*1:00 pm session also available

Romp n’ Roll Camp

The officially-fun, officially-famous Romp n’ Roll Summer Camp will run weekly May 26 through September 4 for children ages 2 through 5 years, no potty training required. 

Our daily schedule is action-packed with “kid-tested, Rompy-approved” sessions including incredible gym, art and music activities! It’s like a big kids’ camp on training wheels; all the fun, learning, and excitement but without the poison ivy!

Camp will be offered at all Richmond Romp n’ Roll locations in the following sessions:

Tuesday and Thursday 9am – noon

Tuesday and Thursday 2pm – 5pm (not offered at Mechanicsville)

Camp Registration Fee is $70 per 2-day week and includes a nut-free snack and drink each day. Register before May 31st and the registration fee is only $65.

A discount of 15% applies to additional siblings registered for the same week of camp, and if you register for four weeks or more you will also receive 10 free visits to Open Gym!

Choose one week, a few weeks or the whole summer, but register quickly; Romp n’ Roll Summer Camp will fill fast, and you don’t want to miss out on Richmond’s best summer camp!

Register online at or call (804) 364-6363 to enroll.

Romp n’ Roll Summer Camp at the Children’s Museum of Richmond

The officially-fun, officially-famous Romp n’ Roll Summer Camp is coming back to the Children’s Museum of Richmond!

Camp will run weekly June 1 through August 14 at the Central and Chesterfield locations for children ages 2 through 5 years, no potty training required. We start every day with supervised exploratory play in the museum, where our lucky campers have the entire place to themselves, and then move on to action-packed music, movement and art activities!

Camp will be offered in the following sessions at both locations:

5-Day Option: Monday through Friday, 9am – 12pm

3-Day Option: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9am – 12pm

2-Day Option: Tuesday and Thursday, 9am – 12pm

Camp also has flexible 15 minute pick-up and drop-off windows each day to accommodate busy summer schedules!

Camp Registration Fee is $175 for the 5-Day Option, $105 for the 3-Day Option and $70 for the 2-Day Option, which includes a nut-free snack and drink each day.

Choose one week, a few weeks, or the whole summer, but the earlier you book, the more you’ll save!

Register by May 31^st and the fees are only $165 for the 5-Day Option, $100 for the 3-Day Option and $65 for the 2-Day Option.  A discount of 15% applies to additional siblings registered for the same week of camp, and if you register for four weeks or more you will also receive 10 free visits to Open Gym at Romp n’ Roll!

Register online now.

This article is sponsored by Romp n’ Roll

Find out more and register today!

Virginia Rep is a sponsor of Richmondmom

“The self must know stillness before it can discover its true song.”  Ralph Brum

It’s okay this winter to let your kids get bored.

Really really bored.

I know in today’s world we think busy is good.  We think we need to have our kids on travel soccer and two swim teams.

We think it’s important to take music and karate and to improve, improve, improve, always improve.

We take our kids on educational trips and have them learn a second language and drag them from store to store to store or on organized play dates.

We arrange fun activities and do science experiments on our kitchen floor.

Stop.

Last time I checked you were not known as Cedric the Entertainer and you are not required to spend your every waking moment improving or entertaining them; in fact not only are you not required but also you’re not doing them any favors with you’re your frenetic scheduling and creative planning.

At some point later in their lives they will have vast amounts of free time; they will not have a mom marshalling their every move, arranging their social schedule and screaming at them to get off the electronics.

They will to, gasp, entertain themselves.

Youth is the time to pursue new things or find new adventures; to think wild thoughts; to get lost in the great outdoors with no purpose; to imagine; to waste time; to wander; to be bored and move beyond bored.

Don’t take that from them.

Great things happen beyond bored if you let them get there.

I don’t speak from a place of judgment; I speak from a place of experience.

As a new young mother twenty years ago I wanted to do right by my child so I played “small’ Batman and the Pokémon card game till I was ready to rip my eyeballs out.   I arranged play dates and activities.

We took trips and rode bikes and never once did my son have a free moment to figure out what he might want to do because I was constantly figuring it out for him.

So this winter, give your kids a break.

This winter, give yourself a break.

Stop orchestrating every minute of their lives.  Put a kibosh on all day electronics because as long as electronics are in the picture they will never ever be bored; they will fill their time with mindless blips and bleeps and online conversations and blank staring at screens until they disappear zombie-eyed into their beds.

Watch them scowl lounge suffer and smirk but whatever you do don’t fix it.

They’re bored.

