Blog Posts

Find all of the toys listed above on our Amazon List

The Teal Pumpkin

October 25, 2022

As we know food allergies are more common or at least more understood in today's day and age and with that comes a trickier trick or treat for some kiddos. The way to ease some worries as parents and educators and children themselves who come to your door this particular evening there is a wonderful alternative option! The teal pumpkin project has been around for quite some time but not everyone is aware of it's importance or significance - therefore, ECHO has got you covered!

The idea behind the teal pumpkin is to indicate that your home is an allergy friendly house where you have a "no - food" option for these specific individuals who visit on Halloween night. You can either purchase a teal pumpkin through amazon, target and other retailers such as these including your local dollar store, however, if you want to make this into a learning activity and fun opportunity to involve the whole family you may suggest painting a typical pumpkin teal blue and setting it out on your porch! Leaving the pumpkin by your door helps others in your neighborhood recognize the message and ask you for a non-food treat if necessary. Some items to have by the ready are some fun halloween pencils, stamps, temporary tattoos, and other goodie that can engage littles in other fun ways rather than food they could have an allergy too.

This may sound like a wonderful opportunity but a bit pricy as you start compiling alternative "treats" for individuals who knock on your door. The best thing we can suggest is to buy items in bulk on amazon to save a few bucks but also the dollar store! Sometimes places like this can sell items in a small pack and you can put a few small relatively cheap but meaningful and exciting items in halloween sacks as parents and children specify their recognition of the teal pumpkin!

If you are not able to participate and offer your house as a teal pumpkin location that is completely understandable but if your child or someone you may know allergy and would love the opportunity to visit homes and businesses in their neighborhood on Halloween night with alternatives to candy please check out the link provided! You can get a map based on your location and/ or register your house as "Teal-Pumpkin Safe"!

We hope this idea helped ease some worries and reached some families willing and able to help every child feel included this Halloween season! Please, be safe out there and have an enjoyable holiday with your families!

Love,

All of us here at ECHO!

Click the link to register your home for the project within your area and/ or locate a map of your neighborhood to better see at a glance who else is participating!

Also, please consider reviewing the website if you hope to learn more and can get the idea out whenever you can! Any wonderful organization that puts children and their health and safety first is important to ECHO!

Putting Family first

October 18, 2022

As we know family is of utmost importance to you as well as the education or your young children, however, if you are in search of new and exciting ways to help incorporate your family in more ways we have you covered! Try some of these ideas!

Family Game Night - Carve out evenings during your busy week (or month) to establish a family game night. Now this may look different for everyone since we all have different ages and stages at home but go off of your youngest age to start this new tradition. The older they get the more advanced the games of course but if you still have littles try doing a carnival theme or have game stations to keep the shorter games moving and continually interesting for the whole family! If you have a wide range of ages then try having parents and family members involved, or open up to friends, and trade off stations to help work with a variety of ages.
Family Movie Night - Just like game night carve out a consistent evening in the week or month and dedicate it to the entire family. Put names in a bowl or hat and have a member close their eyes and pick! To help mix things up and keep things fair, consider eliminating the movie chooser from the time before as they don't repeat weeks in a row!
Camping - Before I lose you here, let me remind you that this can look vary different everyone. Of course being based in Michigan I am not suggesting going out in the snow or anything. Whether you are outdoorsy or not here are a few ways to incorporate this event in a routine: Backyard camping, in a tent, on a trampoline or even under the starts. As the weather gets colder or would prefer staying indoors try building a fort inside! Go through the motions of camping - whatever that may look like for you - singing songs in front of a campfire (or bonfire illusion on Youtube), make s'mores, tell ghost stories, read books! Anything you and your littles would enjoy and would love to see become a lucrative part of their childhood!
Creating a secret handshake or other interaction- By establishing a positive bonding and private moment with your littles it can remind them that what they are doing and who they are are validated. In a growing mind this is important and nurturing their big ideas and understanding their emotions help to strengthen the bond and their social emotional development. For instance, fist bumping before each game or music concert can give them that confidence boost they need. Hugging out tough conversations when they come to you for advice or unsure how to navigate their world at the moment, even a special handshake for the first day of school can remind children the've 'got this'!
Family Meetings - Getting comfortable calling a family meeting for a variety of reasons help children understand family as a unit, who is their family since it may not be a typical societal view, and realize everyone is there for uncomfortable, sad, happy and exciting times to help get everyone through together! Once this has been established, kids can then feel as they grow, they can call a family meeting for what they feel they need to further establishing a positive and strong bond with their family unit.
Chores and responsibilities - These do not need to be the same everyday or week, and you may find rotating them around for your children may helps them and yourself. Allowance is up to you, price or whether to receive one in general but establishing a contribution to the family and an understanding that everyone contributes in different ways to the functionality and home dynamic helps your littles into their teen and adulthood! They are a part of the family and how it works!

