Author Archives: patricia

A Bridge Without Rails

Posted on June 11, 2014 by patricia

One of my favorite early childhood experts is Janet Gonzales-Mena. If you’ve never read her books, and especially if you work with infants and toddlers, I highly recommend you stop reading this blog and go buy all her books – … Continue reading →

Posted in child care, discipline, guidance, limits, parenting | Tagged child care, discipline, early childhood, guidance, limits, parenting | Comments Off

Best Organizational Tool for YOU!

Posted on June 3, 2014 by patricia

As someone who wears lots of “hats” and is involved in many projects, organizating of all my activities can become very overwhelming at times. I’ve tried many different systems and what I’ve found is that there is no such thing … Continue reading →

Posted in tasks, time management | Tagged board development, leadership, management, non-profit, organization, tasks, time management, time saving | Comments Off

Activity: Cooperative Musical Games

Posted on May 26, 2014 by patricia

Play classic games such as Farmer in the Dell, Ring Around The Rosie and Musical Chairs! To get the most out of these activities, allow children to choose among themselves the roles they will play. Encourage them to share their … Continue reading →

Posted in activities, arts and crafts, child care, children, competitive, day camp, games, music | Tagged activities, camps, child care, children, competitive games, cooperation, day camp, day care, games, music, parenting | Comments Off

Pick Up The Broom

Posted on May 23, 2014 by patricia

When I was young, my Dad told my sister’s and I a story about how he had been looking to hire some new guys to help out on a construction job, and the trick he used to make sure he … Continue reading →

Posted in mentoring | Tagged broom, employees, leader, management, mentoring, organizational behavior | Comments Off

10 Things To Do With A Paper Cup

Posted on May 23, 2014 by patricia

Ever think that being stuck in an airport could be the best afternoon of your week? It was for me! On a recent trip, after a grueling week of lots of board work and little sleep, I was finally on … Continue reading →

Posted in activities, child care, children, games, parenting | Tagged airports, child care, children, crafts, games, paper cups, parenting, play | Comments Off

New Mom

Posted on May 12, 2014 by patricia

Many of you work with, or are, new Mom’s. The new Mom is unlike any other woman. They’ve experienced the pure love and joy of seeing a small one look at them with complete trust and love. And they’ve experienced … Continue reading →

Posted in child care, new mom, newborns, parenting | Tagged baby, child care, motherhood, new mom, newborns, parenting | Comments Off

Question Everything

Posted on May 12, 2014 by patricia

Trust is essential to any organization. You want to trust your leaders, your members, your staff, everyone involved. But the problem with this trust is that over time it can become a blind trust. Blind trust is not healthy for … Continue reading →

Posted in guidance, time management | Tagged board development, boards, cost saving management, leaders, leadership, management, oversight, trust | Comments Off

Tips & Tricks

Posted on May 5, 2014 by patricia

Here’s a potpourri of ideas from my booklet, 101 Tips & Tricks: For an inexpensive puppet rack, use an over the door wire shoe holder. Mount it to a wall and slip the puppets over the metal sleeves to display … Continue reading →

Posted in child care, children, early childhood, first aid, parenting, tips | Tagged child care, children, early childhood, first aid, parenting, Tips | Comments Off

Celebrating Accomplishments

Posted on May 5, 2014 by patricia

How do you help your board or staff celebrate accomplishments? If you find you’re not celebrating much, it’s possible that it’s not because you’re not accomplishing anything but instead that you’re not measuring anything. You might just need to back … Continue reading →

Posted in child care | Tagged accomplishments, board, child care, non-profit, staff, staff development, team building | Comments Off

Holding To Traditions

Posted on April 30, 2014 by patricia

I love traditions. In my family culture, in the organizations I work in as well. Traditions bring people together by helping us tap into memories of past times where we did the activity and these collections of shared memories bond … Continue reading →

Posted in stress, time management, tips | Tagged board development, organizational culture, staff development, traditions, work culture | Comments Off