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For young children, play is a key way to learn, grow, and interact with the world around them on their own terms. While play is often little ones’ favorite pastime, it’s also an important component of their early childhood development, and sets the scene for many of the skills they need to grow into healthy, functioning adults!

Physical Benefits

One of the great benefits of play is that it empowers your children to move their bodies, live an active lifestyle, and enjoy the outdoors! Running, climbing, dancing, or even crawling build resiliency and cultivate curiosity, not to mention fostering muscle growth, balance, and coordination.

More importantly, play also stimulates the brain, and is actually one of the best ways for children to learn! Games, challenges, scavenger hunts, and more help children practice problem-solving skills, learn cooperation with their peers, and express their creativity.

Social Development

Play is also an amazing and productive way for children to form connections with each other and start to learn the basics of peer relationships, even as toddlers! Games and group activities with other children help to nurture social skills like taking turns, sharing, and even conflict resolution. For children just starting to learn emotional regulation, play can also help build patience, empathy, and a deeper understanding of each other’s feelings and perspectives.

Cultivating Spiritual Growth

As a Christian early childhood learning center, Heaven’s Elect knows that many parents are passionate about fostering their little one’s spiritual development alongside their physical, cognitive, and social development. Play can be a good way to also introduce faith concepts, such as acting out bible stories or singing religious songs together. In this way, children can begin to make spirituality not just a regular part of their daily life, but a fun and engaging component of their day.

Here at Heaven’s Elect, we’re passionate about empowering our students to be the best versions of themselves, and that includes plenty of playtime! Through play, children entrusted to our care are equipped with the tools, lessons, and skills necessary to engage deeper with their peers, their faith, and their communities.

With another school year on the horizon, parents and kiddos alike are preparing for some major transitions. For parents, this can be an especially stressful time trying to juggle new schedules, school supply lists, transportation needs, and a plethora of other back-to-school activities and appointments. Here are a few tips for making the transition out of summer vacation as seamless and stress-free as possible:

Practice Routines

One of the major challenges for kids adjusting to daycare or school schedules after summer vacation is the routine change, and one of the best ways to prepare for this change is to practice new routines well in advance! Having your little one practice getting up and going to bed at the same time each day, eating lunch or snacks on a specific timeline, or even having set outside play times helps your child get used to their new fall schedules before summer even ends!

Make a To-Do List

Thinking about the dozens of tasks you likely have to complete to prepare your family for the new school year can seem overwhelming at first, but getting everything out on paper can help you better organize your thoughts! Splitting up responsibilities in order of urgency can also help prioritize things during the final weeks of summer. For example, school shopping likely should be done several weeks in advance, while grocery shopping for school snacks/food can be completed later. Organizing a list helps keep your thoughts in order and you on track to get done what you need to promptly!

Prioritize Communication

While back-to-school prep can be challenging, your little one may be experiencing anxiety or stress of their own, and keeping lines of communication open helps put the whole family at ease. Consider asking your child if there’s anything they’re nervous about before going back to school/daycare, what their goals are for the incoming year, or if there’s anything specific they’d like to work on this year. These honest conversations help to ease anxiety while also building confidence for the new year.

Menu Planning

Planning meals during the school year can be a complete change from summer meal-planning, and having to account for packed lunches or snacks can be a hassle at first! Planning out a menu well in advance can keep some of this stress at bay. Sitting down with your child to chat about different meals they like (and won’t throw away!) also helps to give you an idea of a couple of favorites to rotate through during the school year while also giving your little one some healthy autonomy and ownership.

Change is hard, but it doesn’t have to be harder than it needs to be! With proper planning, practice, and communication, families can face the incoming school year with confidence and excitement rather than stress and anxiety.

With longer days, higher temperatures, and plenty of sunshine, summer is the perfect time to create lifelong memories with your kiddos! While many summer activities for families require huge time commitments and hefty costs, there are plenty of easy and low-commitment activities that can be done close to home! Here are a few low-cost summer activity ideas to engage the whole family:

DIY Camping

While family camping trips can be an unforgettable childhood memory, they can also be overwhelming for parents juggling hectic work schedules, numerous kiddos, and packing for the entire family. Thankfully, you don’t need a campsite and long drive to provide a fun camping experience for your little ones! Set up a tent in the backyard or on a balcony, roast marshmallows over the fire, and camp out close to home!

Beach Day

A good old-fashioned beach day is one of the best summer activities that promises hours of fun for the whole family while also being a great low-cost option! Local beaches like the Bay City State Park or Haithco Park are great local options where you and your kiddos can dip your toes in the water, host a picnic, or play outdoor games.

Engage with Nature

There are plenty of ways to engage with nature this summer besides just the beach! Local trails and forests offer opportunities for the family to get outside and enjoy the warm weather without spending a dime. Going for nature walks or on a family bike ride can be great for boosting little ones’ physical health and wellness while also making the most of the summer temperatures!

