early childhood education

The importance of reading to babies is proven. From the time children begin to use natural sounds, to cooing, up until they utter a few syllables. Reading books to babies is key to brain development!

While the first 12 months of a baby’s life are the most exciting, they can also be the most challenging! Especially for first-time parents, who may not be experienced but want nothing but the best for their precious little ones.

Parents sometimes wonder what books to read to an infant who seems like they can’t yet understand. At CareLuLu, where we help parents find the best daycare and preschool for their child, we often get this question:

What are the best baby books for infants 0 to 12-month-old?

So, we searched for the best books for babies with a variety of contents that every new parent should have. We listed “baby’s first words” books and ABC books (the basics). We also included board books (sturdy, thick pages) and picture books (beautiful illustrations and colors).

In no particular order, we listed bestsellers with great reviews from real moms and dads, just like you. The list was prepared based on the quality of the content, but also the materials which are important for infants.

You may have that a co-op can help you reduce child care costs, but many parents don’t really know how to answer the question, what is a co-op preschool.

By now, you’ve probably heard that the cost of child care and preschool is exorbitant. So much so that according to the Economic Policy Institute’s latest report, “high quality care is out of reach for working families”. The cost of daycare and preschool for a 4 year-old is around $19,000/year in DC (the most expensive in the US) and infant care in a center costs about $24,000/year!

So, the question is: would you like to pay less for preschool? Read on to learn about co-op daycare and preschool options, and how they can help you reduce child care costs.

Every child grows up with a dream of what they will become when they enter the working world. From Kindergarten, we learn about adult life through Career Days, Take your Child to Work Days, and of course, our families and neighbors. For me, it wasn’t the parents in my classroom telling us about their careers, but the teachers who I looked up to the most.

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So, you have decided to give your child the gift of languages. Congratulations, your child will thank you for it! As promised in our previous post about raising multilingual children, in this article we are going to dive deeper into language immersion preschool programs and the reasons why they are a great idea!

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Do you remember the card catalogues they used to use in libraries? Now you can buy those cabinets as antiques on eBay. Most libraries switched over to computer based systems in the early 1990’s. In some ways, though, the card catalogue was more fun. You had to invest more time in finding each title and there was a certain sense of exploration involved. And preschoolers were too short to use it.

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We’ve all been there.  You go to pick up your sweetie from preschool. You’re ecstatic to see your preschooler and they are over the moon to see you. You hug, you kiss, you gather up their belongings and you scoop them into your arms.  Then, you ask the question that parents have been asking since, it seems, formal schooling began:

How was your day?

It’s a simple question. Only 4 words. You anticipate a long list of activities, lessons, learning experiences and social accomplishments! You want to hear everything. You are giddy. Did they paint? Did they color? What songs did they sing? Did they get to play outside or was the playground too wet?

But…

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There are many things to consider when searching for the best daycare for your family, which can understandably leave you feeling overwhelmed. Have no fear, in this post, we’ll walk through some of the main search criteria that parents use. This
should help you narrow down options and find the right child care.

Home-Based vs. Child Care Center
There are many benefits to both home-based care and centers. It comes down to the environment and benefits you feel are best for your child. For instance, home-based daycares typically offers more flexibility and can boast smaller groups of children which provides more one-on-one interaction and a “home-like” environment.  Centers typically offer a larger and more structured environment. They have clear cut rules for both kids and parents and there is no concern when it comes to working around someone else’s sick or vacation days, which may occur with a small home-based provider.

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