rush and discomfort during the takeoff and landing.

If you can choose the flight time, see if a red-eye flight matches your child’s sleeping habits. It may help them adjust easier to different time zones—and they can sleep during the flight. If you depart in the evening, hopefully they’ll be so exhausted they sleep through the night. This may be the best option for children who have a lot of anxiety.

For kids, flying may seem daunting and wild. They might be equal parts intrigued and nervous. You can ease their concerns before arriving at the airport and during takeoff by maintaining a casual manner. Keeping your own travel stress under control will help your child understand and accept plane travel as a normal and easy way to get from place to place. It’s a chance for you and your child to enjoy time together with a book or a movie—and it’s an adventure!

From Comings and Goings by Anna and Manos Kontoleon

How to Talk to Children about Climate Change

Climate change is a challenging topic for children, as it often involves scientific facts that can be difficult to understand. Related worldly issues—extreme weather, food shortages, or even pandemics—can be alarming or fear-inducing to discuss. Parents and caregivers may find it daunting to decide how and when to talk with their children about climate change.

As with other complex topics like racism, body autonomy, or alcohol use, conversations you have with your child about climate change should start early, be ongoing, and change based on your child’s developmental level. Here are some techniques you can use to introduce and build on conversations about climate change as your child grows.

Toddlers: Build a Love for Nature

Spend time outside with your toddler to help them cultivate respect for nature. Prioritizing outdoor play is increasingly important for children’s mental and physical health, but it also helps toddlers experience a sense of wonder at the beauty of nature. A toddler may not have the developmental capacity to understand the climate crisis, but their love for the environment will be foundational in caring about how they impact the earth when they’re older.

From Let’s Play Outside by Pat Rumbaugh, photographs by Daniel Nakamura

Preschool and Kindergarten: Nurture a Sense of Responsibility for the Planet

Give your preschool or kindergarten-aged child ways to nurture nature. Houseplants wither when we don’t feed them; gardens wilt if we don’t water them. Children can understand these cause-and-effect relationships at a very early age; by taking on responsibilities like watering and feeding indoor or outdoor plants, youngsters can begin to see how people impact the planet. These chores are also opportunities to discuss our larger responsibility to care for nature.

Elementary School: Make Real-Life Connections and Share the Science

Beginning in first grade, have more direct conversations about climate change with your child. While climate change is a global issue, it is important to show children in this age group how it impacts them personally. Ask your child how the weather affects them—how sunny days make them feel or how rainy days make it hard to play outside. Then, compare the weather today to the weather fifty or one hundred years ago. Explain that while weather variation is normal, humans cause expected weather conditions to change in an unexpected way.

Children in upper elementary school may also want more detailed explanations, like the difference between weather and climate, or the science behind the greenhouse effect. NASA Climate Kids has basic explanations, interesting visuals, and engaging videos to help.

Teenagers: Talk about Climate Inequity

With your teenager, talk about how the climate crisis reinforces inequalities—the ways in which poor or marginalized people are more harshly impacted by extreme weather. These issues naturally fit with conversations you have with your teenager about racial and socioeconomic inequity. Here are two examples of how climate change and inequity are connected:

When severe weather strikes a high-income country or community, people and governments have the resources to rebuild cities and homes. However, low-income countries and communities lack resources to deal with the major impacts. Climate change means low-income countries are more often impacted by natural disasters.

Recent heatwaves and drought are associated with increases in wheat prices. In wealthy countries, this may mean slightly higher prices at the grocery store; in lower-income places around the globe, climate change means that food has become scarce or completely unaffordable, resulting in widespread civil unrest.

From A Circle of Friends by Giora Carmi

All Ages: Focus on Making a Difference

Details about the climate crisis may be overwhelming for children (and adults). It can be reassuring for a child to hear that there are many people working together to solve the problems. Another way to combat fear is to focus on action: there are many ways to help! Below are a few options for you and your child to get involved.

Live Sustainably

Sustainable Living Tips from Conservation International: This list includes over seventy ways you and your child can live more sustainably. Some of these actions may not seem like much, but together, we can all make a big difference.

Conserve the Environment

Youth Conservation Corps: Youth ages fifteen to eighteen can apply to participate in regional environmental conservation projects like maintaining nature trails, cleaning up campgrounds, improving wildlife habitats, restoring streams, and more.

