If you ask kids what their least favorite thing to do is in the whole wide world, a large majority of them will instantly answer, “Chores!” Actually, I’ve been known to say the same myself. Still, doing chores around the house is an important part of growing up. But that doesn’t mean it has to feel likeKeep Reading…
Lots of people think of camping as a spring or summer vacation and there’s good reason why. You get to spend all day outside, you can explore nature when the days are long, and you can wear shorts the whole time. But fall is also an awesome time to go camping as a family. AndKeep Reading…
Do you send a lunch to school with your kids? Sometimes we have our children pack a lunch, especially if we’re doing a field trip or planning a long day out of the house. It’s always a nice surprise to find a thoughtful note from a family member and, if our kids are having aKeep Reading…
Nothing quite says “summer” like a popsicle. I remember my parents getting the big bag of flavored freeze pops during the summer and storing them in the freezer. It was always a race between my brother and I to see who could get the rare blue raspberry flavored pop first. I didn’t know then thatKeep Reading…
Summertime is my very favorite time of year. I think I have that in common with most school kids. My kids always enjoyed summer break, too. Even though we’ve been homeschoolers for many years, we’ve always taken a break over the summer and this year will be no different. Still, though, I never wanted myKeep Reading…
Confession time: I am NOT an outdoors person. I wasn’t raised to spend a lot of time outside. I spent most of my afternoons parked in front of the TV watching cartoons. But my kids love being outside. Which means…I have to find a way to love being out there with them. And that’s whyKeep Reading…
Have you experienced a preschool meltdown today? We have four children and our youngest is now six, so we’re past the preschool stage. But I remember it so well. I’d see one of my kids go running by having the time of their life. 30 seconds later, they’re dissolving into a puddle of tears, generallyKeep Reading…
If you’ve been noticing that the tone of online messages seems more negative than it used to be, you’re not imagining it. And, worse, it’s greatly affecting our children. When we teach our kids how to be kind online, we not only stop the spread of negativity on the Internet; we actively promote good citizenshipKeep Reading…
When we first started having children, I thought “I’m going to be the bestest mom on the planet!”. I’m sure many of you did the same. In my mind, being the bestest mom meant taking my kids to the amusement park every chance I got. After all, that’s where I always wanted to go asKeep Reading…
Going away to summer camp can be a little scary or intimidating for some children. And it’s not just children who may be a little uneasy. Parents can be too! Our oldest is going to summer camp for the first time this year. Well, actually, she’s doing three of them this year: tennis camp, STEAMKeep Reading…
Parenting. It’s both the sweetest and hardest job in the world. There isn’t a day when I don’t love my children – all four of them. But there are definitely days when I feel a little burned out on the routine of it. There is so much giving involved in parenting that you can startKeep Reading…
How many times have you heard the kids say “I’m bored” over the past month? I couldn’t possibly keep count of how many times my kids have said it. My best estimate is 982. And I think I’m guessing too low. We are pretty conservative with screen time, so we only allow the kids to playKeep Reading…
Did you know that the Earth rotates at a speed of about 1000 miles an hour? I remember learning that in school and thinking “It doesn’t feel like it’s going that fast to me!” Fast forward 25 years and I think it feels like it’s at least that fast, maybe faster. Maybe I just needed toKeep Reading…
You ask your tween “What’s wrong”?” She looks down and away from you. Replies “Nothing.” You say “No, there’s definitely something. You can tell me about it. What’s going on?” She responds “Nothing! Why do you keep asking me about it?” before folding her arms and retreating to her room. If you’re nodding along asKeep Reading…
Until I was an adult, I had no idea what the symptoms of ADHD were, much less that I was living with it myself. But as I began exploring the symptoms, I found out that excessive worrying is one of the hallmark symptoms of this disorder. As our children grow, we’ve noticed that some ofKeep Reading…
Being a mom in the 21st century is pretty exhausting. It’s true that our mothers and our grandmothers had fewer modern conveniences than we did, but they also had much, much lower expectations. No one expected them to try to “do it all”. Yet, most of us moms live under that expectation EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Personally,Keep Reading…
I am part of the pre-Internet generation, which means I remember when there was no such thing as the Internet as we now know it. In fact, I remember the day when we had our first modem installed. It was a really big deal…until I realized that waiting for ONE page to load would take anKeep Reading…
When I was a kid, my parents loved board games. We had a lot of them. Sometimes when I was bored, I’d get one out and play against myself. (Please say I’m not the only one who did that…) Naturally, I have a ton of board games for my kids also. But – if youKeep Reading…
Have you heard of afterschooling? It’s growing in popularity as more parents take on teaching their kids at home, even if they go to public school. Recently I got a chance to write about it at Thinking Outside the Sandbox and it’s a great time to share the post with you guys! This week we’reKeep Reading…
Spring is nearly here, which means that spring cleaning is nearly here. I’m not a fan of housework, but I love spring cleaning. The weather is warming, the air is fresher, and it’s a great time to declutter and simplify. I’ve been decluttering my house for the past month and it’s starting to look…somewhat like aKeep Reading…
I grew up watching tons of TV every single day. Later on, I realized that this was not the healthiest way to spend a childhood, so I rigorously monitored our children’s TV use. Tigger didn’t watch any television until she was 2 (per the AAP recommendations). Somewhere between my third and fourth pregnancy, though, IKeep Reading…
