Hit the Playground With Recess Monkey: The Final Funktier

by on August 6, 2010
in books and music · 8 Comments

The following is by music columnist Jennifer Brown.

So there was once a time when I prided myself on knowing all of the words to Ice, Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice–don’t judge me too harshly I was 12, it was popular and I had a lot of time on my hands.

Today, I know just about every word to Recess Money’s latest release The Final Funktier. I guess it’s still a matter of popularity, as ever since we popped this CD into our car I often get a request for “the space album.”

Recess Monkey

I’d never heard of Recess Monkey until this album arrived in my mailbox, but now that I’m a fan in my own right, I can see why this Seattle based group has had such success. 

The Final Funktier is their sixth album release; and this band, comprised of three elementary school teachers, has truly managed to capture the essence of this stage of life. [Read more...]

Teaching Children How To Handle Their Emotions: As Simple As PIE

by on August 4, 2010
in parenting · 54 Comments

The following is a guest post by Angelica Perez-Litwin of Modern Familia.

As the mother of four children, ranging in ages from 1 to 16, on any given day I might be faced with temper tantrums, angry stumping, door slamming, or the silent treatment (typical among teenagers).  Helping my children appropriately manage and express their feelings is an important part of my day-to-day parenting. In fact, emotional regulation is essential for children’s overall wellbeing.  As parents, we can teach our children to handle their emotions in ways that validates their feelings, while fostering healthy interactions with the world.

Emotional Regulation

Emotional regulation is a fancy term used to describe the ability to process and express a range of emotions, and react in appropriate ways in emotional situations.  Emotional regulation is often conceptualized as a set of skills that can be taught and learned.  The ability to appropriately handle emotions can impact children’s social, emotional and cognitive development. For example: [Read more...]

Head of the Class: Eco-Friendly Lunch Containers for a Smarter Planet

by on August 2, 2010
in food and nutrition · 8 Comments

With back-to-school time just around the corner, I thought it might be helpful to Simple Kids readers to re-run this post by contributor Mariah Bruehl, founder of Playful Learning, about eco-friendly lunch containers.  Enjoy! ~ Kara

Every winter tends to lead to the infamous lunch-packing rut. To break the cycle this year we made a resolution to reduce our lunchtime waste. We decided to shed our plastic baggies and set out to investigate eco-friendly lunch containers. As a family, we learned a lot along the way and feel great about the choices we made for both the planet and our bodies.

Here are some tips that might be helpful as you start to navigate your green minded lunch-packing options.

The Food

When deciding which food-storage products are right for your family, the first thing to consider is the types of food you will be putting into your new reusable containers. When making choices about what to include in your child’s lunch, it is helpful to have a formula in the back of your mind. [Read more...]

Sunday Showcase: Link Love

by on August 1, 2010
in showcase · 4 Comments

So, friends, how was your week?  Were you able to be like the sun? Did you find some time to slow down the pace of Summer? I had a few “raincloud moments” but with a little help, I was able to slow down this week and it was really nice.

I hope to be able to carry that attitude into the rest of the Summer.

Link Love

I didn’t spend much time on the computer this week, but here are a few links that I loved that I wanted to share with you:

Have a wonderful day, everyone! Here’s to a great August!

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