Social Moms
|

A Tired Mom’s Guide to St. Patrick’s Day

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…

Social Moms
|

5 Things Moms of Fortnite Players All Know

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…

Social Moms
|

Spring Cleaning and Kids: 5 Tips for the Organizationally Challenged

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…

Social Moms
|

Speech & Hearing Month: Is Your Child On Track?

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…

Social Moms
|

Parent Guide to YouTube Safety for Kids: 5 Ways to Ensure That Kids Aren’t Exposed to Inappropriate Content

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…

Social Moms
|

How to Tell if Your Child is Ready for Sleepover Camp

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…

Social Moms
|

5 Ways to Support Kids’ Reading Skills In Summer

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…

Social Moms
|

Moms Tell Their Secrets: 9 Tips for Parents of Athletes

May 7, 2020 There’s a not-so-secret society of moms out there in the world: The Society of Sports Moms. It’s made up of those of us who spend significant time taxing kids to practice, sitting as spectators, hunting up uniforms to wash at the last minute, and shuffling schedules. Even with years of experience, I…

Social Moms
|

School is Closed: There’s a Unique Skill You Can Teach

March 23, 2020 Parents around the world are in a time of flux. With so many schools closed or the future unclear, it’s easy to feel that education has stopped. We worry that our kids will fall behind without everyday instruction. We feel like we need to jump in as fully-fledged teachers with all the…

Social Moms
| |

Executive Function: How on Earth Do I Teach That?

April 10, 2020 We recently discussed Executive Function as a skill to teach during the school closures. But how do you teach it? The term executive function can be summed up as “management of what’s inside and around you”. Skills like organization, focus, time management, self-control, and goal-setting all spring from this idea. We can…

Social Moms
| |

5 Videos That Put Learning Right in the Middle of Fun

June 25, 2020 Summer has arrived on the heels of distance learning. It might feel like this year, more than others, your kids will need extra make-up work. Educational tools like workbooks or memory exercises can motivate some types of children … but they can also create a lot of resentment from those who prefer…

Social Moms
|

Shake the Dullness and Jumpstart Their Minds: Theme Your Time

August 10, 2020 School is starting to creep closer for a lot of us. Maybe summer is starting to feel a bit tired as well. You might be searching for an idea to add some fresh life into your time off while simultaneously kicking your children’s brains back into the learning gear. So have I. In…

Social Moms
|

How to Plan 2020 Back-to-School During the COVID-19 Pandemic

August 11, 2020 It’s almost time for back-to-school, but chances are you’re anything but excited. Parents, teachers, and students are having to make tough decisions about what education will even look like this fall. Will everyone meet in a classroom? Online? Some sort of hybrid? Will outbreaks shut everything down before it even gets started? …

Social Moms
|

How to Explain Social Distancing to Younger Kids

September 3, 2020 Explaining things like social distancing and wearing masks to younger children can be a bit of a challenge. While we want to make sure they understand what we’re asking, we don’t want to scare them. And, we don’t want to give them more information than they can handle. For very young children…

Social Moms
|

7 Ways to Encourage Thankfulness in Kids

November 19, 2020 Being thankful requires awareness. It doesn’t come easy for everyone. For kids, it’s something they often don’t even think about until Thanksgiving rolls around and schools and parents ask them what they are thankful for. It’s a great reminder, of course. But how can we cultivate that thankfulness year-round? Not just a…