When I was trolling for ideas for posts and I, myself, don’t watch that many movies because the blogging thing gets in the way, DesignTrackMind told me to get this mom’s list of movies with meaning. She keeps a list of movies with mean for family movie night? Of course she does.
Rana DiOrio’s book tackles all the safety issues that kids face in suburbia. She does it in a calm and gentle way, raising the right points but without any scariness. I like how she touches on listening to your inner voice and standing up to bullies. This is the kind of book that reinforces the messages that we parents give. It allows for dialogue should an issue come up, but it can also just be an easy reminder of how to stay safe. And that’s exactly the message that I want to impart to my kids.
It is easy to go overboard when buying for baby the first go around. Here’s the short list that Pragmatic Mom would buy.
This list is a homage to the exceptional teachers everywhere who dedicate their lives to making a difference. And they absolutely do! One day, one of their students may even write about their exception teacher as in the case for a few of the books selected below.
I’m starting a new little boy book club for my son and his best friend from when he was 15 months. The issue is that his best friend is a grade older. And his second best friend is two grades older. The moms are game to do a book club but I wanted to make sure the book selections appeal to boys in grades 1 through 3 without going into chapter book territory. I decided to delve into the world of advanced chapter books which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE for rich vocabulary and the ability to transport into another culture, time or place.
Suggestions of how to incorporate foreign languages into your child’s daily life, especially if your child is studying Spanish or Mandarin Chinese.
I learned how to type the old fashioned way a million years ago: a manual typewriter with the keys all blacked out, and typing exercises on a projected screen in a blackened room. A Q A Z A Q A Z. Yep, I typed that over and over again. Then on to S W S X S W S X and so forth until it was time to type exercises and take timed tests. Not exactly fun but definitely effective. These days no one is learning to keyboard this way. I have searched out the best computer programs, iPhone /iPad apps, and free web games to learn to keyboard (i.e. touch type).