And it’s a beautiful place to be.

one jolly green giant cookie

When I was about 10 years old, I enjoyed making peppermint brownies with lime green frosting. It wasn’t an old time family recipe, but a recipe that I found on the back of the Duncan Hines brownie mix box. My parents politely ate a token amount the first time I made them, as well as the second time. After that, however, they respectfully told me that the brownies were probably more suited to a child’s palate than an adult palate, because they were so, “How should we say it, Dear, minty? Oh, and green!” Yes, they were very  green. Bright radioactive lime green.

When my relatives visited, preparations in our household were in order to welcome them, and I did my part by making peppermint brownies.  Aunt Lois simply raved about these brownies. My parents looked a little uneasy, which made my aunt even more enthusiastic about the flavor and all of its greenness. I will never know if she sincerely liked them or not, but I remember her kind words like it was yesterday and her encouragement was very important to me.

I haven’t developed a love of cooking or baking, and at best, I tolerate it. But I am still amazed at how cooking and baking teaches us so much more than a mere recipe. Ever wonder what your kids can get out of creating in the kitchen? Other than watching the anticipation on their faces as they peek at the goodies bubbling up through the oven window, that is? Here are a few skills they can develop that you may not have considered.

• Kitchen and Food Safety – Ensure safety around major appliances and kitchen gadgets, as children need to master safety rules to ensure everyone’s protection. Always supervise children and discuss rules prior to getting started.
• Reading – Reading the recipe, package labels, instructions, expiration dates, you name it!
• Following Directions – Whether it is scouring the pantry for  ingredients, following what the recipe calls for, or following the rules, this one is a biggie!
• Math – Counting, measuring, and you may want to consider the extra challenge of “doubling” a recipe for a little extra brain power.
• Fine Motor skills – Measuring, mixing, rolling dough, using cookie cutters, placing cookies, pinching and adding ingredients all foster fine motor and strength, coordination and dexterity for little hands.
• Turn Taking and Sharing – Enough said.
• Task Completion – My kids are usually very excited about starting the cooking process, but sometimes lose interest half way through. Strategies such as selecting recipes that have short preparation time, or alternatively, that preparations can be made in stages are helpful.
• Responsibility – Planning, cleaning up, and all those important life skills.
• Nutrition – Okay, the giant cookie with mega food dye isn’t the best nutritional choice, but in general, talking about healthy foods and which foods are only considered “treats” is important. Also, children are more likely to eat nutritious foods if they are part of the process.
• Problem Solving – When a culinary food disaster strikes, enlisting problem solving skills is a huge asset. My kids worked together to figure out how to get the large cookies off the cookie sheet without breaking.
• Self-esteem – Kids feel proud to cook and bake — and if they are contributing a food source to the household, it is even better.

By the way, when my boys showed my husband their finished product, he said, “Wow! That is one big green cookie! And I love it!”

Is your child ready to take on a few meals?  Check out 8 family dinners kids can make, here.

Do you cook or bake with your kids? What have you learned about the experience? What have your kids learned?

My first cookbook (by Patricia Petrich and Rosemary Dalton)

@ Kevin Dooley, via Flickr Creative Commons

First, Happy New Year to all!  While the New Year is a magic time for some, you fellow parents know that better than any New Year is the ‘Magic Time’ when your household is at peace and you’re not being asked to stretch beyond your ability to cope with the challenges that little kids bring.

When our son was born, our daughter was almost two.  I frequently used the word ‘crazy’ to describe our days.  I have somewhat-blurry (but still present!) memories of two children in diapers crying at the same time for completely different reasons.  On multiple occasions, I remember nursing one baby, helping the other go potty, while cooking and doing laundry without any cross-contamination.

I loved and relished all the experiences, but the challenges associated with feeding, crying, and sleeping caused painful bursts in my brain and chest.  Figuring out how to cope and respond on some… most… days was unlike anything I’ve experienced.  The aftermath of parenting through sleep-related challenges, while functioning on little to no sleep, may be very akin to post-traumatic stress.

So yeah.  The word ‘crazy’ may be perfect.

Now they are four and six (with birthdays coming in the Spring), and as I type, I am sitting in our new couch, relaxing with my husband, listening to the beautiful quiet peace of our children playing together nicely and watching a cartoon in the play room.  All after a night when everybody slept in their own bed all night.

This is the definition of the Magic Time.  It is a beautiful thing.  It is the type of day I was unsure would ever come.

Back in those ‘crazy’ days, my friend Alicia (who had been in the parenting trenches a few years before me) calmly reassured me:  “You will hit a Magic Time.  I promise.  Around the age of four, something happens and it all gets easier.”  Truly, her words gave me hope.  I’ve thought about them through the years.  On every good day I would think, “Is this the Magic Time Alicia talked about?”

Do not get me wrong.  In some way, life with our children has been magic since they were born.  Every time I hold my babies is like holding a dream in my arms.

