Welcome back to become a calm mama. I'm your host, I'm Darlene

Childress. And on the podcast today, I have

invited Kelsey Cook to talk to us

about activities you can do with little kids,

with one or two year olds, toddlers, preschoolers,

early kindergarten, all the way up to, like, seven and eight year olds.

And she's created a company called Learning with

Kelsey where she puts together boxes for different ages that

have all these activities that we talk about in the box, like a,

you know, one and done kit for each month that you can order.

And what we talk about besides the boxes is just sort

of how to get into the mentality of being playful,

entertaining little kids, and doing it in a way that feels good to

us and is super fast and easy for us so that

you can get more time to yourself, more time to rest, and your kids

will be learning and growing at the same time. I think you're

gonna love this episode, especially if you have kids under

seven. This is for you. And the other thing I wanna invite you

to do is to go to Instagram at learning with

Kelsey and looking look her up and just

start to scroll through all of the amazing free resources

she has on her web on the Instagram because

it is full of ideas that you can do simply and

easily at any time with your kids, buys you,

time while you're making dinner, while you're, you know, taking care of

a baby, getting up early, making lunches,

any of those things, like, any task that you need to do or you just

wanna rest, these activities will help your kids be

occupied. So I am so excited to introduce

you to Kelsey Cook. I'm Darlene.

It's so nice to meet you. I know. Nice to meet you too. I'm so

excited about this conversation and we're just gonna jump right in. I'll have an

intro. I invited you on here. You your team reached out

and I get a lot of reach outs. And then sometimes I'm like, I don't

know. And then I went to your Instagram and I was like,

obsessed. I watched Oh my gosh. You're so nice. It's so fun.

So good. And so so many

cool ideas of how to entertain kids and their

educational, but also really easy.

And I just loved it. So that's why you're here because

My gosh. I'm so glad. Yeah. Podcast is called Become a Calm Mama

because parents are always looking for ways to stay

calm themselves, stay connected with their kids, make life

easy, and having activities that are

easy to access, really engaging for little

kids is golden. So welcome to the podcast. Thank you.

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be on here. Yeah. So introduce

yourself. Tell us a bit about, like, how you got started.

And then we'll get into what you do and then kind of, like, what you

sell, like, the boxes. But then I really wanna talk about just kind of

your mentality of, like, how do you come up with it so that you can

give everyone ideas. I'd love to. Okay. So I'm Kelsey.

I am a mom of four. My kids are nine,

six, three, and then one. And, I

started as a teacher. So I taught third grade, then I taught

kindergarten. And then when I had my first baby, I

was like, hey. This is really hard to do both. You know? Like,

I was, the kind of teacher that, like, brought everything home with me. I was

always doing it. So I really, really wanted to

focus on my son. So I was lucky enough to be able to stay

home. And, then that was my first day of

school without teaching, and I was like, wait. I really miss this. It's like

it's so fun. It was, like, such a passion of mine. And so

I opened a preschool out of my house, because I thought, k. That would

be a great balance. I could still be home. I at that time, I had

two kids, and so I taught one of them preschool. One of them got to

go be with my mom. And so it was, like, such a great balance. I

had just 12 kids, but I didn't really have a curriculum that

I loved that I could find. So I created my own. My

entire preschool curriculum was my own, and then COVID

happened. And so I had to close preschool, so I

made packets for my preschoolers because

I'm like, oh, they're so sad. They're missing out on my favorite part of the

year, like, butterflies and rainbow, all the end of the year

stuff. So I would make packets with everything that they would do and put

them out on my porch, and the moms would come get them. And

they just started sharing them on Instagram, and so people were like, well, can

I get one? Like, my neighbors. So I'm like, okay. Yeah. I can make

one. And then someone messaged me from a different state and said, could could you

send me one? And I was like, okay. Maybe this is we're on to

something here. So I made an Instagram,

and I started mailing them.

And then from there, I kind of realized, like, besides the COVID

aspect of it where we all have these kids at home, the

years before kindergarten are so hard and so

special. Like, I I love those years because you're just

your kid's teacher. You're with them. You're but then also you feel this pressure

of, like, how can I get them ready because there's nobody

else getting them ready? So I realized that activities

were so hard to, like, scrounge up. You can go on Pinterest. You

can do this, but, like, my background made it so much easier for me, and

it was still hard for me. So I'm like, if I can make a way

for moms to be able to do this on their own without having to think

about it, that's kind of how my boxes were born. So from there, I

started, and now it's a real business. So Oh my god.

Congratulations. That's such a cool story. Thank you.

Yeah. COVID made us all pivot, but then a lot of creative

opportunities and creative, like, solutions. Yeah. For

sure. I know your boxes are amazing. They have, you know,

all the, like, different ideas and some manipulatives

and things like that in the boxes. And then you also have downloadables

that Yes. If you just wanted to, like, get the ideas, you also have that

on your website. I was, like, poking around. I was like, I should buy one.

