Getting your kids organized is one of the greatest challenges for most families. However, teaching them early on how to get and stay organized builds the foundation and skills they will need to be successful in life. The more responsibility they take on themselves, the easier your life will be as a parent.
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.
Best Math Workbooks for Home or Summer Supplementation
I find that The Univ. of Chicago’s Everyday Math needs home supplementation, especially in math facts. I recommend Daily Word Problems and Singapore Math. We use these for summer math.
DIY Math Games Invented by Kids (2nd-5th grade)
2 fun and easy math games invented by 8-year-old kids for adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and exponents.
Preparing for Kindergarten: Activities to Do with Your Child
I found this great article from a mom on Twitter. I am getting my 5-year-old ready for kindergarten and I thought this is a great list of fun activities to work into the summer plans. The activities cover: fine motor, scissors, sensory, mid-line crossing, and developing handwriting skills. This article is by Loubina Buxamusa, an Occupational Therapist and Ann Mahoney, an Early Childhood Specialist.
The National Mythology Exam: Take the Exam or Just Learn Yourself
I managed to get the form and check on the last day it was due and the National Mythology Exam folks sent me a study guide. I just wanted to share their book list. I took a class as an undergraduate at Harvard on Mythology, nicknamed “Heroes for Zeros,” which was actually a really great class though perhaps not the most stressful class I’ve ever taken and we read some of these same books; the Lattimore translation of The Iliad, The Odyssey and The Aeneid though I can not for the life of me remember who translated it. There was also a class for Norse mythology. I didn’t take it but some friends of mine did. Guess what that was nicknamed? “Frozen Heroes for Zeros.” Though given the New England weather, it could also be called “Sub Zero Heros for Zeros” just as easily!
My DIY New Header Artwork and Avatar
I finally have a new header for my blog after thinking about it for over a year. It was one of those “To Do” list items that was an education in overcoming obstacles up to the very end. Thank you to my Twitter Friend @IanChia for the technical assist/Tech fairy Godfather that fixed my header.
5th Grade Book Club: The Uglies
A Mom Friend hosted my daughter’s 5th Grade book club. The book was The Uglies by Scott Westerfield and the activity was discussing what is beauty exactly using magazines and tabloids. The coup de grace was in looking at before and after pictures of Heidi Montag. We Moms were gratified that our kids thought Heidi looked best in the “before” pictures. In the day and age of media bombardment of unrealistic female body images, we were grateful that our girls accept both themselves and a broad range of images that they consider to be beautiful!