Have you ever been the mom of the kid who tells other kids that Santa isn’t real? Confession: We don’t do Santa in our house. It’s a long story but we just don’t do Santa. However, they do understand that others “do Santa” and we try to respect that. However, Baloo (10) also likes to…
Sometimes I like to pretend I’m a kid again. It helps relieve stress to just pretend like I have no responsibilities. I often picture myself as Will Ferrel in Elf. Because he was the epitome of an adult who never grew up. Actually, when my husband calls I often answer “Buddy the Elf, what’s your…
Gingerbread men seem to signal that Christmas is coming. They’re not fully Christmas but definitely part of the holiday season. They seem almost like a precursor to the holidays. First Thanksgiving, then Gingerbread men, then Christmas and Hanukkah. I honestly do not like Gingerbread at all to eat, but the smell is incredible. Cassie and…
I swell with pride for my husband whenever Veteran’s Day arrives. He’s really not that into having a day as he feels it was more his duty to serve than some amazing feat. Either way though, I’m proud. And I want my kids to be proud, too! So we try to do at least a…
Do you remember taking geography classes as a kid? What do you remember from those classes? The population of Russia? Who fought on which side on what war? Which country technically holds claim to Santa’s workshop? (I’ve been told it’s Canada…for now) I remember approximately none of it. What I do remember is the names…
Am I the only one who has to sing nearly the entire ABCs to figure out ABC Order sometimes? No, just me? For some reason, a lot of those letters are jumbled up in my brain. Especially j-n. I have to sing it every time for those letters. I’m not sure if practice would help…
Sometimes my kids think school is boring. Not always and not every lesson but overall, they’ve come to think of school as boring. And I hate that for them! Learning shouldn’t be boring! I’m not sure exactly where we are going wrong but I know that introducing more fun activities is going to…
“One-ty one, one-ty two, one-ty three”. Yes, we renamed the teen numbers to be more in line with the rest of the numbers. And it sounds so weird. But it makes so much more sense. I could see the frustration all over Logi-Bear’s face. His eyes would well up with tears and he would clench…
Do you ever feel like your kids need a small review of previous lessons? I was reading with Royal the other day and he just plain forgot what sound -sh makes. He’s a great reader so I was a bit confused. I think he might have been having a brain fart, if you will, but…
We have a tradition on Thanksgiving where I print out activities (like this Thanksgiving Addition Game) and the boys have something to entertain them for that hectic 15 minutes while we are finishing the food and putting it on the table. The challenge for me is to create something that is entertaining enough that they…
I am excited for Thanksgiving this year. Honestly, holidays can be really hard for me, as they are for many people. I’ve found that by focusing on the kids and new traditions, the holidays seem easier. They are so full of wonder at this age and I find it easy to get enraptured in their…
Have you ever thought about how arbitrary measurements are? I find it kind of interesting that we use systems of measurement every day but they’re really just standardized systems we made up! Of course, it makes sense to have a standardized system. I still remember the first time I realized that humans made up our…