With All Due Respect
We are just a few weeks from school starting again and the pool is still just as enchanting now, as when it opened nearly two months ago. This is the first summer my boys are both confidently swimming and entertaining themselves, and so I am loving this new season of...
How Social Media is Molding Your Child
I’m a 90’s kid. That means I have fond memories of gathering around the TV watching T.G.I.F. with my family, I could slay Bop-It like my life depended on it, and I owned several "Now That’s What I Call Music…." er,r I mean, "WOW Hits.” It also means I lived in the era...
Why You Should Pay Attention to Your First Grader
In the world of education, we often group kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders into a category called early childhood. Or, as I personally call them, the “fun” years. In this phase, there’s very little drama or romantic distraction. Instead, it’s the age...
Practicing Friendship
I really think we could learn a lot about friendship from our kids, especially when they are young. I'm always amazed at how easily kids can make friends on the playground, at the ball park, or in line at the grocery store. Maybe it's just easier to strike up play...
How Birth Order Affects Your Children
I once heard a comedian ask the crowd, “How many of you are first-born children?” Those first- born in the crowd cheered and clapped. He then asked, “And how many of you are the baby of the family? The last born?” Again, the last born all rose to their feet and...
6 Things to Watch For in the Middle School Home Stretch
Congratulations! You’re officially in the “home stretch” of middle school! After surviving seventh grade, you might be thinking, “Praise the Lord! The end of the tunnel is in sight and middle school is almost over.” But don’t rush past this year too quickly. Eighth...
What’s So Magical About the Fourth Grade?
There’s something magical about the fourth grade. Okay, maybe magical isn’t the right word. But I simply can’t find another word to sum up the incomprehensible value of this phase.
How to Parent Better in This Phase—Starting Now!
Sometimes it’s all just a bit overwhelming, isn’t it? You want to do better and be better for them, and for yourself. You know that time is passing quickly, and that your kids are looking to you for answers. You want to appreciate your children today, because they’ll move on to the next phase of life soon (too soon). But how do you invest in them, and yourself, without shirking your other responsibilities?
How to Find Refreshment in the Middle of Summer
Think back to what summer was like before you had kids. Do you remember the glory of it? The late start to the day. Creating your own schedule. Taking actual vacations? (Because let’s be honest, a day at the beach with kids is not really a vacation. It’s more like an...
Give Your Kids Something to Do
Without fail, it comes every week: trash night. Now, normally this happens around 10:00 pm the night before trash day when I’m scrambling around the house grabbing every trash bag, quickly shoving them into the bin, and rushing them out to the curb. But on this one...
How to Make the Most of a Family Adventure
What do you remember most about summer growing up as a kid? One of the things that sticks out in my head is the summer I decided to eat tree bark. I remember prying off several chunks and dipping them into a jar of peanut butter I’d snuck out under my shirt when...
Holding the Line in Parenting
One of my favorite movie scenes comes from Braveheart. William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson, is standing with a small army of Scottish warriors staring in the face of a charging English Cavalry. Do you remember the scene? As the horses are charging straight at...