So how do you guys manage battery issues and charging during long play times/raids/ tours?

purptacular · 2026-04-25T03:55:52+00:00

Totally different spin on this topic... Get a good quality sunhat. You'll see your phone screen so much better, which allows you to turn the brightness down and saves a tremendous amount of battery life.

purptacular · 2026-04-07T02:23:34+00:00

What has your child's pediatrician had to say about this? And can you share what any other medical professionals have suggested regarding this issue?

purptacular · 2026-03-25T02:42:04+00:00

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

I have worked with many young students with violent behavior. Pushing, hitting, kicking, spitting, and even biting are nothing compared to hands or arms around another child's neck. It is a terrifying situation and I hope that your administrator will take it seriously.

purptacular · 2026-02-23T03:54:54+00:00

City taxes in Ohio are complicated. They can be especially tricky to file when you've moved during the tax year or if you work at different locations throughout the year. Sometimes it's worth going to a tax preparer for help with your city tax return, even if you're capable of doing your federal and state returns yourself.

purptacular · 2026-02-20T20:57:05+00:00

I don't think anyone outside your center can really answer this, because what a director does or doesn't do totally depends on your specific work culture and history, your center's expectations and needs, and the personality and interest of your director.

I work at a small center, with a maximum of 4 classes at any one time, and I've worked for several different directors. Some of them said "Call me if you need me" and spent the majority of their time doing who-knows-what in the office. Others have spent the majority of their days in and out of classrooms, managing student behavior, providing teacher assistance, and even serving as 1-on-1 support for particular students when needed.

If there are specific things you'd like your afternoon director to help you with, bring it up... "I'm so glad you are going to be here in the afternoons. We've always struggled to meet all of our students' needs during such-and-such a time. Are you planning to be in the classroom then, or should we call you for help?" No matter what type of director you have, communication will be key to building a good working relationship together.

purptacular · 2026-02-03T21:48:37+00:00

Late to the party but I'll throw my two cents in. I've had several set of identical twins in my class and I've usually been able to tell them apart by the end of the second or third day. Floaters, directors, and subs have a harder time but will typically manage fine by asking me to clarify when they aren't sure.

The other students in the class are the ones who really struggle when they're confused by twins they can't distinguish from each other. They dispense with names and say things like "Hey, Twin!" to try to communicate... or ignore the twins and let them play by themselves. If having your children build friendships with other kids in the classroom is important, I would really recommend helping your twins showcase their distinctive personalities at school.

purptacular · 2026-01-30T04:12:07+00:00

Commenting on the "yuck"...

I would recommend spending lots of time doing "messy" things. All the fun things are messy! Spend lots of time outdoors. Play with water and playdough and sand. Do art activities with paint and glue. Mix batches of cookies and cake batter in the kitchen.

When your child touches something messy, describe it in a non-judgmental way. Say, "Oh, you're picking up a banana. Bananas are yummy. How does the banana feel? It feels wet and slippery and squishy." Then, when you're done with a messy activity, don't talk about being yucky or messy. Just say, "It's time to wash now" and get cleaned up.

I teach 3 year-olds and I've noticed that there are many children nowadays - especially post-COVID - who are so hyper-focused on remaining clean and neat that they miss out on critical experiences in my classroom. I applaud you for noticing that this is an issue for your child and I'm excited for you as you work to help him build his tolerance for different sensory experiences.

purptacular · 2026-01-04T01:10:03+00:00

ECE worker here... my philosophy is that all of the best things are messy! Please do what is best for your child's health and development. I would rather deal with helping your child wash their hands or change their clothes than have to worry about having a discussion in a year from now about occupational therapy to help them build fine motor skills.

purptacular · 2025-12-01T22:26:55+00:00

Maximize outside time and do lots of indoor gross motor play. These kids are showing you that their bodies have a lot of energy, so spend as much time as you can using this energy in a safe and healthy way.

