Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that follows a seasonal pattern, emerging in the fall and winter as daylight lessens and letting up in the spring and summer as the days lengthen.

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While social distancing during the pandemic is a smart move to help keep everyone physically healthy, social isolation can lead to feelings of loneliness. According to the Mayo Clinic, this can be especially hard for children. Reasons why can include the following:

• They can have a harder time than adults when it comes to expressing feelings.
• They can’t simply go visit friends as a way to cope with those feelings.
• “Friendships with other children can give kids crucial support, build a sense of belonging and help them to develop personal identities”—and now those friendships must be enjoyed in different ways.

How do you help your child cope with feeling lonely as a result of this situation?

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“The environments infants and toddlers encounter, the relationships they form, and the activities they engage in before age 3—both inside the home and out—are key to healthy and positive growth, development, and learning outcomes that can last a lifetime.” (National Association for the Education of Young Children)

A strongly recommended practice for children, from the infant stage and up, is a community of care—or COC—which means that children have consistency in their caregivers for a length of time, perhaps two to three years.

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From a practical standpoint, quality programs allow parents to work while knowing their children are in a nurturing environment outside of school time. That by itself is quite important, so we’ll delve more into that benefit, along with four other valuable ones connected with high-quality afterschool programs.

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The benefits of afterschool care can be quite significant academically, socially and emotionally—and quality programming also helps children to develop skills they will use throughout their lifetime. Here are some of the ways a quality afterschool program can benefit your child and position them for lifelong success.

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Even if their worries are smaller, children can experience stress just like adults. And in the same ways that yoga can help adults decompress and work out that bad energy, we’ve found it works for children, too.

Horizon Education Centers now has 112 staff members trained to practice yoga with children through a program called Yoga 4 Classrooms. As a result, our teachers have seen an increased ability to manage student behaviors in a positive and productive manner. We’ve also been able to better manage high and low energy levels in the classroom.

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When people think about what’s important to develop in children before they start school, they often think about children learning to count and the alphabet, and other academic-related pursuits. Those are very important skills—but much of early learning takes place through the development of the child’s body, called their motor skills. There are two main types of motor development: gross and fine—and both are crucial.

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“One of a family's greatest challenges is to establish comfortable, effective routines, which should achieve a happy compromise between the disorder and confusion that can occur without them and the rigidity and boredom that can come with too much structure and regimentation, where children are given no choice and little flexibility.” (HealthyChildren.org)

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When we say that hopscotch is an old-fashioned form of fun, we aren’t kidding. Some experts believe it was created back in Ancient Rome, if you can imagine that. One group suggests that Roman soldiers participated in the activity on 100-foot-long hopscotch courses, dressed in heavy armor, to build endurance. Others believe that the modern game comes from an earlier version played by Roman children.

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If you are a natural social butterfly, it may be hard for you to understand why your child is content to play by himself or herself. Your child may or may not display signs of social anxiety – and in fact may feel none. He or she just is okay playing alone. What do you do to prepare your child for preschool?

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