Community Events

One of the best ways to find new and exciting opportunities for your child this summer is by checking out local community events, many of which are specifically aimed at families. For longer activities, libraries often host different workshops and day camps while churches offer various vacation bible school options. Volunteer events, craft days, or summer festivals are also a great way to break up the day while also finding innovative ways to further engage in the community with your child!

Indoor Fun

While your summer is likely chock-full of outdoor adventures, sunshine isn’t always guaranteed, and there are plenty of fun indoor activities to keep your child occupied! Reading challenges, at-home crafts, no-bake recipes, and blanket forts are all great ideas for making memories this summer without having to set foot outside!

Summer doesn’t have to be hectic or expensive, and here at Heaven’s Elect we know your little one cares much more about just spending quality time together with family than elaborately planned vacations! With just a little creativity, you and your family can create summer fun in your own home, backyard, or community without having to spend an arm and a leg!

Hydration is a crucial, yet sometimes overlooked, component of promoting your child’s health, especially as temperatures rise and outdoor adventures call! Helping children to understand the importance of hydration and incorporating it into their daily routines helps to build lifelong healthy habits while also promoting their short-term wellness!

Why Hydration Matters

Many people may not realize that children actually have higher water content in their bodies than adults do and also dehydrate quicker due to burning so much energy. As a result, little ones are especially prone to the symptoms of dehydration like dizziness, headaches, fatigue, or even behavioral irritability. During hot summer months when your child is likely spending more time than ever outside in high temperatures, dehydration often sets in even faster.

Alternatively, proper and frequent hydration helps children to regulate their body temperature despite any summer heat, support their digestion, and even boost their overall energy levels.

Making Hydration a Daily Habit

As with any routine – brushing their teeth, taking a nap, waking up, etc. – children must first establish a routine before making it a healthy habit, and hydration is no different! When drinking water and being in tune with their body’s physiological needs is prioritized, you can help your child build the foundation for lifelong wellness. Here are a few ways you can establish healthy hydration habits with your little one:

Set a positive example for your child of what hydration looks like daily. If your child sees you frequently sipping water, packing extra bottles for outdoor adventures, or drinking up after strenuous activities, they are more likely to follow suit!

Make frequent hydration accessible by ensuring that water is always within reach for your child, particularly during the summer months. Packing a reusable water bottle, making sure a glass of water is consumed with every meal, etc. makes drinking water a normalized action for your child. You can even consider getting them their own decorated or colorful bottle to make hydration not just accessible, but also fun!

Explain to your child why drinking water is important rather than simply telling them it’s something they need to do. Highlighting how good it feels to be refreshed in the heat, how water can help cool you down, and how it helps you maintain energy and a positive mood all day long can help your child understand in simple, age-appropriate terms why hydration is important.

Prioritizing hydration and teaching your little ones healthy hydration habits leads to lifelong benefits that extend far beyond just this summer season. At Heaven’s Elect, we believe that life lessons matter deeply and start early! When children grow up knowing how to care for their physical, mental, and spiritual health, they grow into adults who live and learn with intention.

Each new phase of life and development for your child brings with it joy and challenges. The toddler years (ages one through three, specifically) can often be especially difficult for even the most seasoned parents. Here are a few tips for navigating the exciting, though sometimes chaotic, toddler years with your little one:

Embrace Boundary Setting

While your child’s toddler years may bring a newfound sense of independence and assertiveness, it can make boundaries especially important. Intentionally setting clear and consistent boundaries (and sticking to them!) helps your child navigate situations where it’s okay to say “no” versus when the parent’s authority must be respected. Being gentle but firm with these boundaries can go a long way in helping your child understand the why behind your rules so that they don’t feel overly restricted.

Setting Routines

Having a consistent schedule can be beneficial for children of all ages, but during the toddler years this structure can be particularly beneficial. Establishing a consistent wake up and bedtime, mealtimes, and times for play and learning can help children feel more comfortable in their day-to-day life, reducing potential anxieties caused by unexpected plans. While flexibility is also an important life skill, prioritizing routine in these early years in your child’s development helps provide a strong foundation for the development of more enhanced skills later in life.

Fostering Language Skills

Your child’s toddler years are likely when they’re also finding their voice and learning the basics of language and communication. Children often learn best through repetition and mirroring their parents, so communicating often and thoroughly can make a big difference in fostering early language skills. For example, narrating tasks and asking your child open ended questions helps them build both their vocabulary and comprehension skills. These skills are particularly important while navigating conflict or tantrums during the toddler years, as language skills can help little ones understand boundaries, house rules, and when a reaction or behavior is unacceptable.

Practicing Patience through Conflict

Conflict is an inevitable component of the toddler years for many families, and it’s important to practice patience and grace while your child navigates how to express big emotions in healthy ways. Staying composed, even during tantrums, helps model mature problem-solving for your little one. Additionally, acknowledging their emotions while redirecting their emotional reactions to those emotions can help your child build important self-regulation skills.

