It took me years before I decided I was worth it. Carving out time for myself felt selfish and decadent. I started slowly when my youngest started preschool with resuming exercise after nearly a decade of doing nothing. At first I had to justify exercise. It was for my health. It made me a better…
Author: Pragmatic Mom
I Appreciate You: 5th Grade Student Gift Ideas
My oldest is in 7th grade now, Grasshopper and Sensei, and this was a gift each 5th grade kid received. Each child wrote one sentence to each of their classmates on why they appreciate that person. Their teacher typed it up and printed it on beautiful paper. It reminds me of what she was like…
Read Aloud Books for Kids and Other Ideas For Summer Fun
It all started with a few tweets: Bonnie of @MrsStraitsClass mentioned that she read aloud to her kids every day. I teach elementary actually but even if I didn’t, I’d still read aloud every day. I love using accents and fun voices. 🙂 Accents and fun voices?!! I had to know more! I begged her to…
Monster Picture Book for Kids With Keep Out Signs
Sibling relationships, specifically big brother and little sister, are at the center of one of the funniest picture books on monsters that I’ve read in a while. As I think about siblings getting along (or not!), I only need to look to the bedroom doors of my three kids for an illustration of this dynamic…
Critical Advice For Teens … What’s Yours?
I feel fortunate to have kept in touch with one of my Freshman dorm mates, Lisa Rosowsky, who is a professor at the Mass College of Arts, an artist, and mother of two teenage daughters. As a very nurturing Prof — she is SO nice — she councils teens and twenty-somethings all day, every day….
Ronald Reagan Picture Book: I Like It Despite Myself
I should preface this by saying that I grew up with Ronald Regan as my governor of California and my parents were not big fans. You see, my father worked as a math professor at a state university and Regan reduced or froze the salaries of the teachers and professors. Everytime, Regan’s name came up,…
35+ More Books Like Percy Jackson
We might be in the same shoes. My son just finished all the Rick Riordan books which kept us happily reading for the better part of the school year. But now we are adrift, desperately seeking more books like Percy Jackson. Riordan’s books are so exciting, we often stay up past my son’s bedtime for…







