Encouraging reading at home is a foundational step to instill within your child a lifelong love of reading. Providing our kids opportunities for reading in any form (whether it be a book, comics, graphic novels, newspapers magazines, recipes, etc.) is critical for establishing a solid foundation. Reading for the simple pleasure of enjoyment is so important, but if you’re looking for a few ways to extend a reading experience with your child, or students, these ideas might help. Challenge Accepted!Designate a specific number of books to read within a given time frame. This can be done individually, as a family, etc. Keep a running list … [Read more...] about 25 Reading Activities for Home and School
Family
Building Relationships – Use Your Spidey Senses!
Creating opportunities to share an experience together is one of the best ways we can help build relationships with others. Whether it's establishing connection with our kids, co-workers, spouses, or family & friends, shared experiences are the building blocks in the foundation of relationships. As teachers and parents, it's important for us to create opportunities that allow our kids to engage in those experiences. Whether you're a parent with kids at home or teacher with kids in school, it's important to be intentional in the experiences you're providing. One of my favorite relationship building activities for both home and school … [Read more...] about Building Relationships – Use Your Spidey Senses!
200+ Conversation Cards for Kids
As parents, we have a strong tendency to fall prey to the familiarity of routine. The monotony of the normal day-to-day tends to set the tone for the interactions we have with each other & our kids, too. Oftentimes, I can predict how a conversation with my boys will go before I even initiate it. As a mom, I crave authentic communication and conversation with my kids. Sometimes I feel like I'm pulling teeth to get more than one word answers from them. I also realize that asking them the same questions over and over again breed the same answers. I'm always trying to engage my kids in conversation one way or another and I've … [Read more...] about 200+ Conversation Cards for Kids
100+ Activities For Kids to do at Home
As COVID-19 continues to shut school doors, many parents are finding themselves with their kids at home and struggling to keep them engaged in meaningful activities. I put together a list of 100+ ideas to help you keep your kids occupied in meaningful ways. While these ideas aren't necessarily academic, they will learn from them. Real life skills, patience, problem solving, creativity, perseverance, and so much more. I hope these ideas are helpful, as well as enjoyable, for both you and your child(ren)! Get in the Kitchen!- Scour Pinterest or sift through old cookbooks & magazines for new recipes. Some of my favorite kid … [Read more...] about 100+ Activities For Kids to do at Home
30 Free Virtual Learning Resources for COVID-19 School Closures
As schools all across the country continue to shut their doors amidst growing concerns of COVID-19, I've been encouraged to see so many individuals and companies provide virtual opportunities for kids to continue their learning experience even when they aren't in the classroom. I thought it would be helpful to share a landing space here that would provide both parents & teachers with free resources that can be accessed while your students/children are at home. If you'd like to add any additional resources in the comments, please feel free to do so as well. I hope this helps make things a little easier for us all. Before sharing … [Read more...] about 30 Free Virtual Learning Resources for COVID-19 School Closures
Summer Chores & Boredom Busters
Ahhhh, summer. It's almost here. In fact, it's so close I can taste it. I love summer. Everything about it (except the crazy Houston heat and humidity!) What I love most about summer is having my kids home with me. Having them home also means I need to figure out ways to keep them busy. Not shuffle them here-and-there kind of busy, but active (both physically and creatively). Since the boys were little, they've been helping out around the house (as much as they can). If I'm being totally honest, this last year they've been slacking in the responsibility department quite a bit. I can't blame them solely for it though. If I had a mom … [Read more...] about Summer Chores & Boredom Busters
Orange You Glad It’s Friday?!
The first week of the new school year has started and I sort of feel like I'm back in a routine. My boys started 2nd & 1st grade(s) on Monday and they are LOVING it so far. I did a little news segment for a local station on Monday talking all about teacher gifts. Just a few quick and easy ideas, but then I got to thinking that I forgot one so I wanted to chat about that here in case you need any ideas for the teachers in your life. This would be a great one for any Friday of the school year :) Let me just preface this by saying that teachers DO NOT expect gifts. Ever. When I was in the classroom I didn't … [Read more...] about Orange You Glad It’s Friday?!
