Brain Development and Early Learning

September 14, 2026 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Child Brain Development and The Science of Early Learning

By Madeleine Fitzpatrick<

Your baby is born with most of the brain cells she will ever have, but during her first 12 months in the world, her brain will become increasingly complex. By the time she reaches the age of two, her brain will already be 75 percent of its adult weight. By the age of three, it will have reached 90 percent of its adult weight.

Almost 50 percent of the brain cells your baby is born with will wither and die during the first few years of life. This process, known as neural pruning, organizes the brain and makes it more efficient. The brain learns through experience.

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Tortilla ‘Cigars’

September 11, 2026 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Prep: 10 minutes * Total: 15 minutes * Serves 6 * Packable

Ingredients:

1 cup (240cc) sauteed or roasted chicken or turkey cubed or pureed 1/2 cup (120cc) cheese1/2 cup (120cc) each of yellow squash and carrot purees 4 ounces (110gm) cream cheese 6 large whole wheat tortillas. (Note: if tortillas are not readily available in your area, there is a recipe at Peter’s Wife . Whole wheat flour can be substituted for white flour for more nutrition.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line baking sheets with foil or parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together the chicken or turkey, cheese, squash and carrot purees, cream cheese, and garlic powder and salt to taste. Cut the tortillas in half. Place one half on the work surface with the straight edge facing you. Spread about 2 Tablespoons (30cc) of the filling along that edge from one side to the other. Starting at the edge, roll the tortilla into a cigar shape, completely enclosing the filling. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Stuff and roll the rest of the tortillas the same way. Bake until the tortillas begin to brown, 4-5 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Preventing Food Fights

September 4, 2026 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

November is American Thanksgiving. We really do have so much to be thankful for! What a good time to practice thankfulness ourselves and to teach our children the attitude of gratitude. Let ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ be common words in your home.

With Thanksgiving this month and Christmas and New Years soon, food is on our minds. There will be all kinds of foods around that only seem to appear once a year. So with all these strange foods and many more sweets around than usual, mealtime can become a battleground. Rather than try to make your toddler face new foods at every turn, why not try to keep it simple. Stick to the basics for your toddler as much as possible, even while you enjoy the treats of the season. There will be plenty more years ahead to encourage your child to be a gourmand. [Read more…]

Raising Good Kids Tip #1- Quality Time

August 4, 2026 By Diane Constantine

Harvard University psychologists studied what parents did who raised good kids. The conclusions they came to are mostly common sense, but often we need reminding. I will be using this study as the basis for Parent Tips from time to time.

Raising Good Kids Tip #1- Spend Quality Time with Your Children

When both parents work outside the home and children spend many of their waking hours with other adults, parents must make a conscious effort to spend quality time, regularly with their children. Just being with them, but not giving them your full attention does NOT count as quality time.

Quality time involves meaningful conversations. Take turns asking and answering each other’s questions. Listen carefully to what they say.
Do things together that they enjoy. Have fun together.
Read to them every day or tell stories to them from your childhood.

It takes work to develop caring, loving relationships with your kids. When they feel loved, they become attached to you. That attachment makes them more receptive to learning the values that are important to you.

Exercise: Try using the following questions as conversation starters.

“What was the best part of your day? The hardest part?”
“What did you accomplish today that you feel good about?”
“What’s something nice someone did for you today? What’s something nice you did?”
“What’s something you learned today—in school or outside of school?”

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New Kid by Friday – part 6

July 28, 2026 By Diane Constantine

Over the last few months I’ve been sharing some insights from Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, Have a New Kid by Friday.

These are the last two strategies from Dr. Leman that we will cover in these letters. Strategy one, “Let reality be the teacher.” And the second strategy is, “B doesn’t happen until A is completed.”

He stresses that as much as possible allow natural consequences to teach lessons to your child. Don’t be constantly reminding them of the consequences, just let them feel them. Don’t micromanage your child’s experiences. [Read more…]