Here a just a few ways in which to involve your entire family on a variety of age levels and strengthen the unit both as a whole and individually! Remember, anything can become a tradition make it unique just like your own family!

All Are Welcome: How to create a Positive & Accepting Classroom or Home learning Experience

October 11, 2022

As teachers, parents, and administrators our whole mission is to create acceptance and a love-filled environment for our young learners even before they walk though our doors. A major part of that is depicting diversity in a variety of ways within the classroom for each student to feel included, seen and to help understand others. Here are some items that are staples in each one of our classes:

Baby dolls & or soft plushies of variety of ethnicities - As children explore and work hard in our "Dramatic Play" Area of the classroom they have the options to dress up, explore kitchen "furniture" and fake food items for imagination, replicas or old - recycled computers and phones (enhancing imaginative play), we also offer a variety of babies or soft plushies of different skin tones, hair textures and unique and beautiful features for each child to see themselves in, see their friends and family and experience similarities and differences in a positive way.
Posters around the classroom & "Area" labels - Through out our classrooms you can find "Social Emotional" posters depicting a variety of emotions with children's faces demonstrating each along with other happy images of playing and learning in a school setting. Along with these images, each area within our classroom is labeled and identifiable with distinct images. As children explore their classroom and make it their own they see children of all races, genders and disabilities.
Books, Manipulatives & Toys - Whether a child is exploring the classroom library (or books during circle time), block and train area, art station and more, they are interacting and working with a variety of items promoting diversity in ethnicity, culture, family units, abilities and more. Some of favorites are "family builders" (see toy review for this week), books about different family makeups and art supplies that honor different skin tones! Each of these items and group of items help children accept, feel comfortable, explore and better understand the world and people around them.
Family Photos Board- Another great feature we have in the classroom is a bulletin board dedicated to family photos! This not only helps the child feel relaxed in their classroom and allow for some additional comfort when needed but also reinforce that they belong there; that this is their classroom and its a safe and accepting place. Another positive outcome of this is for friends to identify their classmate's families as well and recognize parents, grandparents and caregivers as they walk in and out of the classroom!

These are only some suggestions to help make your classroom, school or home-play area a positive learning experience and teach young children diversity.

Positive Ways to Introduce or Work on Potty Training At Home and School

September 27, 2022

As teachers working with young students as they navigate this milestone in life we have come to compile a variety of ways to introduce potty training to your child or add to your existing routine. We have seen it all from the potty training boot camp to the candy reward system and everything in between and we're not here to tell you which is best for your child since the only person who knows that is you and your parenting partner. In our classrooms, we, however utilize these tips and tricks that we have picked up over the years that work with every unique personality and individual to help encourage toilet training and reinforce these principals as they work on their own.

