These holiday notes may turn out to be one of your family's most coveted and meaningful traditions! It's so easy for our little ones (and even adults sometimes!) to lose sight of what the holiday season is all about. So in 2008, when I saw this idea on a late-night, dvr'd Oprah, I knew I wanted to use it. With a little prompting, my family tried out Holiday Notes with both sides of the family. Even though some interpreted the exchange a little differently, it was a success overall. Most … [Read more...]
halloween class party: 10 quickie activities for that extra 10 minutes
Planning class parties can be a real struggle, especially when you're rolling solo as the Room Parent. But for years now, I've made it my goal to share as much as was humanly possible so that no one's stuck trying to figure out what to do with 30 kids eager for a good Halloween par-tay. If you need a full-fledged Halloween class party, you can check out: Halloween class party ideas MORE Halloween class party ideas for the whole deal. But if you just need a quickie 10-minute activity … [Read more...]
30 days of financial fitness: 3 cool resources to raise financial literacy in kids
As a parent and educator, I know it is super important that my kids learn how to make smart financial decisions now, before they go off into the real world. But I know that raising money confident kids isn’t always easy. It involves planning. It involves understanding ourselves how to be money confident—and that can be scary, even as adults. So when I was asked by the good people at T. Rowe Price to take a look at the Money Confident Kids® resources they have for school and … [Read more...]
st. patrick’s day BRAIN TEASER scavenger hunt
Even though our lives have changed quite a bit since I started this blog seven years ago, one thing has remained the same: we love to rock it out for holidays. Even big kids like to rock it out for the holidays. So this year, I decided to kick up our traditional St. Patty's Day Scavenger Hunt just a wee bit. My kids are quick, and they're smart. So our Scavenger Hunt needs to be tricky and engaging to keep them interested--or at least to stretch our hunt a bit past the … [Read more...]
lent for modern catholic kids | daily reflections and prayers
Cards have been updated to reflect dates for the 2020 Lenten season. Enjoy! We're one week into Lent this year, and I feel like we kind of struggled for the first week. Our parish priest stressed to us the importance of 'not giving up chocolate' again and instead challenged us to really make this Lent count. So we agreed. We wouldn't give up chocolate. But honestly, after so many years of doing just that--giving up sweets--for Lent, it felt strange not to. And we all … [Read more...]
be nicer than necessary notes: lunchbox love to help us stop bickering
We're in a mad winter funk over here. A serious winter funk. Lots of snow days and delays grey skies and dreary days and indoor recess at school means that there's been a lot of grumpy, grouchy kids at our house. And parents. No matter what we do to mix things up, it seems like we've all been doing more arguing and bickering than I care to admit. And it's not just the kids--sure, of course, it's the kids. But it's also my husband and me. The dog. The birds and fish. We're all a little … [Read more...]
valentine’s day class party ideas, 2.0
For many years now I've been roped into being Room Parent for my kids' classes, and though I do love the opportunity to meet other families from the school and to get to know the kids in the class, it's a lot of work. More than once I've wished that there was a secret site that gave me all of the Valentine's Day class party ideas I needed--the letters to send, the snacks to serve, crafts to make and the games to play. But knowing that such a thing doesn't exist and that each class party is … [Read more...]
valentine’s day water bottle labels: get kids reading jokes!
I love any reason to get kids reading--that's no secret. And I love a good joke. That's really no secret, either. So I made these Valentine's Day joke notes to put on plain-Jane water bottles, over the label. I love them. Valentine's Day water bottle labels will not only give your kids--or students--something refreshing to drink, but it'll give them something to laugh about as well. Here's the skinny. . . Valentine's Day Water Bottle Labels -- Get Your Kids Reading … [Read more...]
thank you delivery people: free printable for families
This time of the year is insane. We're moving so quickly, our to-do lists are nuts, and often we're totally forgetting to breathe. At least I am. So when I saw my sweet and smart friend Danielle Smith, of Pretty Extraordinary, take a minute to say "thank you" to the delivery people, I stopped and smiled. This is so simple. But it can really make someone's day. Here's the skinny. . . Thank You Delivery People -- Free Printable for Families It's a simple "thank you" that you can … [Read more...]
top 5 must-read books for kids: babies through teens
Over the years, many readers and friends have asked me the about the must-read books for kids. Every few weeks, I get asked the million dollar questions: What books should my kids read? What are the best books for 5-year-olds? Which books will my 12-year-old love to read? Please tell me how to spend my book money--which are the must-have books for kids? We're heading to the library. Which books should I pick up? I've had the conversation over and over and over again. So … [Read more...]
hello teacher notes: let kids connect with teachers
Another one of our fave back-to-school traditions involves a little bit of writing, some decorating, and a wee bit of walking. Not much walking, really. Just to the mailbox or up to the school, depending on where you live. But for the last few years, we've rocked Hello, Teacher Notes to ease the transition from summer break to school year just a tiny bit easier for Maddy, Owen, and Cora. Okay, and me. We sent them: last year, when Owen went to Kindergarten, Maddy went to 2nd, and … [Read more...]
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