This hands-on learning activity for little ones is fluttering fun Activities that stimulate a child’s senses are important for the development of important skills, such as motor skills, social skills and even language, math and science skills. And this Butterfly Sensory Bin stimulates lots of senses—perfect for little hands and growing minds. Picking up beads with tweezers and then threading …

Dialed In Last year, my son’s fourth-grade class went to Annapolis in late May as a part of a school field trip. On the permission form, the teachers said the students would be allowed to bring phones if they wanted to take photos of the sites. As a chaperone, I really didn’t think much of it. I figured there would …

New Motherhood: After 35 Our writer discovers a helpful book from Maryland authors About 11 years ago, after having had two great kids, resulting from smooth-sailing pregnancies at ages 29 and 31, my husband and I realized we wanted a third child. Pregnancy at age 37 actually came easily again but didn’t stick—and we struggled through two miscarriages. I went …

How to stay calm when tempers are flaring “I’m not going to school!” my 6-year-old screamed, running upstairs and slamming her door. The cause of her tantrum? I asked her to clean up her dolls before we left for school. I was already guilty of yelling that morning, too. Both of my daughters had argued almost continuously since their pre-6 …

Books are a great way to initiate conversations about racism with your kids and teens The police killing of George Floyd and the resulting protests have inspired a much-needed national dialogue about race and diversity. But if you’re not sure how to initiate conversations about anti-black racism, police violence and the right to peaceful protest with your kids, books are …

Everything may feel different and uncertain right now, but one thing hasn’t changed: Parents still want to preserve memories of their little ones. A clay handprint in a frame is an easy keepsake to make for a belated Mother’s Day gift, an early Father’s Day present or to mark any milestone moment in your child’s life. Best of all, you …

For some children with disabilities, there’s an upside to virtual school In my house, the sudden advent of distance learning has, of course, been the same shocking pivot as for everyone else I know. I talk to other moms who are fighting to get their kids to start their lessons or to finish their homework. After years of struggling, though, …

March 13 is a day that will forever go down in infamy. OK, maybe I am being a bit dramatic. But the girl who left school on that strange Friday thought she was embarking on what teenagers had dubbed “coronacation.” The previous day state officials announced their decision to close schools because of the pandemic, so I said a premature …

If your family’s got puppy fever, you’re not alone! Animal shelters have been reporting an increase in puppy adoptions since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last month. And with all of that extra time at home, experts say it’s the perfect time for many families to bring home a new puppy. “Puppies need a lot of attention, so it’s …

The new normal began March 16. Maryland’s public schools were closed, and many companies, as well as state offices, sent their workers home to telecommute. For the average parent, his or her office space may be the dining-room table, real estate that has to be shared with a third-grader working on math or a seventh-grader creating a PowerPoint. It’s the …