I’m a boy mom. With four boys ranging from 8 months old to 8 years old, I live in a house filled with legos, light sabers, and a lot of noise. It’s actually a pretty good gig.
Praise Junkies Part Two
One of my more popular posts is the one entitled Praise Junkies Beware. It talks about research which contradicts the self-esteem movement of the 80s and 90s. Back then, we thought that if we heaped praise on kids and told them how wonderful they are, they would indeed be wonderful.
Because Writing is My Therapy…Thoughts on Tragedy and Mental Health
I’ve tried to write this since Friday, struggling to process and put my thoughts into words.
Stone Soup: A lesson in sharing
I was working on a batch of Stone Soup today, and thought it might be time to dig up, dust off, update, and reshare my favorite Stone Soup lesson from three years ago. It’s a great way to start a discussion about the importance of sharing. And who couldn’t use some nice, warm soup this time of year?
#blog4cause: Playdough Cupcake Decorating Kits for the Children’s Hospital
A while ago I told you about the Blog 4 Cause Campaign, an initiative created by my friends Amy of Teach Mama and Allie of No Time for Flashcards. I wanted to involve my sons in projects they could relate to. There’s an amazing children’s hospital near where we live, where they knew their cousin’s cousin, Matthew, had spent the better part of a year waiting for a second heart transplant (which he miraculously received!) before finally returning home.
A little boy my own boys had never met, but whom they had talked about, asked about, and prayed for. They knew him as a little boy like them. A little boy who likes light sabers and ninjas, and who wanted to be healthy — and home. This experience made Primary Children’s Medical Center an ideal cause for my boys.
Primary Children’s Medical Center is a phenomenal children’s hospital. They are not only one of the best places from a medical standpoint, they also do a tremendous job of meeting the needs of the whole child as well as the child’s family. On the list of desired donation items, which they use to engage the children staying in the hospital, I noticed playdough and craft kits. I wanted to give my kids a chance to really get involved in the project, so I thought I’d have them help create playdough cupcake kits (inspired by this post from NurtureStore). Nothing like the combination of playdough and party-style cupcakes to make a child smile!
Here’s Your Permission to Ignore Good Parenting Advice
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by good parenting advice? Ever feel like your head might explode, not only from the sheer volume of well-meaning recommendations, but also from the mind-numbing contradictions among “experts”? Ever sat on the verge of tears (or completely gushing with them) because of the thoughtless, misguided, or — even worse — totally spot-on critiquing of your parenting?
#blog4cause : Because Little Hands Can Make a BIG Difference
While sitting around a table at Evo, discussing yet another inspirational speaker with Allie from No Time for Flashcards and Amy from Teach Mama, inspiration turned into a plan for action.
Because I Love You
My husband is a natural when it comes to principle-based parenting. (That should be a whole post in itself.) Rather than laying down all the rules, he’ll state the principle and ask our boys how they propose we should go about implementing it. Here’s how that went down recently.
The Myth of Perfect Parenting and the Real Work of Parenthood
As I’ve been putting together my series on The Myth of Perfect Parenting, I realized this piece from a year ago fits right in with the message, so I wanted to repost it here. (I now have four boys instead of three, so you can just imagine the chaos of our next family picture!)
Teaching Social Skills with Bubble Lessons
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