Search Results for: blog creating kids who want to know

Top 10 Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About Reading: A Quiet Place

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Do you want to get your kids excited about reading? If so, get ready for the countdown: ten days of ideas that will get you and yours into reading! Today’s recommendation is for the introvert in many of us. I’m an introvert, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I need a little quiet time every so often. I rarely get time to sit down in a quiet place and read a book. Usually, the house is bustling around me, and I’m trying to ignore that next thing that I need to do because the book is just so interesting. … Continue reading →

Are you making your kids weird?

Are you making your kids weird? I know I am. I love to travel. All year, I save so that I can go on wonderful trips. I’m not a big spender on things, but I love to spend on experiences. My daughter likes to travel too, and I enjoy taking her with me. We get to have adventures together, and they’re very educational of course. We’ve learned about the tropical rainforest by going there and walking through it. Most recently, we’ve explored great European works of art (and yes, ice cream and lots of carousels) by traveling through Italy and … Continue reading →

Creating a Nest Egg

One thing that I’ve always struggled with as a single mom is finances. With a growing child there is always some unexpected expense so usually I was juggling, as my grandmother used to say “Robbing Peter to pay Paul.” The unfortunate part was that I didn’t learn anything from this for a long time. We struggled so much that when I had a little extra money I felt like we deserved a treat. That was all well and good, until the next financial crisis occurred. What I learned over time is that saving money should be the first thing I … Continue reading →

Hand-Me-Downs Don’t Hurt Kids

Not all rich people are spontaneous spenders who imprudently bleed through money like there’s no tomorrow. In fact, some of the most affluent individuals in the world rose to the upper echelon because they’re smart enough to know that it pays to be frugal from time to time. Take for example, one of the most well-off moms in the world, First Lady Michelle Obama. The fashionable mother of two equally well-dressed daughters is being raked over the coals by critics who claim that she is forcing her kids to wear hand-me-downs. “First Daughter Hand-Me-Downs?” screamed one newspaper headline after 9-year-old … Continue reading →

Kids Teaching Kids

Little kids love to emulate their older siblings. It’s just a fact of nature that when a little person sees a big person do something, they want to do it too. They pick up on mannerisms and vocabulary words from their older siblings, they learn how to perform certain basic skills by watching and observing, and this natural tendency to copy-cat can come in handy in your homeschool. When two-year-old Timmy sees eight-year-old Jimmy reading, he’ll want to do it too. He’ll want to write his name, he’ll want to learn to count, and as he gets older, Jimmy will … Continue reading →

Creating a Family Calendar

Having a family calendar in your home can go a long way to reducing the chaos and the stress of daily life. After many failed attempts to keep a family calendar going, I finally became a convert and made a commitment this year to do just that. It has really given us more breathing room and allowed us to be more organized. Another benefit of the family calendar is that we can limit the running around. We aren’t a running around family and much prefer to stay home and take care of things close to home. With clear commitments on … Continue reading →

Cleavage-Creating Swimsuits for Little Girls

I don’t know many 7-year-old’s that sport eye-popping cleavage… and that’s the way it should be… at least in my opinion. But, apparently, some swimsuit designers disagree. A couple months ago I took my 5-year-old daughter shopping for swimsuits in preparation for our annual trip to Hawaii. Since I don’t allow her to wear bikinis, we bypassed the two-piece designs all together, and made a beeline for the floral one-piece bathing suits. I grabbed the most conservatively cut 6xs I could find and off we went to check out. Mission accomplished. My daughter is the antithesis of a fashionista. If … Continue reading →

Pushing Younger Kids Beyond Their Comfort Zone

When I first started home schooling my last three girls, two were in third grade and one was just starting preschool. It was a challenge wondering how I would present the lessons when there was such an obvious age gap between the older girls and the youngest. Being able to home school our kids allows us a lot of freedom though. Kids don’t have to be pushed ahead when they aren’t ready or held back when they are. What I did was to offer the same exact assignment for all of my girls, always at the age level of the … Continue reading →

Overdue Intro From A New SP Blogger

Yes, my introduction is long overdue. As one of the new Single Parenting bloggers, I’ve wanted to say hello to Jacky Gamble who’s another SP blogger, and to everyone here at Families.com, but I’ve been so intently focused on writing informative pieces that this kept slipping my mind. Here I am at last. I’ve been a single parent for about 7 years now. After my second divorce I truly felt it was better to go it alone with my five daughters. It seemed apparent that I hadn’t chosen husbands wisely, so it was high time for me to get out … Continue reading →

Kids’ Birthday Parties—How Much Is Too Much?

Recession? What recession? The economic crisis, which has battered and bruised many Americans, is apparently a non-issue if your name is Diddy. The rapper with 1,000 names–he was born Sean Combs, but later morphed into “Puff Daddy,” then “P. Diddy,” then the artist known as “Diddy,” then “Straight up P,” and now just “Diddy”—-is showing the world that money really can buy love. And that goes double if you are a parent. Daddy Diddy recently made headlines when he threw his son an insanely expensive Sweet 16 party. The ultimate birthday bash took place at one of New York City’s … Continue reading →