Michelle Sadowski Consulting

🎁 THE ULTIMATE TODDLER GIFT GUIDE 🎁

You asked - I answered!

The ultimate toddler gift guide is HERE!

I’ve sorted my favourite picks by ages 12-24 months+ and 2-4 years. All of the things in the 12-24m category can and will likely be used far beyond that age group!

All of the items are linked in my blog post which goes into much more detail about the chosen items. Link in bio!!

Special shout outs in the post to .ca - please check out her stuff for some incredible pre-loved items at excellent prices.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
❤️

Follow for more toddler parenting tips!

Did you know that The PEACE Method book also includes a whole section on preventative measures?

There are tons of things we can do as parents to help prevent, or at least minimize the frequency, of tantrums and meltdowns.

These might include:
⭐️ Meet basic needs.
⭐️ Pick your battles.
⭐️ Offer controlled choices.
⭐️ Read relevant books and social stories.
⭐️ Provide reminders and warnings.
⭐️ Explicitly provide strategies for coping.
⭐️ Be present and watch for the signs.

Each preventative measure has an explanation and an example of its function in the context of a real scenario (I used the scenario of attending a birthday party, since loads of kids have trouble managing their emotions at birthday parties!).

Think of these as best practices!

Order your copy now! Kindle or paperback, exclusively on Amazon. Link in bio. (If you don’t want to support Amazon but still want a copy, please DM me to arrange delivery or pickup!).

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Buy multiples of your child’s favourite lovey! (We actually have 3 🤫)

Meet Dino. And Donno, his cousin from New Joisey. (Deeno is currently napping with A).

For us, one stays at daycare during the week and the others we rotate so they can be washed and we can have a backup just in case it gets, err, messy. Let’s just say we’ve had more than enough bedtime 🤮 to learn our lesson and have backups on hand.

You also never know if the style will be discontinued. Having an extra on hand will be a lifesaver down the line if you ever need one.

It’s worth the investment - trust me.

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Last sneak peek I shared that our goal was NOT to eliminate tantrums. This week, I will share what our goals actually are. Here are two quotes, directly from the book (WHICH IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON - link in bio!!)

1. Learn about expressing feelings, what they are and where they come from.

2. Learn how to manage them, develop coping skills and build resilience.

Those are the goals.

The PEACE method helps them get there.

Follow for more toddler tips.

Toddler tantrums and meltdowns, as challenging as they may be, are a completely healthy and normal part of child development. They are necessary in order for kids to learn how to express their feelings! When kids feel the feels but lack the ability to fully communicate or understand their thoughts, needs and feelings, we get tantrum behaviours.

Our goal is NOT to eliminate these behaviours in our children. We don’t want robots! We want children who can express themselves in a healthy way, while feeling loved and supported by those who matter most (you!).

In the next sneak peek, I will reveal what our goals actually are! But for now - what do you think our goals should be?

☮️ THE PEACE METHOD is available on now! 😊

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This is a real quote from the introduction of my upcoming book, The PEACE Method!

I wrote this book because honestly - it’s hard out there. Everyone is fighting the good fight just trying to help their kids grow up to be good human beings. Sometimes, we are TIRED and are out of options.

Parenting literature can be long, boring, and full of scientific theories that are hard to comprehend when you are knee deep in toddler tantrums and are one thrown pasta shell away from losing your mind. You end up finishing the book with more questions than answers.

Here is what makes this book NOT suck:

⭐️This book is concise - it won’t take you weeks to finish.
⭐️It’s clear and easy to understand - the science is simplified for you.
⭐️It’s actionable - real things to do, say and try with your kids immediately after reading.
⭐️It’s honest and relatable - I give real examples of how I’ve used it with my own kid.

The PEACE Method is available for pre-order (Kindle only) and the hard copy will be out in just a couple of short weeks!

What’s the worst parenting book or advice you’ve ever encountered?!

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SERIES: SCHEMA LEARNING

A schema is like a set of instructions that we update and develop as we learn, discover and make mistakes.

As adults, we go through our day doing lots of things that we don’t have to think about because we have our schemas fully developed already.

