Youngsters in second grade, where I substitute taught today, were studying a Weather unit.
Rainbow image: sxc.hu
So I put together lessons that seemed to delight them. Am subbing there again tomorrow.
Perhaps I’ll have them write some weather related poetry. Kids, as well as adults, seem to enjoy my [...]
I don’t know about you but I love getting jewelry as a gift. It’s been a tradition in my family since I was a little girl and I always get excited when I see a small box under the tree. Something that is even better then plain jewelry is getting [...]
One friend mentioned she is compiling a journal of holidays.
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Some are memories of former days and some are a record of current celebrations.
What are your memories of Thanksgiving? Encourage your children (young and older) to recall their Thanksgivings. I recall driving to my grandmother’s farm, 45 mile [...]
Recycling has become known as “repurposing” to many people. Finding another purpose for items you might otherwise throw out.
This can become a game with your youngsters. How can they use items around the house and from daily living in other ways once these are empty or [...]
Are your children aware that a New Hampshire woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, was responsible for Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday?
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Yes, the first Thanksgiving, from which this holiday of thankfulness originated, took place in Plymouth, MA.
However, it wasn’t celebrated nationally until Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor [...]
Kids are tricky when it comes to figuring out what they will eat and what they won’t eat. One reason so many of us call our children picky or finicky eaters. How many of you have a picky eater?
Tonight I decided to introduce my children to a new meal, I’ve [...]
When my mom died and my sister and I divvied up her belongings that my father did not need, I ended up with the coveted “The New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.” It was profoundly sentimental to me because it was the duct-taped book that my parents had used [...]
“I’m bored. There’s nothing to do,” so many kids exclaim when they don’t have access to electronics or parents restrict the hours they’re on computers, video games, wii, playstation and others.
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We as parents and grandparents can do much top open up a non-electronic world [...]
I swear every year at this time I have to fight and struggle to make sure all my kids are wearing their jackets outside.
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What is it with kids not wanting to wear a jacket when it is freezing cold outside? Today for instance, it is suppose [...]
My niece recently told us about her two teen sons preparing supper.
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The kitchen filled with smoke and the meal wasn’t gourmet by any means. However, as my daughter (her cousin) responded, “At least they tried! That was something.”
Perhaps the boys will give another try if [...]
The new school year has started and some parents are already having to keep track of where those library books their children bring home from school disappear too. Why?
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Simple, they don’t want to pay the ridiculous late fees that come with it. Recently my own daughter [...]
Okay, once again someone sent me an email asking when they should make their child go without a blankie. Does anyone know? My kids never had a binkie, blankie or a favorite stuffed doll. Don’t get me wrong I did try, believe it or not I thought I was doing [...]
The old saying, “Smile and the whole world smiles with you,” does have some truth to it.
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Do you ever notice how children respond to a smile? Even a baby who, you think, is too young to really notice people. Smile, and so often the child will [...]
I posted yesterday about a middle school in Goldsboro, North Carolina and how they were doing a fundraiser that allowed students to get a grade higher on a test score for a $20 donation.
IMG: Elizabeth Ferree
Well it seems not everyone thought that was kosher, it has [...]
Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. Do our children know what it really means, in addition to a day off from school, parades and flags?
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Do they realize that without the veterans’ service for our country, from the Revolutionary War forward, we might not be enjoying the [...]
Rosewood Middle School of Goldsboro North Carolina is giving out grades for money. The principal believes all is fair in this little game as it benefits the children.
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Exactly what benefits the children you may ask? Well, apparently they are trying to raise money for the school [...]
In response to my post, Do Families Become Closer in Tough Times?, Stephanie responded by sharing her family’s activities.
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We love family hikes. We live near mountains right now, so heavy duty hiking is only a short drive, but even the neighborhood does well for [...]
Reports are popping up everywhere that our children today are having far too much stress than we use to as children. While I don’t necessarily agree with this 100%, I can see how a child can become stressed.
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1. Grades. Yes, there are some of us parents [...]
