MomTrusted on Parenting, Kids, and Early Education

Where to find your dream nanny in Seattle

Looking for a nanny in Seattle to watch your kids during the days can be a challenge. You’re trusting her with your most precious cargo: your children. You want to make sure that she’s qualified, trustworthy and someone your little ones will enjoy spending time with. Here are some tips for exactly where to find the perfect nanny in Seattle and its surrounding areas:

 

Ask friends for recommendations

Maybe a friend recently stopped working full time so he or she no longer needs their nanny. If your friends don’t want to share (trust us, it’s not uncommon with a great nanny in Seattle), ask them to ask their nannies for suggestions. Remember that the good ones tend to flock together so if a quality sitter or nanny recommends a friend, odds are she’s high in rank too.

 

Ask around at local community events

Let neighbors and friends in your community know you’re on the hunt. A lot of times, someone knows someone who has a great nanny in mind. Ask around at your local farmer’s market or church to see if anyone comes to anyone’s mind.

 

Look on Mom Trusted:

Mom Trusted doesn’t only offer top choices to preschool programs and child care options. We connect with quality nannies too! Just visit our search tool and enter your Seattle zip code to start searching today.

 

Sources:

-Mom Trusted: http://momtrusted.com/

-“How to find a good nanny” Baby Center: http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-find-a-good-nanny_5933.bc

-“Hiring a nanny: 7 tips on finding the right fit for your family when hiring a nanny” Momeo: http://www.momeomagazine.com/hiring-a-nanny-7-tips-on-finding-the-right-fit-for-your-family-when-hiring-a-nanny/

-Photo courtesy of marin/freedigitalphotos.net

Going Green with Your Portland Child Care Center

 

Portland is a city known for it’s environmentally friendly trends. It’s a great place to go for green living. Why should Portland child care be any different? Children learn the basics early and daycare is a great place to start. By making your Portland child care center greener, not only are you making a great business decision, creating a healthier environment for your little ones and being kind to Mother Earth, but you’re also teaching children basic, environmentally friendly living habits that they can carry throughout their entire lives. Here are a few ways you can make your Portland child care center greener:

 

Get eco-healthy air.

Make sure children at your care center are breathing fresh air by taking a few safety precautions. First, do not allow smoking anywhere near the building that your care center sits in. Even outside in your parking lot isn’t a good idea. Try hanging some no smoking signs around the entire property. You can also ask parents not to leave their cars running while they drop off their children. Leaving a car running in idle creates unnecessary exhaust pollution. Make sure your space is entirely free of any type of dust or mold. Not only do both cause severe issues for children with allergies or asthma, but some types of mold can even be deadly. Ditch chemical-based air fresheners for non-toxic essential oils. With these simple steps, children at your Portland child care center will be breathing the freshest air possible.

 

Invest in greener art supplies.

Many art supplies on the market contain toxic chemicals. The good news is that a lot of the mainstream brands are already onto the importance of this and have removed these dangerous chemicals from their supplies. That said, you should always be careful, especially when buying paint, clay and glue. Keep an eye out for the non-toxic stamps of approval: AP, AP New, AP + PC, CL, CP, HL/CR and HL/NT at http://www.acminet.org. You can also avoid ingestion of these dangerous materials by making it a rule that everyone has to wash their hands thoroughly after doing any kind of art project.

 

Keep the playground fresh and safe.

An environmentally friendly playground may be tougher to come by than you think. For three decades, playground wood was treated with toxic preservatives containing arsenic. This use stopped in 2003, but if you have a wooden playground that was built before then, you should consider rebuilding or, at the very least, covering the equipment with paint or sealant to reduce exposure.

 

Sources:

–Healthy Child

–Eco-Healthy Child Care 

Twisted Logic: Brain Boosting Apps for Kids

 

 
New app producer Twisted Logic produces one-of-a-kind gaming apps for kids of all ages. The small company is family-run and clearly a passion project, based on the business smart and tech savvy  husband and wife team. Together, they create fun, interactive apps that cater to learning as much as they inspire a good time.
 

