September 10, 2019 Late September to early October, I’m always caught off guard a bit by our family’s grumpiness and lack of motivation in just about everything. It happens almost every year. After the hectic beginning full of new and different, school settles into a predictable somewhat dreary routine. The same-ness of each week wears…
September 4, 2019 If your child hasn’t already gone back to school this month, chances are that they will be in the next few days. As parents, we spend a lot of time buying school clothes, backpacks, new sneakers, notebooks, crayons and a host of other back to school supplies. But, have you thought about…
August 30, 2019 Many parents read to their toddlers as a nightly routine. It’s a fun, warm, bonding activity. Of course, it also teaches the little ones new words and engages their imagination. Yet as children grow up, many parents stop reading aloud. Their children get busy with activities, they go to bed early for…
August 29, 2019 You know those stories that every family tells? The ones that become legends and are required to be dragged out to laugh, sigh, or cringe over every time anything happens that might relate? I added a new one to our story ledger this summer. Along with the humiliation, though, I had a…
August 22, 2019 With school right around the corner, many people are wondering how to juggle parenting and a full-time job. Except for perhaps five weeks after my second child was born, I have always had a full-time job along with the main responsibility of parenting and homemaking. And, while it’s not always easy to…
August 19, 2019 It’s back-to-school time, which means we’ll start seeing pics of parents celebrating the end of long summer days with their children at home. If you’re a homeschooler, you might have a very hard time identifying with that. Still, getting swept up in some aspects of this time of year can be beneficial…
August 14, 2019 Back to school can be downright scary and stressful for some kids, especially for those entering kindergarten or starting over at a new school after a move. Turn back to school into a day of happiness and excitement for the academic year to come by creating a special family back-to-school tradition. Here…
August 13, 2019 Back to school means new clothes and supplies for most parents. But, for parents of children with special needs, it also means reviewing and renewing their child’s 504 or IEP plans before the school year starts. Both 504 and IEP plans were created to help provide children with learning disabilities or special…
August 9, 2019 We hear a lot about the benefits of mindfulness these days. Basically, the concept refers to finding ways of focusing on the present moment while acknowledging and accepting everything that we are thinking, feeling and experiencing. It can take practice, but the calming benefits are entirely worth the time invested. Back-to-school time…
August 8, 2019 It’s that time of year again. Kids go back to school and (most) parents are celebrating the return of peace in the house and a routine for the day. Whether happy or sad, there is a lot that goes into making that momentous occasion happen. Here are five videos that will keep…
August 1, 2019 If your family looks anything like mine, summer loosens just about every rule and routine that was in place. Basically, it’s barely contained chaos. True, your time off might have been a bit more strategic than mine. But whatever your feelings on the end of vacation, the transition can be rough on…
July 31, 2019 Are you wondering how to get the kids excited for back to school? It may seem like the summer has just begun, but many kids are already prepping for back to school! While my kids looked forward to starting school again when they were younger, that changed as they got older. If…
July 24, 2019 Summer sure goes fast, doesn’t it? Often it feels faster than any other season. Yet, here we are. Did you do all those great things you planned with the kids? With the weeks dwindling down, it’s time to get in those last-minute family activities and small trips in … if you can….
July 18, 2019 Unlike some of the other academic subjects that can be slipped into your child’s everyday life, writing is really just confined to, well, writing. But that doesn’t mean you have to leave it out of summer learning or enforce essay assignments. Here are some ways to incorporate writing into your activities while…
July 12, 2019 It’s vacation time. The kids are either running circles around the house or assuring you that they’ve never been so bored. You want to be the “good mom” that spends the summer filling their minds with new and important information. But you also want to be the mom that survives. Don’t worry!…
July 8, 2019 You want your kids to have literacy gains rather than “summer learning loss,” right? But getting them to unplug from screens and reach for a book or journal on a consistent basis can often leave you feeling like a nag and a half. As a mom and teacher with 20 years of…
July 1, 2019 If you’re a parent of young kids, you know well that YouTube is one of their favorite media outlets. Even tiny tots seem to know how to navigate to find video content. But this easy-access entertainment comes with one big worry. Autoplay means that when one video ends, another begins, so if…
June 25, 2019 Summer vacation is a time for carefree fun and loose schedules. Kids want to fill the day with junk food and play while parents might want to shove in some worksheets or tutoring sessions when they start to worry about academic backslide. Backslide is a real thing but it is my mission…
June 24, 2019 A one-hour flight within your own state can be stressful enough with a small child, but a long-haul flight—whether it’s New York to Los Angeles or somewhere overseas—can be especially brutal. Still, we’ve got to live our lives, so if you’re planning to take a lengthy journey with kids, here are some…
June 17, 2019 Summer vacation can be lethal to kids’ reading advancements. That doesn’t necessarily mean that school should continue without pause but reading is one of the few academic pursuits in which you can learn just by doing it. You can pick up the proper structure of a story, gathering information, new vocabulary, general…
May 31, 2019 Now that school is almost over, it’s time for parents and children to start thinking about summer camp. There are many types of camps available—afternoon creative camp, an all-day sports camp, or a two-week adventure camp. One of the things to consider when deciding on a camp is whether your child will…
May 30, 2019 Now that summer is in full swing for most families, parents have started to wonder when their child might be ready for Kindergarten. While many parents assume that their child is ready to start school when they turn five years old, this may not be true for every child. There are far…
