The Salties Archives – The Salty Mamas

7 Things You NEVER Thought You Had to Teach Your Kids

August 21, 2018April 4, 2018 by thesaltymamas

All those parenting books you read left out some VITAL skills you need. Here are seven of them from The Salty Mamas! #parenting #parentingtips #parentinghacks #momlifehacks #momlifetips #dadlifetips #dadlifehacks #parentingadvice #parentingbooks #whattoexpect #parentingskills #parentingskillsyouneed #whatparentingskillsdoIneed #mommyhumor #momblog #mombloghumor #funnymom #lifeskills #howtodrawadinosaur

Having kids is a big responsibility. You hold your tiny baby and think, “I’m going to teach you letters and numbers and colors, how to throw a ball and how to read” and it can feel overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. Kids are constantly learning and part of our job is to facilitate this amazing experience for them. And then they take off their pants in a Chick-fil-A and you realize you’ve been focusing on all the wrong things. And there’s a whole world out there of things you NEVER thought you’d actually have to teach your kids.

So here are seven things we learned the hard way that you absolutely MUST teach your kids.

Smoothies

January 31, 2018 by Salty Jaymi

Once upon a time, when Lila was a littler girl, she became obsessed with all cold drinks. First it was the condensation on our soft drinks, and then we transitioned to Jamba Juice smoothies. Pretty soon, we introduced our family’s favorite summer sipper- Icees. And slurpees, and freezes. Whatever you wanted to call them, it didn’t much matter. She was in love with the icy cold sweetness, and at about a dollar a piece, they were a cheap and easy treat on a hot day. I have given her far more Icees in her short little life than I would care to admit. Somewhere along the line, the differences between Jamba Juice whole fruit goodness and sugar-filled-crushed-ice got blurred, and she decided Icees/Slurpees were called smoothies, too. It wasn’t something we did intentionally, but my GOODNESS does it make me look like a better mother.

4 Myths About Play-Based Preschool

June 14, 2018October 31, 2017 by Salty Christine

Considering a play-based education for your kids, but worried they won't learn anything? Check out these four myths about play based preschool! #playbasedpreschool #reggio #reggioemilio #reggiopreschool #outdoorplay #reggioinspired #reggiokids #reggiochildren #reggioemiliainspired #reggioactivities #reggiopreschool #reggiotime #reggiotoddlers #preschool #preschooler #preschoollife #toddlerlife #preschoolmom #preschoolactivities

When I first sent my son to preschool, he went to a traditional preschool – the kind I remember, and you probably do too! A carpet with letters and spots for each kid to sit. Charts on the wall showing the alphabet, calendar, weather. Super cute crafts for every holiday, with a Pinterest perfect sample of what they would be making that day. But he wasn’t learning his letters. He wasn’t great at sitting. He wasn’t participating in the crafts. So we moved him over to a play-based preschool. And he LOVED it. But everyone else? Well, they thought we were crazy. And I learned there are a LOT of myths about play based education.

Being the delightfully stubborn person I am, I threw myself into learning as much as I could about the educational style that was benefitting my son so very much. Over the next two years, and as I went on to enroll both my daughters in the school, I’ve come up against a lot of concerns and criticisms from people that, frankly, just didn’t know what they were talking about. So if you’re curious about play-based preschool, or wondering why in the world your friend is sending her kids to one, here are some of the myths you may have heard – and hopefully some truths to help clear things up.

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