When Should Kids Return to School?

When I was a kid we started school after Labor Day. Seems like more and more school districts are starting school earlier. Here in Mobile, school started on August 9. That seems extremely early to me. To top it off it’s so darned HOT can kids really be expected to learn when their brains are fried? As I end my first full-week of homeschooling Tyler, I find that it was a difficult week at best. As much as he likes learning, I sensed that he’s not ready to formally return to school just yet. Also, he knows his school in … Continue reading →

It’s Time to Get Ready for Homework

I know, I know, nothing puts a damper on summer fun like mentioning the H-word. But, in just a few short weeks, the kids will be back to school and we will be wrestling with them to get that homework done. There are some things we can do NOW to make easing back into homework world a little more do-able when September rolls around… When you are stocking up on school supplies, make sure you’ve got what your kids might need at home too. In our world, this has meant making sure we’ve got plenty of extra blank white paper … Continue reading →

Does Being A Parent Make You Smarter?

Have you ever felt that becoming a parent has made you smarter? I do. As the parent of a young gifted child, I have had to step up my game, so to speak. I have to stay three steps ahead of him, anticipating his every question and being able to come up with an answer to the many questions he might ask. If I don’t know the answer, then I have to find out post haste. I was an honor student throughout school, graduated number nine in my class in fact. But Tyler is so smart it’s scary. And it … Continue reading →

Explaining Work “Benefits” To Your Kids

The benefits of work…actually, when I thought about writing this blog, I didn’t think of touting the importance of a strong worth ethic and how we can teach that to our children. In reality, I wanted to write about preparing our kids for work in the real world not only by explaining to them about salary and making an income, but also helping them to understand the value of the “benefits” that may or may not be included in a job they might take. I think we owe it to our children to help them to understand the often murky … Continue reading →

Counting Money and Making Change

The other day, my eldest daughter and I went to the bank prior to walking through our downtown farmer’s market. My eldest daughter is marching on the way to eighteen-years-old I’ll have you know, but after making my deposit and withdrawal, I handed her the stack of bills to count what we had out of pure habit. She chuckled and confessed she’d always loved the “verifying” job and we got to reminiscing about the easy and stealthy parental ways I taught my kids about handling money, making change, and counting… When my kids were younger, every time we’d go to … Continue reading →

Mixing Up Toys

It used to drive me crazy when my kids were little and they would mix up all the different “types” of toys in their big, elaborate, imaginary games. I went to a lot of trouble to create and label separate bins for legos, blocks, play food, etc. and then my kids would mix and match when they actually played with the toys. Turns out that all that mixing and matching actually makes for smarter, more creative kids! My need for organization not withstanding, mixing up “media” or “genre” is actually a good thing and helps kids develop problem-solving and higher-level … Continue reading →

Encouraging Kids to Think for Themselves

My kids used to be masters at getting me to do things for them. As a matter of fact, sometimes we still fall into old patterns and I’ll step in to solve a problem, answer a question or offer up advice before I’m able to stop myself. But, in reality, I know that they will be better off if they continue learning how to think and problem-solve for themselves. The trick with encouraging kids to think on their own is that a parent has to let go of the need for things to be “right” and to let go of … Continue reading →

Summer Tutor or Taking a Break?

Some families use the summer season as an opportunity to catch up on academics or brush up on educational skills and subjects. Others go in for the traditional “break” from scholastic stuff and use summer as vacation time. But, what is best for the child and how can you decide what is best for your family situation? In our area of the country, it seems that summer school has become the trendy thing for all sorts of kids. When I was young, summer school used to be something that was reserved for students who were really struggling or who had … Continue reading →

Promoting and Encouraging Curiosity

They say curiosity killed the cat, and any parent who’s been on the receiving end of a day’s worth of questions—why, how, where, when, and what—might understand the warning in this old saying. It can get downright aggravating to have your thoughts interrupted with “why?” for the 800th time! Still, curiosity is a good thing and as parents, there are things we can do to encourage curiosity and overcome our occasional unconscious instinct to thwart it. One of the best things we can do to encourage and promote curiosity is to answer those questions! I know how annoying it can … Continue reading →

Let Your Child Be the Teacher

As parents, we know that we learn as much from our children as they do from us. It is the natural course of family interaction that we grow and influence each other. BUT, that’s not what I wanted to write about today, I am thinking about how helpful it can be for a child’s education and intellectual development to be able to “teach” what he or she has learned. As parents, we can encourage our child to teach us the things he or she has learned in school or other activities and by teaching us, the lessons will become more … Continue reading →