And I'm like, oh my god. Like, my kids are grown, but I guess I

just I like the craftiness of them all. But, actually, what I like about

it the most is that they're not super crafty. Like, it's not just like, we're

gonna make a butterfly for no reason. I like

your stuff because it is you set

it up for the kid, and then they can keep doing it themselves.

It's not super necessary that the

parent be right there, and I think that's

extremely cool. And,

also, like, the educational piece, I like that. I was a

teacher. But I do think we get too stressed about,

like, preparing them. I Mhmm. I'm like, whatever. They'll figure it

out a little bit with when it comes to academics. Like, as if you're engaged

They do. You're reading to them. You know, you're, like, participating in

their, like, talking and chatting and going on nature walks.

Like, if you're just enjoying your preschooler, they're gonna be okay. Yeah. But I think

what I find is that parents feel like, okay, this

is a good example. Your kid gets up really early.

And it's like, they have a wake up clock or whatever.

Like they did a good job. They stayed in. You're a good

mama. The green light went off, and it's still

6AM. Yeah. And you want to, like, just

go have a cup of coffee. Uh-huh. Look at your phone and, like, put

your bra on and Mhmm. Just wake up.

Yes. You have this kid who needs

engagement. They've been sleeping. Their body's, you know, wanting to move and they wanna play

and they wanna talk. And I just tell us,

like, one of your things because it's so cool what you have

done to, like, help parents in that situation. Yeah.

Because I so I have that. My kids have always been

early wakers. Like, I'm like, I don't think my boys have ever slept past

seven in their lives. So Oh, just wait. They'll they'll get it get to that.

He's gonna be like, wait. Wait. My I think my 11 year old is dead

on a Saturday, and then you're like, oh, wait. We're here. Where they say I

know. I know. I'm like, will it ever come? So I have,

activities that I love that are called morning starts where I just set up

something the night before for them to do an activity,

and you can pull one from my box. I also have, like, a free download

that has a bunch of different options on it, but it's like it takes

me ten minutes to set it up, and then they can just

do it themselves because it's something it's usually things that they have done before, like

color matching or, you know, tracing a line or connecting

dots. So it's something that they know how to do, but that they

can they can engage in and do independently.

Yeah. Morning starts. I looked to actually try to find downloadables. I

wasn't sure you had any free downloadables. Yeah. Yeah. I have that one. I'll have

I can send it to you so you can share it with your audience. Yeah.

We'll put it in the newsletter, and then, like, we'll put it on the show

notes and stuff. That's great. Perfect. Well, because so now I'm, like,

one of the parents. I'm like, you said ten minutes. I don't wanna spend ten

minutes. So sell us on how

like, why it's worth it. Yeah. So my boxes don't take

ten minutes to set it up. There we go. So those are

take probably two to three minutes for you to set it up because everything is

in there. That's kind of what I felt like was the most

like, the biggest hurdle for parents is you see these ideas and you're

like, oh, that's so fun. It's just pompoms and crayons. And and then all of

a sudden you're like, okay. Well, now I have to order a thousand pompoms. That's

the only pack on Amazon. I have to you know? So it's all these, like,

and now I have a huge jar of paint that I don't want.

So mine comes exactly with what they need. So you have 20

pom poms for your activity that needs the 20 pom poms. And

then you have a little bottle of paint, so you use it for your paint,

and then you're done. So you're not having to store a bunch of stuff. You're

not having to hunt down a bunch of different things. It's all in there. You

just, like, pull it out and do it. That's amazing. Yeah. And even if

someone finds the the box cost prohibitive

Mhmm. It is I think even if I don't know. I'm

just looking at well, these are candy Tic Tacs. But it is, like, it doesn't

always have to be the pom pom. Like, it can be something else. Like, you

had this cute thing where you just take some stickers that

they're not even fancy stickers. They're just the kind you would get at Staples, like

little green dots. And they were just putting them on I don't know what was

for Saint Patrick's Day or not. Yep. A clover. You're right. Yeah. Like little

kids just picking up a little sticker and sticking it on something.

And then that's just it's gross motor. It's fine

motor. It's, like, matching. I mean, there's so many cool things happening in the brain.

But, also, you're sitting there having your coffee, and they're just picking the thing up

and putting it over there. And that is amazing.

Amazing. And you're not feeling you know, because as moms, we we feel guilt

about everything. And so it's like you can do it and feel like, okay. While

they're doing something, they're learning something, and they're entertained.

You know? You're not I I'm not anti screens. I mean, my kids, I

use those as a tool often in my home, but, like, I would

rather not use a screen. You know? So when I can do something like

that, it just it makes my day so much better. It makes their

day so much better Because I used to be like, okay. They're up at

05 00:11:41

30AM. They're turning on a show. But then you realize by

07 00:11:45

30, they're just, like, spent. You know? They're so I

07 00:11:48

found my boys would get really more

07 00:11:52

wild because they're not engaged in their brain and they're

07 00:11:55

not engaged in their body. And then

07 00:11:59

the morning would be, speak, kind of a disaster. Then I'm trying to get them

07 00:12:03

off the television in order to transition to socks and

07 00:12:06

shoes, to go to preschool, or to start breakfast, or whatever it was.