But to fellow parents of very little people, I don’t need to explain “Magic Time.”  I’m certain you know what I’m talking about. Wink wink, nod nod.  But if you need a definition, “Magic Time” is when everybody in your house is able to, more or less, meet their own immediate needs, to get along with each other, and respond and cope with stress.

My husband just went upstairs and whispered, “Don’t wreck the Force.”  Wink wink, nod nod.  We know what we’re talking about.

We can afford this couch because we’re paying almost the lowest amount we’ll pay for daycare.  My husband and I get to spend time on the couch together because the kids are getting along, can get their own drinks, and can go potty by themselves.  I may get to watch my Sunday morning show I love with little interruption and no guilt.

Magic Time.

It won’t be like this all day.  Then the kids will start wrestling and fighting, they’ll both spill their milk on the floor, somebody will say they hate the food I make for them.  It won’t be Magic Time all day, but yes.  We have Magic Time more and more often.

So if you are struggling through diapering, feeding, sleeping, crying or any other small-child related challenges, I am hear to share the message of hope.  There will be Magic Time in your future. More and more.  The clouds will break when your youngest is around the age of four.

(Thanks, Ms. Alicia.)

My daughter Annabel will soon be joining her sisters at Sabot at Stony Point, a progressive school for preschool through 8^th grade, situated next to beautiful Larus Park, just off Huguenot Road. Like a number of her preschool friends, Annabel cannot wait to start kindergarten.  Avery, whose big brother Max is in first grade, is also excited.   Her mother, Nikki, says, “Max has told her that you get to explore in the forest and work on projects with your best friends. The school trips into the city are exciting and PE is fun.” 

While children may look forward to time in the forest and project work with friends, Sabot parents know that deeper learning is also going on. “The teachers know exactly how to inspire my daughters to think more deeply about questions and explore the community and world around them,” says Anne, mother to three Sabot lower-school students. “And I love that they are not only concerned with helping my children to become good learners but to become good people as well.”

Sabot teachers believe that children come to them with natural curiosity and creativity and that it is the teachers’ job to nurture these dispositions. Children learn by investigating and they acquire knowledge and understanding by developing, testing, and defining their own theories. Sabot teachers understand that when children play an active role in their own education they become lifelong learners.

With a more traditional approach to education, students can spend a lot of time memorizing facts and doing hours of busy work – even in kindergarten – instead of being actively engaged in the work, their environment, and their classroom community. Lila came to Sabot in first grade. “At Sabot, Lila has been celebrated for who she is in a supportive, rigorous, and evidence-based environment,” says her mother, April. “She is more authentically herself, more engaged in learning, and happier than we have ever seen her. Her learning comprehension is astounding, and, based on Sabot’s approach to teaching math and science, she is making huge progress in an area that she previously found frustrating. We are thrilled to have found this school, not only for our daughter but also for our family.”

As April notes, Sabot educates the whole child and the Sabot community includes the whole family. “On top of the great education,” adds Anne, “is this amazing community atmosphere. It takes a village to raise a child and this is exactly what we have at Sabot.”

Sabot at Stony Point

3400 Stony Point Road Richmond, VA 23235
(804) 272-1341

To find out more about Sabot at Stony Point, visit the Sabot Preschool Admissions page or contact Director of Admissions, Maggie Barrett, by phone (804) 272-1341 or email her with any questions.

This article was sponsored by Sabot at Stony Point

*1:00 pm session also available

CommuniKids Preschool and Children’s Language Center, with centers in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, is now open at 3111 Lauderdale Drive in Short Pump. CommuniKids offers several programs designed especially for young children in Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese, including full and half-day preschool, weekly classes, summer camps, and after-school care.

The benefits to starting foreign language instruction early in life are immense. The optimal time for language learning, or the “Window of Opportunity,” occurs in young children from birth to age 8. At that time in their development, young children’s brains are extremely flexible and are “hardwired” for language learning. Very young children have the ability to learn any of the world’s languages and to recreate them with a near-perfect accent. Recent research confirms that the advantages of learning another language go beyond the practical. Multilingual children also perform better in school in all subjects and have higher executive function skills.

For families searching for part- or full-time preschool, the CommuniKids language immersion preschool program offers a well-rounded, play-based, full-immersion curriculum in Spanish or French. Our after-school and weekend language classes give children enrolled in other schools a chance to complement their education with weekly exposure to French, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. And our summer camp program offers six weeks of full-immersion fun to students of all proficiency levels looking for intensive exposure to the language. CommuniKids also plans to offer an immersion after-school care program for school-aged children with transportation from nearby elementary schools.

For more information, email admissions@communikids.com or visit CommuniKids online.