Last year we talked about May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Month!

It’s really important that we educate ourselves and honor all the cultures that we are blessed to have around us. MORE importantly, we must share what we learn with our children and teach them that we change and grow our whole lives, and that learning is a huge part of that.

Check out this Award Winning Children’s Book ISLAND BORN that we would like to add to our list!

SPEAKING OF LEARNING: What Else do we celebrate in May??

MAY IS AMERICAN CHEESE MONTH!!!!

This one may seem pretty CHEESY, but if you want to get your young eater to try new foods, celebrating with a THEMED MEAL can be the ticket! You could make dips, pizzas, fondue, desserts! They could grate it into cheesy confetti and put it on tacos!

Hey… that’s an idea! Why don’t you read DRAGONS LOVE TACOS or SPACE MICE or THE GREAT CHEESE ROBBERY while you snack on cheese and crackers with a picnic!

Here are tons more CHEESE RELATED kids books to add to your bookshelf of life long favorites.

You can also try asparagus DIPPED in cheese… because May is also NATIONAL ASPARAGUS MONTH!!!

MAY IS JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

There are so many ways to learn about our Jewish friends, family members, and neighbors. You can find amazing events and learning opportunities here everywhere from the National Archives and National Gallery of Art to the Holocaust Museum and Library of Congress.

One of our favorite ways to teach our kids is, of course, cooking together. A full-body, multi-sense experience with quality time and learning baked right in is the perfect way to instill lifelong lessons and love for other cultures.

Here are 20 traditional recipes you can cook with your kiddos. Latkes, Chocolate Babka, Bagels and Lox, Savory Potato Knishes with Caramelized Onions, there are so many amazing foods that you can make on this list! While making these yummy treats, you can discuss the importance of these foods and what they represent to Jewish Culture.

There are also several amazing Jewish Heritage children’s books Listed Here. Some of our favorite titles include: Here is the World, Koala Challah, Lights Out Chabbat, and, and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.

MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

The best part about learning and practicing Conscious Discipline for our classrooms is that we are learning so much about how to take care of our own mental and emotional health. It is important to support and honor our feelings and the feelings of our children to promote mental health!

You can practice Deep Breathing together! Diaphragmatic breathing can help bring a person into a calmer state, and more able to face friction and problem solve. We have a post about Breathing on a Tropical Island that can help you out!

You can also take the time each day to talk about all of the things you felt, good and bad, and how you got through it. Let them speak, take your turn to speak, and sit in close proximity to one another. Just knowing that our emotions are valid and supported by loved ones can be a huge boost.

We use the NINJA LIFE HACKS series in our classrooms to help explain complex feelings and emotions to our preschool and kindergarten kids. We highly recommend them all!

MAY IS NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH

Families come in all shapes and sizes. What we recommend most of all is to instill this in your children. Talk about how families come in all shapes and sizes! Talk about adoption and foster children. Talk about expanded families and families with one parent and families with two mommies or two daddies.

Explain what foster care really means: There is great need for loving foster families for these children in need of stability, and that fostering is a temporary arrangement. Keep the conversation where your children can understand based on their age.

Kids Need to be Safe and The Foster Dragon are two incredible kids books that can answer a lot of questions, provide perspective, and inspire empathy in kids who may have never met a child in foster care before!

MAY IS NATIONAL BIKE MONTH

We have been using our new strider bikes out on the playground with the older preschool kids, and they could not be more thrilled! The weather is getting warmer and Reston is FULL of incredible bike trails. Take this month to turn off the tv and GO OUTSIDE to explore! Remember to go over Bike Safety with your kids, including the importance of wearing a helmet, sticking with your grownup, and keeping your listening ears on!

What other things do you all celebrate in May? How do you celebrate? Let us know in the comments!!