Advocate for the Planet

Become a member of YOUNGO: YOUNGO, the official youth constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is a network of youth organizations from all over the world. Their common goal is to mobilize youth to address the climate crisis.

The Practical Benefits of Writing Letters

Image from Comings and Goings by Anna and Manos Kontoleon, illustrated by Fotini Tikkou (Available August 30)

In this day and age, the art of proper letter writing is a fast-dying practice. Although mail services are as quick and efficient as ever, technology’s role in replacing our immediate communication practices can make putting pen to paper feel outdated.

However, there are numerous practical benefits for children to pick up letter writing—especially with so much recent at-home schooling. Letter writing helps children develop lifelong skills, such as patience, penmanship, sentence-building, and maintaining relationships with family and friends.

First, help your child identify a good letter recipient. Writing letters is a great way to bridge generational gaps. Grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and other elderly people may prefer letters to text messages or emails, so this is an easy and fun way to keep in contact—and letters are sure to be on display on the fridge for years to come! One of your child’s pals or a friendly neighbor are also good options. The recipient should be someone who you think will be inclined to respond.

Writing a letter is a different experience for each child. But, overall, it is great practice in assembling words, expanding vocabulary, and building sentences. Especially in the summer, it keeps a school-aged child’s reading and writing skills finely tuned and improves penmanship.

Sit down with your child and explain the the parts of a letter and how formal or informal (depending on the recipient) to make their note. Help your child practice their sentences and go over what they write. A message can be short and to the point! Teach them where to put the stamp on the envelope.

Let your child’s creativity take hold! They will enjoy decorating each letter with stickers, glitter, and lots of colors. Your child can include an illustration, and even decorate the envelope. Make sure to help them address the envelope correctly. You can even talk about the parts of an address as you write it out.

Perhaps most importantly, letter writing teaches children the importance and value of patience. In a time when we get things nearly instantaneously, patience is a tremendous virtue best learned at an early age. Let your child drop their letter into the mailbox and wait for a response. The joy of finally getting a letter back addressed to them will make the wait so worth it!

Tips for Learning a Second Language with Your Child

Greetings in many languages, image created in Canva

Hundreds of thousands of people who’ve immigrated to the US have felt implicit and explicit pressure to switch from using their native tongue(s) to fit the wide use of English. In due process, generations of families have lost their original languages, resulting in monolingualism. While many adults struggle to learn new languages as their brains are accustomed to the sound and structure of English, it is well documented that children are quicker to absorb new languages.

Try learning a new language with your child! The benefits of English-speaking parents learning a new language with their child are innumerable. Language engages different parts of the brain, and is said to even out bring out different sides in people. We can learn more about ourselves and the world around us through other languages.

Early childhood is the best time to introduce another language, as children build essential language and vocabulary skills. It can also be a good time for adult parents and caregivers to embrace a new language. Immersion is a fundamental way to learn a second language. You and your child can make this a fun family project!

First, identify a language that you and your child are interested in learning together! This can come from family history: maybe your family tree boasts an array of mother languages that haven’t been spoken in generations. Honoring your ancestors and heritage while learning the language with your child is a perfect full circle.

Another option is to consider your neighborhood. Maybe the area where you live has a high secondary language rate. Maybe it’s French if you’re in the New Orleans area, or Spanish in the Los Angeles area. Depending on your location, English may not even be the dominant language.

Once you’ve chosen your language, the fun part begins! There are many ways to implement the new language into the daily lives of you and your child. Find the best activities for your family to immerse in the language.

The alphabet, early fundamental vocabulary, and simple sentence-building are the first steps in comprehending and speaking a new language. Luckily, most languages have free resources online, such as alphabet songs on YouTube. Listening to how each letter in the alphabet is properly pronounced will enhance your accent as well as your child’s, no matter their age.

For slightly older children, you can reinforce key vocabulary words by placing sticky notes on common household items with the name in English and your chosen language. For instance, if you are learning Italian, every morning you can get breakfast / colazione from your refrigerator / frigo and put it on a plate / piatto. Repetition helps retain basic vocabulary words, making practice important. You may even consider making this activity part of your daily family routine.

Image by Nontanun Chaiprakon from Vecteezy.com

Another easy way to add doses of a new language into your routine is to consume media in your new language. Look up famous singers, movies, TV and radio stations, daily talk shows, online magazines, etc. Switch your phone and tablet into the language too. Surrounding yourself with native words and sounds allows you to pick up nuances and pronunciations you might otherwise miss through traditional language learning practices. You also have the benefit of hearing how words are pronounced by native speakers. This part can be different, especially for adults! While children aren’t entirely used to or settled on the way English sounds, adult brains have a stronger association between a letter of the Western alphabet and its English pronunciation.

