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...]
new year’s interview: fun family tradition
It's New Year's Interview time! (I can hardly believe it!) This year, we made some minor adjustments to our traditional New Year's Family Interview because as the kids get older, I'm more interested in their thoughts and reflections than on their favorite color or best friend. So after our late-afternoon fondue dinner, we busted out with the biggie ice-cream sundae fixings. We made monster sundaes, got all crazy on sugar, and then got to work on our interviews--a fun and easy family … [Read more...]
advent activity calendar for kids and family: 2016
We do this every advent season. And the kids love it. I actually contemplated switching things this year--finding another advent activity calendar that would get our family into the holiday spirit, but I decided against it. Because in this quickly-changing world, sometimes I think it's nice to keep things consistent. Here's the skinny. . . Advent Activity Calendar for Kids and Family--2016: I print out a copy of the calendar to keep on hand for myself, and then I cut each of … [Read more...]
our favorite thanksgiving printables for BIG kids!
This week is the big week for us--lots of travel, lots of family, lots of friends, and lots of food! Officially, the fun winter holiday season is upon us, and from here until January 2nd, it's a wild ride. But often that wild ride means that our kids tend to be kicked off of their normal schedules. They get tired. We get tired. They get cranky. We get cranky. And they need some down time. We need some down time. So we've gathered a few of our favorite Thanksgiving … [Read more...]
top secret ‘happy day’ notes for the whole ‘hood
Originally published September 1, 2010, but republished today because, well, friends, everyone could use a lift. Last week, we ran into a verrrry blue Thursday morning. Everyone was cranky, everyone was bickering, and everyone was down in the dumps. Maybe our summertime later-night schedule was finally taking a toll on us; maybe we were anxious about the upcoming change of schedule. Whatever it was, we needed a lift. I remembered my pal Jessica's recent post about 'Doing Good … [Read more...]
pat on the back notes for kids who are trying their best
Let's face it, friends. Life for kids can be pretty tough. It's hard to be a kid these days--harder than it was for us. School was hard enough for me way back when, even without all the new pressures of social media. I can't even imagine how the presence of Instagram, Snapchat, Musical.ly, and everything else would have colored my middle school or high school experience. I don't even want to think about it. So honestly, any time we can give our kids a pat on the back for trying … [Read more...]
halloween mad lib: spooky fill-in story for halloween fun
I am always on the hunt for super fun Halloween activities for my kids. From the time they were teeny, we played Hats, Cats, and Pumpkin Grid Games, ABC Leaf Hunt, GHOST Bingo!, or Halloween Word Search. Anything to ring in this spooky holiday with a bit o' sneaky learning. But as they get a little older, they've grown out of those kinda little-guy-ish games. They love the Halloween Printable Games we play at Halloween Class parties, but I also wanted something fun for them to do here at … [Read more...]
national fire prevention week: sparky’s firehouse game for kids
No matter the age of your children, my friends, we've got to talk to them about tough topics. Age-appropriate, of course, but you get what I mean. Being prepared for a disaster and knowing what to do in the event of a fire are two of those topics that we need to revisit time and time again. The more we do, the better prepared our children will be. Promise. Each year for the past few years, I have been honored to work with the National Fire Protection Association and Sparky.org to … [Read more...]
back to school tips and tricks: make this year ROCK #backtoschool #schoolsuccess
Re-running this post today because it's timely and packed with tips. Enjoy! School's in full swing here, and I cannot believe it. I really, truly cannot. Maddy's in 6th grade, Owen's in 4th grade, and Cora's in 3rd grade. Where has the time gone? If you're anything like me, you're doing everything humanly possible to adjust to a new schedule, which is not always easy. I've found a few of my most popular back-to-school posts, and I have them here for you. After … [Read more...]
everything you need to make it a ‘Finding Dory’ summer
It's taken over 12 years. But it's finally here. Finding Dory hits the theaters today, and we couldn't be more thrilled. Hard to believe that we met Nemo more than 12 years ago--twelve years!--and so it's definitely time we see Marlin, Nemo, Dory, and all our undersea friends again. The movie was beautiful. Beautiful. The graphics, the characters, the story, the messages--oh man, all of it. Loved it. Maddy, Owen, Cora, and I had a chance to check it out as a press … [Read more...]
creative writing and book creation app for kids
You know I'm always on the hunt for ways to make screen time really count for my kids. I'm constantly trying to sift through all of the junk out there (because, friends, we all know there's a lot of junk out there!) to find apps that are really worth our time and money. It's difficult. Really, it is. But thanks to our friends at Fingerprint, we were introduced to Scribble Press Deluxe, an app you can grab either over at iTunes or Google Play for less than a cup of coffee. This app … [Read more...]
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