Try undies over the pull-up or diaper - Sometimes school or daycare settings have criteria for undies in school, however, a way to build up to that is putting undies over the diaper or pull up. That way your child can pick out their favorite design to wear and aid in the notion they can be taken back with the "undies kids" as they utilize the bathroom at school. This is also great if your child(ren) are waking up wet from nap and bedtime. Just putting a pull up under their undies helps maintain the thought of them still becoming a "big kid" and working on this step in life. (Also, to ease some worries parents may have, staying dry when asleep is a skillset that comes at a variety of ages, therefor, a child still can be fully potty trained even if they wear a nap diaper or pull up through the night!)
Wearing undies at home - During this time of toilet training if you are home for the day or evening, try undies even if they aren't completely ready for them at school and out and about just yet. Since you have the time and opportunity, if a child has an accident in their underwear you are right there to clean them up! This helps them understand that if they go inside their underwear it will feel different than a pull up or diaper and reinforce these bodily functions go in the potty. Even after an accident still try the potty as well to make sure its all out as this will aid in their understanding that pee and #2 go in the toilet.
Open door policy - Keep bathroom doors open as your children go throughout their day or night routine at home. This will help remind them while heading into their bedroom or coming downstairs for dinner if they pass the potty and they see it in their view they will utilize it more than just stopping their play. This notion comes later as they get more consistent with the idea of using the toilet.
Peeing with the fishies- Enticing the idea of going to the bathroom can be a bit tricky but if you want a quick, easy and fun potty idea for before bed, or after supper, or anytime that fits your routine best trying on the potty after throwing a few mini goldfish crackers into the toilet bowl can keep kiddos giggling and trying when they say they do not have to go. (Note: For best results try not to do this every time and create a habit just in case you run out of goldfish crackers!) (Bonus: For best aiming techniques when learning to potty standing up try cheerios.)
Remind your child as they play- It is true that if you have your child on a regiment or schedule, every half hour or so may help you, it is hard for littles to keep up. Sometimes they do not have to go and them listening and understanding their own bodies is key to potty training (not having to always be reminded but going on their own time) however, offering "hey, Jax, I can hold onto your trains if you need to try the potty" or any combination thereof can help remind them that it's okay to go if they need to even when they are busy; what they are working on will be waiting there for them when they return.
One size does not fit all- Every child learns differently and potty training is all about learning - learning about their bodies, learning to use the toilet and more. Therefore, the mentality that this one trend and technique may have worked well with Ella down the street, your child may need a different approach. We all have our personal feelings about the potty training boot camp or reward system and if it works great for your child that is amazing! Keep it up! However, most students don't learn that way and from personal and individualized experience potty training takes a little longer than three days and by doing that technique or others out there can lead to negative view on potty training all together, or a desire to please you and not at the benefit of themselves. Potty training can be a challenging process but, please keep in mind, the more frustrated, you, as the parent gets just imagine how your child may feel with that pressure and frustration. The best way for your child to learn is to work with you and other family members at a rate and routine that is individualized for their own learning style.
The Biggest tip we can provide - No matter how hard you try and continuously work on potty training, your child will grasp and follow through when THEY ARE READY and it is on their own terms! Keep going with the motions and continue to find fun and creative ways to encourage rather than discourage your child and it will come naturally. It's normal to feel pressure and worry as parents during this time but they are still young! Pull back on some of that haste and give them room to grow on their own! They will be potty trained in no time!

Let us know what has helped your in your child or children's potty training journey!

Built to Thrive - Brenda Ban

September 13, 2022

Through our ECHO journey we had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Brenda, a retired teacher who turned her passion into a business. This business helps put emphasis and aid on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for group and individual settings and this past year she dedicated her Wednesday mornings to enrich the local school system with her program along with other schools within the area. Each class gathered together during their time slot to read a story, work on a large group activity and broke into smaller groups for further exploration when necessary.

Each week, we had the incredible opportunity to witness these students work hard at the task at hand - all age appropriate (in which Ms. Brenda carefully crafted each lesson for different age groups and Developmentally Appropriate Practice) activities but just enough for our little learners to stretch that extra mile for their own success! She was patient, kind and encouraging with our learners and in turn each student could not wait for next week's lesson while discussing with each other the fun things they learned with their favorite Wednesday teacher.

Somethings Ms. Brenda covered were calming our bodies like different animals, shaking up our feelings and emotions like glitter then letting them fall to a calm and carefully placing fruit loops on pretzel sticks to better understand our bodies and our own strength. She shared belly breaths with our belly buddies, talked about how we are Super Heroes for showing our emotions and working through tough decisions and events as well as communicated with even the littlest of scholars as they work through these big emotions.

