Nicholas Kukla 6/1/17 Nicholas Kukla 6/1/17

Sorting the Rainbow

So what is a pregnant mama with a toddler to do to beat the heat? I’ve decided to compile a list of activities to do with my son that will keep us entertained, inside, and cool during these HOT, HOT months. I will publish a weekly activity that worked in our house and include how to modify it for age/skill. Additionally I’ll cover all the great learning opportunities that the activity presents while you and your child are engaged.

Nicholas Kukla 5/4/17 Nicholas Kukla 5/4/17

Words of Power & Empathy: Part 1

Empowering our children requires parents to consciously find ways to give them a healthy level of control while still providing security through setting boundaries. Empathy calls for a thorough understanding and interpretation of our child’s development, temperament, and compassion for their struggles. Ultimately, this is what led to Play With Purpose’s inception - a calling to educate parents to empower their children.

Nicholas Kukla 5/4/17 Nicholas Kukla 5/4/17

Words of Power & Empathy: Part 2

Now that we understand our child’s development and how to set developmentally appropriate expectations, we need to “speak their language” and communicate in a clear, concise, yet an empathetic way. In order to do this, we need to be aware of common abstract terms and phrases we use with our children.

Nicholas Kukla 4/23/17 Nicholas Kukla 4/23/17

The Power of a Picture Schedule

Picture schedules are often used with children on the Autism Spectrum as a way to communicate routines and expectations within the classroom. The picture cards on a picture schedule can be used in many different ways, such as: a child communicating preferences, an adult communicating expectations (“First we wash hands, then we eat snack.”), and also as a roadmap for daily activities.

Nicholas Kukla 4/16/17 Nicholas Kukla 4/16/17

Learning Centers at Home

Center set-ups keep materials organized, children focused, and learning objectives obvious and clear. While children are in these centers, they are encouraged to learn important academic and social skills through their natural inclination to play.

Nicholas Kukla 4/9/17 Nicholas Kukla 4/9/17

Cozy Corners for Comfort: Helping Your Child Stay Grounded in an Over-Stimulating World

Setting up a “kid-friendly” environment can be deceptively difficult. In our culture, more is better and being busy makes us happier and smarter. These behavior patterns seep from our adult lives into our children’s routines, even though study after study demonstrates that overstimulation can, in fact, be detrimental to our children’s development.

Nicholas Kukla 4/4/17 Nicholas Kukla 4/4/17

Spring Cleaning

So…. here is a glimpse of my toy rotation strategy and the reasoning behind it.

Nicholas Kukla 2/24/17 Nicholas Kukla 2/24/17

Children’s Literature: A Discipline Tool?

Children’s books are gifts to children and parents alike. They capture children’s attention and activate their imagination. Authors, illustrators, and publishers who specialize in children’s literature do all our leg work to communicate morals, lessons, and stories to children in ways that they understand and enjoy. Because of their thoughtful design, children’s books offer an approachable and understandable medium to explain abstract concepts such as emotions, friendship, love, fairness, kindness, etc.

Nicholas Kukla 9/30/16 Nicholas Kukla 9/30/16

Think Time: A Follow-Up Strategy

After my own self-reflection, I decided I wanted to pass this along to other parents who may try to use behavior reflections during their every day interactions at home. The strategy I will share and discuss is: “Think-Time”, commonly known in the education world as “Wait-Time”.

Nicholas Kukla 9/17/16 Nicholas Kukla 9/17/16

Behavior Reflections: The Next Step

Drawing boundaries and teaching our children how to operate within them, is a responsibility we all share as parents. We can successfully navigate these “learning opportunities” without shaming (“Why would you do that?!”), threatening (“If you do that one more time, I’ll….) or other punitive punishment strategies. This requires some thoughtfulness, on our side, first.