Last weekend we hit another milestone. Truman went to his first Alabama football game. We were offered some posh seats in a skybox with a steady line of tasty snacks and a bottomless cooler of beverages. I suspect our son has been spoiled senseless. Wonder how he’ll react next time [...]
Today’s economic times have put stress on many families financially and emotionally. Does struggling and solving problems together bring families closer together?
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Are there activities they can do that don’t cost a great deal of money?
My husband and I grew up in homes where [...]
Now I know many are going to argue with me, in fact I argued it at first. I mean who were they to tell me Cookie Monster no longer ate chocolate cookies, that was the one thing he craved.
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I bet they were thinking the [...]Reports of children’s fingertips being amputated by strollers has triggered a massive recall. Maclaren Strollers in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, issued the voluntary recall today, warning consumers that they should stop using the recalled strollers immediately because the stroller’s hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and [...]
Do you know your grandchildren are watching you? That what you say and do set an example?
Just as they learn (good and bad) from parents, they also learn from grandparents. So it’s difficult to say, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
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We also continue to [...]
I was curious as a friend recently mentioned one of her children catching another sibling in the bathroom at what age do we stop allowing them to go in with us or even when they are big enough to go in a plublic one on their own. I know it [...]
When a High School Principal sent home a student for crossing dressing there was a big stir up. One question for you is how far would you let your child go to be an individual?
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Now what if that look actually distracted the students? That’s what [...]As more and more people (children and adults) use text messaging as a means of communication via their cell phones, will we find that correct spelling becomes obsolete?
Many young people use numbers and letters (4 instead of for, u for you) to speed up the process so they often don’t [...]
This category is full of everything from getting kids ready for school to picking out those summer fun activities. So it shouldn’t surprize you that when someone emailed and asked me:
IMG: Elizabeth Ferree
My son is 3 years old and refusing use his potty chair. Any recommendations?
My first [...]
I swiped this from my sister’s Facebook page. It’s a great feel-good video aptly named “Anti-Depression Video.” I think any parent would dig this.
For centuries, people have touted the benefits of laughter. Experts say that a good laugh can reduce stress by relaxing tense muscles and energizing you by sending [...]
Do you have “small treasures” made by children and grandchildren that you’ve saved over the years? Do these take on special significance for you?
Pincushion Image: sxc.hu
I’ve saved a number of these and find the memories joyful. ONe is a pincushion my daughter made by herself and gave [...]
Making Christmas gifts with your children can be a fun family project and one that creates happy memories, too.
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It’s not too early to start these projects so you’ll have plenty of time and won’t be rushed in December.
When my daughter was small, we were involved in many [...]
My daughter, Sarah, is 11 and in the 6th grade. She is a good student (just brought home a perfect report card), an athlete playing on both the volleyball and the basketball teams, and a musician with weekly guitar lessons.
IMG: Michelle Smith
She’s silly and funny, usually [...]
When I was 7, I learned the truth about Santa. Sort of.
My friend Emily said Santa was not some jolly old elf who appeared in the night and left presents under the tree, but was really my father who would crawl out of bed and pull toys from the closet. [...]
A friend described how his granddaughter was injured…in an auto accident because the faulty driver was texting on her cell phone.
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His granddaughter and her brother, who was driving, had stopped in a line of traffic at a red light.
They were rear ended and the granddaughter was [...]
I don’t care what they try telling you, mom and dad are soft spots for kids. No matter what they don’t want to see mom and dad vulnerable, hurt or sick, when they do it frightens them.
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I have been sick for over a week and [...]I used to roll my eyes at people who would get depressed during holidays. Seriously, what was there to be depressed about? And then my mother died. It’s not her absence that upsets me the most. It’s been 10 years since she died and I have learned to live with [...]
“You need to write your memories down, Mom,” my daughter said. “You’ve been researching family history, but you aren’t writing your memories down for us.”
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(Perhaps I didn’t consider myself history!) Actually, I didn’t think of my life and my memoris as that important until my daughter [...]
Mary Emma Allen, Eliza Ferree, Jennifer Walker-Journey, Brittany Dow
