Hello, my precious friends.   If there is one thing I have learned in over fifty years of working with children, it is this: PLAY is NOT a break from learning. PLAY IS LEARNING. The giggles, the make-believe, the building blocks, the muddy hands, these moments are not wasted time. They are the very building blocks of your child’s brain and character.   Let me show you the science behind the practice of Play.   Child development research consistently demonstrates that when chi

Hello, my precious friends. Have you ever wondered how your children choose their friends?   Today, I want us to investigate the beginnings of friendships, in a child’s world. Children begin their journey into friendship long before they can say the word “friend” or understand what the word means. With children, friendship may begin with the toddler who offers a toy, the preschooler who wants to sit next to the same classmate every day, the kindergartener who feels heartache

Hello my precious friends.  There’s a saying I’ve whispered to countless parents over my fifty years in early childhood education:  “Children need both roots and wings.” Roots to know who they are.Wings to discover who they can become. It sounds simple, but when you are in the thick of raising little ones—with toys scattered across the living room, homework papers piling on the kitchen table, and tears after a rough day at school—it can feel much harder to live out. But I pro

. Chris Eldridge's latest work, Alphabet Town, the abc's of raising successful kids, is a unique blend of playful storytelling and educational content aimed at empowering children with valuable life skills and virtues. As an experienced leader, Eldridge understands the importance of instilling these qualities in children from a young age. The inspiration behind Alphabet Town stems from Eldridge's belief in the power of early conversations about big ideas. By weaving together

Hello, my precious friends. I am so glad to be back with you, again. Today, I think you will find something that does not glare at you or show in black and white when anxiously reading a behavior chart or checklist. That does not mean that this powerful truth isn’t there, it just means that it shows up more often in the tear-stained cheeks of a little one whose behavior is a simple truth that he just could not hold it together, anymore. “Children Need Safe Spaces to Fall Apar

Hello, my precious friends. Congratulations on successfully traveling through our first season of learning about “raising successful kids.” Getting to know the adorable characters and their defining personality traits that paint the pages of Alphabet Town, evidences the reality that a profoundly good children’s book reaches the child in all of us, regardless of our age.  This blog is about hope. You see, precious parents, you will pass through seasons of failure among triumph

Hello, my precious friends. Happy first day of summer! Have you noticed how summer has a rhythm all its own? The days stretch longer. Bedtimes drift later. And suddenly, we’re walking barefoot through the grass, eating watermelon with sticky fingers, and chasing bubbles that sparkle in the golden light. But here’s what I want you to know: These slower days, these in-between moments, are not “just summer.” They’re sacred ground for your child’s brain and heart. Summer offers a

Hello, my friends. The focus letter this week is A and stands for Ambition. We find Alfie the Ant, from Alphabet Town: the abcs for raising successful kids,  dreaming big dreams. Ants are experts on ambition. Ants may be small creatures, but they have big jobs, enormous for their size! Ambition is one of those words that asks us to pause and reflect on what it truly means to us. For some, it’s a valued trait, symbolizing drive, purpose, and growth. For others, it brings up pa

Hello my precious friends. Today, I want to talk with you about a virtue that lives quietly in all of us… until it’s needed. It’s not loud. It doesn’t always come with capes or costumes, like our children think. However, it is mighty and absolutely necessary. We are talking about the presence of  bravery .   When we hear the word “bravery,” we picture firefighters racing into burning buildings, or superheroes leaping into action. Whether we want to admit it or not, as adults,

Hello my precious friends.   There’s a letter in the alphabet that doesn’t get very much attention but I think it’s one of the most powerful letters of all: Q! In Alphabet Town: The ABCs of Raising Successful Kids, we learn that Q is for Questioning.   It is no secret that we live in a world that values answers over the actual question. In fact, we always want the answer and we want it fast. As adults, we also want it to agree with the answer we have already formed in our min

Hello, my precious friends, What an amazing opportunity for us to share an experience that we’ve encountered and our letter of the week says it all – M stands for MISTAKES. Have you ever watched your child work on a new task, like putting a puzzle together or riding a bike without training wheels? You can almost see the frustration in their face as they try and try again – only to fail. The wrong piece in the puzzle, pushing instead of breaking. The result is the same – “frus

Hello, my precious friends,   Today, we are stopping for a moment on the fantastic letter F in Alphabet Town. Our clever friend, Charlie the Cat, helps us learn about the mental skill of - FOCUS!   To better understand this critical component for learning, think about FOCUS as being like a flashlight for our minds. This flashlight shines brighter on the thing we are trying to do and helps everything else fade into the background so that we can be successful in completing a sp

Hello again, my precious friends, Wasn’t Easter a burst of color and sweetness? From pastel baskets to giggling little ones chasing eggs through the grass, it always brings a sense of wonder to me, lifting the winter grayness. I do miss the egg salad sandwiches that always used to come the day after Easter. That said, don’t get rid of those leftover plastic eggs and don’t let them go to waste—click here to grab some egg-tastic tips that turns those eggs into tools for imagina

Hello again my precious friends! I’m Ms. Grandma Reads , and I’m so glad you’re here. As spring begins to bloom and Easter draws near, it’s the perfect time to talk about something close to my heart: building strong family connections. For over 50 years , I’ve watched little ones flourish when they feel safe, connected, and loved. That’s the heart of social-emotional learning (SEL) —helping children understand themselves, relate to others, and build healthy relationships. And