07 00:12:10

And it just wasn't worth it. Like, the time I got

07 00:12:14

was never as worth it for the time I had it

07 00:12:18

cost me in terms of energy. Yeah. So I do like it's

07 00:12:22

not anti it's an opportunity cost. Right? Like, when my kid is

07 00:12:25

doing on screen, I then know I'm gonna

07 00:12:29

maybe pay for some of the regulations For sure.

07 00:12:32

Afterwards. Yeah. For sure. I was thinking about I guess I'm

07 00:12:36

just, like, in my head, all the obstacles that parents would come up with. Yeah.

07 00:12:41

I'm just thinking about my boys, like, preschool

07 00:12:45

boys and, you know, early kindergarten and stuff. And one of

07 00:12:49

them, he was a early riser, and he

07 00:12:53

would, like, kinda do that. He would kinda he could occupy himself. But then the

07 00:12:57

other one was like a freaking Tasmanian devil. He just

07 00:13:00

woke up, like, you know, really

07 00:13:04

needing to move. And I have someone on the podcast the previous

07 00:13:07

week from you talking about, like, sensory activities and

07 00:13:11

remaining in the body. Then I think if you have them do

07 00:13:15

a body thing and then they sit down and do the activity,

07 00:13:19

that might be helpful. But I'm wondering, what do you recommend if

07 00:13:22

someone is like, my kid won't sit and, like, play with stickers

07 00:13:26

or Yeah. Whatever? Yeah. So I try to always

07 00:13:30

incorporate like, in my box, I incorporate, like, at least

07 00:13:34

two to three gross motor, like, type activities

07 00:13:37

that can be repeated throughout the month. So one of my favorite ones, like,

07 00:13:41

in my April box, they have, like, brain breaks that are, like, little

07 00:13:45

little activities, like, roll like an Easter egg, hop like a

07 00:13:48

bunny, and those are in egg. So I reuse those all

07 00:13:52

the time. Like, with my preschoolers, when I taught preschool, it

07 00:13:56

was like, okay. We do an activity, and then we get up and we move

07 00:13:59

around. So it's always every activity is probably five to ten minutes.

07 00:14:03

You know? Like and that that really is their attention span. Some

07 00:14:06

people are like, well, my kid was done with this in ten minutes. So now

07 00:14:10

what do I do? And it's like, well, that's kind of that's pretty good, honestly,

07 00:14:13

for a three year old. I'm always like, okay. Doing the same thing.

07 00:14:16

Yeah. Yeah. It's true. So it's like, you just kind of have to figure

07 00:14:20

out what works best for your family and then what you can do to get

07 00:14:23

them moving before you do that. Like, this is silly, but, like, my

07 00:14:27

boys, I would tape their sticker sheets up on the wall,

07 00:14:31

and they would have to get the sticker and then hop over and stick

07 00:14:35

it on. So it took them a lot longer, but, like, they were up

07 00:14:38

and moving where my daughter will just sit and, like, carefully put every sticker

07 00:14:42

on, and it just kinda depends. Right. Then that is a different

07 00:14:46

there's a there is a different energy with in little boy bodies,

07 00:14:50

little girl bodies. It's not always exactly the same. Some

07 00:14:53

boys are really mellow and chill, and then some girls are, like, really busy

07 00:14:57

and moving all the time. But in general, it can be challenging

07 00:15:01

to get little boys to kinda do stuff. But that's so such a great

07 00:15:05

idea. I love these brain breaks because yeah. I

07 00:15:09

I just this is how I think about it. If I give a little

07 00:15:12

kid an activity, they want to do it. Yeah.

07 00:15:16

Like, you're not they wanna

07 00:15:20

play. They wanna move. They wanna please you. They want to,

07 00:15:24

like, do the thing. Mhmm. If especially if you're like, okay. Here's what we're

07 00:15:27

gonna do. You're gonna open an egg, and then let's just roll like an Easter

07 00:15:31

egg and, like, see how many Easter egg rolls you can do or whatever. Yeah.

07 00:15:34

It's funny. I don't know. What the hell? Mhmm. And then they do it,

07 00:15:38

and then they're, like, giggling and you're giggling. And, I mean, one of my

07 00:15:42

favorite tip tricks was has nothing to do with your boxes, but I would play

07 00:15:46

hide and seek with my kids. And I would be the one that was hiding,

07 00:15:50

and then they would have to count. This is, like, more, like, seven, eight. They

07 00:15:54

have to count to a hundred. And I would get a

07 00:15:57

hundred. I would just go immediately to this easiest place to find me,

07 00:16:01

but I would have a hundred seconds That's genius. And

07 00:16:05

not move. Yeah. And then they would be like, I found you. And I'm like,

07 00:16:08

awesome. You do it again. Do it again.