 
So far, Twisted Logic has released three apps, all compatible with iOS and Android products. Their released gaming apps include:
 

 

• Monkey Match: Monkey Match is a matching and memorization game with lively illustrations. It helps kids learn by matching shapes, colors, sounds and more. Plus, every level is goal-oriented. It establishes a goal at the beginning of the level and rewards the player after the goal is obtained, all in all making for an engaging game. [itunes download] [android download]

 

 

• Monkey Spot the Difference: Monkey Spot the Difference helps little ones hone in on their observation and concentration skills. They look at two images and must compare and pick the differences out of each one.  It’s a great game to play with the whole family.  [itunes download] [android download]

 

 

• TicTacToe Monkeys: TicTacToe Monkeys gives the classic game a fun twist. Players must choose their winning monkey and then duke it out on the Tic Tac Toe board. This game of strategy definitely puts a cute twist on the classic we all grew up playing.  It’s a game for all ages.  [itunes download] [android download]

 

 

 
In addition to creating fun and educational games, Twisted Logic wants you to feel good about letting your child on their apps.  So far the company sticks to an internet safety code for their kids apps that leaves us wanting more from our other kids apps.  When downloading you can be sure there are:

 

 

• NO In-App Purchases
• NO Third-Party Ads
• NO tracking or collection of user data
• NO requests for personal information
• NO links to the web or social networks without entering a Parent Gate

 

 

The creative geniuses behind Twisted Logic make up quite a team. The Head Creator is a creative tech guru who tapped his passion for animation and design and turned it into colorful, creative gaming apps. The Chief Strategist heads the business end of the company, making business-savvy decisions and making sure the company and its workers stay on track. The best part? This family-run business knows exactly what kids want because their daughter Mackensie is the “Senior App Tester” for the company. Her bio reads, “From about the age of 10 months Mackensie has been learning the ins and outs of Apple devices. Currently having her own iPad and two iphones (handed down from Dad) isn’t good enough and she’s always after Dad’s newer devices. Now at the age of  2 years old, finding her way around mobile devices is a breeze. She can even teach her Mum a thing or two…”

 

 

Twisted Logic brings creative, colorful apps to the market, developed in a family environment and tested by their own daughter and family friends. This team knows what kids and parents want in an app!  Download these apps today!

CHALK Preschool: In-Person or Free Online Options for Early Education

CHALK Preschool is one of the most technologically advanced early education programs of its time. Its online program is totally convenient and totally free. If parents prefer a more traditional, in-person option for their child, they’re invited to opt into one of CHALK’s five in-person preschools, located in Chicago and Los Angeles.

 

 

The CHALK Preschool Mission

CHALK Preschool believes that every child deserves access to an early education. That’s why, in addition to offering several in-person locations in both the Chicago and Los Angeles areas, it’s also available to preschoolers around the world through CHALK’s online preschool program. And because CHALK knows how vital those first few years of learning are, it offers its online curriculum for free.

 

CHALK’s Teaching Philosophy

Teachers at the in-person centers believe in a warm, welcoming environment where children learn by embracing the arts and achieving classroom goals, based on studied learning standards. CHALK focuses primarily on a hands-on learning style. Even the online courses are about much more than screen time. This hands-on teaching approach means preschoolers learn both inside and outside, with both the online and in-person options. The curriculum focuses on primary learning objectives centered on literacy, math and science. But CHALK goes beyond the books. Preschoolers in the program hone their creative skills through art projects and perfect motor skills through music and dance activities.

 

 

The Nitty Gritties of CHALK

The online courses are available on regular computers, as well as on smartphones and tablets. While age varies, based on the needs of each individual child, most are ready to join the preschool program somewhere between the ages of two and five. While they’re first separated into classes by age, if a parent feels it’s not a perfect fit, staff members are happy to switch children to more suitable class groups.

 

CHALK’s History

The idea for CHALK was first established in 2004, but the first center went up in Illinois the following year. For the next few years, more and more centers were opened in the Chicago area and in 2009, the first Los Angeles CHALK Preschool was established. Since then, the centers have continued to multiply in both cities. Because the founders of CHALK wanted their preschools to reach across the country, and even the world, they decided to launch the online preschool option. With this digital curriculum, even those who don’t live in Chicago or Los Angeles can still reap the benefits of a CHALK early education.