We do not want to give away Ms. Brenda's amazing approach but wanted to share our experience with her and express our gratitude for working with our students over the year. We hope that we can continue to work with her further as the years go on as we open up additional ECHO libraries!

However, if you want to experience Ms. Brenda's magic for yourself please visit her booth at Story Fest held by the Ford House this September 24, 2022 (Check our event's tab for the ticket link) and see what she is all about, you will not be disappointed. Also, if you want a chance for your child to work one-on - one with her, better understand her program, check out her personal BTT blog, contact Ms. Brenda, herself and more check out her website! https://builttothrive.weebly.com/

9 Ways to Encourage and Enhance Dramatic Play and Imagination

September 21, 2022

Imagination and Pretend play are important developmental milestones in your child's life, but sometimes we worry we aren't doing enough to aid them in this process since it's not something tangible. Well, we have you covered; here are 9 simple and effective, kid-approved ways to nurture their creative side and have fun in the process!

Anytime & Anywhere - Within reason, there is no wrong time or place to explore the imagination! Whether, you, as the parent or guardian initiate it or follow your child's lead, an afternoon walk can turn into an exploration adventure, bath time can offer pirates or mermaids in hectic storm waves, even cleaning the house can turn into an impromptu dance and singing recital!
Let them lead, aid in or start a scenario - If you witness your child creating their own magic let them take the lead as you join in! If you create the scenario keep it simple and let them expand on the idea without prompting too much! It's their imagination exploration and your along for the ride!
Don't interrupt - Of course, as busy parents and family members we all know there are certain times that are better than others, but, if you are able to keep their ideas flowing do not shut them down. If you join in keep your part simple and build off where their mind goes. If they are on a solo mission or interacting with friends try your best to allow them the chance to finish what they started on their own!
Add in some Sensory - Wearing a fire fighter hat, converting a refrigerator box into a spaceship and playing construction sounds in the background as they build towers and bridges for their cars can all enhance a child's dramatic play and offer a realistic aid to their own imagination allowing additional stimulation and further expansion of the mind.
Limit options and find materials, manipulative or activities that allow open ended play - While too many choices can be overwhelming, certain aids can be limiting when it comes to imagination. Sure, manipulatives that serve as fine motor or clear cut science projects are important for learning and development and are great in their own right but to focus on dramatic play stick to blocks, magna-tiles, dress up items, baby dolls, train tracks, or animal figures, to name a few, some may sound limiting but you can configure them in multiple ways and add to one another allowing for further imaginative qualities; its all about what they do with it.
Give them space and time to puzzle things out on their own - As children explore the world around them they will look to you for guidance but sometimes trial and error on their part lead to major breakthroughs. Yes, it may look uncomfortable wearing shoes on the wrong feet but they did it themselves and they worked through their problem-at -hand. Acting out what you taught them, and helped them with many times before. They are modeling your behavior and on the surface doesn't appear to be creative, or imaginative but it is and who knows, maybe they did it because having their shoes on the "wrong" feet make them waddle like a duck and they enjoy it!
Play dates - When your schedule clears up and you can finally set up a get together with your child and their school best friend, embrace this opportunity. Whether there is two or five kiddos the best imaginative play can come from the littles themselves. One idea can be sprouted and then latched onto creating this whole world for your child and their friends, or siblings, to interact with out question or explanation. The unsaid communication is both powerful and beautiful to watch and is one of the most incredible things to witness at teachers!
Never stop reading and Learning - As you read stories at bedtime and answer their questions about the weather, or explain how plants grow, your kids are absorbing everything! They store away this information and utilize it to their advantage in the days or weeks to come in a way that is unique and interpretive or understanding for them. Acting out this knowledge or using it in their play is a way in which kids process and comprehend new information.
Experiences - Just like reading and learning; experiences are just as important! Baking a pie for a neighbor? Let your child help kneed the dough, heading to the library? Bring them along and allow them to check out a book they think is exciting! Watching a sibling's soccer game? Bring a ball along to kick around on the sidelines! These things don't have to cost money but can open your child's mind to bigger things and an enormous world of opportunities which all will circle around to imagination and pretend play and further their creativity in the long run!