While the toddler years may seem daunting as a parent, this is an incredible time of growth, learning, and excitement for your little one. Fostering consistency, boundaries, and patience as you and your child navigate this developmental phase helps your child develop crucial language, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

As the school year winds down, many parents are faced with a new challenge: transitioning to summer vacation. Change can be hard for anyone, but can be especially difficult for little ones who have likely already acclimated to a consistent school and child care schedule. Here are a few tips and tricks to make your family’s transition to summer vacation as smooth and seamless as possible:

Build a Bucket List Together

While the transition into summer vacation may feel overwhelming at first, the sunshine and warm weather are also an opportunity to create new and lasting memories with your kids! Children love to be involved in decision-making, and creating a summer bucket list together can be a great way to build independence while also giving your little one things to look forward to throughout the season.

Maintain Structure

One of the things that can make the transition from school/child care to summer vacation difficult is the drastic change in schedule. Children often thrive on routine, and easily become used to familiar structures like wake up/sleep times, meals, outdoor play, etc. Making an effort to maintain this structure, even if in a different form, during the summer months can help make the transition easier for your little ones while also preparing them for the next transition back to school in the fall. Setting daily times for sleep, meals, play, and quiet time are a good place to start!

Prioritize Social Times

For kiddos who are used to seeing and playing with their friends daily at school, summertime can seem scary and lonely at first. Planning frequent playdates or meet-ups with other families during the summer months can go a long way in continuing to foster your child’s social development while also helping to encourage healthy friendships!

Encourage Small Acts of Independence

Regardless of your child’s age, summer is a great time to start building lifelong skills like self-sufficiency and independence. When school is out of session, your child likely has more time on their hands – you can help them find productive and consistent responsibilities that are age-appropriate! Some ideas include helping out in the garden, walking the dog, or hosting a lemonade stand. These small activities and tasks give structure to your child’s day while also helping them to feel needed and capable!

As the days gradually become longer and temperatures rise, spring is just over the horizon! For many families, spring cleaning is a useful way to reset and renew your home while also taking stock of your children’s early milestones to assess what clothes, items, or resources may no longer be best suited for your family. Here are a few ways to engage your children in the spring-cleaning process and help create a peaceful and thriving environment for your little ones!

Clothing

As a parent, you know all too well that children grow quite quickly, and keeping wardrobes aligned with growth spurts can be a challenge! Before heading into the summer months, take note of any fall or winter clothing that your child may or may not need by next season. Doing so early helps you identify any new pieces you may need well in advance.

Including your child in the process of sorting and/or choosing clothes can be an important learning opportunity as well. Not only can it encourage problem-solving and decision-making skills but also helps them learn independence and responsibility!

Toys

It’s completely normal to feel a little nostalgic as your child slowly outgrows certain toys. However, spring cleaning can be a perfect opportunity to assess outgrown toys or play accessories and declutter spaces for items better suited to your child’s growth. If they are at an appropriate age, kiddos can be useful in this process too as they can make independent decisions about which toys and/or games still interest them vs. those they may have outgrown.

Organizing

As your child grows up and potentially moves into their own room, teaching them to take ownership of their space can be a significant developmental milestone. Teaching the importance of cleanliness, picking up after themselves, and organizing their belongings can become a lifelong skill, and spring cleaning is a perfect opportunity to empower your little one to start having accountability for their space and how it’s organized!

Tackling spring cleaning as a family can be challenging, but incredibly worthwhile. The process of sorting through clothing, toys, or other mementos helps children learn responsibility, cleanliness, and accountability, which are all valuable lifelong lessons that will serve them greatly as they grow up!

As a parent, choosing the right daycare center for your child and family is no easy decision, and it’s likely there are an abundance of factors influencing your decision. From the childcare workers to the daycare philosophy, to the amount of time spent outside, every family has unique needs and desires for an ideal daycare experience. For families of faith, choosing religious-based childcare can offer a unique approach to childhood development that keeps spiritual growth at the forefront.

One of the greatest benefits of choosing a faith-based daycare like Heaven’s Elect is the strong moral foundation it can provide for your child. Through bible stories, children can learn important virtues like honesty, respect, kindness, and patience, all of which lead to positive decision-making and healthier peer relationships down the line. Cultivating Christian values like love, compassion, and community also help solidify your child’s sense of purpose while offering a nurturing environment where they can grow in their faith and their personal identity.

Additionally, Christian daycares such as Heaven’s Elect ensure that faith is intertwined in children’s everyday lives, whether that be through daily bible story readings, prayers before meals, or learning Christian songs alongside traditional subjects like math and reading. Not only does this faith-focused approach build well-rounded little ones, but it also teaches children how to incorporate spirituality into their daily lives, relationships, and activities.

While children receive the most direct benefits of a Christian childcare experience, enrolling your child in a faith-based daycare center also fosters a strong sense of community for the whole family. Parents often appreciate engaging with other like-minded families with similar beliefs and values, and this can create long-lasting support systems for entire families.

Faith-based childcare offers a spiritual and nurturing foundation for children where they can grow developmentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Heaven’s Elect Christian Learning Center is committed to providing a Christ-centered learning environment where children can flourish in every aspect of their personal development through compassionate instruction and guidance.