Registration for May-June opens Monday April 1st at 8am! Please note our shop and studios are closed Fri March 29-Mon April 1. Registration for May-June opens Monday April 1st at 8am! Please note our shop and studios are closed Fri March 29-Mon April 1.

Chorus & Clouds Blog

Building Your Child's Toy Library - Stage by Stage

Building Your Child's Toy Library - Stage by Stage
One of the wonderful benefits to having our own learning studio is that we get to test drive our toys and quickly determine which ones have the longevity and encourage the exploration, learning and creativity that we're hoping to provide. Continue reading

What Is A Prepared Environment?

What Is A Prepared Environment?
By arranging the materials or toys in a thoughtful way, imagining them from your child's perspective, you can create an environment that will stimulate learning and creativity. Continue reading

Top 10 Tips To Help Your Baby Sleep Over the Holidays - with Sasha Kern

Top 10 Tips To Help Your Baby Sleep Over the Holidays - with Sasha Kern

This week at The Nook, our resident sleep consultant, Sasha Kern from BlissfulBabySleep. Before she had her own children, Sasha was a postpartum doula, often helping new families at night. She has had over 20 years experience helping babies sleep and has seen sleep recommendations change over the years. Her depth of experience allows her to offer help tailored to a family's particular sleep challenges.

She has returned to Chorus and Clouds with tips to help your baby (and you!) get better sleep over the holidays.

The holiday season is a wonderful time and magical with a new baby, however, with all the fun and special moments come a shake up of your usual routine and whether baby is sleeping and napping on a schedule or not there are unexpected changes that can throw things off.

Sasha gives her top tips to keep things calm and easy:

 Tip #1: Use black out curtains and white noise at home and then you can recreate their home sleep environment wherever you go.

Tip #2: Maintain your bedtime routine when you're away (bath, story, songs - whatever you do) this will cue your baby that it's time for bed.

Tip #3: Grandparents and friends will want your baby to stay up late to spend time with them, but hold your ground! If they want to spend the time with baby, then have them do part or all of the bedtime routine and spend time together that way.

Tip #4: If your out and can't get home at bedtime bring pajamas and put baby to sleep at a restaurant or a friend's house. Walking with them in a carrier may help them fall asleep more easily.

Tip #5: If your baby is walking don't let them know they can walk in the aisle of the plane!

Tip #6: Time Changes: With a 3 hour time change or less just jump into the new time zone, preferably start the new time while you're on the plane. Luckily, planes have lots of white noise!

Tip #7: With a longer time change start the adjustment on the plane. If you're travelling at night, but it would be daytime in the new time zone, instead of letting them sleep through the night treat the sleep as naps, as you would in the new time. At night, if they wake up thinking it should be daytime, keep it as boring as possible.

Tip #8: During the day get out in the sunshine as much as possible.

Tip #9: When you're coming back do the same thing.

Tip #10: Car rides: Leave first thing in the morning when they're rested. Time your stops with feeds and then time long stretches of driving with naps.

 

For Sasha's sleep fundamentals please visit this blog post from an earlier visit or contact her via her website BlissfulBabySleep.

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Play Therapy and Learning Through Play with Anna Bardi

Play Therapy and Learning Through Play with Anna Bardi
In order to learn something through memorization it takes about 400 repetitions to create a synapse in our brain, but if we do it through play it takes only 10-20. Continue reading

Sarah Adams Talks Montessori at Home

Sarah Adams Talks Montessori at Home
Sarah dispels the myth that a Montessori home is supposed to duplicate a Montessori preschool, while getting to some of the core premises of the Montessori philosophy and how parents can bring those values and practices into their home. Continue reading

Travel Sleep Tips from Sasha

Travel Sleep Tips from Sasha
The bedtime routine eg. bath, change, book, song, etc. is so important because this is how the baby gets their cues that it's time to wind down and sleep for a long stretch. When they are older toddlers and children, these cues are going to make it much easier to settle down and sleep in a different situations because the routine can be the same. Continue reading

Play in the Early Years with Shauna Farrell

Play in the Early Years with Shauna Farrell

When we observe our children's play and allow them to lead their exploration and discoveries we are giving them the opportunity to foster their own learning at exactly the right time and stage for them. In turn, this experience will give them the intrinsic motivation and confidence to be lifelong learners.

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Positive Guidance Strategies: Understanding and Guiding Early Years Behaviours

Positive Guidance Strategies: Understanding and Guiding Early Years Behaviours
We can look at guidance in a positive, wholistic and respectful way that will also teach a child to grow and be empowered themselves in a positive way. If discipline is reactive and negative it can stifle a child's need and ability to explore and learn. Continue reading
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