Big school transitions can be stressful for both students and parents. If you have a student making a transition between schools, these three simple tips can make it easier for all of you. Transitioning into middle school, high school, or even kindergarten can be difficult on children and their parents. Last year, I had two…
A great money management activity for kids is to take them back-to-school shopping. Give your kids a budget and let them pick the school clothes they’ll purchase by themselves. It’s a wonderful lesson in sticking to a budget! Back-to-school shopping can be frustrating for me as a parent. The girls bombard me with their needs…
This post is part of an ongoing Summer Reading for Kids series. Click HERE to find ideas for reading activities, reading lists, and reading incentives…and keep checking back for more! This summer I made a goal to read out loud more to my kids. Life has gotten in the way lately, and I haven’t been reading to them…
Raising a teenage daughter doesn’t have to be difficult! Connect with your teenage daughter by making sure she hears these encouraging words from you often. Looking for a great gift for your teen daughter? Check out our 2023 gift guide for Teen Girls Navigating the teen (and tween!) years can be rough for girls. Their…
My husband and I took the girls to see Inside Out as soon as it was out in the theatres. My youngest actually saw it twice in one day because she was invited to go with a friend, and we went a couple hours afterward on a whim. Because she had already seen it, my…
Balance. It’s something I contend with every single day of my life, and something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. Time, work, family, exercise, food choices. It’s all a big struggle for me. I find myself wishing I could just quit my job. Not because I don’t enjoy it, but because it takes me…
Last fall, I had not one, but two, children with broken bones. While both of them are avid soccer players, they did not break their bones on the field—instead they did it while playing casual sports with friends. Still, soccer is difficult to play with a broken fibula (youngest daughter), and even with a broken…
The other day we got two stalks of Brussels sprouts in our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share. First of all, I never knew that Brussels sprouts came on stalks like that! I have never received Brussels sprouts straight off the farm before, and when I purchase them at the grocery store, they are usually…
I am now the mother of a bona fide teenager. Fourteen years old, wonderful as can be, but still a teenager who struggles with all of the typical teenagery things. I am also the mother of a tween. She’s almost twelve years old now, but she has already entered adolescence. Adolescence starts earlier than it…
An easy solution for saving your food budget during the summer! Limit snacking with this simple trick and teach your kids self-discipline in the process. Do your kids eat you out of house and home during summer vacation? Because mine totally do. Something about being home all day without a regimented school schedule leads kids…
How to help your children find their strengths and develop their own unique talents. All children want to fly. They all want to excel at something, too. As a parent, I also want my children to fly. I grew up in a household that encouraged talent development in a big way, and I owe my…
If you know my youngest daughter at all, you know she is an incredibly strong-willed kid. She is at once fiercely independent and incredibly sensitive. She is both a firecracker and a sweetheart. She is a whirlwind of activity, constantly busy with projects for someone she loves. She’s a truly amazing kid. And her room…