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Imagination
They Make Us Believe
Can it be October already? The (pre)school year is on its speedy way, rushing headlong into the fall months and (gasp!) holidays. As we turn the page on our calendars, October is already chock full of activities, playdates and birthday parties. And beckoning at the very end of the month -- Halloween! Which of course gets us thinking about costumes. All the costumes piled up in our kids'
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SavvyPicks: Books that Celebrate a Child's Imagination
The very act of telling a story (or reading one, or listening to one) engages the imagination as almost nothing else can. And so it is that we find ourselves returning again and again to our teeming bookshelves for inspiration, imaginative or otherwise. Whether for preschool story times or at bedtimes or quiet times at home, here are some of our favorite picks of books that truly celebrate a
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Pretend Play and Preschooler Development
The whole realm of make believe, dress up and role play is so far from the every day tasks to which most of us adults devote ourselves, that it is often difficult for us to appreciate its centrality in young children's lives. And yet, when we really pay attention to our preschoolers' play and train of thought, we realize that imagination and fantasy play a part in almost everything they do.
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Savvy Welcomes: Betsy Brown Braun on Play as the Work of Childhood
We are thrilled to have Betsy Brown Braun here once again to share her wisdom on early childhood and parenting. Today, she helps us understand the crucial role of imaginative play in our little ones' lives. Betsy is the best-selling author of the award-winning book Just Tell Me What to Say: Sensible Tips and Scripts for Perplexed Parents ( www.justtellmewhattosay.com ). Betsy is also a child
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5 Things to Have in Your Dress-Up Bin, and How to Help Your Preschooler Choose a Halloween Costume
We love thinking about our little ones' wild and ever-churning imaginations and Halloween together. The holiday seems made-to-order for the preschooler mind (not to mention the preschooler sweet tooth). Dressing up on Halloween night, and for all the Halloween parties and parades that tend to precede it, is just an extension of our kids' constant drive to try on new outfits, costumes and roles.
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SavvyPicks for Your Favorite Fairies, Sprites and Pixies
The blessing of a child (among many many others) is the blessing countless adorable moments parading before our lucky parental eyes. Among those, the sight of a darling preschooler in a gauzy fairy costume ... well, if you've seen it, you know just how precious it is. But that is not the only reason we like to encourage our children's interest in fairies. More importantly, we recognize that
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Top 10+ Activities to Nurture Pretend Play at Home
All this month at Being Savvy we've been exploring the world of the imagination. We now know how important all that dress-up and pretend play is to our little one's development. We know it's an essential part of the "work" of childhood . We've peeked into what's really afoot when these little darlings play with their dolls and their action figures . We've wandered into the whimsy of fairies
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Wise Words About the Roar of a Child's Imagination
Few of us today have heard of the Indiana poet and writer of "juvenile fiction" Evaleen Stein (1863-1923). But we can all appreciate her poem "Wild Beasts." Those very beasts live at our house, and they do roar and growl so very loudly when their wild imaginations get them going. Wild Beasts I will be a lion And you shall be a bear And each of us will have a den Beneath a nursery
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Stories About Toys That Come to Life
Sometimes when we look at the heaps of stuffed animals and dolls collecting in our little ones' rooms, we have a serious impulse to clear them all out. What clutter! And the kids hardly ever seem to play with them anyway! But we hold back. Why? Because from our own dim childhood memories, and from certain classic stories, we know that even toys that don't get played with much can hold a very
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Choosing (or Making) a Doll House
Parents of young children are confronted with many important and difficult decisions. Choosing a preschool, say. (Luckily, our Savvy eBook is here to help.) Or even worse, for some of us, choosing a kindergarten! But most difficult of all? Choosing a doll house, for sure. Okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration. But still. Doll houses are, for most families, a one-time purchase (at
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Putting on Plays and Puppet Shows
From the dress-up and role play our little ones love, it's a just small step to the stage. What stage, you ask? The one right in your living room, in the playroom, on the patio or wherever fancy strikes. As their imaginative worlds become more complex and their understanding of story-telling evolves, many older preschoolers come to love putting on skits and puppet shows and other whimsical
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It's Halloween Tomorrow! Or, Tired of Halloween Yet?
For most, Halloween is a one day, or rather one night event. But for preschoolers? It's more likely a week-long affair packed with preschool and playground parties, parades, and costume-clad playdates. Phew! We parents tend to have a camera full of pictures of those precious costumes before the big night even arrives. But it's all for the best, right? Because we're not going to keep these
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Because a Great Book Makes You Wonder
Young children live in a state of wonderment that most of us adults only experience in fleeting, precious moments. Our preschoolers see mystery all around them. They wonder about everything, and want to learn -- think of all the questions they ask, all the times they stop to look, all the puzzles they try to solve. We are so lucky to get to share some of that wondering with them. Especially
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Savvy Picks for December, 2008
Our top ten posts about the wonders of rituals and routines:
- A Season of Rituals
- Savvy Welcomes Betsy Brown Braun on Helping Keep the Fa-La-La in the Holidays with Your Children
- Savvy Picks: Best Children's Books of 2008
- Savvy Welcomes Lyn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson on Greening the Holidays
- Teaching Your Child About Giving Instead of Getting at the Holidays
- Homemade Gifts to Make with Preschoolers
- How to Keep Rituals a Bit Flexible, a Little Lively, and a Lot Unexpected
- Savvy Welcomes Ginger Carlson on How to Give Experiences Not More Things
- Inspired Indoor Activities for the Shortest Day of the Year
- Holidays Are Delicious
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