The September edition of Little Rock Family focuses on early childhood education. Assistant Editor Lindsay Irvin rounded up some educational, fun toys for children ages 2-5. Scroll through the images above for details on each toy.
My daughter Emily was 3 when my family and I moved back to Little Rock. I often quip that finding a quality elementary school for my son was easier than finding quality daycare for her. In my former professional life, I was an education writer for a policy group in Alabama, so I knew that Arkansas was leading the nation when it came to state funded pre-K programs. But there wasn't an online resource for early childhood education programs like there was for public and private schools. The process of finding a quality daycare with spots available nearly made me weep!
About a year ago, a colleague contacted me about a new program through the Arkansas Department of Human Services called Arkansas Better Beginnings. It's a voluntary quality-rating system for early childhood education programs. Many business leaders, policymakers and educators have been refining the program in an effort to continue to push for excellent early childhood education programs in our state. Starting this fall, parents looking for caring, competent day care options can access an online database of ratings. For up to date information, visit their website.
I tell you all this for a reason. This edition marks our second Guide to Early Childhood Education. There's a Cool Finds section on educational toys for preschoolers, an article about the importance of a multi-sensory education and a great profile section on some of the top preschool programs in central Arkansas.
KATV's Christina Munoz and her daughter Sydney Madsen grace our cover this month. Christina shares her parenting and philanthropic philosophies, as well as details on Dancing with Our Stars,an event benefitting the Children's Tumor Foundation.
You'll also find our 2010 Ultimate Guide to Field Trips in this edition. It's a great round-up of nearly 100 places where kids can learn outside the classroom.
Enjoy the September edition!
There are three great events this weekend to keep your family busy. Click below for more details.
Back-to-School is, well, back. That means it’s time to start planning and packing your children’s lunches, or sending them with lunch money you hope they’ll use on items to fuel them for the rest of the day - sans sugar rushes or high-calorie contents.
With this in mind, our local Whole Foods Market has rounded up some tips and recipes to create lunches packed with nutrients to fuel body and brain. And it's also supporting a fundraiser to get salad bars into central Arkansas schools.
The recipes sound delicious and the cause is noble, so we decided to share it all with you, parents!
Tip No. 1: Serve whole foods. Avoid artificial ingredients and processed foods such as high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fats. Opt for fresh, whole foods.
Tip No. 2: Choose healthy fats like nuts and avocado. Avoid hydrogenated oils and fatty foods.
Tip No. 3: Focus on plant-strong foods. Think more veggies, fruits, grains, beans and legumes at every meal.
Perfectly Packed Lunch: A whole wheat tortilla wrap with almond or peanut butter, sliced strawberries and fruit-sweetened jelly; carrot sticks and sugar snap peas; Lemon Treats and a bottle of water.
Simple smart snacks:
Strawberry Almond or Get Your Greens Smoothies
At least 30 percent of children are overweight and childhood obesity has more than doubled – and some of the blame falls on school cafeterias across the country, where highly processed foods are served daily.
In an effort to provide healthier lunch options to students, Whole Foods Market is partnering with Chef Ann Cooper, a.k.a. “The Renegade Lunch Lady,” to help schools make a change in the Great American Salad Bar Project.
The more money the Little Rock store raises for this cause, the more salad bars will go into our local schools — for every $2,500 raised, one more school gets a salad bar. You can donate online or in store.
Arkansas Arts Center members get discounts on Museum School classes such as pottery making.
When I was a child, I spent my summers in art classes at The Arkansas Arts Center. My mother still has pottery "sculptures" and ceramic "artwork" to prove it. This summer, my children carried on the tradition by participating in Museum School classes. It was the best money I spent all summer, hands down. They really enjoyed the experience and have been clamoring for more.
A discount on art classes is one of the many benefits of being a member of the AAC. Being budget-conscious, I investigated how much money I'd save over the course of a year if we joined the museum. I decided it was well worth the $55 for an individual membership. And now, I'm even happier I took the plunge.
Starting this fall, Museum School member discounts will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent. That means an adult pottery class will be $204 for members and $255 for non-members. Members will save $51 per class. Seems like a great deal to me.
For more information, call the Membership Office at (501) 396-0337.
It hardly seems like it's been four years since The Wonder Place opened its doors in west Little Rock's Breckenridge Village. It's certainly been one of our favorite places over the years, hosting at least one Pyron birthday party and loads of play dates.
This week marks the fourth birthday of the popular spot for the 6 and under set. They are celebrating with a Silly Stripes Safari from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 12-13. Admission is $4 for adults and children; the second adult in the family is free. There will be craft activities, a scavenger hunt, story time and goody bag giveaways. Tropical Smoothie will be there with smoothie samples, too.
Wondering what to do this weekend with your family? Here are three great ideas:
I don't typically get up before 6 a.m. (even during the school year!). But once a month, I get the privilege of heading to Today's THV This Morning to share details of our monthly edition with viewers. Meredith Mitchell and I discussed iPhone apps to help moms get organized, better classroom conduct for parents and those pesky after-school activity registration deadlines that just keep creeping up on me.
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