As your child continues to grow so will their imagination, these foundational steps and ways can help encourage this in different stages or development and offer the ability to grow and expand along with your child and they continue to take them one step further each time! Remember, if you feel comfortable tag us on instagram of you and your young learner participating in these activities or ideas or a quick snapshot of the activity itself for privacy reasons! We love to be a part of the fun!

Built to Thrive - Brenda Ban

September 13, 2022

Types of Bravery WE See In The Classroom

September 6, 2022

Bravery comes in all shapes and sizes but all are extraordinary in means. As teachers, we are incredibly lucky that we work with these amazing, compassionate, brilliant and albeit sometimes stubborn students everyday and can witness these wonderful moments on a daily basis! Here are a few anonymous stories from our classrooms that can uplift your day.

A new friendship - This week started out rocky for a student of mine, starting in a new school is always tough especially coming in as an elementary student when friendships are already established. Well, today, my new, shy first grader reached out to an already - formed group for a class activity before I had the chance to establish a group he might mesh well with. The five eager learners welcomed him gratefully and started their work without being prompted to do so. Along with the school work there was positive laughing and encouragement from that side of the classroom that carried on throughout lunch and recess. I am now actively rearranging my seating chart to nurture this budding friendship.
Saying "No" when things don't feel right - Even at three years old, these two boys were thick as thieves from racing cars in the classroom to playdates at home. From the moment they set foot through the classroom door we had a pair who were attached at the hip. Both are wonderful kids and students but together they could work a room and run ramped - in a good and healthy way, testing limits as three year olds typically do. Once their interests starting to change, one of the boys stood up to their friend and told them "no, I'm playing here and you're not being nice!" In response to his train track being broken by an oncoming truck. For the whole year that boy lost himself in his friendship, following the other's lead but one day that changed and standing up to a friend even at three years old altered the dynamic positively which in-turn created a stronger, more comfortable and understanding friendship on both ends!
Getting a teacher for help - When playing outside on the playscape with the older kids, my three year old student was plowed over and his face had gotten scraped all for coming down the stairs of the "pirate ship". In response he quickly regained his strength, got back on his feet and made his way to me. I had seen the whole thing and was trying my hardest to get to the situation as quickly and calmly (as engrained in my training) in order to assess the situation properly. This boy dried his tears, hugged my leg and expressed what had happened in his own words. This boy, who at the begining of the year would have reciprocated the action and wouldn't have been able to verbalize the event was now calmly explaining who hurt him, how he was hurt and his reflection of the event. I handled it accordingly and to the best of my ability seeing as the child in question was not in my class. I contacted the other teacher, my director and explained the incident to my student's parents. The smile on his face and extra hug he gave me when I told him he was so brave will live in my heart forever.
Jabari helps - The book of the week for our Bravery theme (week #2): Jabari Jumps fits wonderfully in this post. As stated in that Resource and Activity ideas treating Jabari like a friend within the class helps create connections to everyday life and experiences. Not only did we read Jabari Jumps and Jabari Tries for our Bravery unit it also fit nicely in our kindness lesson plan as well. As Jabari waits in line for the diving board, clearly wanting to jump but nervous at the same time he lets friends pass in front of him while putting off the act as well as allowing himself his time and readiness for the jump as well. As the illustrations beautifully demonstrate him making it up the ladder and coming down, or making it to the front of the line but allowing everyone to surpass him falling back to the end to buy him time to conquer his fear, we often talk about what his friends might say, words of kindness or are they mean to him and examples of each. As this story quickly became a class favorite we were reading it almost every week in a variety on context and it had payed off. After witnessing a friend bully another student a child stood up to his friend and said "Remember our friend, Jabari?" Then, proceeded to explain that the actions he was witnessing his friend doing and words he was saying were words of cruelty and not something we would say to Jabari or anyone else.

On the topic of "Bravery" in schools we don't just see it in students but Teachers, Assistants and Caregivers alike. Here's an additional story from an Assistant teacher at another Center as told from an ECHO Board Member.