07 00:16:13

Any activity that you can sit on a couch while

07 00:16:16

they do the thing. Oh, the best. Yeah. So it's

07 00:16:20

like, maybe it takes a little bit of effort to pull out

07 00:16:23

a, you know, something from the box or Mhmm. An idea.

07 00:16:27

But getting some things in your head that you're like, oh, no. Okay. Now now

07 00:16:31

jump. I mean, freeze tap or freeze dance is so great. Oh, so

07 00:16:35

great. You know, and like statue okay. Do statue, then you

07 00:16:38

have to guess what they're acting like. And then,

07 00:16:42

you know, they're like, I'm a bear. You just keep saying stuff, and they're just

07 00:16:45

stopping you. They're not moving. You're not moving. It's the best. And that's why

07 00:16:49

like, the Easter egg one I love because I will take two minutes and go

07 00:16:53

hide them all over my house, and then I will sit on the couch and

07 00:16:56

she will find them, bring them to me, and then I have to open it.

07 00:16:59

So It's so nice. I know. It's like so

07 00:17:02

these strategies, like, yes. They're educational, but, really,

07 00:17:06

they're coping for us to, like, just get tiny.

07 00:17:10

When you have little kids, I would say from zero to six, parenting is all

07 00:17:14

about the body. Mhmm. And then six to 12, it's all about

07 00:17:17

the mind. And then 12 to 18, it's all about the heart.

07 00:17:22

So your your body's the most tired when you have zero

07 00:17:25

six. And so anytime you can get them to you can get to sit down

07 00:17:29

and they're busy. Yeah. It's a huge break. Mhmm. And

07 00:17:32

even if it's five minutes, seven minutes, like, it's Yeah. It's a huge it makes

07 00:17:36

a huge difference. And I feel like it gives them like, you're

07 00:17:40

doing this one on one time with them. You're paying attention to them. You're

07 00:17:44

talking to them about this activity, and that in turn is gonna make

07 00:17:47

them better behavior. You know? It's gonna make them more

07 00:17:51

more likely to do what you want them to do just because they're feeling

07 00:17:55

that connection and they're feeling that one on one time. Yeah. Connection

07 00:17:58

breeds compliance, for sure. Yeah. And that way they're

07 00:18:02

feeling a little bit more, yeah. We

07 00:18:06

wanna do do what we're asked when we're feeling really

07 00:18:09

loved and seen and supported. Yeah. Yes. For sure. Yes. For sure. That's such a

07 00:18:13

good point. How do you come up with them? Like I

07 00:18:17

know you have your background in education, but they're so

07 00:18:21

clever. Well, actually, the one I was thinking was so clever. I mean, I

07 00:18:24

literally could just watch them all the time. Oh my gosh. There's so many

07 00:18:28

good videos. I mean, everyone just needs to go. It's learning learning

07 00:18:32

with Kelsey. Yep. Learning with Kelsey. Learning with Kelsey. Okay. I love

07 00:18:36

the one where you had the toilet paper roll on the wall.

07 00:18:39

So you just, like, tape a toilet paper roll on the wall.

07 00:18:43

And then there's a little bowl underneath, and then

07 00:18:47

they roll they put the thing, whatever the thing is, into the toilet paper roll

07 00:18:50

and it drops. And then you just added a few more on the wall so

07 00:18:54

that it created a I don't know if it's a maze or what that's called.

07 00:18:58

Like a boop, boop, boop, boop. Yep. And I get I haven't

07 00:19:01

that's, like, so entertaining to a little kid. Oh, yeah. They have

07 00:19:05

the time of their life with that activity. It's like, people don't believe me that

07 00:19:09

that will, like, entertain them for so long, but it really will. And they'll, like,

07 00:19:13

I'll leave it out, and my kids will keep coming back to it, like, throughout

07 00:19:16

the day. And even, like, my eight year old will get home from school and

07 00:19:19

be like, wait. You did this again without me? And, like, he wants to do

07 00:19:22

it. Because he could put other stuff in there. Like, whatever is, like, you know,

07 00:19:25

did how how heavy is the Hot Wheel? Will a Hot Wheel drop it off

07 00:19:28

or, you know, a little Polly Pocket type of doll or whatever? Mhmm.

07 00:19:32

And then the one you had with your little one, there was, like,

07 00:19:36

one of those shaker, shaker

07 00:19:40

cups that I things. Is that what you're talking about? Where you No. The one

07 00:19:43

that were he was putting stuff in a in a bottle, like a Oh,

07 00:19:47

yes. It's like a water bottle, but has a wider opening that

07 00:19:51

you use for, like, to make a shake. Yes. Yes. The shaker bottles. Yep.

