We’ve all heard that play is the work of childhood and it’s true. And fantasy play - pretending to be a dinosaur or a king or queen - is a specific kind of play that children benefit from in many ways.
When I rustled up an old-school iPod touch for my son last summer, I started finding him podcasts to listen to and for my family to listen to in the van together. Given the current circumstances, we aren’t driving around much anymore, but when we do, we’ve been laughing and learning along the way. (Our primary destination is driving our foster cats to and from the vet, so about an hour round trip; in other words, about two podcast episodes!)
My son was two-and-a-half when my family left Montreal to move to Calgary. There were lots of positive things about heading West, including a better job for my husband and being significantly closer to my family in BC. But I was worried about my son losing his French. I have a BA in French and speak French fluently, but I speak to my kids mainly in English while my francophone husband talks to them in French.
Many parents dread the worksheets and assignments which are a daily part of virtual schooling. For kiddos who struggle to tune out distractions and concentrate on the task at hand, sitting down to do school work doesn’t rank high on their list of priorities.
Calgary’s Child Magazine © 2023 Calgary’s Child
