develop strong reading skills early: skimming vs reading I realized something recently that I should have noticed way before now. Actually, I had an idea about it, but I wasn’t really for sure for …Read moredevelop strong reading skills early: skimming vs reading
morning and evening reminders for kids: easy reader style Every day is a little bit different in our house—and everyone’s house. But deep down, we all thrive on consistency, on patterns, on …Read moremorning and evening reminders for kids: easy reader style
geocaching: what it is & why we’re hooked Right now, we’re 2 for 6. That’s right–2/6. 2:6? And today we totally thought we had one, but we didn’t. We’ll masters by …Read moregeocaching: what it is & why we’re hooked
help! when kids hate reading: 3 tips for parents It’s hard–I get that. Parenting in general is a tough gig, but when your child dislikes something that you love? Something that …Read morehelp! when kids hate reading: 3 tips for parents
make time to rhyme: rhyme games for bigger kids We’ve talked about the importance of rhyme many times in the past, but I feel like as Maddy and Owen have gotten older, I’ve really …Read moremake time to rhyme: rhyme games for bigger kids
2 tricks to an organized school year How do you stay organized during the school year? What do you do to not get lost in the sea of papers your kids bring home from school each …Read more2 tricks to an organized school year
wordless riddles: silly lunchbox notes When I asked Maddy, Owen, and Cora what they liked best for their lunchbox notes, I got three different answers. From Maddy: I want more …Read morewordless riddles: silly lunchbox notes
beautiful backpack butterflies One of the things we love to do as a Back-to-School tradition is to find some cool way of blinging out the kids’ backpacks. Especially before …Read morebeautiful backpack butterflies
3 quick, hands-on, totally cool math games Every summer, our school hands out summer packets–worksheets upon worksheets with ways that parents can continue the learning all summer …Read more3 quick, hands-on, totally cool math games
creative writing for kids: photo conversations Getting kids to write–especially in the summertime–is not an easy task. Granted, for some kiddos, writing is their thing. They journal, …Read morecreative writing for kids: photo conversations
learning during read-alouds: critical thinking, new literacies I read an extremely interesting article this week that has really left me thinking about how I read with my children. It …Read morelearning during read-alouds: critical thinking, new literacies
quick trick: how to teach kids to write number 5 Many, many children I know have a difficult time learning to write number five. Actually many children I know have a difficult time writing many of …Read morequick trick: how to teach kids to write number 5
quick & easy grid games: concepts of print It’s been a busy few days for us, but we’re slowly getting back to the routine, and it (gulp!) feels pretty good. Though boy oh boy do …Read morequick & easy grid games: concepts of print
mastering multiplication tables (with mini flash cards) Learning math facts has been a long, hard road for Maddy. It’s actually very often a long, hard road for many kids–including …Read moremastering multiplication tables (with mini flash cards)
disney word searches: getting kids ready for the trip! We were on a major word search kick a while back, but we’ve taken a good long rest from them. So in honor of our upcoming Disney Social Media …Read moredisney word searches: getting kids ready for the trip!
quick trick: how to eliminate bickering Do your kids bicker? About where they sit in the car. . . or who gets the last bowl of the ‘good’ cereal? About who gets the first …Read morequick trick: how to eliminate bickering
5 easy ways to raise earth-friendly kids Really, nothing about raising kids is easy. I so know this to be true. I think I’m pretty honest about my own on-the-job struggles, and …Read more5 easy ways to raise earth-friendly kids
homemade disney autograph books We are so very, very, very, very excited that we’re heading to the Happiest Place on earth in just a few days! As part of …Read morehomemade disney autograph books
new for us friday: the grapple We were totally due for some new-for-us foods around here, after our handful of awesome, new-for-us games, thanks to Toy Fair, Easter, and the …Read morenew for us friday: the grapple
bullying: end it at home, school, everywhere Thanks to The Bully Project for sponsoring my writing. Visit their website to join the movement and learn more. Bullying is …Read morebullying: end it at home, school, everywhere