First 5 California was created by voters under Proposition 10 to recognize that children’s health and education are a top priority, especially in the early years of development. Research has shown that in the first five years of life, experiences and relationships stimulate children’s development, creating millions of connections in their brains. IN FACT: children’s brains develop connections faster in the first five years than at any other time in their lives. This is the time when the foundations for learning, health and behaviour throughout life are laid down. – First 5 California
Being a Cali native and having received my undergrad teaching degree in California, the First 5 Legislation was something that I learned about very early on. And when I became a parent, I took this research very seriously. It has been the backbone of my parenting philosophy.
While I was pregnant, my husband and I researched and decided to adopt The Whole Brain Child Approach, Growth Mindset, and the difficult, but well worth it, No TV Till 2 campaign. We promised we would continue to travel, and not let having children slow down our thirst for adventure, but rather, bring them along for the ride, in hopes that they too would be bit by the travel bug (and boy oh boy were they)! We vowed to practice and model inclusivity, to encourage curiosity, to remain gender neutral and to teach the importance of compromise and self advocacy.
We have all learned a lot these past 5 years, and I don’t know if we got it all right. But what I do know is that my 5 year old was more prepared for this moment than any of us. He ran to the bus, walked into his classroom with his hands in his pockets, as cool as a cucumber!
He was ready.
And so now, I get prepared to share this amazing, curious, empathetic, little human of mine, with this big, scary world, and trust in my mommy gut, that everything is gonna be just fine because we gave it our all in those first 5 years, we laid a solid foundation. Now it’s time to build upon it with the help of our community. We can’t wait to see where he grows from here!
Happy First Day of Kindergarten sweet boy…mama loves you so!
Wife-Mom-Boss 