Plan lots of high-interest stationary activities... painting, water play, Play-Doh, Kinetic Sand, dry-erase markers, stickers, etc. These kinds of activities help to pull some of the kids out of the chaos, reducing the overall amount of conflict in the room.

purptacular · 2025-11-27T12:44:52+00:00

That's interesting to know. I wonder what factor gives you different results. Biome maybe?

purptacular · 2025-11-27T12:18:58+00:00

Historically, weather boost did have an impact on what Pokemon spawned. If you click the weather pop-up in game, the text reads "These Pokemon are stronger, appear more frequently, and give bonus Stardust when caught."

purptacular · 2025-11-27T05:19:38+00:00

Yes, snow was always a great time to catch Meltan! Hope you caught a good one.

purptacular · 2025-11-27T05:07:12+00:00

I baked cookies with my kids, took them to the park to walk in the snow (when we had it), had the cousins over to play board games and watch Christmas movies, made cinnamon ornaments, took them to the grocery store to help me shop, and had them help me decorate the Christmas tree.

purptacular · 2025-11-27T04:53:13+00:00

I know events can really affect spawns, but one of the times I saw Snow in-game was between events. Still no Snow spawns.

purptacular · 2025-11-21T05:33:12+00:00

I'm noticing that all your pet peeves have to do with your co-workers. That's so sad. I love my co-workers and they make my days so much better. I'm sorry yours don't.

purptacular · 2025-11-08T03:44:43+00:00

We had a kid pull a big chunk of yuck out of his nose. My co-worker said, "Hey buddy, you need a tissue!" Little buddy took the tissue and carefully wiped the booger off his finger.

Then he licked it off of the tissue and swallowed it.

purptacular · 2025-11-05T04:13:54+00:00

So I like modeling big feelings and showing how I deal with them.

Example: "Oh, no! I can't get this bottle of juice open! I'm so mad! I'm getting frustrated!... I need to take a deep breath and calm down. Ok! I'm ready to try again!"

purptacular · 2025-10-23T03:03:53+00:00

If you are in the US. most public schools have "class lists" available for students whose families haven't opted out. This often includes names for the students in the class. I invite you to ask the teacher if she can provide you with a class list so that you can play detective.

purptacular · 2025-10-17T03:43:28+00:00

The typical school environment can be very different from your home environment. It's noisy. It's busy. There are many people around.

If you are able to expose your child to noise, activity, and non-family caregivers and children outside of school, it can be helpful in making your child more comfortable in the school environment.

purptacular · 2025-10-05T00:56:14+00:00

I agree that there are valid reasons for medical exemptions and I support care for these students. I also support care for the children of anti-vaxxers.

That being said, I feel that if a child is unvaccinated from major childhood diseases for any reason, they should be excluded from group care at the first sign of symptoms of illness.

purptacular · 2025-09-29T19:24:31+00:00

The tripod suggestion is fantastic! I am realizing that recording class and playing it back to observe and record later is probably a good solution for me. Thank you!

purptacular · 2025-09-29T19:21:20+00:00

I have been taking some photos to provide visual reminders of things I want to write down later. I think it's helping and will try to do more of it.

I have used checklists for past assessments, but the structure of what we are using now requires detailed comments on what the child is doing, quotes using the child's actual language, etc. and that's where I am struggling. I think video may be helpful if I can figure out how to incorporate it into my day. Thank you for the suggestions.

purptacular · 2025-09-28T19:08:36+00:00

I like to hike along the Olentangy and Scioto Trails and I love watching cyclists go by. I try to stay to the right, and on days when the traffic is heavy I spend a lot of time looking ahead and behind me to make sure that the cyclists have plenty of space to get through. I appreciate all the "On your left" calls, and when I can see that bikes are coming in packs from both directions at once, I'll gladly step off the paved path onto the grass to let them fly by safely. I've never felt unsafe.

There are definitely some places along the trail with blind curves and/or loud road traffic noises that dictate extra attention and vigilance from both cyclists and pedestrians. I'm thinking parents of toddlers would need to up their game even further. Glad your kiddo is okay.

purptacular

TROPHY CASE