 

Parents are welcome to enroll their child in the online program at any time, simply by visiting CHALK Preschool’s website. In-person programs accept applicants year-round, so Chicago and Los Angeles-based families are also welcome to enroll at any time.

 

UPDATE 1/26/15: CHALK’S FREE SITE IS NOW AVAILABLE AT WWW.FREEONLINEPRESCHOOL.COM

How Early Can You Start Teaching Art Appreciation to Your Children?

Teaching our children about famous artists and their paintings is a great way to enhance their cultural education. However, it can be difficult to know when or where to start introducing them to some of the great artists such as Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh. Some parents may feel that a young toddler is not the right age to take to an art gallery or museum, but in truth even very young children can start to appreciate art when approached in a fun way which allows them to express their own creativity.

 

 

Preparing to Introduce Your Children to Art

 
One of the big concerns that many parents have when it comes to teaching their children about art appreciation is that they themselves are not knowledgeable enough. However, this need not be a problem. In fact you may even find that learning about the art together makes the experience more pleasurable for you both since it adds an additional opportunity for bonding with your child. You do need to start of by going to a big gallery. Even looking at pictures of famous painting in a book, or stopping to look at statues in the local park can be great ways to start cultivating your child’s interests in art.
 
One approach which I have found useful with my own children is to try and tweak their interest in art by asking them questions about the paintings we are looking at. You can ask very simple questions in the beginning such as whether or not the colors are pretty before moving on to asking what they think the painting is and how it makes them feel when they look at it. It is important to tell them that there are no ‘right’ answers when it comes to art – they should feel comfortable expressing their own opinions. As they get older you can then begin to introduce information about the painters and what critics believe they represent and ask them for their own interpretations.
 
Some of the best painting to begin with are those with vibrant colors and interesting patterns such as Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ or some of Pablo Picasso’s more colorful abstract works. I actually found a couple of great books which offered a chance for the children to color in Van Gogh images themselves after seeing the originals.
 

Reinforcing The Lesson

 
It is no secret that when it comes to early education, play based learning is a great way to get youngsters to engage with whatever you are trying to teach them. With that in mind I decided to reinforce what my kids had learned about Van Gogh and Picasso by following it up with some creative play. After we had spent some time looking at images by both artists and pointing out our favorite patterns and colors I tasked the kids with creating their own piece of art in that same style. My older child loved replicating the swirling skies of Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ with paint while the younger one enjoyed using the Van Gogh coloring book and making odd looking Picasso style faces using images cut from an old magazine! I always like to keep a supply of non-toxic kid friendly art supplies on hand for projects like this.
 
I have really enjoyed teaching my children about some of the great artists while giving myself a refresher on them at the same time. We now spend many a rainy afternoon in the art gallery looking at different styles of art and both children have developed a keen sense of what they like and what they don’t. We often try to create our own art afterward inspired by what we have looked at that day and I am glad that I decided to introduce them to art at a young age.
 
If I could offer one piece of advice to parents it would be that you introduce your kids to art appreciation at a young age and encourage them to talk about the paintings or sculptures with you. You might be surprised at how profound a child’s interpretation of art can actually be!

 

 

Article courtesy of blogger: Alison Lansky
 
Photo credit

Checklist Mom App Rescues Busy Moms (Plus a Bonus Q&A!)

“It all started with a poopy diaper…” isn’t the beginning of most fairy tales. But for Checklist Mom, that was where it all began. The creator of Checklist Mom headed out to the park with her 6-week-old Cleo and all of the necessary supplies, or so she thought. When a dirty diaper appeared without a clean one in sight, Cleo’s mom decided that she’d have to start making master checklists to make sure that disaster like that never struck again.

 

 

So she started creating checklists for baby Cleo, just like she did with every other part of her life. The checklists weren’t only handy for Mom though. She shared them with babysitters and her husband. They were so helpful that it became clear that digital versions of the list would make everything a lot easier. That’s when, after expanding upon the successful Baby Pack & Go, the Checklist Mom app was born.
 

