Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Helping Kids with Friendships and Social ...

Have you noticed social skills missing in your kids? Caroline Maguire, author of Why Will No One Play With Me?, joins me to discuss how to support your child and build them up through play.

Here’s some of the areas we cover:


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
A Conversation about School Readiness with ...

The transition to preschool to elementary school can be such an anxious time for both parents and for the children. There’s a lot of unknowns to get them ready for and sometimes we think there’s lots we have to do to prepare them for starting. Today we discuss what you can do to help reduce anxiety for your little one with nursery practitioner, Caroline Allen. 

In this episode they discuss:


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a ...

Sexual assault and harassment, sadly happens in schools on a too regular basis, whether that’s happening peer to peer or even between teacher to student. We hope our children never have to experience this. Knowing how to parent our children to take ownership of their bodies, so they know how to say no is key. We discuss how to navigate through abuse, bullying, harassment so they can get help is just as vital.  

In this episode, I speak with Meghan Joyce Tozer, author of the critically acclaimed novel Night, Forgotten and her annotated middle school diary, UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir, which she wrote under the pen name Emily Lindin. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a Middle School Diary and Memoir
Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Introduction to Montessori Philosophy with ...

Have you ever considered a different educational style for your children besides the conventional method? If so, perhaps you have heard of the Montessori method. It is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the highly trained teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process. In this episode, I spoke to Montessori Home Consultant, Jeanne-Marie Paynel about the benefits of this education style. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Introduction to Montessori Philosophy with Jeanne-Marie Paynel
Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Building Connections with Kids Through Play ...

When was the last time you had a dedicated playtime with your child? Life gets so busy so we can’t blame parents for not being able to squeeze this in-between school, dinnertime, sports or dance at the weekend but it is vital to a child’s development. Kim Feeney is the guest on this episode, she is a licensed independent social worker and a registered play therapist supervisor. I wanted to discuss playtime with her and how to build a connection with your child. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Building Connections with Kids Through Play with Kim Feeney

social play

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Awesome Play Ideas for Families at Home

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Awesome Play Ideas for Families at Home



Inside: An incredible collection of play ideas for families during times when they need to stay at home. Also, why play helps at this time, and how we can view this as an opportunity to re-connect .

Usually, as families, we have busy schedules, and people are often going to sports practice or games, lessons, or after school activities. Because of the coronavirus and social distancing, things are getting canceled everywhere. This is a stressful time, and things seem to be changing day-to-day. Overall, what this means is that families are going to be spending a lot more time at home.

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Why I Love Playdates!

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Why I Love Playdates!

The play date has been getting some negative press, with people listing all the things they don’t like about them. There are pros and cons to everything, so I decided to explain why I appreciate play dates.

16 Different Types of Play

16 Different Types of Play

Inside: Definition of 16 play types from Bob Hughes and ideas for play materials to encourage variety in the way children play.

Definition of play:

“Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.”

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What to do when a playdate goes wrong

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What to do when a playdate goes wrong

You’ve taken the time to set up a playdate. You found a potential friend, you invited them to play at your house or at a playground and things are going really well. Then, something unexpected happens. Maybe it’s an argument, yelling, or even hitting (eek!!). What do you do?

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5 more games for play dates

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5 more games for play dates

It’s that time of year when people start thinking about gifts to buy. I really love the idea of getting and giving games, especially those that can be played on a playdate with just two kids. Last year, I wrote a post where I listed five games that would be ideal to play on a small playdate, which is perfect for kids who are working on their social skills. Here are 5 MORE games that would be great to have on hand for a small playdate. They’re also great games for families too. You can practice and play together and have fun!

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Four Reasons to Have a Family Game Night

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Four Reasons to Have a Family Game Night

I’m a big proponent of having a family game night. I’ve even written two posts about great games for families - one focused on elementary school and one focused on preschool. But you might be wondering how game night can benefit your kids. It’s a great weekly habit that can promote a lot of positive behavioral growth.  Here are four reasons to fit it into your weekly schedule.

 

 

                                        

5 Fantastic Games for Families: PreK through Grade 2

5 Fantastic Games for Families: PreK through Grade 2

Spending time together as a family is such an important thing to do, especially in this day and age when family time can be so limited and fractured.  It’s a great way for families to connect, to get to know one another and for adults to model good social skills for the kids.  Kids who have a hard time connecting socially benefit from learning how to play games, how to set them up and how to manage winning and losing in a gracious way. Our family loves to play games whenever we get a chance (which is almost daily), and we’re really enjoying them, so I thought it would be a good idea to blog about 5 more family games.  I wrote this blog post a few months ago about family games for older kids, these games are aimed at preschool and early elementary school aged children.  

 

5 Strategies for Planning Play

5 Strategies for Planning Play

Here are five strategies you can use to help set the stage for an enjoyable play experience:

1.  Incorporate different types of play.

A child who plays well is comfortable with many forms of play.  Some categories of play include gross motor, fine motor, pretend play, construction, sensory, etc.  Gross motor activities include tag, obstacles courses and races.  Activities like rainbow loom or stringing beads are more fine motor play.  Some popular themes of pretend play include restaurant, school and space.  Construction can be out of all kinds of different materials like blocks, play doh, or even recycling.  Sensory can be using sand, rice or beans. Exposure to different types of play leads to valuable experiences.

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