07 00:19:55

And he he just has these little pompoms and just, like, stick it in the

07 00:19:58

hole over and over. And he loves it.

07 00:20:02

And it's like so that that's the thing that I feel like I wish more

07 00:20:04

parents know knew is that it's so simple to do

07 00:20:08

these things. You just have to kind of, like, think outside of what you would

07 00:20:12

normally do. So that's why Or think out inside your box. Yeah. Yeah. Like Like

07 00:20:16

probably the if you get a couple boxes, you

07 00:20:19

know, five months or whatever, you'd be like, okay. I kinda get

07 00:20:23

her dive. I get what she's doing here. I mean, I want people to stay

07 00:20:26

forever. But if it is something that you wanna just try it out

07 00:20:30

and then you start to learn the way you think and go, oh, this is

07 00:20:33

just an Easter based activity Yes. Similar to this

07 00:20:37

other one that we did at Halloween. Uh-huh. Exactly. Oh, okay.

07 00:20:41

I I know how to entertain a three year old. Old. Yeah. Yeah. And it

07 00:20:45

feels like like the a lot of my boxes so they, like, build on each

07 00:20:48

other where you're gonna have you have similar type of things in each

07 00:20:52

box, and that's by design. Because if you start with a

07 00:20:55

dot sticker activity in October and then you do one in

07 00:20:59

November, then in December, they're like, oh, I know how to do this. I can

07 00:21:02

do it on my own. You know? And you're creating, like, a confidence in your

07 00:21:05

child and creating independence in them by doing these

07 00:21:09

repeatable activities that they love, but just in a slightly different way.

07 00:21:13

Yeah. Oh, it's just brilliant.

07 00:21:17

How do you, like, how do you come up with them? I I

07 00:21:20

know. No. It's in like so it started with, like, all my preschools.

07 00:21:24

So I did I did all of these kind of activities when I taught

07 00:21:28

preschool. And then I so I started with only

07 00:21:32

a preschool box, and then I realized so many people were asking me, like, what

07 00:21:35

do I do for my two year old? And I'm like, k. Two year olds

07 00:21:38

when you've taught preschool or when you've had little kids, you know that the difference

07 00:21:42

in a two year old and a four year old is huge. You know? They

07 00:21:45

can't do the same type of things. So I created a toddler

07 00:21:49

box, and that's just for two to three year olds. And that

07 00:21:52

came based on having my toddlers at home. So I would, like,

07 00:21:56

try activities with them and be like, you know, this doesn't work. This does work.

07 00:21:59

Sometimes I think this is such a great idea. I pull it out. I get

07 00:22:02

it ready, and they hate it. You know? So it's been months for a long

07 00:22:06

You have your whole lab, like, testing labs. Yes. Oh my god. Like, I have

07 00:22:10

every age, so we test it all here.

07 00:22:14

Do you have a 14 year old box yet? I know. This is

07 00:22:18

someone else. I'm like, I do need a teenager. No. I'm not. I mean, I

07 00:22:22

just think, like, it's funny because we are trying to move our

07 00:22:25

young adult our young teens out of playing on

07 00:22:29

their phones and moving them to a little bit more screen free environment.

07 00:22:33

And it it would be amazing if there was you

07 00:22:37

know, you you'd have to have some test subjects, obviously, to figure

07 00:22:40

it out. But I just think I remember even myself, like, being

07 00:22:44

in middle school and or late elementary. I really love my stickers and

07 00:22:48

my scratches and sniff and and spending a lot of time

07 00:22:51

playing that stupid dots game and, like like, I because

07 00:22:55

I we didn't have anything to do. I you know, there wasn't even really

07 00:22:59

cable as much when even I'm older than you because I was

07 00:23:03

like there was only programming for kids Mhmm. At a certain time

07 00:23:06

of the day, and then I had to wait. It wasn't just ready for you

07 00:23:09

like it is for our kids. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. You'd have to be like, well,

07 00:23:13

now it's 04:00. Now it's new. It was like there's nothing on.

07 00:23:17

And so it's like we entertained ourselves a

07 00:23:20

lot, and that's a lost art. And I think your work

07 00:23:24

is really teaching kids kind of how to

07 00:23:27

engage their own brain, their own creativity, their own creativity, their own

07 00:23:31

problem solving. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. I I

07 00:23:35

mean and I think, like so my craft box goes up to, like, eight year

07 00:23:38

olds where they can do the crafting. But I do think like, even

07 00:23:42

with my nine year old, like, you're saying, like, I'm like, hey. Do Legos. Do

07 00:23:45

this. I want them out Yep. Doing things, but it really is so

07 00:23:49

hard to come by. You know? Yeah. My boys spent a lot of time

07 00:23:53

they we didn't really use TV. So they had, like, a

07 00:23:57

lot they used a lot of tape. That's what I'll tell you. I mean, they

07 00:24:00

just Why is it such a novelty? But they

07 00:24:04

I mean, and they would, like, tape their different tracks

07 00:24:08

together or tape things down the staircase. I

07 00:24:11

mean, they were just and I I think, oh, this is a good thing to

07 00:24:14

think about too. Like, allowing space for this play. I noticed in

07 00:24:18

your videos how there kinda seems to be a wall in your

07 00:24:22

home that sort of dedicated to these wall type of activities.

