Month: February 2021

Hello my StrongStart friends,

We have all been riding this emotional rollercoaster for more than a year now.  Every day brings a variety of emotions: fear, anxiety, relief knowing our loved ones are safe, sometimes  getting lost in a moment still brings us happiness.

When young children experience strong emotions, they do not have our wisdom to know that the feeling will pass. They need a loving adult to help them learn to manage their emotions by naming and acknowledging feelings with understanding and empathy (“I know you are frustrated because… I wish we could…” I understand… ). Children need to know that is OK to have all sort of feelings, and that adults have them too.

CLICK HERE to hear me read Llama, Llama red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, published by Penguin Random House. Little Llama goes through all sorts of emotions  and is comforted and reassured by her loving mama the end of the book .

Previously, I have shared how in our StrongStart we are teaching our children to to learn to recognize their strong emotions  by naming them (” You feel… angry or sad…”).  We ask them to take a deep breath, we offer them a hug. Nowdays I’m finding that I  I need to remind myself of these same things.

Let us do it together: Let us take a deep breath in. Slowly, deeply! Fill your lungs with air. Then pause. Take a deep, long  breath out. Do it together with your child, all of your children. You will be giving them a life-long gift; knowing how to manage strong emotions. They will be grateful to you!

CLICK HERE to hear the song we often sing in StrongStart to help us deal with different emotions. It is called “Happy Firetruck”.

To give love to your child you need to be kind to yourself too. We all need to look for ways to comfort ourselves, do something that brings us smile, joy and light! Small or big. To calm my emotions I often need to stop what I was doing and take a deep breath, focus on my breathing and nothing else. I plan time to do something that brings me joy: walk in the nature, connecting with people dear to me in any way I can, smelling my lavender plant…

Take care, we are all in this together!

Ms. Lillian

CLICK HERE

Dear StrongStart friends,

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I am sending my love and best wishes your way. Let us celebrate by reading two books.  CLICK HERE to hear me read “I Love You Book” by Todd Parr, published by Little, Brown and Company.

Another book you will hear me reading is a rebus poem “I Love You” by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by Suse MacDonald, published by Scholastic.

CLICK HERE to join me in singing Skinamarinky Dinky Dink song.

For those of you who celebrate Chinese New Year, I wish you best of luck and Happy New Year –  GUNG HAY FAT CHOY! CLICK HERE to hear me read “My First Chinese New Year” book by Karen Katz. The book is published by Henry Holt and Company.

Enjoy these special holidays, together!

Ms. Lillian

Dear StrongStart families,

Many of you know Anita, our wonderful Early Childhood Community Consultant from her in-person visits StrongStart in happy times.  Anita is now joining us every other Friday for our scheduled outdoor explorations (and consultations) for those registered and booked families.

Anita is currently offering:

•  Free one-on-one consultations: learn about your child’s development, behavior and parenting tips and tricks to support them.  Email or call, Anita, to set up a free virtual appointment aolson@fsgv.ca 604-723-9548.
• The Power of Play – Book a Wednesday morning one-on-one play session with Anita – Enjoy a private play space with your little one as Anita coaches and models child-led play, establishing healthy boundaries, turn taking and so much more with parents/caregivers and their child. Call/text or email, 604-723-9548 or email aolson@fsgv.ca to see availability
• ECCC Resource Newsletter – short, informative, daily newsletter with children’s activities, up-to-date community activities, parenting tips and more. Email Anita aolson@fsgv.ca with the heading ADD ME TO NEWSLETTER to receive yours! You can also check out the archived newsletters here.
• Anita is a regular contributor to The Parenting Place Blog, an excellent resource for families. Click below to follow!  You will be soon able to find it on top of our blog page as Parenting Place – Activities for Children.