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Response to: “Please give me your best tips on helping with reading for 2nd/3rd grade”This is similar to one of my kiddos. Scoring above grade level kinder and 1st. Then dropped to needing extra resources for 2nd grade. I think my kiddo has been dealing with test anxiety. He just really knew the kinder 1st grade stuff really naturally and when reading required a bit more effort he became discouraged and the tests have been daunting. I looked up practice tests for the program they use online and ordered reading workbooks from a company called Spectrum that has passages for the kids to read then comprehension questions after - much like a reading test. I try to do one or two passages a day as a part of his daily reading. It’s helped my guy feel more comfortable with test taking and his most recent test jump quite a bit. We’re still not back to above grade level, but his confidence in reading is coming back. I also let him read things based on his interests (Minecraft novels, Sonic the hedgehog comics, ect.) We’re also trying to have him read simple books to his younger siblings, but the toddlers aren’t cooperating for that. 😂

Response to: “Any advice on room sharing for siblings. Our daughter is 27 mos and our son is 8 mos and we are planning to have them room share sometime soon. Anyone general advice, tips or lessons learned?”We have 2 boys (8 and 6) in one room and 3 toddlers in another. We don’t have any toys in the bedrooms. I like to keep bedrooms as areas for quiet, calm activities. Sleeping, reading stories, homework, getting dressed, ect. It means it’s an uncluttered space and I think it’s a part of why my kids keep so well. It also really limits the opportunities for contention. So sharing that space hasn’t been hard for us during the toddler years. At bedtime when it was just our older boys, one of us sat in the room until they fell asleep and that worked really well for us. I also found that having a consistent bedtime routine with our oldest helped our youngest transition into the same bedtime routine, but again, we liked staying in the room until they fell asleep to ensure they stayed in their own beds. For our toddlers (twins and surprise sibling 11 months younger,) we have a group snuggle at night until they’re all asleep and move them to their respective beds afterwards. I just don’t have the energy to force them to stay in their own beds. 😂 However, my 3 year old twins occasionally ask to go sleep in their bed with me sitting in the room, so we’re getting there naturally at their own pace. (Not an ideal option for everyone, it’s just what has worked for us.) Since all of their toys are in other areas, they spend most of the day around the house and only sleep in the bedrooms at night. As they get older, I think there are a lot of variables that make sharing a room healthy and happy vs miserable and toxic. Personalities, other spaces available, how well siblings respect each other’s things, ect. For us, the issues with sharing started when my oldest grew to needing his own space to decompress, but his “roommate” is as high energy as a child comes. We ended up building an indoor “tree house” for our oldest to decompress away from everyone. It’s his space no one else is allowed in and our 6 year old has a sensory swing installed in the garage that isn’t necessarily off limits to everyone, but no one else uses it.

Response to: “Let’s talk Santa. How long did your kids keep believing?”I had planned to do a special day out with my oldest to tell him and invite him to be a Santa’s helper, but he found out at school before I got it all set up. He was 6 and I really wish I would have told him sooner, but we still went out and I had him watch a little YouTube video about the origin of Santa and the idea behind giving gifts and took him to pick out some stocking stuffers as his role of Santa’s helper. He loved that and really loves being a Santa’s helper.

Response to: “I am having surgery in December and will be unable to lift anything or do much for four weeks. I’m trying to figure out how to prep for this because I have 3 small (but not tiny) kids. Help!”Do you have stools that the kids can use to get up to places you’d normally help them? I had to go 2 days without lifting for a medical procedure and had someone come over to help me. Four weeks is a lot longer, but I’d see what help you can get. Pay attention now to the things you’re doing that you won’t be able to do during recovery and make adjustments. Dishes in the upper cupboards above your head that you use regularly? Move them down below. things like that.

Response to: “What are your favorite experience gifts for kids?”We’re going to give one of our kiddos a day of rock climbing at a nearby gym.

Response to: “What are your favorite Halloween-themed childrens books?”These are a couple of our favorites. Froggy’s Halloween https://www.amazon.com/Froggys-Halloween-Jonathan-London/dp/0142300683/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2CVSOJQDGQD4M&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.l5r7uw1S67SD-5wpOuixv6FQ5Q0FieLXA9LmRNffyYnOx6uI2P_DXCx-eR2BlqZkQ9jdEUWjSMW50P6h_5mSpXiS-oOb046eAPXFeM7k4_8eC-S4hywZ6kuIPml65yLfEb2IlUTlaNpXCH7zadOmT8yMsdvzeeY1NL3971kHjmoFApcQnX5Wp4Mlkqo3wPClf0b8gl0LmojJwTZ1DQgxjA.ZGgqS_BOmIVd6MEaHb1LFziK7MOXfV2Q_lueGO11Vhc&dib_tag=se&keywords=froggys+halloween&qid=1728245438&sprefix=froggys+halloween%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1 Albert’s Halloween: The Case of the Stolen Pumpkins https://www.amazon.com/Alberts-Halloween-Case-Stolen-Pumpkins/dp/0689811365/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=27DO4R862AIZ9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lfT0VUrI6KUotFWBJKBh2H0Va2Rx7iHb8r9elMdfmitLpNJvhd4fPhtaYfZMGiZB1utrMeM_QnZoQzW31FYODd8t_jlluM6XJZzmu6gTVic6BAw4gPTDv3NgeHi87OtajMyaAV5QHG4ZNEGkkUn7NJiFPoVvR95VY1n4398AH0-jV_P9Fk9VR-8CTVeb6U5S1FrifdI8KKrfxPwj0TK6iw.zJQxHIiG-5D8rvDzQpYVQlqz3-aB3o7jXeFw0PmCT2g&dib_tag=se&keywords=alberts+halloween&qid=1728245784&sprefix=alberts+halloween%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-1

Response to: “Best water bottle for toddler? Seems like such an easy purchase but we’ve already gone through several and she is only 2”We use the yeti youth tumblers. Downside, because they’re so durable, they’re hefty which means it hurts if the toddler decides to swing it around not realizing others are nearby.

CharleeTSmith

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