Pick an English movie that you and your child know very well, one you can nearly recite word-for-word. Watch the movie in your chosen language, if such an option is available. As you don’t have to decipher the plot, you and your child can soak up the vocabulary and most importantly, the pronunciations. Listen to the words; pick out words you recognize and ones you aren’t familiar with. Talk to your child about how the movie seems similar and different.

And finally: read together! Sit down and read a book in the language you are learning or in a bilingual format. Read aloud together and practice speaking words and sentences. This is a good comprehension exercise for you and your child.

Image by MotionLantern from Vecteezy.com

Language is a lengthy process to master; it can take years to even reach proficiency. That’s okay! Keep things ongoing—it means slow and steady progress. Learning with your child is beneficial for them and for you. Instead of learning alone, you have a built-in buddy to practice with. Good luck!

Building Sensory Development in Children

Sensory development is the gradual process by which an infant learns and becomes aware of their senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, vestibular (body movement), and proprioception (body position).

Stages of sensory development differ for each child. However, each sensory milestone falls around the same approximate timeframes:

0-6 months: Babies are alert and respond to sounds and voices. They also begin looking at their own hands.
6-12 months: Babies can move their tongues around food particles and distinguish different textured foods.
1-2 years: Babies enjoy messy play! They also react to extreme temperatures and can solve problems using trial and error.
2-3 years: Toddlers begin to explore their surroundings. They can also identify basic shapes.
3-4 years: Children can count from 1 to 5 and identify most colors. They also develop social skills through activities and simulated play.

Children acquire sensory skills in a progressive manner. These skills play an important role in their overall development. You can initiate sensory play by providing a safe and encouraging environment for discovery.

What is Sensory Play?

Sensory play is any activity that stimulates a child’s senses. These activities facilitate exploration and encourage children to discover and refine different thresholds of sensory information.

Sensory play helps refine other skills such as language development and motor skills. Some forms of sensory play also have calming effects, which can assist in regulating a child’s boredom, restlessness, or agitation.

How Can I Induce Sensory Play?

There are several ways of introducing sensory play to your child. You can utilize everyday items in your household to create an exciting experience. Below are some fun ideas to try!

1) Sensory Board

A sensory board is suitable for babies around 4-6 months and can also be used with toddlers until the age of 2. For this engaging activity, you will need a wooden board, glue, and an assortment of household items. Affix the items to the board with the glue. Choose similar items with varying textures, shapes, and sizes. For example, attach different types of fabric. As your child feels each piece, describe its texture using words like “rough,” “sparkly,” “soft,” etc. You can even attach a jingling key ring to engage your child’s sense of hearing.

2) Play Dough

Play dough is one of the most stimulating toys for children under 2. Your child will develop an understanding of how to grasp objects and mold different shapes. Most play dough available in stores contains chemicals that could be harmful to your child. Instead, you can whip up a quick batch of safe and edible play dough! To get you started, here’s a great recipe that is delicious and easy to make!

3) Food Art and Play

Feeding a baby or toddler often can be a messy task. However, it’s also an ideal time to have a fun learning experience! Cut up different types of fruit such as apples, oranges, and bananas. This will help your child in understanding different colors, shapes, and textures. Moreover, it will stimulate their taste buds and nasal rectors and expand their palate. Bonus point? Let them squish the fruits to their heart’s content and build their hand muscles. Encouraging your child to play with their food may also make them more receptive to try new foods.

From Banana For Two by Ellen Mayer, illustrated by Ying-Hwa

4) Rice Bottles

Rice bottles are perfect for toddlers between the ages of 2 and 4. Fill an empty bottle with grains such as rice, wheat, or barley to make a shaker for your child. Shake the bottle to help build motor skills; the sound of the moving grains will also stimulate hearing. Be sure to seal the bottle tightly so as to prevent any grains from accidentally entering your child’s mouth.

5) Interactive Books

Interactive books for babies and toddlers have plenty of developmental benefits. Interactive book elements such as lift-the-flap, die-cut holes, and touch-and-feel provide a range of sensory experiences. For example, books that emit sounds and light may improve sight and hearing. The die-cut or lift-the-flap features will foster your child’s curiosity and touch as they trace shapes or play with the flaps. In addition, reading aloud to your child will enhance their language acquisition skills.

