Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
The Importance of Independent Play with Lenore ...

How do you encourage your kids to be more independent? When do you as a parent step back to give them the space to step up?

Lenore Skenazy joins Janine today to discuss some of these questions. They discuss: 


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Building Friendships and Social Skills with ...

Friendships are such a wonderful and special part of life. From memory making to going through the highs and lows with your peers makes life so much richer. As a child, learning social skills and how friendships fit is a huge learning curve as they go through their childhood and find their ‘people’. As a parent, how do you connect and how do you teach your kids basic social skills and about what a great friendship can be? 

Today Janine is joined by Caroline Maguire and in this episode they discuss:


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Practicing SEL through Play: An Interview with ...

How do we teach our children social and emotional awareness in a fun and play filled way? Eventually our children will become adults so when they walk out into the world, we want them to step into their lives as aware and in control of their emotions as possible. 

In this episode we discuss:


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Helping Kids with Friendships and Social ...

Have you noticed social skills missing in your kids? Caroline Maguire, author of Why Will No One Play With Me?, joins me to discuss how to support your child and build them up through play.

Here’s some of the areas we cover:


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
A Conversation about School Readiness with ...

The transition to preschool to elementary school can be such an anxious time for both parents and for the children. There’s a lot of unknowns to get them ready for and sometimes we think there’s lots we have to do to prepare them for starting. Today we discuss what you can do to help reduce anxiety for your little one with nursery practitioner, Caroline Allen. 

In this episode they discuss:


communication play

,

Awesome Play Ideas for Families at Home

,
Awesome Play Ideas for Families at Home



Inside: An incredible collection of play ideas for families during times when they need to stay at home. Also, why play helps at this time, and how we can view this as an opportunity to re-connect .

Usually, as families, we have busy schedules, and people are often going to sports practice or games, lessons, or after school activities. Because of the coronavirus and social distancing, things are getting canceled everywhere. This is a stressful time, and things seem to be changing day-to-day. Overall, what this means is that families are going to be spending a lot more time at home.

, ,

Creativity and Imaginative Play

, ,
Creativity and Imaginative Play

Play advocates often talk about the importance of open ended play, open ended play materials and having play be child led instead of adult led. There is a popular theory called Loose Parts was developed by Simon Nicholson in 1971.

, ,

Why I Love Playdates!

, ,
Why I Love Playdates!

The play date has been getting some negative press, with people listing all the things they don’t like about them. There are pros and cons to everything, so I decided to explain why I appreciate play dates.

16 Different Types of Play

16 Different Types of Play

Inside: Definition of 16 play types from Bob Hughes and ideas for play materials to encourage variety in the way children play.

Definition of play:

“Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.”

,

10 Magnificent Games to Practice Social and Emotional Skills with Kids

,
10 Magnificent Games to Practice Social and Emotional Skills with Kids

Inside: An overview of 10 games that can be used to work on social-emotional learning at school, in small group settings or at home.

What was your favorite game to play as a kid? For me, it was Monopoly. My sister and I played this game all the time - it would keep us entertained for hours on a cold winter day.

,

Video Games for Families to Play Together

,
Video Games for Families to Play Together

For as long as I can remember, playing video games has been way of connecting and spending time with my family.

I vividly remember when my big brother got the original Nintendo with Duck Hunt. We were in our cozy family den with my brother and sister, so excited to try it out. And he finally let me try it too! Guess what - I wasn’t very good at it, but I loved watching my brother play.

3 Ways to Connect with Your Family at Meal Times

3 Ways to Connect with Your Family at Meal Times

Inside: 3 quick tips to connect with your family during a meal time. Even if you can't get together and connect during the week, the weekend is a great time to try this too!

It’s been a typical busy Wednesday after school. You’ve been helping with homework, driving your kids to dance and karate, and then taking a few minutes to make a quick Target run.

You’re finally all sitting down for dinner, but sometimes it’s hard to connect and chat. “How was school today?” gets you a one word answer. That’s not helpful. So what are some ways you can connect with each other during dinner?

,

3 fun ways to teach kids how tone of voice impacts meaning

,
3 fun ways to teach kids how tone of voice impacts meaning

How do you communicate with other people during one day? Do you talk face to face with them? Do you text them? Facetime them? Email them?

Humor me. Take a minute and check how many text messages and emails you received in the last 24 hours. I’ll wait.

,

4 Simple Ways to Practice Taking Turns

,
4 Simple Ways to Practice Taking Turns

Children (and people in general) have to take turns all the time. Children take turns when they play games like checkers or four square, while they participate in a class discussion, or during a conversation. Adults have to wait and take turns too - in meetings, in stores and when driving. Taking turns, and in particular, waiting for the time when it’s your turn, can be frustrating. It’s good to practice turn taking, because it happens all the time.

Q's Race to the Top

Q's Race to the Top

This is one of my new favorite social skills games! Why? Because not only do I enjoy playing, children really enjoy playing. I found this game at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to play with my clients to see how they reacted. And it was a resounding positive response.

Why Lunch Groups Matter

Why Lunch Groups Matter

The bell rings for lunch time. Five 9 year olds bound into my office, smiles on their faces and giving me cheerful greetings as they come through the door. They pick a seat, place their lunches on the table, then immediately ask about the question box. They can’t wait to see what the questions are this week. One little girl reaches over, picks a question out of the box and reads it to the group. “If you could have any superhero power, what would it be and why?” The rest of them jump right in and start answering immediately.

Copyright © Encourage Play, LLC 2021