Parenting Pickup

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Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Parenting Pickup! This episode we’re hoping to gain a deeper understanding of screen time, its effects on our children, and setting up good boundaries around it. We’ll be joined by Danielle Richards, a School Director at New Horizon Academy in St. Paul, and Laina Nast, a Registered Public Health Nurse who specializes in at-home family care. 

Here are some topics we'll touch upon and hope to tackle to give you, your family and your childcare community some practical tools to implement healthier relationships with screens.

The ways screen time is affecting the practice of childcare

• Boundaries around screen usage
• Imaginative play and boredom
• High stimulus vs low stimulus screen time
• Using media technology for language acquisition 
• Lower-lift alternatives to screen time

Below are resources our expert guests recommend for parents, guardians, educators and caretakers: 

• The Library Project | One Book at a Time
• Spark & Stitch Institute - Parenting for Courage and Connection
• Unplugged Activities to Minimize Your Child's Screen Time - New Horizon Academy

For another in-depth conversation on screentime and more educational media options, please give a listen to our podcast episode with Momo Hayakawa, the Director of Children's Media and Research at Twin Cities PBS. 

Contact New Horizon Academy 

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• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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We are joined by two special guests from the Minnesota Children's Museum: Michelle Blodgett, Director of Experiences, and Bob Ingrassia, Vice President of External Relations. In this discussion, Michelle and Bob share their insights on designing play spaces and exhibits at the Museum, and the power of open-ended play in developing critical life skills.

Today's episode answers these questions:

• How are play and learning intertwined?
• What role does play have in developing language skills?
• What are examples of exhibits at the Museum that help children develop essential skills?
• How can play spaces encourage positive social interaction between children?
•  How can parents incorporate ideas of playful learning at home?
• How can parents incorporate more nature-based play?
• What are ways of encouraging and identifying age-appropriate learning?
• How does "risky play" support learning and development?

Resources:

Ideas for how to embody Playful Parenting:

Playful Parenting - Minnesota Children's Museum

Child Care & Early Learning Activities- New Horizon Academy

All Play - Minnesota Children's Museum's income-qualified program:

All Play Membership - Minnesota Children's Museum

NAEYC- The Power of Playful Learning:

The Power of Playful Learning in the Early Childhood Setting | NAEYC

Michigan State University - The Value of Open-Ended Play:

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_value_of_open_ended_play

Contact New Horizon Academy 

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• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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Meet our new host, Dr. Aimee Fearing, the Vice President of Education and Staff Development at New Horizon Academy.

This episode marks a bittersweet milestone. Cara Johnson-Bader has been a luminary for countless shared stories, hours of expert analysis, and deep connections with our guests and school families. But the meaningful discussions and insightful interviews won't end here. 

Here's what we can look forward to as Cara passes the torch to Dr. Aimee:

• An emphasis on how early care and education make long-term impacts and the reverberations families may see in the K-12 years
• A deeper understanding of the role tech may play in affecting our children's ability to develop healthy emotional regulation
• A look into the importance of facilitating environments for imaginative play
• A celebratory attitude and approach directed towards all caretakers 

Thank you for joining us on this learning journey. You won't want to miss what's next. 

Contact New Horizon Academy 

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok
• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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Dr. Katie Lingras is a multi-talented guest -- she's a child psychologist, associate professor, author of 'A Kids Book about Mental Health', and the Director of Inclusiveness and Excellence at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Today she joins us to discuss how we can introduce the topic of mental health to kids how that topic intersects with her writing and pursuit of equity. 

Today's episode answers these questions:

• What do we mean when we use the term "mental health" in the context of children?
• What are the most natural ways to start conversations about mental wellness with children?
• What can children's books do to further conversations about mental health?
• How can we help children deal with changing circumstances in their community and home environment?
• What are everyday ways to promote understanding of mental health? 
• How do we discuss mental illness within our friend and family circles? 

Below are resources Dr. Katie recommends for parents, guardians, educators and caretakers to continue their learning journey on mental health! 

• The Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health
• The University of Minnesota Early Childhood Mental Health Toolkit
• Talking to Children about Immigration Enforcement 
• Immigrant Family Resources

Order 'A Kids Book about Mental Health' here

Contact New Horizon Academy 

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• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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Kim Hughes, a Conscious Discipline certified instructor, joins us to discuss how parents, guardians and caretakers can become better "behavior detectives". Kim demonstrates how through treating tricky behavior as a form of communication, and using emotional co-regulation as a tool to get us back to square one, we can set the children in our care up for long-term success.  