From Shapes At Play by Jin Choi

By introducing these forms of sensory play, you help children remain cognitively stimulated and aid in their overall development. These are just some of the ways you can engage in sensory play. Visit the National Association for the Education of Young Children website for more suggestions and information.

Supporting Childhood Development Through Gardening

From What’s In My Garden? written by Cheryl Christian, illustrated by Annie Beth Ericsson

Play isn’t just fun; it is fundamental for supporting a child’s learning, growth, and development. In particular, outdoor play helps improve sensory skills and encourages physical activity. Outdoor play doesn’t stop at the playground; it can also take place in a garden. Gardening with your child provides bonding time and helps them develop positive habits that enhance lifelong health. This activity can be accessible to children who live in urban and rural areas.

Gardening Supports Health

Sunlight, fresh air, and digging in the dirt benefit your child’s health in multiple ways. Gardening supports sensory development by engaging every sense—the sights and scents of flowers, tastes of veggies, and textures of leaves. Gardening has also been shown to improve mental health by helping reduce stress and depression. Exposure to healthy microbes in the dirt can strengthen your child’s microbiome—an important part of their immune system. Playing outside can even help children sleep better at night.

Tending a garden also supports essential motor skills. Fine motor skills are needed for tasks like using a pencil or tying shoelaces. Using gardening tools, grasping tiny seeds, and pulling weeds help your child develop these skills. Carrying a watering can and walking in soft soil can boost gross motor skills like balance and coordination. Physical exercise like this is essential for maintaining a healthy weight and preventing illness.

A garden can help your child enjoy a healthy diet. It can be a challenge to convince picky eaters to try new foods or get proper daily servings of vegetables. Children are more likely to try new vegetables and fruits if they help to grow them. Multiple studies found that gardening increased vegetable consumption in children far more effectively than nutrition education programs.

Gardening can also be part of a healthy lifestyle for children with physical disabilities. There are many simple ways to make gardens accessible. One of the easiest is to use raised containers in order for the soil level to be within reach. Window boxes, hanging baskets, or vertical gardens can accomplish this, as well as tall plants like tomatoes or pea vines on a trellis. Wide walkways of compacted soil or gravel can offer better traction for scooter or wheelchair users.

Gardening Builds Cognitive Skills

Tending plants can spark your child’s curiosity for science. Starting a plant from seed offers a hands-on opportunity to see the life cycle of plants. Once the seed develops, grade schoolers can learn the basic parts of a plant—flower, leaf, fruit, stem, root—and their functions. Middle and high schoolers might find interest in identifying more detailed parts of a flower—anther, filament, stigma, etc.

Planning for a garden can also help develop your child’s vocabulary as they learn the names of plants and vegetables and read requirements on seed packages for light, water, and soil. Grade school children can create plant labels by writing plant names on popsicle sticks or stones. If you are creating a larger vegetable garden, older children can help you make a garden map to plan when to sow seeds and how to maximize available space.

Your child’s critical thinking will be challenged by tending a garden, whether it is through figuring out how to move a big rock or quickly pulling weeds. You and your child can solve problems together by discussing how you will manage bad weather, plant diseases, or garden pests.

From A Garden for Groundhog by Lorna Balian

Get Your Garden Started

Gardening doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or take up a lot of space; but it does require a little planning. First, consider the needs of your family and the age of your child(ren). With toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary-aged children, avoid plants that may be dangerous if touched or ingested. Young children may delight in the reward of quick-sprouting seeds like peas, lettuce, and beans. Children in middle and high school may enjoy seeing a flower bloom or a vegetable ripen after weeks of anticipation.

If you have a big yard, in-ground garden beds are a great option, but smaller spaces like patios can host beautiful container gardens. Urban families with limited outdoor space may be able to use hanging baskets, window boxes, rooftop space, or even plant an herb garden on a windowsill. Many cities offer community garden plots where anyone can volunteer. If you aren’t sure what to plant or how to care for plants, most regions in the US have an extension office with gardening experts who can give you advice.

Whether your garden fills an acre or a couple pots on your front steps, it will provide your child countless opportunities to grow and develop as you nurture nature together.

Creating A Cultural Learning Experience Through Vacation

The arrival of summer means planning family vacations! Although the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly reduced travel options, around 42 percent of Americans are cautiously optimistic about 2021 vacation plans. Small family vacation trips adhering to the CDC safety guidelines are definitely a possibility!

