parenting

show your kids how to study: 5 easy ways | teachmama.com

what I wish I knew before middle school teachmama.com

what to consider when choosing a school for your child: parent checklist

budget challenge for students: real-life money management and big $ for classrooms and students | WeAreTeachers and H&R Block / teachmama.com

cool activities for kids all summer long: NEW tabletop surprises | teachmama.com free 10-week calendar of activities your kids will LOVE

preparing kids for Kindergarten: the summer before school starts — Home Study

    We’re all busy. And most of us really like to get a bit crafty but don’t have the time. This little crafty craft is for you. And it’s for me. Because it is so easy. It’s so quick. …

We have always taught our kids to be thankful for each and every person who makes our day a little brighter. And those people include family and friends, neighbors and teachers, but it also includes our newspaper deliverer, and the …

    It’s funny how things work out sometimes. When I first started this blog seven years ago, I was creating, photographing, writing, and coding in the ‘fringe hours’ of my days. All day long I was grateful to be …

I’m all about family traditions. Not only does it make your life as a parent easier, but having traditions gives your kids something to hold on to. Traditions give kids the feeling of security. Traditions give kids the feeling of …

      I admit that I am the absolute worst with emails. The worst. But I’m trying to be better. I’ve got thousands of emails just sitting there in my inbox, and I rarely respond because I’m always busy. …

Once your kids hit elementary school, things get a little bit crazy. All of a sudden, your kids actually need to be at school on time. All of a sudden, you’re buried under a mountain of papers, fliers, and notices. …

Originally published 12/7/09 but republished today because, well, it’s worth it–   When I first started teaching, in order to make ends meet, I ran several after-school activity clubs at an elementary school near the high school where I taught. …

Everyone needs a little positive affirmation once in a while. Everyone.  Countdown’s on for the new school year, so I’ve been at work making a new set of lunchbox love notes. In the past, we’ve covered joke notes, we’ve covered …

This post about getting reluctant readers to love reading is written by Ali Dent of Courage on the Edge of Tomorrow. Thank you, Ali, for this incredible post! ____________________ Getting Kids to Love Reading with a Literacy Club–LITClub, by Ali Dent Reading doesn’t …

      Lent is here. And this year, rather than have Lent be a time when my kids complain and moan because they can’t have dessert every night, I wanted it to be a more meaningful time of the …

I love the idea of doing some sort of service project for the community to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy.  Imagine how great the world would be if every family did something small for others to celebrate Martin Luther …

The following guest post is written by Natalie, of Afterschool for Smarty Pants.   Natalie shares ways she enriches her daughter’s learning at home, after school.  Check it out. —————————— As you can guess from my blog title, Smarty is a …

What games do you play with sight words? Sight words are words that we all need to be able to read quickly and automatically in order to be strong readers, and the more we allow emerging readers to interact with …