So many toys to choose from and so many questions about what is the best to buy for your child or grandchild. Here's some advice from me... a Mom of 5, grandma to 9, co-founder of Funfit® Family Fitness (1987) and founder of BeABetterParent.com and have spent my career playing with kids and parents and coaching and advising. The simpler the better. Great news!! Simpler toys are not as expensive and encourage cognitive and social development, creativity, curiosity and long term play. Electronic toys that basically do things themselves are more expensive and just gives the child something to watch, limits imagination and loses appeal quickly. So what's great to get? BALLS of all kinds and sizes. Beach balls and foam balls make fun indoor play with little damage to your stuff. HULA HOOPS... all sizes for not just hula hooping but also driving (makes a great steering wheel), putting on the ground and jumping in and out of, get a few and make a track. SWIMMING POOL NOODLES (cut them in half simply with a knife and you can 2 noodles for the price of one)... makes great hockey sticks, golf clubs, baseball bats for little ones, riding ponies, limbo sticks, tons of fun for everyone! BALLOONS... under inflated and tons of fun! SCARVES & RIBBONS for dancing. Music too. Nothing like a fun freeze dance. OBSTACLE COURSES made out of whatever is in the house. Make sure you have them going under, over, around and through. SIDEWALK CHALK... draw pictures, games, lines to walk on, hopscotch... let the creativity soar. NATURE HUNTS, TREASURE HUNTS.... be creative and let the exploration begin! TAG GAMES... run around outside with your child and some tag! YOU'RE IT! This is a great start to having fun and laughing more for you and your child. REMINDER, don't just watch join in the fun! WANT TO SQUEEZE IN MORE EXERCISE INTO YOUR DAY? No better exercise program than running around with your child or grandchild. Hope this helps... comment below what your favorite toy/game is to get you moving in body & mind.

I believe the role of grandparents is very important. Parents shape behavior, but grandparents shape identity. In many Indigenous cultures, raising a child is never the job of just one or two people. Grandparents aren’t “helpers.” They are guides, storytellers, and calm anchors in a child’s life. They pass down: Wisdom Values Family and cultural identity And maybe most importantly… they model something many parents are struggling to hold onto in today’s world: 👉 Calm 😌 Because they’re not in the daily rush and pressure, grandparents often bring a steadiness that children feel. And children don’t just listen to calm… They borrow it. They desire it. They pursue it. Often the reason they want to stay in their rooms so much. In our modern world, parents are carrying so much, trying to do everything, be everything. But what if we remembered this: Raising a child was never meant to be done alone. Whether it’s a grandparent, a mentor, or another trusted adult… Children thrive when they are surrounded by regulated, caring adults, not just managed by one overwhelmed one. Let’s bring back the village. We all need one, not just kids. That’s what we have here in Skool… our village. If you had a grandparent or elder who shaped who you are today… please share more.

I’m trying something new. We are hosting our first online game night with the Game Master himself, our very own @Adam Formanek. You may not know that Adam has run his own local version of the game survivor for several years. This Thursday, he will be sharing some games that can easily be recreated at home for your kids, your friends, maybe even for work. The event takes place from 7-8 pm CDT and you’ll find the Zoom link in the calendar. I hope you’ll join us. Questions? Drop them in the comments and Adam or I will do our best to answer. PS. Test your powers of observation. Can you spot the glitch in the picture? Don’t say anything til Thursday.

It’s going to be hard to top the enthusiasm the 3 gif game generated but let’s see if I can pique your curiosity with some science ideas. Much like math, my experience has been science can be intimidating for adults and kids so this week, we are going to have some fun. If you look at the Harvard research on "mattering," one of the biggest stressors for kids is the fear of making a mistake. In many classrooms, science is taught as a series of known facts. You follow the instructions, you get the result, and you get the "A." If the experiment "fails," the student feels like they failed. But true science is the opposite. Science is the only discipline where "failure" is actually just data. This week, we aren't focusing on "finding the answer." We are focusing on the Science of Wonder. We’re going to encourage our kids to be "Chief Observers." We want them to realize that their questions are more valuable than their test scores. When we approach the world with a scientific lens, we move from being "performers" to being "explorers."

I’m borrowing this from @David Iya who shared this in his Recess community. What’s a hobby or activity from your childhood you wish you still did? What made it fun or special? Have you ever shared it with your family members? Tagging a few folks we haven’t heard from in a while and this is one I’d love to hear from everyone. I’ll start and for fun, comment on one or two other posts. Let’s see what we loved as kids and if we can bring the magic back. @Catherine McDowell, @Erin O'Neill, @Mukkove Johnson, @Erica Sisco-Dube, @Des Cooke, @Ramona Zihlke, @Shelma Erikson, @Anzumana Taal, @Janell Bitton @Katya McEwen