We were fortunate to have Middle Grade Author Karen Day as a guest at our 6th Grade girls’ book club where they discussed changes, Middle School, A Million Miles from Boston, and wrote short stories inspired by her talk.
Category: Parenting
My blog covers education and children’s books. When I cover parenting issues, it usually contains book recommendations. Parenting topics include academic subjects, summer learning, bullying, special needs, fitness and more.
Make Your Own Playdough Recipe
This is an old recipe from my first preschool. My middle daughter used to LOVE to play with playdough but she didn’t like the stinky smell of purchased playdough. Mix a batch and store in an air-tight container for hours of fun.
Top 10: Best Books on Breastfeeding
I’m not an expert but I did breastfeed all three of my kids until they were nearly two-years-old and had a terrible time (each child successively worse) weaning them! But I did love nursing them! I leave you in hands of an expert.
How To: Teach Your Children About Islam (and tolerance in the process!)
With standardized tests looming large and budget cutbacks, can we really expect our education system to teach our children tolerance and understanding? Probably not. Perhaps it is best brought up at home, with these books and references to help build a bridge of understanding. This list of excellent materials is courtesy School Library Journal. The article is intended for teachers and you can read it in its entirety here.
12 Surprising Benefits of Play by parenting guru Dr. Michele Borba
I actually found this post on The 12 Surprising Benefits of Play (and really, the crucial importance of unstructured play time for children) through The Goddard School and asked her for permission to post. Her exact words, “Thanks for asking. Please post. Trying to get the word out – poor deprived kids. Sigh.” You just gotta love a expert that is so easy to relate to! I met Dr. Borba on Twitter and she’s my “go to” for all things parenting and education including cyberbullying & bullying, special education, and hot button issues including biting, tantrums, cheating, bad friends, inappropriate clothing, sex, drugs, peer pressure, etc. What is different about Dr. Borba from other parenting and education experts is that she’s grounded in the real world talking constantly to parents about the issues they face every day.
How To Get Kids to Eat Healthy Food
It’s getting easier to get my oldest to make “healthy food choices” as we call it. The other day, she went on a play date and the mom said that when she offered my daughter a snack, she requested fruit. My mom friend was aghast that she actually had no fruit in the house. A different snack was consumed. Upon her return, my daughter said that she just really, really likes and even craves a lot of fruit. And not so much for cookies. She can have cookies. Just pair it with a protein!
How To: Install Infant Car Seat Correctly
While installing and using child safety seats may appear to be easy enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that close to 3 out of 4 parents do not properly use child restraints … and if you are one of them, that child safety seat may not protect your child the way it should.