endeareducation

Finishing up a week doing an overhaul on a homeschool room getting ready for 4 wonderful child minds to take on another year of school. It has been SO refreshing and such a blast revitalizing this room for an amazing mom of 4 going on 5. Design, spaces, materials, setups, storage, and curriculum ideation - all things I absolutely love doing. What a beautiful, fun and energizing week. Would love to do more of these!

Sending your little to school for the first time? Having fears and questions about past bad experiences with schooling? Come through on August 31st for a group Q&A on back to school topics to prepare you and your child for the best school experience. Get equipped with the tools you need to advocate for your kiddos while also supporting our schools. Practical, tangible, firsthand counsel. Register through link in bio!

Come to our June 15th class, a Q&A surrounding Mental Health in caregiving. Book through link!

Mental Health Q&A with Rachel Ann Summer means more time with our children and changes in our routine, propelling us to think more about our mental health care as caregivers. On June 15 at 8PM via zoom we invite Life Coach, Licensed Therapist Rachel Ann to join us and take part in our class Q&A. We will be learning how to be Mindful...

Like us, are you wondering how to have the time, energy, or resources to take care of your mental health as a caregiver? Getting through a global pandemic and navigating the heartbreaking tragedies in our country puts the well-being of our families and children at the forefront of our attention. Rachel Ann is a licensed therapist and life coach who will be answering all of our questions in a Q&A on June 15th at 8PM via zoom. $25 to join and invest in your mental health journey as a parent or caregiver. Register through link in bio today.

Looking for direction in your child's play? Seems like they need you to orchestrate it or are bored with what they have? Make it motivating by choosing one material in your space and making a "Play Plan". Don't worry if they can write letters or not! This can be a few lines, a shape, or a form. The only requirement is that they explain the plan verbally to you. Planning for play encourages intention and facilitates self-regulation while children play. It is backed by evidence and helps them refer to their plans and elongate their play if they go off course. You can also have them refer back to their plan if they start playing with 18 different things. Great for sustained attention, imaginative exploration, and for you to get to take a deep breath and enjoy your child's learning unfold right in front of your eyes.

"How we view children is where education begins." - Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach. This approach to early childhood has changed my life, so much of that is credited to my time working at Bambini Creativi school in Kansas City. A state of the art Reggio program that views children as honorable, capable beings who are worthy of respect and opportunities that most schools would not believe children are capable of. Viewing children changes the way they learn and empowers them to be leaders of their learning. We join with them in their education by partnering with their inquiry, provoking their curiosity, documenting their process, encouraging expression, and giving them opportunities to build new skills. Here are some of the things we covered in our Image of the Child class!

In our small but efficient NYC galley kitchen, my daughter and I tackle the teamwork aspect of cooking on a daily basis. I am in FULL awareness that cooking with kids is a PROJECT. But, you can make it accessible and inviting to them without it stressing us out at every turn. Here are my favorite jobs for Rose in the kitchen at her age - she is 3, but this applies to younger kids for the most part as well. I try to make it motivating by scaffolding her fine motor skills, involving her senses, and letting her take supervised risks. I have her try new things that are just outside her reach [i.e. cutting firmer vegetables, pouring and overflowing], not only to teach her to be successful but also how to fail with grace. "Oops!" happens a lot and we get to laugh together about it.

Cooking is also very therapeutic for me after a long day, so I try to make it manageable for me and for her. These are tasks that are practical and helpful to us both without it becoming too overwhelming or parent-directed.

Consequences, maybe the most demanding skill we have to learn as parents. I think it is because it requires so many other skills to use properly, and our fully time and comprehension of the situation. It requires us to be problem solvers to the MAX. We are afraid of scarring our children, but also nervous about not giving them enough boundaries in their decision making.

Here are some types of consequences we will cover in our class tomorrow night on March 9th at 8PM, register through the link in bio. ALL proceeds for this particular class go to Ukranian refugees in Poland through Proem.

Toys for young children can lure us with bells, whistles, lights, and movement, but the building blocks of play are in open ended creativity. I focus mainly on three types of "toys" if you will!
1. Intelligent materials - these are items that can be manifested as hundreds of different items. A rock can be a shoe, a boat, a turtle, a heart, a memory, a feeling, and many more.
2. Builders - another open ended play material. This allows for unlimited schemas of play to create scenes and scapes for all occasions in all forms
3. Sensory - another major player in elongating play. Water, sand, pebbles, soap, dough, slime, ice, steam, water beads, really any item that interesting to feel and interact with and that can fit in a plastic bin :)

Let's talk about the magical tool of CHOICES. Now I know you hear this a lot about toddlers, use choices! But when do I use them? Why should my child have a choice in this matter? Which types of choices are appropriate for specific situations? We need to define CHOICES first. Choices are FREEING, they give each person a right to decide their course of action in situations, teaching children to be accountable and responsible for their own. They are EMPOWERING, and bring children self-esteem and confidence that they can control the course of their action even at a young age. Choices are INTRINSICALLY motivating, we make them from an internal space to yield a result we want - not what others want. For kids, we keep them SIMPLE when they are overwhelmed emotionally and need to return to their executive skills. Offer only 2 if your child can follow a one-step direction, 3 is ok if your child can complete more than one step. Giving choices to children embodies the belief that they are COMPETENT and capable learners. And lastly, they teach AUTONOMY in building up essential life-skills such as routines, self-help skills, social problem solving, and critical thinking. Come to our class THIS WEDNESDAY February 9th at 8PM to learn the science behind choices.

Register through the link in bio or at [https://www.endeareducation.com/booking-form?referral=booking_calendar_widget]
You can also catch up on our other classes via the Endear Education shop [www.endeareducation.com/shop]

Believing the best in children and in others creates a belief in the other that they are worthy of love and value, that they aren't inherently bad when they make hurtful choices. First REGULATING ourselves when we observe behavior and mentally choosing our perception of the behavior to be POSITIVE in some hidden way. Communicating with language of NOTICING it objectively. If the behavior is hurtful to another, explain which SKILL they are MISSING. "You wanted to ___ so you ___. " After that, describe the BOUNDARY - "you may not ___, it's hurtful". Lastly, we TEACH a new skill and ENCOURAGE them as they try it, "Ask with words ___. Try it! You did it!". This requires a lot of focus and steps, so best to practice one or two at a time.