In this episode we discuss:

• Conscious Discipline as a practice
• The brain state model
• Moving from controlling to connecting (modeling)
• Naming feelings
• Seeing mistakes as future opportunities
• Arming children with alternative modes of expressing needs

Attached are links Kim recommends for furthering our education on emotional literacy:

The Brain State Model

https://consciousdiscipline.com/methodology/brain-state-model/

Cliffs notes for the skills of conscious discipline

https://consciousdiscipline.com/e-learning/webinars/parent-cliff-notes-for-the-skills-of-conscious-discipline/

'Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline' (Dr. Becky Bailey, 2001)

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/easy-to-love-difficult-to-discipline-becky-a-bailey?variant=32128336232482

Contact New Horizon Academy 

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• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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On this episode of The Parenting Pickup Podcast, Nicolette Graf, a consultant and leader in equity, joins us to discuss how we can identify and pursue more equitable solutions for early childhood caretaking, both for parents and educators. 

During this episode we discuss:
- How Nikki started her advocacy and career in equity work
- The fundamentals of pursuing cultural experiences for children and building empathy, using the metaphors of mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors
- Easy ways to incorporate mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors
- How to advocate for equity in your school and community
- How to be okay without obvious answers or solutions for children when they're encountering new cultures


Below are some resources Nikki recommends for parents and teachers to continue their learning journey about equity in and out of the classroom:

Paddington Station's DEI Family Toolkit https://www.paddingtonstation.org/dei-family-toolkit.html

CDA Council 'How to Talk to Kids Under 5 About Racial Equity'
https://www.cdacouncil.org/en/how-to-talk-to-kids-under-5-about-racial-equity/

Early Risers Podcast, featuring Dianne Haulcy and Andre Dukes
https://www.littlemomentscount.org/earlyriserspodcast

Contact New Horizon Academy 

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• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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Lindsay Morgan, a pediatric speech language pathologist with M Health Fairview, brings her expertise to discuss milestones for language development in early childhood, as well as tips, tricks and behaviors to observe for parents & guardians trying to raise a communicative child. 

During this episode, we discuss:

• An overview of the field of speech pathology and the pediatric application of this practice
• A general timeline for childhood language development
• Activities to promote learning new words and concepts
• Raising a bilingual child
• How delays might develop and when to reach out to a professional

Find Lindsay's professional profile here: Lindsay Morgan, SLP - Burnsville, MN - Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology 

Resources Lindsay recommends for families looking to gain more knowledge about childhood language development:

• Help me Grow MN -- Refer a Child - Help Me Grow MN
• Helping Your Child Develop Early Language Skills https://www.fvfiles.com/522058.pdf
• Helping Your Child to Communicate https://www.fvfiles.com/520998.pdf

Contact New Horizon Academy 

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok
• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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Amanda Woodward, Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, joins us this episode to discuss and explain social behavior in children younger than school age. 

During this episode, we discuss:

• Differentiating typical social behavior between age groups
• Key findings in recent research about early childhood social behavior
• Activities that foster greater social-emotional development
• Social exclusion and tools families may use to avoid antisocial patterns

Resources Amanda recommends for families looking to gain more knowledge about early childhood relationships:

Learning through Play- the Lego Foundation : https://learningthroughplay.com/ 

National Institue for Play : https://nifplay.org/ 

Contact New Horizon Academy 

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• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

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When it comes to your children's picture books, do you find yourself wondering about the story behind the story? Children's book authors Megan Maynor, Lauren Gillman, Tracy Hyde and Camila Gadotti join our host Cara Johnson-Bader to go over their own journey to creating engaging picture books. 

Book & Author links: 
'A House for Every Bird' by Megan Maynor (Insta: @megan_maynor)
https://wildrumpusbooks.com/book/9781984896483

'Tolita: The Best Bad Dog' by Lauren Gillman & Camila Gadotti (Insta: @tolitasworld)
https://www.tolitasworld.com/

'Detective Murray: Case of The Candy-Coated Books' by Tracy Hyde (Insta: @detectivemurray)
https://www.amazon.com/Detective-Murray-Case-Candy-Coated-Books/dp/1635221064

Contact New Horizon Academy 

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok
• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

This month, NHA's child mental health specialist, Amanda Mason, joins us to talk about the positive effects that therapeutic reading can have on children.

This episode we'll tackle subjects such as:

• The benefits of bibliotherapy
• The obstacles for parents to use bibliotherapy with their child
• Appropriate books for therapeutic reading
• How bibliotherapy can help with grief and illness  
• Signs that you should get a mental health specialist involved
• Community resources for families who wish to use bibliotherapy

Previous episodes featuring Amanda:

Season 1, Episode 2- New Siblings
Season 2, Episode 1 - Hitting

Contact New Horizon Academy 

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok
• Email us at [email protected]
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!