Let’s Save Money

Hello Parents,

It’s been a holidayish kind of  year. Going through the calendar it is fun to see how there is a day to celebrate just about everything, and every day in the calendar is assigned to a holiday special to someone. Today for example is Teach Your Children to Save Day. Many of these daily holidays celebrate something that you really should be doing ever day, but for those of us who slack off or forget they serve as great reminders. These holidays also help us be a little silly, and come up with ideas to teach our children something new, have fun with them, and be a little more festive. At CBLC we try to find activities that the kids will learn from and also have fun with.

Just 1% of Kids Save Any Allowance Money. Studies have shown that most parents are poor financial role models for their children. Check out this article on AllYou.com on How to Teach Kids About Money: spend, Save, and Share.

If you have kids getting ready for elementary school, there is a great book called The Penny Pot by Stuart Murphy. The blog, Carrots Are Orange has some basic activities you can do with your kid based on this book.

For a creative and homemade activity that will help your children learn about money, there is a fun game you can make, using just paint chips and popsicle sticks. Found on Katherine Maries blog, have fun with this {Recycled} Coin Book Game.

Lastly, we want to be sure to remind you that tomorrow, April 24th is Administrative Professionals Day – very important people in our lives if you have someone who helps you in your every day business life. So if you are grateful to an administrative professional who helps keep you on track and well-managed, be sure to send flowers, buy them lunch, and you’d be surprised how far a simple cup of coffee to show appreciation can go.

Fun Learning!
CBLC Midtown

Earth Day

Hello Parents,

As many of you know, Earth Day is celebrated around the world on April 22. It is a day where events are held in support of environmental protection. Many places also hold a week-long observance of Earth Day, calling it Earth Week.

Working toward a better environment doesn’t and shouldn’t be our concern only one day a year, so we’ve collected a couple of ideas for you to do a little something for our kids’ future on this planet. Every little step counts.

1. Plant a tree. If you can’t plant a tree, plant a flower or start a vegetable garden – do it with the kids, they will love this and give you an opportunity to talk to them about the soil and different kinds of plants.
2. Reassess how you are using your electronics at home – unplug items you’re not using; consider switching to alternative power sources.
3. Teach your kids to recycle – there are many ways to teach the kids how to help the environment, check out the 20 Activities & Crafts posted on Babble today to get you started.

To learn what many countries were doing head on over to Earth Day Network and read on about all the activities governments have put into place.

Fun Learning!
CBLC Midtown

Roses are red, Violets are blue

Hello Parents,

Spring flowers are blossoming all around us, the beauty and aroma gets all of us a little more in touch with our romantic side; so it is no wonder April was declared National Poetry Month – pretty fitting!

Children love to read and be read to, story time is always a big success at the school. How about in addition to stories introducing the kids to poetry while you’re reading to them at home. Here are a few books of poems especially written for children. There are many kinds of poems; sad poems, love poems, funny poems, etc. We do love to hear kids giggle, so it’s no surprise that if you search children’s poems you’re most likely to find funny poems.

Below are three age-appropriate books for kids at CBLC; check them out and let us know what you think.

Ages 4+

Ages 3+

Ages 2+

Fun Learning!
CBLC Midtown

April 2: World Autism Awareness Day

Hello Parents,

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. Per the CDC in March of 2012, the disorder affected 1 in 50 school-aged children. There are varying degrees of autism, for a parent with a child diagnosed as autistic it is difficult regardless of the point in the spectrum their child is in. It is equally difficult to answer all the questions other people have about autism. Huffington Post had many articles today on the subject, but one in particular caught our attention, 7 Myths About Autism by Hannah Brown, expert on autism and author of If I Could Tell You. Not only is dealing with autism hard, but dealing with misconceptions makes it harder.

Here are the seven myths Hanna points on in the HuffPost Parents article.

1. People with autism are all “Rain Man” geniuses
2. People with autism are all mentally disabled
3. Autism comes from bad parenting
4. Autism is just a kind of eccentricity
5. People with autism feel no empathy or affection
6. There are many treatments that cure autism
7. Scientists understand what causes autism

Click here to read the entire article.

If you’re interested in learning how you can help raise autism awareness, see Autism Speaks‘ Light It Up Blue (LIUB) campaign, now in it’s 4th year. Sometimes all you have to do is turn on the light.

Fun Learning!
CBLC Midtown