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Parenting

Dear Teacher: There Are a Few Things I Need You To Know

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Photo Credit: tagore75 via depositphotos

Dear Teacher,

I know we haven’t met yet. I’d love to sit down and talk with you, but I don’t even know your name. You’re about to become a very important person in my child’s life, which in turn will make you a very important person in my life. We’ve been very lucky thus far to have had the privilege of some amazing public school teachers. They’ve shown wisdom, compassion, and love to all their students. My girls have learned so much and grow each and every year. I hope this year will be no different.

You’re very busy at the beginning of the year. I get that. We never really have much time to chat before that first day of class. But, there’s just a few things I’d love for you to know before you start teaching my daughter.

We are a team. We have the same end goal in mind. There’s just one difference, my only focus is on my child’s education. You, on the other hand, have more than 20 other kids to focus on. What’s best for my child may not be the best for every one else. I get that. So, let’s keep the lines of communication open. Let me know if my daughter needs extra help mastering a skill or extra encouragement on a social issue. I’ll step up and I’ll get her through. We’re in this together.

I am also my child’s teacher. Yeah, I know I don’t have an education degree like you do. I don’t know teaching methods and I don’t know much at all about classroom management. But I do know a thing or two about my own child. I know her quirks and her particular learning styles. We like to have fun and we like to learn. I may not do all those cool suggested activities that you send home, but that doesn’t mean we don’t support learning in our house. We just do it in a different way.

I want to help you. I tell you this every year and every year I mean it. I’m not just saying this to be nice. I want to help you and I want to help my daughter’s classmates. Don’t ever be afraid to ask me! I will step in and help to the best of my time and ability. I know you can’t do it all. Please let me carry some of the load. I will sort and staple, file, or even step in and supervise your favorite messy project for the classroom party. I’ve already got the paint-stained jeans ready to wear!

I understand that education today looks much different than the education I received. And, that doesn’t mean one is better than the other. They’re just different. I’m embracing all the differences as they come along and in some cases, learning right along with my daughter. I won’t mock it or post crappy Facebook posts out of frustration. I’ll try to figure it out. And if I come to you with questions, take it in good faith that I’m trying to learn.

You are amazing. I don’t think I could do what you do. It pleases me so much to see you enjoy your job. You love those kids. You care so much about them. Because of that, I can put my trust in you. I know you’ll do a fantastic job and I look forward to the coming year.

Thank you.

I wrote this piece as part of a monthly blog hop in support of public schools. Make sure and visit the rest of the participants.

 

 

Learn With Play: 150 Activities for Year-Round Fun & Learning

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I’m so happy to tell you about a great new book that I co-authored with my friends from the Kid Blogger Network. Learn With Play: 150+ Activities for Year-Round Fun & Learning is packed full of good stuff.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links including Amazon affiliate links. As a co-author, I do benefit from every copy sold. To find out more, please read my disclosure.

Check it out:

This book stands out in a lot of ways. Not only are there a ton of fun activities, but:

  • It was authored by 94 members of the Kid Blogger Network. Every single author is committed to learning with play. With so many authors, you’ll find an amazing variety of fun for your kids. I promise you’ll find plenty of activities your kids will love.
  • It’s bright, colorful, and easy to read. If you get the hard-cover copy, your kids will have a blast thumbing through it to figure out what to do.
  • Not only will you find tons of great activities, but you’ll be linked to all of the authors’ blogs. You will never run out of ideas!
Here’s a peek of what you might see inside. Take a look:
You’ll find learning activities, just for fun activities, play recipes, toddler activities, and so much more.
Are you ready to snag a copy? You can get this in a e-book format, Kindle format, or hard-cover. Click any of the links below to purchase.
 Ebook price: $14.95. Click here to purchase.
Kindle – $14.95 at Amazon.com
Hardcover – $29.95 at Amazon.com
And, can I ask a favor? If you purchase the Kindle or hardcover cover, I would really appreciate it if you would be willing to leave a review on Amazon. I’ll send you a big virtual hug!!

Surviving the Sidelines

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Soccer, baseball, swimming, lacrosse… have you been sitting on the sidelines of your kid’s activities lately? We don’t do it nearly as much as other families, but enough to realize the dilemma of the bored child who is NOT participating. Oftentimes, it’s the younger siblings that are on the sidelines, but in the case of our family, my oldest daughter is finding herself more and more on the sidelines.
While I’m happy that my youngest is discovering activities that she loves, I also understand my oldest not always being eager to come along. It’s not always fun to sit on the sidelines. So, what to do?
Disclaimer: Thank you to Parragon Books for providing the fun activity book showcased in this post. All opinions are my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details.
Books – If your child is a bookworm, they may be perfectly willing to sit and read the entire time they are waiting on the sidelines. But, sometimes they just may not be in the mood. We always bring along a book as one option. It’s easy to carry along and can sit in the car if not needed. You can’t go wrong with a book of choice.
 
