Let's chat about bedtime routines! Are you having problems at bedtime? Then this post is for you! I have some YouTube videos for you to watch AFTER you listen to my 10-minute bedtime routine chat about my son's bedtime routines between the ages of six months and fourteen--what worked, what didn't! Again, please listen to my podcast episode FIRST!

1. Listen to my 10-minute podcast episode, first.

2. Next, watch these YouTube videos:

• "Morning and Bedtime Routine Tips for Strong-Willed Children" by the Work Life Glue YouTube channel: "Having trouble getting your strong-willed child moving in the morning? Is bedtime a major struggle? We've been there! Trying to do necessary things with a strong-willed child can be a nightmare at times, especially when the child just woke up or is very tired. In this video, I am sharing tips for morning and bedtime routines with a strong-willed child."
• "Nighttime Routine w/ 5 Kids" by My Little Domestic Church
• "5 Tips for a Stress-Free Bedtime" by the Sunday with Sarah Waldorf YouTube channel: "Hello, friends! In this week's 'Sunday with Sarah,' I share my top five tips for how to put young children to bed without stress, drama, or tears! Sometimes bedtime feels like a battle but these ideas can help you turn war into peace." FYI: In her video, she talks about early and separate dinner time for children, this is what we did! We fed our son early--5 PM, often it was a training session for how to use utensils, cups, napkins, etc., because of his special needs. Then after he was asleep--typically by 7 PM, we ate dinner alone. ~Lisa
• "MY TODDLER BREAKS OUT OF HER ROOM// BEDTIME ROUTINE" by The Ups And Downs YouTube channel: "Well we moved from crib to big girl bed and now our nights look like this. Are they different because she has Down syndrome? Nope. She's just a busy girl who thinks it's hilarious when she busts out of her room!" FYI: This video is beyond cute and adorable!

3. Lastly, here is a link to my blog posts on bedtime issues with toddlers (over at my sister blog, Confessions of a Montessori Mom).

Zzzzzz...

Want updates on my NEW Montessori online courses, or joining my community? Visit confessionsofamontessorimom.com

~Lisa Nolan

Photo Credit: Lisa Nolan (My son at age four-ish!)

In this episode I chat about five MG novels--by unique and diverse authors--I highly recommend (book links to Goodreads):

1. Ways to Make Sunshine (Ryan Hart #1) by Renée Watson
2. Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid by Mikaila Ulmer (1:34)
3. Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young (4:26)
4. Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom (Cookie Chronicles #1) by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr (9:05)
5. Last Gate of the Emperor by K. Mbalia and Prince J. Makonnen (12:13)

Were there any common themes, you ask, why yes! Yes, there were: heart, magic, mystery, humor, and charm. I rejected the MG novels that were sad, tragic, controversial, and or too heavy. I just felt like WE ALL needed a little heart, magic, mystery, humor, and charm in our lives--kids and tweens especially, after the years of COVID: being stuck in the house, health problems, and social isolation, to name a few. I had not planned on it at the time, I'm not one to shy away from sadness, tragedy, or controversy in MG books. It was a visceral reaction. So, for this episode, I bring you fun MG novels! Happy reading! ~Lisa Nolan

Intro outro music by Kevin MacLeod. Keywords: middle-grade novels, reviews, MG reads, kid-lit, distinctive authors, heart, magic, mystery, humor, charm. Book images from Goodreads.

Today I chat about this amazing book that dives into math and number sense, "working memory," the effects of stress on the brain of youngsters, and a lot more: The Learning Brain, Memory and Brain Development in Children by Torkel Klingberg, MD Ph.D. (This is not an interview, FYI.) ~Lisa Nolan

ABOUT: "Despite all our highly publicized efforts to improve our schools, the United States is still falling behind. We recently ranked 15th in the world in reading, math, and science. Clearly, more needs to be done. In The Learning Brain, Torkel Klingberg urges us to use the insights of neuroscience to improve the education of our children.

"The key to improving education lies in understanding how the brain works: that is where learning takes place, after all. The book focuses in particular on working memory--our ability to concentrate and to keep relevant information in our head while ignoring distractions (a topic the author covered in The Overflowing Brain). Research shows enormous variation in working memory among children, with some ten-year-olds performing at the level of a fourteen-year-old, and others at that of a six-year-old. More important, children with high working memory have better math and reading skills, while children with poor working memory consistently underperform. Interestingly, teachers tend to perceive children with poor working memory as dreamy or unfocused, not recognizing that these children have a memory problem. But what can we do for these children? For one, we can train working memory. The Learning Brain provides a variety of different techniques and scientific insights that may just teach us how to improve our children's working memory. Klingberg also discusses how stress can impair working memory (skydivers tested just before a jump showed a 30% drop in working memory) and how aerobic exercise can actually modify the brain's nerve cells and improve classroom performance.

"Torkel Klingberg is one of the world's leading cognitive neuroscientists, but in this book he wears his erudition lightly, writing with simplicity and good humor as he shows us how to give our children the best chance to learn and grow." ~Goodreads

Book image from Goodreads. Intro outro music owned and licensed by Kevin MacLeod. Key words: learning, brain, memory, development, children, math, number sense, working memory, stress, youngsters.