 

The Checklist Mom allows moms across the country to “forget nothing and accomplish everything.”  The app helps moms juggle their crazy lives of working, being a mom and being a wife. It comes with already created checklists, built in calendars, reminders and customizable options for everything. From grocery shopping to travel, fitness to lists for your babysitter, it’s all there. The Checklist Mom helps moms juggle the multiple roles they plan on a daily basis with ease and organization.

 

 

The app comes with 20 checklists that are already made. But if that’s not enough, it’s simple to create your own and check off your customized options as you accomplish them. Right now, it’s available for iPhones, iPads and iTouches. It’s never been easier to stay organized.

With Checklist Mom, moms really can forget nothing and accomplish everything.

Download your FREE mom checklist app in itunes today!

 

 

We talked with the brains behind Checklist Mom to find out about the journey and future of one of our new favorite apps:

 

MomTrusted:  Could you tell us about the journey from idea to app creation?

Checklist Mom: Creating my app is really a story of necessity being the mother of invention. As a new mother, I found myself often forgetting some of the most basic items I needed for my daughter when we went out for a play date….like….diapers. Not one you want to forget. I needed something I could depend to help me stay organized. From there, I decided to build an app for me and people liked it so much, I made it available to everyone…

 

MT: Can you tell us a little about who uses the Checklist Mom app?

CLM: We launched our Checklist Mom app 6 weeks ago and over 10,000 moms have had the pleasure to use our free app on a daily basis.

 

MT: What are the future plans for the Checklist Mom?

CLM: We are giving moms and their families more tools to become even more efficient. We are adding new list templates, such as, romance tips, top family vacations, home budgeting necessities and more. We will continue our focus on technology and organization to bring you the most innovative mobile app, products and services available.

Download your FREE mom checklist app in itunes today!

Tips for Preparing Your Child for Summer Camp

 

Not only is summer camp a good option for keeping kids busy, active and learning over the summer after school has wrapped up, but it could also set positive habits for the rest of their lives. Psychologists have found that sending kids to summer camp may make them less affected by stress as they mature. Camp helps kids form new relationships with new friends and learn from different adults. They learn to cope with unfamiliar situations and learn handle the unexpected. But sometimes experiencing a large shift in routine takes a bit of getting used to. Help make the transition smoother with these tips for preparing your child for summer camp:

 

Make a checklist

With so many things to remember, especially if your child is heading to overnight camp, it’s good to write everything down. Most camps offer their own checklists so that parents know exactly what to pack. Make sure you get this ahead of time, or write out your own if the camp doesn’t have one available. That way, you’ll have plenty of time to go out and buy any missing must-haves.

 

Include your child in the packing process

Often, kids feel less stressed about change when they know the fine details. Allowing your little one to help you pack can give them some added insight into what’s going on. That way, they’ll feel involved and know exactly what’s coming with them and what to expect.

 

Buy special camp supplies

Anything shiny and new will add to the thrill of summer camp. Maybe that means a new swimsuit or a brand new backpack in their favorite color. Then, tell them they can use their new gear as soon as camp begins and have them hold off to add a bit of positive anticipation.

 

Get excited about camp!

The whole point of summer camp is to have fun, right? Make sure your little one knows this! Talk about all the new friends they’re going to make. Mention some of the cool activities they get to do (think swimming, games, crafts, etc.).  Often, getting excited about something washes the jitters away for both the parents and the child.

 

Leave quickly

When the drop-off date finally arrives, do it quickly like ripping off a band aid, even if they’re only headed to a day camp and you’ll see them that night. Waiting around can make too big of a deal out of your departure, giving them a chance to think about what’s happening and get nervous. Plus, if you stick around too long, they might pick up on the sense that you’re nervous too. Make it easier for both of you by dropping them off with a big smile and waving goodbye.

 

 

Still looking for the perfect fit for this summer? Search for a great one near you now!

 

Sources:

-“Camp Prep” She Knows

-“Summer Camp Makes Kids Resilient” Psychology Today

-“Prepare Your Child and Yourself for Camp” American Camp Association

 – Photo credit: United States Navy & Peter Blanchard