Activity Books – Activity books have saved the day a few times. My 8-year-old can go through page after page on her own. A recent favorite was Totally Brain-Bending Puzzles from Parragon Books. It was challenging, but not too hard. Plus there was such a great mix of puzzles that she didn’t feel like she was doing the save thing over and over again. This is probably her favorite sideline activity. Don’t forget a supply of pencils and a small pencil sharpener!
Pencil and Paper Games – You can play a ton of games with just a pencil and paper. Bring along a notebook and a supply of pencils and you’re all set. You can play Paper Golf. Hop on over to Mama Smiles for the instructions. Tiny Rotten Peanuts has a collection of 10 Drawing Games. Several would be perfect for the sidelines.  Or, you can play Dots and Boxes. Find out how at What Do We Do All Day.
Travel Activity Kits – Have you seen all those great ideas for travel activity kits all over Pinterest? Many of them are also perfect for the sidelines. Try one of these 20+ Road Trip Activity Ideas curated by Childhood 101. Or, print off one of these Roadtrip Drawing Prompts over at Picklebums.
Movement! – No matter the age, your kid on the sideline is going to need to move. Depending on their age, they may be able to walk around a bit themselves. Let them stretch, do a few yoga moves, jump, or even run. Just because they’re not the ones participating, doesn’t mean they have to sit around the whole time.
 
Stay Hydrated – Your little athlete isn’t the only one that needs to stay hydrated. Make sure to bring along water for those sitting on the sidelines. And, if you’ll be there awhile, bring along a healthy snack.
What are your best ideas for keeping kids happy on the sidelines?

Best Posts of 2014

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At the end of the year it’s fun to look back and see what posts were the most popular. What interested you? What were your favorite posts?

 

It turned out that many people were struggling with the same issue I was, how to get your kids to open up after school. Connecting After School: The Questions You Should Be Asking was far and away my most viewed post of the year. It was read, it was passed around, it was pinned, and I hope it helped many of you.

 

There were many other posts that were popular this year. We had great fun with crafts and activities. You definitely love your holiday crafts and many of you are looking for activities for your school-aged kids. You’ll see more of both of these this year.

Here are some of my other most viewed posts from 2014:
Paper Plate Christmas Trees
Apple and Pumpkin Mini Books
Domino Doubles Game
100 Ideas for Your Summer Bucket List
Tulip Letter Match Game
Egg Carton Easter Baskets
Painted Easter Egg Sun Catchers
12 Ways to Play With Plastic Eggs
My Book of the Four Seasons: A Paper Bag Book

I’ve got even more great posts for you. I’m joining forces with a whole group of kid activity blogger to share all of our best posts of the year. You’ll find so many cool activities and resources that you may never need to read another blog in your life. Only don’t do that! I’ll miss you and you’ll miss out on all the great ideas to come in 2015.

The best parenting posts:

The best craft posts:


The best educational activities:

 

 

Fizz, Pop, Bang! Playful Science and Math Activities

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I’ve been collaborating behind the scenes again with a fantastic group of bloggers to bring you Fizz, Pop, Bang! Playful Science and Math Activities ebook. It’s an amazing resource designed to bring hands-on fun and enjoyment to math and science. I am absolutely thrilled with how the book came out!

Fizz, Pop, Bang! Get hands-on, have fun, and start learning.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Who would benefit from this book?

  • Homeschoolers. You’ll find 40 projects that will supplement your math and science curriculum. Number lines, estimation, volume, graphing, gravity, magnets, and surface tension are just a few of the ideas covered in this book.
  • Parents. Use this book to supplement your child’s learning or just wow them with a fun project. Making lemonade is a fun project to do together, but you’ll also learn about melting, dissolving, and the effect of heat.
  • Babysitters and Grandparents. Keep this book around whenever you’re looking for a fun project to do with the kids. The ideas are very practical and easy to set up.

It’s an amazing resource. You’ll find 40 ideas for children aged 3 to 8, with twenty printable resources such as math and science graphing and recording sheets, print and build 3D solid blocks, and engineering challenge cards. Plus you’ll find additional links to over 80 more activities.

You can buy your copy now for $9.99. It’s absolutely worth the price. You can purchase this book from anywhere in the world. PayPal takes care of the currency conversion.

You can buy it now, on any device, and then download it when you are ready. Depending on the apps you have installed and your operation system, you might be able to download the book on your mobile device. But, if you have any doubts or problems, I recommend you use a computer to download the book and then share it to your mobile devices.

Buy your copy here:
Buy Now