Tag Archives: school

How I get my kids to bed early

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My eldest was in camp for most of the day, for the first half of the summer, meaning he continued his early bedtime/early wake-up routine he was used to during the school year. When his month at camp ended, we took a more laid-back approach to bedtime, and let him stay up a bit later than normal.

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Summer is coming to an end, and soon will my relatively lax rules regarding bedtime. My son will be starting first grade in a few short weeks, and the demands and rigors of school require a healthy sleep routine.

People have asked me how well my kids sleep since they were born. The answer has never been great, and we have a lot to work on as a family. My eldest is an especially restless sleeper, while my youngest sometimes gets random bursts of energy in the middle of the night. One thing we are fairly decent at, however is getting our kids to bed early. Continue reading →

Thank you, class parents

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Every class has one, or maybe two. They are the moms or dads who remind you of special events or nudge you about getting your money in for the class gift. They organize email lists and volunteer schedules. They do the grunt work so we all can shine.

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They are the unsung heroes who work tirelessly keeping track of the details, so the rest of us, who barely remember what day our kids have gym, can look like competent caretakers of our little ones. Continue reading →

Promote early literacy skills with this ABC lift-the-flap train

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This post contains affiliate links. I get a small percentage from purchases made through the links on this post.

I am a blogger, and, as you might have guessed, I loved reading and writing in elementary school. I devoured books and composed stories of my own, many of which my parents still saved to this day.

Yes, I was one of those kids who read for “fun.”

My oldest, so far, shows no signs of having inherited this trait. He is much more into running around, building train sets and pondering highly existential thoughts. Sitting down and working on his writing is not high on his list of priorities.
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Granted, my son, who will be five in November, is very young for Kindergarten, and may develop more of an interest in writing as it gets more comfortable for him.

Like all of you, I want my child to do well, without pushing him so far that he completely loses any interest in learning.

So, when I learned he needed a little more help with his literacy skills, I knew I had to come up with some fun ways to make reading and writing fun. Continue reading →

School’s birthday policy is something to celebrate

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I was elated earlier this month, when I received an official packet from my son’s school. The manila envelope was packed with information about his teacher, his bus route, special programs run by the Parent Teacher Association and important dates to remember.

One piece of paper stood out among the rest. A letter from the principal informing parents and guardians about the school’s new policy of not allowing food for classroom celebrations. Instead of bringing in treats, caregivers are asked to work with their child’s teacher to create a special project, game or other fun way to celebrate the birthday. Continue reading →

If Game of Thrones took place in high school

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War, disease, deathly mythical creatures. It’s hard to imagine anything scarier than the world of “Game of Thrones.” Oh, wait, there’s high school. Surviving the teen years is hellish enough; now imagine what that might be like if Westeros, instead of being A Middle-Ages-inspired fantasy world, was your typical high school.

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Would our beloved battle-tested heroes survive the conniving halls of adolescents? Who would be class president? Or class clown?

Continue reading →