June 14, 2021 By getting rid of excess, staying organized, and embracing simplicity, you can find more time to focus on what really matters. Here are 30 suggestions to simplify your summer with the kids. It will allow time to pursue more fun and meaningful activities and get the most out of your days. Not…
June 8, 2021 School has ended and summer is here but that doesn’t mean the learning has to end! Science experiments are a great way to explore the world around you – and for some schools an experiment for the science fair is mandatory. At a loss for ideas? We’re starting a new series of…
Schools in many parts of the United States are increasingly offering a dual language program for students. When describing a dual language program in this article, I’ll refer to English and Spanish, but of course there are many other combinations such as English/French, English/Chinese (Mandarin), English/German, etc. The most common type of dual language class…
June 7, 2021 We all know the last year has taken a hit on finances. Are you deciding to return to the classroom this fall? Perhaps you are taking a course online, working toward a certificate, or going to school full-time for a degree. This can pose quite the challenge for mothers of young children….
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…
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? …
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…
July 23, 2020 Life sure doesn’t look the way it usually does at this point in the year. After some reflection, and a little bit of mourning, I decided to make the most of a unique opportunity with chances to recreate the benefits of our travel with at-home versions as well as embracing new hobbies…
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…
June 9, 2020 Within the last few weeks, it’s been impossible to ignore that race is still a major issue in the U.S. today. No matter a person’s political affiliation, we can all agree that we need to end racism for good. Many corporations have made announcements and ads that say the same. One email…
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…
April 29, 2020 We can all agree that the middle of a lockdown during a pandemic is definitely not the ideal time for a milestone celebration. Or any celebration, really! But we recently celebrated my oldest child’s 16th birthday. We had already started planning several events with good friends but those plans had to be put…
April 17, 2020 Earth Day this year seems a bit pushed to the side of the major happenings in the world. Ironically, with so many of us staying home, the day will probably bring nicer air and skies than usual. Staying home with kids is in no way a vacation, but it can allow us…
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…
April 1, 2020 Parenting a teenager might be one of the most confusing and internally jarring sensations in the world. I was having a typical lunch with my oldest when it occurred to me that those loose unplanned moments were what I will miss when he leaves for college. We drifted in topics and suddenly,…
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…
March 20, 2020 Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to start spring cleaning. Are you wondering how to go about decluttering your child’s room? Before you can really deep clean a room, it needs to be decluttered. While decluttering your own room or belongings is simply a matter of deciding what you do…
February 25, 2020 International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a day to celebrate womanhood and the movement for women’s rights. Take a moment this International Women’s Day to read the biography of an inspiring woman of history to your daughters … and sons. We can all learn from the…
February 6, 2020 Do you know those moms that always have it together? They accomplish fifteen things before drop off, their kids have morning and evening chores that actually get done, and they invite you over for an impromptu visit with a spotless home and fresh gourmet gluten-free muffins. I’m not one of those moms….
January 10, 2020 Winter can be long and keep many of us cooped up, but being home with your kids can make a great opportunity to teach them some elements that school likely doesn’t. Money Skills No matter the age, many children got money for Christmas. Without making it a math class or a complicated…
December 23, 2019 Nine years out of ten, New Years Eve sneaks up on me. The holidays are wrapping up. The family is in recovery mode. Then the calendar tells me that the year is about to end. It seems strange to let the night pass without any acknowledgment, but it can also feel like…
December 19, 2019 Ready for the new year? The new decade? You’ve shopped. You’ve wrapped. You’ve baked. You’ve planned. You’ve visited. You’ve hosted. You’ve worked. You’ve risen early and stayed up late. You’re basically exhausted. Busy moms are always giving, doing, helping, and managing to juggle many things at once. Kudos to you! So now…
December 18, 2019 This time of year, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, whether you are romantic or not, whether you watch television or not, there is no avoiding those television Christmas movies. Love them or hate them, you’ve probably seen at least one. I love to tease my mom for watching them but I’ve…
November 22, 2019 We’ve made it to the holiday season, which probably means one of two things. Either you have lists from your kids that are pages long and name every toy or gadget ever advertised. Or, the list just says … “money.” You are left trying to figure out how to balance all the…
October 28, 2019 Fall tends to remind us of the importance of gratitude. As a parent, I usually have big aspirations for building that sense of appreciation in my children. It is wonderful to take them somewhere where they can experience the lives of others with less and take steps to help them in some…
September 18, 2019 One of the hardest parts of parenting is the expectation. From the minute the test comes back positive, we start imagining who that baby will become and what life will look like with them in it. For some, those imaginings start even earlier. We laugh at the people who like to say,…
September 12, 2019 Compared to 100 years ago, the amount of added sugar in our food supply is staggering. While the initial risks of having so much sugar in kids’ diets was downplayed, it’s looking more and more like something we should be taking seriously. The American Heart Association recommends that children consume no more…
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…
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 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 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 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 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 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 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…