May 22, 2019 May is Mental Health Awareness Month. A few years ago, I would have said that due to my training in education, open conversation with knowledgeable friends and family, and experiences with mental health issues, I was pretty on top of those types of issues with my children. Let me tell you point…
May 21, 2019 Did you know that May is Better Speech and Hearing Month? The theme for 2019 is “Communication Across the Lifespan” because communication disorders can impact us at any stage in life, from newborns to senior citizens. Having struggled to be heard by my grandmother in her final days, and then discovering something…
May 1, 2019 Whether you’re a horse person or not, the Kentucky Derby, on May 4, is a great excuse for a party. You can take yourself back in time with an event that’s run every year since 1875. The Derby is filled with fun traditions and excitement like the following! Set the Scene The…
April 27, 2019 Have you heard of Forest Schools? This was a new term for me but when I started researching it further, I wished my kids were young again and I could put send them there! Forest Schools are part of a growing trend to get kids out in nature. Much like nature classes,…
April 26, 2019 Mother’s Day is just around the corner—have you been struggling to find just the right gift for the new mom in your life? If so, we’ve got you covered. Let Mom know how much you love and care for her with something that fits her lifestyle and personality. Here are some great…
April 19, 2019 Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to remind our moms just how much we love them. First celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, the holiday is today a beloved spring celebration of all the love and care…
April 11, 2019 Spring has sprung, leaving those astonishingly organized among us looking towards their house with intense designs for rejuvenation. It leaves those of us not blessed with the neat bug wondering if we should contemplate this “cleaning” thing others talk about sometimes. In fact, I’m pretty sure if my kids heard the words…
April 8, 2019 These days, almost every home in the country houses multiple battles and weapons collecting operations a day, leaving parents worried about eye strain and missed study time. It seems Fortnite has pulled kids from all regions under its addictive spell. Moms, on the other hand, are noticing some other things about life with…
March 26, 2019 Have you ever wondered what to do with leftover Easter candy besides eat it? Every year, the kids end up getting far more candy in their Easter baskets than I really want them to eat. They get it at church, at school, from relatives and of course, they get some from the…
March 12, 2019 It seems like every time we turn around there’s a new holiday “tradition” designed specifically to irritate already stretched thin moms. Christmas comes with elves and shelves. Valentine’s requires decked-out boxes filled with “punny” homemade cards. Even St. Patrick’s Day has come far from when the main activity was scoping out your…
March 8, 2019 It may sound crazy, but if you are thinking of sending your child to summer camp, the time to start looking is now! This is the month that many camps have open houses and offer sign up deals that are limited in duration. But how do you choose? Summer camps can be just…
October 26, 2018 Fall is in the air and the fruit of the season—the beloved apple—is ripe for the picking. Venture on over to your local apple orchard—or head to the nearest supermarket—and grab a dozen or two to bake into a pie or pack into a lunchbox. You’ll also want to save an apple…
October 25, 2018 Becoming a preteen can be an exciting yet complicated time in your child’s life. They have likely begun to assert their own independence, yet still very much need guidance and attention from their parents. When my daughter turned 11, I witnessed the gradual change that many parents warned me about. She started…
October 23, 2018 When was the last time you saw your teen fall into a good book? A recent study published by the American Psychological Association revealed a sad literary fact: 1 in 3 U.S. high school seniors did not read a book for pleasure in 2016. Yet in the same time period, 82 percent of 12th-graders…
October 9, 2018 I remember the moment I realized one of my children was not into sports. Being a naturally athletic person myself (before giving birth to four little people of course), having a child that wouldn’t like sports never even crossed my radar. So when my daughter told me she wanted to quit the…
October 8, 2018 It happens to everyone at least once in a lifetime: Halloween is here and the costume department is bare. Instead of over-spending money and time searching high and low for an original costume, here are six easy costumes that you can put together in minutes with items available at your local dollar…
September 19, 2018 It’s here! The kids are back to school and we are loving it. Don’t get us wrong—summer is an amazing time to reconnect as a family but, after two long months of trying to keep kids entertained (and supervised), we can’t help but do a victory dance. We made it! No, this…
August 15, 2018 It’s already that time of year again! Presumably, if your child is going away to college, the preparations are already well underway. It can be an overwhelming and emotional time for the whole family but it can also be a great opportunity for transitions and growth. You’ve probably got everything under control…
August 13, 2018 It’s almost school time again and thoughts have turned to school clothes and getting the kids ready for another year of education. Each year, we go through the kid’s clothes from last year to see what items fit and those they’ve outgrown. We also make sure to look for tears, stains and…
July 24, 2018 It’s summertime and if you have young kids, it can seem like there are toys everywhere! Have you contemplated decluttering their toys so you can stop tripping over the chaotic jumble of puzzle pieces, action heroes, building blocks and books scattered as far as the eye can see? Summer is the perfect…
July 11, 2018 Is your child ready for kindergarten this fall? “While most kindergartens don’t exactly have GPA requirements, for a child to succeed there are a few milestones that should be reached before they toddle through the door,” says Alise McGregor, founder of Little Newtons, an early education center with locations in Minnesota and Illinois….
July 10, 2018 With the influx of the #MeToo movement, this is a good time to talk to your children about the meaning of sexual harassment, boundaries, and ramifications of this behavior. While it appears sexual harassment is happening more frequently in the news and with celebrities, it’s more that the issue is just being…
May 3, 2018 The older my kids get, the more frequently it hits me that they’re going to be adults at some point. That day continues to get closer. In fact, I pretty routinely tell my daughter, “As someone who hopes to move out on her own in a few years, that’s something you should…