Not all Hero's wear capes - One lunch time an assistant of mine went to the staff lounge to heat up her food, she may have been working here a couple months or so but was fairly new and still learning the ropes, however, enough to know when something doesn't feel right. After returning with her food in hand her face was all white and she looked like she might be sick or burst into tears so I quickly asked her what was wrong. She found a student in the lounge by himself playing with a few loose toys, she didn't know how long he had been there and it appeared he had gotten turned around on the way back from the bathroom but she escorted him back to his class and made sure he made it through the door and interacted with his teachers before continuing about her business. A million questions ran through her mind besides, how long he was there, why he was there but things like how he could have hurt himself, gotten lost around the school, and about a hundred other scenarios. She was too timid to tell the teachers of the child but knew the administration needed to know right away. As tough and as scary as that situation may have been she did the right thing and that pang in her heart solidified she is exactly the right person to be working with kids.

If you or anyone you know has an anonymous story about "bravery" inside the classroom message us on either Facebook or Instagram if you'd like to have it posted as we promote "bravery" and lead by example.

A+ (Easy) Lunch Ideas Kids Will Love, Parent Approved

August 30, 2022

We all know having a balanced meal is essential to learning and both cognitive and physical development but raising a picky eater can be a bit tricky. Whether they are on the “toddler diet” or just don’t like all-things green, their pasta touching their apple slices, or turning their nose up at the yogurt you just bought even when they devoured a whole bowl yesterday morning; we came up with a few new ideas to try!

Here at ECHO we are not nutritionists or dietitians and certainly not miracle workers, but have learned a thing or two as teachers, parent, and being around littles in an educational or at-home setting and want to share our tips and tricks that may help ease some back-to-school worries when it comes to lunchtime.

Cookie cutter sandwiches - hearing the title you may think ‘what’s spectacular about being cookie cutter?’ However, as the name suggests try using fun shapes to help entice that jelly or deli-meat sandwich. Even adults get tired of the same things from time to time, so add a little whimsy and something to show off to their friends. Maybe a fun witch’s hat in October, a shamrock for Saint Patrick’s Day, or flowers every day of the week. (Another thing to note is if your child prefers the crust find a smaller cutter and give them the larger, outer piece, or pack both.)

Lunchables-ish - Try making your own healthier version of your child’s favorite lunch kit by adding in their favorite staple, cheese and crackers, a couple of chicken nuggets and goldfish, or mini bagel pizzas with a favorite veggie. Get as creative as you can, the point is to add substance and energy into their bodies!

Add in something new - now granted, as children start to grow and could be unsure quite what their allergies are be mindful, however, if something is new or something they weren’t interested in before, try adding it along with items they will eat. When talking with friends and going about their busy school day they could snack on the food in question given a different setting. If it is still in their lunch box after a couple of tries move on to something new!

Pack a kid - friendly plate into their lunch bag - some student’s prefer to see their food all laid out instead of just packed away. Manipulating them helps them understand the texture, practice their fine motor and create new food pairings.

Add a note - Some of your young learners may not read yet and that's okay, draw a heart or add in a family photo!

Let them be a part of the process - if your little can pick two healthy items when given a choice, shape the sandwich with the cookie cutter, and pack their favorite spoon for their apple sauce this will allow for autonomy, excitement and involvement in their own lifestyles. Don’t stop there, ask them to pick a package of grapes or a hand of bananas at the grocery store!

Now, we know these six tips may not solve all your picky and peculiar preschooler's eating habits but it is a place to start and expand on. Do not feel discouraged, this is something typical at early ages and stages, and as teachers this is something we work with parents and students on throughout the school year. Changes may not happen over night but with continued student-forward, parent involvement and teacher awareness your already taking an initiative!

Also, don't be so hard on yourself, you're doing great!

(If enough interest we could do a part two with additional meal ideas and don't be afraid to DM us on instagram or Facebook if you would like to see particular blog posts, resource, book themes and activities! We want to hear from you! Authors, Teachers, Educators, Parents, Caregivers; all are welcome!)