For a toddler, they are spending so much of their time simply developing their schemas. The only way they can do that is by exploring, trying new things, and repeating actions over and over again. With each new experience, they update their schema!

There are eight schemas that we are going to focus on. Each week, we’ll highlight two! The blog post by is INCREDIBLE and definitely worth a read. I’ve linked it in my bio!

🧩 Connecting
🔄Orientation
🛒 Transporting
🎯 Trajectory
🧭Positioning
💌Enveloping
📦Enclosing
😵‍💫Rotation

Which one are you most excited to learn more about?!

🔤 LETTERS 🔤

Letter recognition and letter-sound relationships form the basis for reading skills! It is never too early to start exposing your toddler to these fundamentals!

📚There are endless alphabet books out there. You can find an alphabet book to match any of your toddlers interests - birds, trucks, dinosaurs, and more trendy ones like basketball players and sneakers.

🧸 The best toys to have around for alphabet practice are:
⭐️ Foam letters for the bath
⭐️ Magnet letters for the fridge or dishwasher
⭐️ Letter blocks or puzzles
⭐️ Flashcards

🗣 When teaching letters, pair them with their sound. B! B like ball!

🔤 Start with the letters they’ll see most often - the ones in their name! For more on teaching order, check out my ABCs highlight.

👋🏼 Use those hands and bodies. Make an A with your body. Trace a B in a foil pan of flour, shaving cream or sand, build a C out of play dough. Letter learning does not have to be a pen and paper activity all the time!

What are your favourite ways to help kids learn the ABCs?

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If you are participating in Giving Tuesday, we’d love to hear how you are giving your time or donations!

⚠️NEW BLOG POST⚠️

☀️The summer is coming, or for many, already here!

Check out the new post for tips on the best ways to bridge the gap in learning that often takes place over extended breaks.

☀️Engage with text daily - notice I didn’t say read. This means your child can look at pictures in a story, grocery flyers, decode signs or follow a recipe. They can write or read! They can listen to an audiobook in the car or follow along with a story before bed. Engage with text in one way or another every single day.
☀️Keep it short, sweet and fun! - 5-10 mins per day is all you need to keep the learning brain active and at minimum, maintain the status quo. Kids not feeling it? Don’t force it that day.
☀️Provide opportunity for choice - let kids decide what, how, where or when they do the work!
☀️Find learning opportunities in your world. Don’t just hand them worksheets. Plant, cook, bake, observe nature, plan a trip, grocery shop, meal plan, use meaningful life skills.
☀️Get outside! - this one speaks for itself I think! Work on those fine and gross motor skills while connecting with nature DAILY.

Which tip are you looking forward to implementing?!

Want more? Check out the post.

🔗link in bio🔗

Play All Day Part Three: Grades 1-3
Have you ever heard the phrase, little kids, little problems, big kids, big problems?

As with all stages of child rearing, it doesn’t get easier. It gets different. Shout out to .ca for teaching me that.

As a teacher, I noticed that grade 3 was traditionally the most difficult year for social challenges. Recess arguments led to dramatic disagreements and frequent exclusions/unkind words.

Play at this age is so important for navigating their social environment. As the adults, we can use this idea of play to help them explore social scenarios and problem solving skills.

In addition, this is where interests, hobbies, creativity and imagination can really come to life. For the most part, kids at this age finally have (or are continuing to strengthen) the motor skills to actually achieve the things their imagination can dream up.

Providing kids with open ended toys, materials and tasks can help them explore more freely and take more safe risks.

More on this in the blog. Link in bio!

Play All Day Series Part Two: Kindergarten

Check out this week’s blog post for tips and strategies for making play time meaningful for your kindergarten age child or students!

The lowdown:
🧩Play Based Learning allows kids to explore and make meaning of their world through games, open-ended toys and socio-dramatic play.
🔎The Inquiry Process helps kids learn to ask questions, develop their curiosity and innovate to solve problems!
👯‍♀️Social skills such as sharing, turn taking, winning and losing are developed at this age
😡 Self-regulation and learning to manage big feelings can be practiced during play time

Link in bio for more info!