Whether the idea of teaching your own young child gets you excited, makes you nervous, or some combination of both... one thing I'm pretty sure everyone thinks about is how to do their best.  I mean we only get one chance at these important developmental years.  Hopefully we don't mess it up!  I am happy to share with you some of the most important tips and tricks I've learned after teaching preschoolers for over a decade so you don't have to guess.

Art is amazing for kids in countless ways.  It allows them to be creative, express themselves emotionally, and develop in many other ways.  One of the great benefits of many art projects is that they can also help children in many academic ways - but don't tell them!  

This is one of the BEST stories for fall time and apple picking!  It's great to include a quick lesson about how apples grow and the important role of bees along with this story as fun little unit.  Feel free to add how other fruits and vegetables grow, too!

You may want to add props, puppets, etc....you will DEFINITELY want to get a RED apple.  Be sure to cut it in half along the midline to see the "star" where the seeds are (it is opposite of the way you usually cut it!.  (Picture at the end of the story.)
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Most kids looooove to swing!  Ever wonder why?  It's because it feels so darn good!  Well, that is so very smart of the little ones to realize.  Because it doesn't just FEEL good, it IS good for them!  Swinging, and other similar movements, actually help the brain develop.  Kids just may be smarter than we think!

You know you want your kids to be smart, and you want your kids to like learning, but you are not sure how to achieve this?  Well, luckily for us, there are people out there studying just this sort of thing!  And they have good answers for us.

Did you know that make believe play and time spent running around a playground actually correlates to academic achievement?  Seriously.  Scientists have done studies on this and have found that not only does play time help the brain develop, but it also makes the brain more ready to learn new material.  That should make you feel good to know that all those hours spent going to the park were actually making your kids smarter!

Children never like it when they hear "no" over and over.  Well, did you ever think of simply trying to turn your "no" into something that sounds more like yes?

Not only will it create a more positive environment overall and teach children more positive language, but it will also gain you more cooperation since the kids will be hearing more of a "yes" than "no."

Here are 7 ways to get you started:

Ask any preschool or kindergarten teacher what you can do to help your child to succeed in school, and you might be surprised what you will hear.  It's not going to be academics or reading.  Any guesses?

Everyone likes a child who is kind to others.  But...how can you be sure to teach your kids these important qualities?