07 00:24:25

Yeah. And I and I was like, yeah. That's something smart to think

07 00:24:29

about is, like, where is that play space and where can they make

07 00:24:33

messes? Mhmm. And not obviously don't let your kids put stickers

07 00:24:36

on the walls. Like, that's all I'm saying. But to

07 00:24:40

create enough space for play and create enough space

07 00:24:44

for, you know, movement and all of that yeah. I wonder if that

07 00:24:47

And I feel like, you know, with little kids, like, I all I have a

07 00:24:50

playroom, and I think, like, go play in the playroom, but somehow their toys

07 00:24:54

always end up, like, where were I at? You know? And I'm like, why do

07 00:24:57

I have so our wall that I'm always using is right in my kitchen

07 00:25:01

because that's where they wanna be, and they are more

07 00:25:04

likely to do things independently if I'm just nearby. You know?

07 00:25:08

Yeah. That's a good point. Yeah. That you do have a

07 00:25:11

room that's separate, but that's not necessarily yeah. Where they wanna

07 00:25:15

be. Nice to shut the door and have all the Mets in there. Yeah. Yeah.

07 00:25:19

And my my boys love their playroom for sure. We had enough space that that

07 00:25:22

was possible. And it was, you know, definitely,

07 00:25:26

like, a very exploratory space, and and they could leave

07 00:25:30

a Lego mess out if they were in the middle of a project. But they

07 00:25:34

would also use all over the house. Yes. Sure. And,

07 00:25:37

you know, sometimes it was like, okay. You you guys need to tidy this up,

07 00:25:41

like, a fort or whatever. And then other times, I'd be like, let's just let's

07 00:25:44

just allow this creative play space to exist if we're not

07 00:25:48

having company or if it's not messy, like,

07 00:25:51

like, sticky or anything. Yeah. Yeah. Mhmm. Oh, it's

07 00:25:55

so amazing. Yeah.

07 00:25:59

The I noticed, like, one of the activities on your,

07 00:26:03

on your Instagram was I didn't really get what was happening, but it

07 00:26:07

was like a the muffin pan, and then there was a tape

07 00:26:10

across of it across it, and it was like your one and a half year

07 00:26:13

18 month old. Uh-huh. Kinda like trying to stick stuff into the muffin

07 00:26:17

tin and pull stuff out maybe. Yes. Yeah. That's a so we call that our

07 00:26:21

bear rescue because I have, like, the little colorful counting

07 00:26:25

bears. And so I'll put them in there, and I'll tape over, and he has

07 00:26:28

to try to get them out. And so it's like a fine motor activity, you

07 00:26:32

know, because they're pulling the tape. They're but then they're also kind of using, like,

07 00:26:36

their spatial awareness and their problem solving to get it in and out.

07 00:26:39

Mhmm. There's so many it's like having a little dog that you

07 00:26:43

need to entertain and, you know, you give them a

07 00:26:46

treat inside of their Exactly. So they can get

07 00:26:50

it out. Plastic ball. Yeah. And they have to kinda work at it. And that

07 00:26:54

it's actually really rewarding in a way that we don't give

07 00:26:58

enough credit to how much the brain likes reward.

07 00:27:01

Like, there's all this dopamine dissing going on

07 00:27:05

on the Internet. And, yes, we have manipulated

07 00:27:09

dopamine in a way that's not healthy. Mhmm. But,

07 00:27:12

actually, simple reward feels really good.

07 00:27:16

It's Oh, yeah. Oh, it landed in the

07 00:27:20

bowl. Yeah. Yeah. It's, like, so exciting. Exactly. And that's

07 00:27:24

that's that is dopamine too. That's reward, and it feels really

07 00:27:27

good. And I think sometimes parents think that they should do, like, a sticker chart.

07 00:27:30

Like, once you do your activity, then I'll give you a

07 00:27:34

sticker, and then you'll, like, do five activities, and you'll get a prize. What?

07 00:27:38

No. The the the reward is in the activity. They're

07 00:27:42

doing it. And the reward is that they're, like, able to do it by themselves

07 00:27:45

or they're able to show you something that they've completed or, you know,

07 00:27:49

make it exciting. Oh, good. Yeah. I I do often

07 00:27:52

say, like, channel your inner preschool teacher.

