Be the voice for children 🤍

In the complex system of education, teachers stand as the crucial focus, intertwining connections that extend beyond the classroom. Their influence goes far beyond textbooks and exams; it encompasses the delicate art of nurturing, supporting, and guiding both students and their families. This blog post will present the profound impact teachers have on shaping the lives of their students and the importance of considering them as whole individuals, rooted in their unique experiences and surrounded by families. The indispensable qualities of a good teacher Everybody knows that teachers not only do their teaching job. Teachers and educators serve much more than that. Their passion transcends to being able to offer the necessary support and help to every student and family who needs it.  A good teacher has these 10 indispensable qualities to fulfill excellence in all aspects that involve teaching practice and support. 1. Empathy : A good teacher is characterized by a genuine understandi...

As parents, early childhood educators, and caregivers we wish with all our hearts to see our children thriving and developing healthful in all ages, aspects, and stages of their lives. We want our work wonderfully done! That's when we refer to the holistic development approach. The holistic development approach means that we focus on all aspects of the development of children, not just their academic performance. The holistic development of a child refers to the overall growth and progress of a child in various aspects of their life, including physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and moral domains. It recognizes that children are complex beings, and their development is interconnected and interdependent across these different areas. Areas connected to the holistic development The areas connected to holistic development are described separately for understanding, but it is essential to keep thinking about the child as a whole and how the experiences that encourage development a...

In the summertime, activities involving the sun, beach, relaxation, outdoors, and vacations come to our minds almost instantly with the fact that there is no school. We dream about it every day for the whole year. We plan everything expecting to minimize situations that could affect, harm, or damage our dream vacation. After all, we deserve breaks that relax us from all our daily stress and work. But that is not just for us. Children want it too! They also deserve to have fun and enjoyable family moments. Planning a vacation with kids can be a wonderful experience if we do it carefully and take into consideration all their needs. Otherwise, it could be torn into a nightmare. The benefits of having a family vacation are suitable for adults and children if it is well-planned. The sense of peace of mind, relaxation, and stress-free time is worth this blog post reading! Welcome enjoyment, bye-bye stress! Recently I spent a wonderful 7 days cruise with my son. We were amazed by the...

Nutrition is an essential component in brain development, especially during pregnancy and during the early years, which is the time of most rapid brain formation and development of cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional skills. But it is also important throughout the lifespan. However, deficiencies in nutrition during pregnancy and early years may produce damage to these skills and development affecting school productivity and adulthood. Nutrition deficiencies also depend on factors, like experiences and input from the environment, the timing of nutrient deprivation, the degree of nutrient deficiency, and the possibility of recovery. Brain formation and development in early stages About 22 days after conception, the neural plate and neural tube begin to form, which later becomes the brain and spinal cord. Adequate nutrition including nutrients like folic acid, copper, and vitamin A is crucial in this formation and development. Approximately seven weeks later, cell division creates ne...

People can point out many and many reasons to justify the origin of a conflict. Frequently we can hear about a strong or harsh tone of voice, a defiant attitude to communicate, offensive facial gestures, and so on. One of them could be a motive to begin violent communication. The mental state of the person is a potentially sensitive element here. What is Nonviolent Communication (NVC)? Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a valuable approach to encourage support among communication and human connection developed by  Marshall Rosenberg . The approach is grounded in Gandhi's principle of non-violence. Practicing NVC allows us to learn to hear our needs and the needs of others emphasizing deep listening and being compassionate and empathetic. NVC is powerfully transformative and often seen as a spiritual practice to develop skills for helping families and communities and contribute to the well-being of all of us. NVC includes the clarification of what we observe, the emotions we are...

During this pandemic time due to COVID-19, having our children at home and looking constantly for on-hand activities to keep them busy and entertained and at the same time contributing to their development and learning is not an easy task. Many parents may feel stressed, tired, and maybe guilty because of these feelings. But you are not alone. There are a lot of parents and caregivers feeling the same as you are! Electronic devices are one of the most used tools during this time not just for gaming and entertainment, but for the new modalities in education, referring to virtual, online, and remote learning. Experts urge parents and caregivers to limit the usage hours of phones, computers, tablets, and video games because of the increment in sedentary behavior, health conditions, and obesity. Even, though it's recommended to limit the usage to a maximum of two hours per day for children and teens, for young children, ages 2 to 5, the recommended limit is one hour per day. From the h...

At the beginning of 2020, with the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) around the world, children deal many challenges in their lives. The satisfaction of natural needs for play, education, and socialization has changed radically. Therefore, an increment of behavioral problems, anxiety, mental instability, and problematic situations may arise.

During the global health crisis of COVID-19, the new norm of learning make some children feel scared, stressed, and confused when facing new challenges and changes. Let’s review some characteristics to differentiate long-distance, virtual, and online learning.

Microaggressions are verbal expressions that are unintentional (or intentional) that carry a hidden message of oppression, discrimination, or any other -ism against marginalized people or groups because of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or religion. Microaggressions offer a clear demonstration of unconscious bias.

In the uncertainty amid the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many families struggle to reach effective strategies to support their young children and adolescents to be successful in education after the challenges that distance learning brings.

Lindsay Zoeller and her organization The Chicago Family Tutor help families to develop strong higher-order thinking skills such as goal setting, problem-solving, and critical thinking, as well as time management, organization, and self-regulation to improve the children’s performance at school. During this time, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced families to alter their lifestyles and learn new work-at-home practices and support their children's education. This process has not been easy for many parents and families who lack the support, time, and knowledge systems necessary to fulfill these new responsibilities. However, as beneficial, what if the family and children have a tutoring service, effective strategies, and training for children and parents that could be provided online? In the next questions, Lindsay explains how their strategies, approach, advice, and practices have helped hundreds of children to achieve consistently at school. Q: Could you explain more about your own ed...

We learn about the sufferings that most diverse people live. Being oppressed and discriminated against because of skin color, or for being a woman, or gay, old, poor, or atheist results in damages to the individual. Many people believe and promote prejudices and biases against their family members, including their children. These practices contribute to the spread of hate crimes, offenses, oppression, microaggressions, and discrimination.

Teaching respect for our differences and acceptance of our identities promotes diversity in our children's lives. Including families is an essential part to be successful in supporting children to accept, understand, and value our diverse world.

In the last decades, we saw radical changes in kindergarten classrooms. Classroom activities are focusing more on literacy and math than learning through play, exploration, body movements, and using their imagination. This results in children linked in an early childhood curriculum far from supporting their healthy development, adding an increment of academic pressure and stress.

All people can point to adults who influenced and brought joy (or sorrow) to their lives as children. We remember that person who connected with us by giving us some advice, a toy, playing games, or satisfying our needs, emotionally and physically, accepting and respecting who we were just to make us happy.

The role I like most is to be a mother. Being a mother was the most magical day of my life. Motherhood isn’t always easy, we all have struggles. But it does not get rid of the love, admiration, and respect we feel for our family. I'm a proud mother of an adolescent son. We enjoy doing many activities together, especially traveling!