A family vacation can be a fascinating learning experience for children through cultural immersion. A 2019 survey by the US Travel Association revealed that 55 percent of Americans traveled in order to learn something new about a place, culture, or history, and 85 percent said they planned trips with the intention of creating an exciting experience for their children. With the US increase in cultural diversity, the need for cultural understanding through vacationing has also augmented as more families opt to teach their children about different heritages and cultures.

What are the benefits of a cultural immersion trip?

There are several different benefits of taking children on a culturally focused vacation!

From Alicia’s Happy Day, written by Meg Starr, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu

1) Cultural Saturation
By the age of 3 or 4, children are aware of their own racial or ethnic backgrounds. Children who experience multicultural surroundings become more aware of different lifestyles and other cultures. This in turn helps activate vital developmental and social-emotional skills such as open-mindedness and empathy. It also helps children to understand inherent biases and stereotypes and how to overcome them. Through cultural appreciation and understanding, children learn to adapt to diverse cultures and environments.

2) Increased Cultural Intelligence
As infants and toddlers constantly examine their environments, every moment can become a learning experience. In an article for Parents, child psychologist Dr. Margot Sutherland stated, “An enriched environment offers new experiences that are strong in combined social, physical, cognitive, and sensory interaction.” In other words, infants and toddlers become more attuned to the world around them and can begin to recognize differences and similarities between their upbringing and that of other children.

3) Multilingualism
Exposure to different cultures means exposure to different languages. Experts suggest that children under the age of 10 are more adept at learning a new language. “If you want to have native-like knowledge of English grammar you should start by about 10 years old. We don’t see very much difference between people who start at birth and people who start at 10, but we start seeing a decline after that,” said assistant professor of psychology Joshua Hartshorne, who conducted a postdoctorate study on children’s critical period for learning a second language.

4) Interconnection
Family vacations allow you to forge memories and bonds with loved ones that last a lifetime. With a cultural focus, your child will learn to embrace other communities and develop a personal connection with them. For multicultural families, a multigenerational vacation can help foster these connections as children learn about their grandparents’ heritage.

From The Girl on the Yellow Giraffe by Ronald Himler

How should I plan a cultural immersion vacation?

Admittedly, planning a vacation in these times is tough. However, there are several ways of ensuring a diverse vacation while also maintaining safety. Some of them don’t require traveling too far and can take place in your own city!

Below are a few tips for planning a trip that focuses extensively on a cultural experience.

1) Celebrate International Festivals
Most families plan vacations around popular American holidays such as the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. This year, you can also celebrate international holidays! The Diversity Calendar 2021 is a great resource that includes holidays and major events from other cultures such as the Lantern Festival, a Chinese festival, or Holi, an Indian festival. You and your child can read books on such festivals together and visit nearby areas where celebrations take place. This way, your child can simultaneously have fun and learn the significance of festivals in your community.

2) Visit Local Areas
Instead of visiting the same tourist spots and attractions, look for local museums and historical villages of different communities. For instance, the Museum of African American History in Boston focuses on Black culture and hosts collections of historical items accrued the last 50 years. Another great option is the National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Museum complex, which celebrates Indigenous tribes and houses one of the world’s most expansive collections of Native artifacts.

3) Try Local Cuisines
Book a hotel that offers cooking classes for cuisines from a different culture and whip up new dishes with your child! Another great way of assimilating cultures is by visiting local food markets and restaurants. This 2017 blog compiles all the best cultural markets in the US. Local cuisines offer a variety of dishes that will enhance your child’s palates. You can also extend their vocabulary knowledge by teaching them the local names of each dish. When visiting any restaurant, make sure to follow all current CDC guidelines and maintain social distancing wherever required!

From Zachary’s Dinnertime, written by Lara Levinson and illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright

4) Attend Local Events
Although difficult during the pandemic, live events are one of the best and most entertaining ways of learning about a new culture! Live music and dances are especially interactive, often inviting audiences to participate. In Los Angeles, a famous music festival called Mariachi USA is held annually. It features performances from Mexican and American mariachi musicians, along with other mesmerizing folkloric musicians.

As you can see, there are a myriad of possibilities in which you can help your child learn about new cultures through vacation activities. These experiences will aid children in developing cultural understanding, while also creating memories the whole family can cherish for a lifetime.