07 00:27:56

And these are tactile activities, but some of them

07 00:28:00

sounds like the brain breaks and stuff are not always tactile,

07 00:28:04

like, crap. It's like movement based. Because I think about like,

07 00:28:07

say I have, you know, five year old four and five year olds, and they're

07 00:28:11

in line, and it's getting overwhelming. Right? And

07 00:28:15

they need to figure out how to move through that

07 00:28:18

energy, how to get some play, get some connection.

07 00:28:22

And what would a preschool teacher do? Right? They would, like, probably have a

07 00:28:25

song. They would probably have a little activity that's, like,

07 00:28:29

head, shoulders, knees, and toes or, like, all these kind of

07 00:28:33

old school things that preschool teachers do that I think

07 00:28:37

parents, we don't know because we're not preschool teachers.

07 00:28:40

But if you think about it for a second or

07 00:28:44

two, like, you like go observe your preschool class or you get a

07 00:28:48

couple of these boxes, you're gonna start to go, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I

07 00:28:51

just need to make a little movement, a little fun, a little

07 00:28:55

rhythm. I wondered if you had any ideas of, like, how to help

07 00:28:58

kids in line. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, I remember so when I

07 00:29:02

switched from third grade to teach kindergarten, my first day, I was,

07 00:29:06

like, getting a line, and they all just, like, heard it around me. And I

07 00:29:08

was like, they don't have a line. It's like I was like, this is actually

07 00:29:12

a big mistake. It's so cute. It's, like, so funny. You

07 00:29:15

think, like, these things that they know, they don't. So I think the best

07 00:29:19

thing parents can do is, like, of just go all the way back to, like,

07 00:29:23

what is the simplest thing you're trying to tell them to do and and make

07 00:29:26

it that simple. So, like, for instance, when my kids

07 00:29:29

are going to get in the car, I say, okay. We're gonna go, and I

07 00:29:33

need you to go and put your hand on the car. So, like, we start

07 00:29:36

with, like, just just put your hand on the car. And then once I'm ready,

07 00:29:39

then I'm gonna open the door. K. Then you're gonna buckle the top, and I'll

07 00:29:42

buckle the bottom for you or whatever. And then,

07 00:29:45

another thing that I love that is my very favorite tool as a teacher is

07 00:29:49

whispering. I think we forget that, like, if

07 00:29:53

you just start whispering to your kids, they, like, tune in

07 00:29:56

immediately, you know, because you're making it so they have to. So I'm always

07 00:30:00

like, k. I'm gonna say this so quiet. So you gotta listen if you're gonna

07 00:30:03

wanna hear me. So it's like something so simple like that that

07 00:30:07

gets your kids listening and engaged in what you're saying

07 00:30:10

before you ask them to do something. Yeah.

07 00:30:14

Yeah. It's so it's so helpful, these little tools

07 00:30:17

that, you know, you learn when you work with kids. Mhmm. I I

07 00:30:21

was a teacher. I taught middle school. And how do you school? I'm I'm very

07 00:30:25

impressed by you because that is, like, scary to me. Yeah. I spent a

07 00:30:29

lot of years hanging out with 13 year olds. And,

07 00:30:33

and in my work, I the my coaching is primarily for

07 00:30:36

the parent. I don't work with the kids, but I do think and

07 00:30:40

channel, like, what is it like to be four? What do I know? What do

07 00:30:44

I not know yet? Mhmm. And, you know, it we

07 00:30:47

think that kids are being disobedient, but a lot of

07 00:30:51

times they just have a skill gap. They don't even know what we're asking them.

07 00:30:54

Yeah. Yeah. So it's really good to, like, really

07 00:30:58

break that skill down. That's really a good tip. But also, like, when

07 00:31:01

you're doing a skill, it's something that really helps me as a mom is, like,

07 00:31:05

setting expectations. You know? Like, I did that all the time teaching. I'm sure you

07 00:31:09

did it teaching where you say, like, okay. Before we do this, here's what I'm

07 00:31:13

gonna have you do. So I always do that with my kids.

07 00:31:16

I've kind of retrain myself as a teacher. I'm like, this is what I did

07 00:31:20

as a teacher at work. So, like, when we're gonna go into the store, I'll

07 00:31:22

say, like, okay. Mhmm. We're going into Target. We're not getting anything

07 00:31:26

today. But if you see something you want for your birthday, I'm gonna take a

07 00:31:29

picture of it. So I'm already setting. I already know where we're gonna go.

07 00:31:33

I already can see the obstacles. Mhmm. And then I'm just kind of

07 00:31:37

setting them up for success because sometimes you don't, and then you're like, why are

07 00:31:41

they being so annoying? Why are they grabbing everything? Why are but it's like, they're

07 00:31:44

in Target, and there's toys everywhere. Like, that's fun. You know? That's what we're

07 00:31:48

doing when we're on Target. We're also I'm throwing it in my cart. Also putting

07 00:31:51

stuff in our cart. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Just kind of

07 00:31:55

recognizing that they have desire. They have they have needs and

07 00:31:59

just validating those. I was gonna say that you have

07 00:32:02

such a positive affect and, like, very lighthearted. You're

07 00:32:06

quick to giggle, quick to smile. And

07 00:32:10

that's probably a big part of your personality that it is

07 00:32:14

so nice for kids to have

07 00:32:17

a parent who seems happy

07 00:32:21

about being a parent. Yeah. And I get that we're not all

07 00:32:24

the time. Like, we can have our moods and be grumpy and whatever.

