6 Skills We Should Continue to Foster in Our Children

Learn better. Play smarter. | [View this email in your browser]( Parenting made simpler. Written by experts. Designed for intentional parents. Six Skills We Should Continue to Foster in Our Children As we start to see light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, many readers have been sharing with us the skills they've seen their children develop over the last year. Children are amazingly resilient and capable! Here's six helpful skills we observed during the pandemic that we hope will continue to inspire you and your child's daily habits. Preschoolers: Skills that some parents may have thought their children were too young or not ready to learn. - [Self-Regulation]( - We often see self-regulation taught when children are of school-age or after-the-fact when there are dysregulated behaviors. But teaching your child from young to use the Body Engine Checker System to manage the emotional and physical responses from their environment is empowering, develops lifelong coping skills and optimizes their learning. - [Patience]( - Patience is a learned skill, so describing what waiting and being patient looks like in concrete, tangible ways is helpful to a young child (e.g., taking turns, not interrupting, not doing something you want to do right now, etc.). Intentionally seeking opportunities to build up your child’s patience stamina is key. - [Power of *Yet*]( - Growth mindset teaching is often assumed for more mature learners and with academics, but from young, children have an acute point of view for what they want to do. They are also motivated by progress. Adding *yet* to your daily dialogue can help even your youngest learner develop a growth mindset. Young School-Aged Children: Skills and practices that were highlighted during the pandemic that parents should continue to foster. - [Executive Functioning]( - When distance learning began, we heard from a number of parents with older children that this was the #1 skill they wished they had nurtured from a younger age. From organizing belongings, knowing how to independently manage time, prioritizing and sequencing tasks and staying focused to complete a task, these are all examples of executive functioning that are critical to learning. Establish daily routines and expectations that encourage your child to practice these skills. - [Gratitude]( - At a time when many things did not feel ideal, actively finding the value in small moments of joy was grounding and continues to be so. Keep teaching your child to focus on the things they can control and to build a gratitude practice to decrease their stress - which is vital for learning because neurologically, a stressed brain cannot learn. - [Reading Aloud]( - When life as we knew it came to a screeching halt last year, we heard how some families found a new sense of togetherness. A big part of that was seeing how and what their children were learning, which included reading aloud together. Unfortunately, research shows that as children become independent readers, reading aloud to children and by children dramatically decreases. Yet the benefits are clear: keep reading aloud to your child to improve their listening skills and comprehension; encourage your independent reader to read aloud to build their oral fluency. Keep reading below for a deeper dive into how you can support your child’s learning in each of these skills. If you haven’t done so *yet* (pun intended!), try focusing on any one of these skills for the month of April and drop us a note with how it’s going (hello@myplinkit.com). We love hearing from you. PLINKIT POST [Self-Regulation - The Body Engine Checker System]( Try putting this practical tool in a high traffic area and ask your child "What’s your energy level right now?" to practice their emotional awareness. [READ MORE]( [Forward](mailto:?subject=Something%20Interesting%20from%20Plinkit&body=I%20found%20this%20Plinkit%20article%20interesting%20and%20thought%20you%20would%20too.%20Check%20it%20out%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fmyplinkit.com%2F2017%2F09%2Fself-regulation-part-ii-body-engine-checker-system%2F) [Share]( PLINKIT POST [How to Teach Your Child Patience]( Seven key strategies to teach your child patience with example scripts you can use to model. [READ MORE]( [Forward](mailto:?subject=Something%20Interesting%20from%20Plinkit&body=I%20found%20this%20Plinkit%20article%20interesting%20and%20thought%20you%20would%20too.%20Check%20it%20out%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fmyplinkit.com%2F2021%2F01%2Fteach-children-patience-early-childhood-learning-character-development%2F) [Share]( PLINKIT POST [The Super Power of *Yet*]( Three letters that will change your child’s outlook on life. Learn the useful phrases to reframe defeatist statements. [READ MORE]( [Forward](mailto:?subject=Something%20Interesting%20from%20Plinkit&body=I%20found%20this%20Plinkit%20article%20interesting%20and%20thought%20you%20would%20too.%20Check%20it%20out%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fmyplinkit.com%2F2018%2F04%2Fpower-of-yet%2F) [Share]( PLINKIT POST [Executive Functioning - How to Strengthen It]( Games and activities you can play at home to strengthen paying attention, organizing and planning, staying focused and self-control. [READ MORE]( [Forward](mailto:?subject=Something%20Interesting%20from%20Plinkit&body=I%20found%20this%20Plinkit%20article%20interesting%20and%20thought%20you%20would%20too.%20Check%20it%20out%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fmyplinkit.com%2F2018%2F10%2Fhow-to-build-executive-functioning-skills-in-kids%2F) [Share]( PLINKIT POST [How to Teach Gratitude]( Encourage your child to build a gratitude practice, a state of mind that doesn’t depend on life’s circumstances. How often do you insert the word "enough" into your daily conversations? [READ MORE]( [Forward](mailto:?subject=Something%20Interesting%20from%20Plinkit&body=I%20found%20this%20Plinkit%20article%20interesting%20and%20thought%20you%20would%20too.%20Check%20it%20out%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fmyplinkit.com%2F2018%2F05%2Fhow-to-teach-gratitude%2F) [Share]( PLINKIT POST [Why Reading Aloud is Important to Reading Comprehension]( Learn about the benefits of reading aloud (even for older and proficient readers) and how to check your child’s reading fluency. [READ MORE]( [Forward](mailto:?subject=Something%20Interesting%20from%20Plinkit&body=I%20found%20this%20Plinkit%20article%20interesting%20and%20thought%20you%20would%20too.%20Check%20it%20out%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fmyplinkit.com%2F2020%2F11%2Fread-aloud-children-reading-comprehension-strategies-raise-a-reader%2F) [Share]( Learn better. Play smarter. [EXPLORE OUR TOPICS]( FOLLOW US: Missed a newsletter? [Explore our Archive!]( Our content is written in partnership with the best child development experts. No ads. 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