1. First stop by The Saint Paul Farmers Market located conveniently in downtown Saint Paul. It’s a great place to take in the local flavors with their selection of 100% locally grown produce, flowers and freshly made foods that will be sure you excite your morning taste buds. Make sure you get there in the morning because it’s only open Sat. and Sun. 6am-1pm.
290 5th St. East Saint Paul, MN 55101
2. Next, walk four minutes west to Rice Park and enjoy all of your farmers market treats. The park offers a relaxing haven of green space amongst the downtown landscape. Rice Park also highlights several statues from Peanuts’ characters to F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Source by Alonzo Hauser, the popular fountain located in the center of Rice Park. Toss in your penny and make a wish! 10 7th St. West Saint. Paul, MN 55012
Last week, we shared some ways that both your child and you can clear up your "monkey minds," and cultivate calm. Here are a few more resources to help in the battle for a calmer mind.
For more information on practicing mindfulness with children, check out Mindful Kids and Inner Kids (FYI - Inner Kids requires registration).
The following books are also good resources.
The Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser Greenland
Teaching Mediation to Children by David Fontana and Ingrid Slack
Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything by Deborah Schoeberlein with Suki Sheth, PhD
Take the Time: Mindfulness for Kids by Maude Roegiers
And, of course, please check out Monkey Mind Pirates!
With the weather improving, you might be thinking about a road trip with your family. Here are some great ideas from ECFE parents that will help smooth the way.
Traveling with children probably means that you'll need to take a lot of things that you wouldn't need if you were traveling alone. Your list might include:
- Snacks and drinks -- choose items that take a LONG time to eat!
- Wet wipes
- Garbage bags
- A clipboard for coloring or other art activities
- A pan with a sliding top to use as a lap desk (with built-in storage!)
- Pillows and blankets
- Extra clothes
- A night light
- Special blankets, stuffed animals, pillows or pacifiers that your child WON'T sleep without!
You'll want to plan many stops along the way -- playgrounds, rest stops, town squares, college campuses, all make great places to run off some energy. Take some balls or Frisbees along to throw around when you're at a rest stop.
In the car, you'll need a lot of amusements:
- Colorforms stick on car windows
- Etch-a-Sketch or Magna Doodle games
- Sticker books (or even Post-It Notes!)
- Coloring books or a plain pad of paper
- Pipecleaners (fun, quiet, and not messy)
- Finger puppets
- A ViewMaster with new slides for each trips
- Books, comic, activity books
- A small flashlight
- Listen to music, or have a sing-a-long
Try wrapping a few small toys and give them out one at a time over the course of the trip. Don't forget to save a few for the trip home.
Happy traveling, and please share more of your family's "must-packs"!
Esther Schak,
Parent Educator, Saint Paul ECFE
To us, it may simply look like building and knocking down blocks, but to a child 'construction play' is a skill-building lesson about gravity that requires questioning, experimentation, and problem solving. As we parents, grandparents, and caregivers create activities at home, or watch our children play in a museum, there are some concepts that help us understand and encourage this learning process. Ask our children to...Look, Look Again. Ask Questions. Predict. Investigate. Experiment. Try and Try Again.