07 00:32:28

It's all fine. But working on our mindset a

07 00:32:32

little bit of, like, I've I've got little kids. Mornings are

07 00:32:36

tough. Let's make it the best we can. And Mhmm.

07 00:32:40

I wanna my goal is to make it fun for myself. My goal is

07 00:32:44

to make them work a little harder. Yeah. Yeah. You know, my

07 00:32:47

I want my family energy to be

07 00:32:51

light and connected and just kind of creating that,

07 00:32:55

like, foundational value. Then when

07 00:32:59

we're off track, we can bring that play back in. I just think that

07 00:33:02

playfulness that you naturally have is so

07 00:33:06

contagious for our kids. Mhmm. And,

07 00:33:10

I don't know. Like, what do you think about that? I think

07 00:33:14

yeah. For sure. I think that's so important. And I remember, like, when I when

07 00:33:18

I just had two kids and I they were two and four, and I

07 00:33:21

was pregnant. And I'm like, this is hard. You know? Like, I'm tired.

07 00:33:25

I'm exhausted all the time. And I remember someone sharing something

07 00:33:29

about how they tried to make motherhood what they wanted it to

07 00:33:33

be too. You know? It's not all about what your kids want. Think

07 00:33:36

about what you love as a mom and what brings you joy. What's your favorite

07 00:33:40

part of motherhood? And at that time, I loved reading books to my kids. Like,

07 00:33:44

that also, I couldn't walk around. I wanted to sit, so I'm

07 00:33:47

like, what do I so I was like, okay. I'm gonna we're gonna do story

07 00:33:51

time every day. We're gonna set out these books. We're gonna it's gonna be

07 00:33:54

a great fun time of the day that makes me happy and kind of fills

07 00:33:58

my my cup of motherhood because I was over

07 00:34:02

stacking up towers. I as much as I wanted to be the mom that wanted

07 00:34:05

to race cars all day, like, I could not. So I'm like I

07 00:34:09

made it something that I liked, and then my kids

07 00:34:13

naturally liked it because I was excited about it. It was fun for

07 00:34:16

me. So that, I think, is a really helpful tip is what do you

07 00:34:20

love about being a mom? Do more of it. Mhmm. I

07 00:34:23

agree. Oh, that's such a beautiful ending, actually.

07 00:34:27

Okay. Yeah. Because our kids don't

07 00:34:31

want the Instagram mom. They want the mom they have,

07 00:34:35

and they want us to be happy, and they want us to, you

07 00:34:38

know, do the things that we love, and they they'll love that.

07 00:34:42

Yeah. Exactly. Eventually, they'll do their own things, and that's

07 00:34:46

great too. But yeah. Oh, that's such a good idea and, like, way

07 00:34:49

to frame it forever. Yeah. Well, I love this

07 00:34:53

so much. I tell everyone everything about

07 00:34:57

Okay. You. Like, how to find you, like, I we've talked about it, but,

07 00:35:00

yeah, get the resources. You can go you can get the boxes on my

07 00:35:04

website, learningwithkelsey.com, and then I'm on Instagram

07 00:35:08

learning with kelsey. I'm also on TikTok learning with Kelsey,

07 00:35:11

and, you know, that's a little trickier for me. I'm not very I'm not

07 00:35:15

very Gen z, so I'm like, I'm trying hard at my TikTok.

07 00:35:19

But Yeah. Yeah. It's good. It's like me try me, like, I can't

07 00:35:23

even I'm a Gen x. I'm like, I could kinda do Instagram. I

07 00:35:27

know. I know. I get on there. I'm like, well, they're really good at this.

07 00:35:29

Yeah. Yeah. So all those places, you can find me on there. I share free

07 00:35:33

ideas. You can get the box. There's downloads, whatever you want. So Yeah.

07 00:35:36

Tons of free ideas. And then, of course, the boxes are, like, already

07 00:35:40

set up for you. And I think it said in the

07 00:35:44

boxes, it's, like, one a day. Yeah. So there's 20 activities

07 00:35:47

each month. 20 activities. Yeah. Mhmm. So it's, like, one for each weekday if you're

07 00:35:51

gonna do it like that. Yeah. Yeah. And then they can be repeated. And

07 00:35:55

For sure. Yeah. Obviously, kids don't remember. They're like, we did this yesterday. Do

07 00:35:58

the pompom all day. I love that. All month, we're doing pompoms.

07 00:36:02

Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. Yes. Thank you. It was

07 00:36:06

so fun. Okay. Great.